SCHotline

Bill Distracts from Real Cause of HPV Cancer

By Sheri Few and James E. Stands, M.D.

Before any more well-meaning lawmakers sign on to a House bill intended to mandate a new cancer preventing vaccine for female children, there are important questions they might want to ask themselves.

· What about the adverse reactions from the vaccine identified in the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) study?

· What of the unknown possible long-term harmful affects?

· What is the efficacy rate and limitations of the vaccine?

· Should parents have the right to make medical decisions for their minor children?

· Should accurate medical information be provided for parents to assist them in deciding about the vaccine?

· Should we take advantage of this valuable opportunity to educate citizens about the most common sexually transmitted infection?

· And, should taxpayers be forced to pick up the tab for preventing what in most cases are the consequences of what many consider to be irresponsible and immoral behavior?

The recently introduced H. 3136, “The Cervical Cancer Prevention Act”, if passed into law, will require government-sponsored HPV vaccines for all eleven-year-old girls before they are allowed to attend school. Those of us who have been actively promoting and training adults to lead children to abstain from sexual activity until marriage have known for years that the most common sexually transmitted infection, human papilloma virus (HPV), is the cause of cervical cancer.

Much to our dismay, this important public health information was not a part of public discourse until a vaccine was developed that was shown to prevent 2 of the 15 types of HPV known to cause cervical cancer. Since 1997, when research was published proving HPV causes 99% of all cervical cancer, abstinence educators have sought to inform the public that as many women die from HPV-related cervical cancer as do HIV/AIDS. Why hasn’t the government made women aware of this public health threat before now?

In 2001, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported that there is no evidence condoms prevent the transmission of the HPV virus. Could it be that the public health community feared that if citizens knew the truth about condoms they would be less likely to believe their overrated risk reduction propaganda.

Now that a pharmaceutical company has developed the vaccine that could prevent 70% of cervical cancer cases - it appears to warrant a public forum. It is a shame that the more than 50,000 women, who lost their lives to cervical cancer in the interim, could not have been forewarned that an abstinent lifestyle or a monogamous lifestyle with an uninfected partner could have prevented 99% of cervical cancer death. But now that a pharmaceutical company stands to make billions of dollars from this medical break through, women are receiving more information about the risk resulting from their sexual health choices.

We would support a bill that would mandate that the truth about this sexually transmitted disease and other life threatening and life altering sexually transmitted infections be taught in public school reproductive health classes and that the truth about condom efficacy as reported by the CDC and NIH be criteria for relative textbook adoption by the State Board of Education.

But we oppose mandatory HPV vaccines for public school entry on many fronts. Foremost, because parents are ultimately responsible for their children, and therefore we believe they should have the authority to make decisions about their health, especially ones that have moral implications. The decision to vaccinate a child against this or any other sexually transmitted disease should be up to the parent and the parent’s informed consent should be required in order for the child to be vaccinated.

In addition, sexually active women still need regular pap smears because the vaccine is only 70% effective; if you have regular pap smears the chance of getting cervical cancer is extremely low; and one of the largest OB-GYN groups in South Carolina has never seen one case of cervical cancer in women who had regular pap smears. If the cervical cancer vaccine does not prevent all cervical cancers; and because the National Cancer Institute and all leading medical associations still require cervical pap smears regularly when you become sexually active; and if it is an extremely low possibility to acquire cancer if you have regular pap smears, then why duplicate expense by requiring a vaccine and a pap test when the pap is very efficient for preventing cervical cancer?

A conservative estimate for the cost of H. 3136 to taxpayers, both federal and state, is $9 million annually. However, the greater costs could be moral and cultural. This is the first vaccine developed for an infection that is only transmitted through sexual behavior. Should it be mandatory for children and who should bear the cost?

Sheri Few is President of SC Parents Involved in Education, a non-profit educational foundation based in Elgin. Dr. James Stands is a board certified OB/GYN with over 25 years of practice in Columbia.

To: South Carolina Legislators

     As a 52 year old woman, change is often hard and scary.  Fundamentally, Change denotes the transition that occurs when something goes from being the same to being different. Per Wikipedia, “With the rise of industrialization and capitalism, the importance attached to innovation grew, and social and political upheavals and pressures often forced change by violent revolution (as in North America in the late 18th century and in later imitators). By the late 20th century much business and New Age thought focused enthusiastically on transformation in management , in function and in mental attitudes, while ignoring or deploring changes in society or in geopolitics.

     Leadership accountability drives overall organizational performance.  Effective leaders understand the enterprise strategy and deliver on their departmental objectives. They energize and provide clear direction when leading for results . Most important, they understand the impact their decisions and actions have on financial, customer and organizational outcomes — and they take responsibility for those results.

It is very clear that our South Carolina Department of Transportation lacks accountability.  How best for the State Legislature to insure future accountability to the citizens of South Carolina?  The only way possible is to make SCDOT a cabinet agency.  By having many bosses, true accountability is not present and today’s problems are not solved.

Today, I had a conversation with one of Senator Demint’s Regional Directors.  Based on our conversation, there is tremendous concern on flowing additional federal funds down to SCDOT because of lack of accountability.   So, if we do not drastically change the present structure, how can you convince the Federal Government to give SC more funding?

We have begun a petition drive to present to the SC Legislature to ask for SCDOT to be a cabinet agency.  Within a week’s time, we have almost 200 people across the state to sign.  I believe that you will see many others signing as they find out about it.  Most South Carolinians are tired of this abuse and want to see immediate action for true accountability.

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/dot2007/petition.html

I urge you as the State Legislature to immediately vote to make SCDOT a cabinet agency and hold the Governor accountable for its success.

Sincerely,

Denise Jones

1149 Pine Grove Road

Blythewood, SC 29016

803-754-5707

United States Stands Resolute

Paul Jackson

Calgary Herald

Sun, January 28, 2007

President George W. Bush is going to persevere and prevail in beating world terrorism and bringing stable democracies to both Afghanistan and Iraq.

There will be no wavering and no withdrawal.

These were the heartening words given me by U.S. Ambassador to Canada, David H. Wilkins.

So the mischief-makers, the defeatists, the fellow travellers and the Liberal-Left cabal better get out their handkerchiefs and start sobbing.

Their ignoble cause will fail.

The course of decency and democracy will win.

Now Wilkins, who visited the Sun for an editorial board meeting this past week, is a very astute and articulate fellow.

He spent 25 years in the South Carolina House of Representatives, 11 of them as Speaker of the House.

During those 25 years he was on the cutting edge of most major reform initiatives from welfare reform to property tax relief, and from educational accountability to truth-in-sentencing laws.

Wilkins is an affable, engaging man, but also one with a steel-trap mind.

In that, he’s very much like his boss back in the White House.

As noted by Sun columnist Salim Mansur — the best commentator by far in Canada on the Middle East and Islamic terrorism — Michael Novak, the noted Roman Catholic theologian and philosopher, recently described Bush as “the bravest president” for staying firm in confronting the contemporary barbarians despite the venom of his peers.

The U.S ambassador echoed those sentiments, pointing out Bush will determinedly do what is right rather that what the polls may say is unpopular.

America’s salvation matters more than what the temporarily up-and-down swings in the polls say.

The 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon when Bush had been in the White House little more than one year changed the entire direction of the presidency.

Some 3,000 Americans died in those attacks — more than in the attacks on Pearl Harbor, itself described by then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, as a “day of infamy.”

Yet, despite repeated threats by Osama bin Laden and his associated adherents throughout the world, there have been no further Islamic terrorist attacks on U.S. soil.

I note that in the 1930s, Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and his associated henchmen in other dictatorships believed the western democracies too weak to fight back.

He was wrong. We did.

We won.

After the end of the Second World War, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin and the Communist henchmen who followed him had the same attitude as the 1930s bunch of dictators towards the western democracies.

But they, too, were wrong, and we won the Cold War.

Is the radical Islamic terrorist movement as mistaken in its view of the western democracies being weak as were Hitler, Stalin as their fellow compatriots, I asked Wilkins.

He replied it would be a mistake for the world terrorist movement to underestimate the resolve of the U.S. and its allies.

Instead of the Taliban running Afghanistan, we now have a democratic government there.

And instead of Saddam Hussein running Iraq, and using weapons of mass destruction against his own people, we have a democratic government there, too.

True, these as yet may be fragile governments, and not exactly the kind of democracies with which we are familiar, but they are on their way to succeeding.

Wilkins noted Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, when asked about stability in the Middle East, declared the only way to achieve stability in the region is through democracy.

My friends, we are going to win this fight for civilization, and freedom for millions of men, women and children who never had it before, and George W. Bush will eventually be acclaimed as a great historic leader.

Contact:  Vince Moore, Director of News & Media Relations, 864-294-3107

U.S. CONGRESSMAN BOB INGLIS TO
SPEAK AT FURMAN UNIVERSITY FEB. 1

Inglis will speak on “ROE vs. WADE”

GREENVILLE, S.C.—Bob Inglis, who represents South Carolina’s Fourth
District in the U.S. House of Representatives, will speak on the Furman
University campus Thursday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. in Room 101 of John E. Johns
Hall.

His lecture, “Life and Why it Matters: Utilitarianism and Roe v. Wade,” is
free and open to the public. Seating is limited.

Jan. 22 was the 34th anniversary of the historic Roe v. Wade Supreme Court
decision that legalized abortion.  Inglis’ appearance on campus is
sponsored by Furman’s Conservative Students for a Better Tomorrow.

Inglis has represented the Fourth District since 2004, as well as from
1993 to 1998.  A native of Bluffton, he graduated from Duke University and
the University of Virginia School of Law.  During his six-year hiatus from
public office, Inglis practiced commercial real estate and corporate law
with Leatherwood Walker Todd & Mann, P.C.

In Congress, Inglis serves on the Science & Technology committee and as
the ranking member of the Energy & Environment subcommittee.  He also
serves on the Foreign Affairs and Education & Labor committees.  He has
previously served on the Judiciary and Education & Workforce committees,
and chaired the Research subcommittee of the Science committee during the
109th Congress.  He also co-chairs the House Hydrogen and Fuel Cell
Caucus.

For more information, contact Furman’s News and Media Relations office at
864-294-3107.

########

I’ve already done one year in Iraq and will be going back for another soon.  A lot of people “thank me for my service to the Country” and I suppose most of them genuinely mean it.  Some people even go so far as to thank me for “fighting for their freedom,” but the cynic in me is starting to question how much Americans truly want to be free.

Smoking bans are of course the latest example.  It’s not enough that restaurant owners can choose to make their establishment smoke-free or patrons and employees can choose which type of environment they prefer.  Most people now expect the government to limit freedom for the sake of protecting us from ourselves or their not happy with the choices others make.

Part of freedom is being free to make the wrong decision, freedom to fail and freedom to be stupid.  Part of freedom is engaging in self-destructive behavior that others may find objectionable as long as you accept the consequences of your own behavior.   If you choose to enter a smoke-filled restaurant, for example, you have to accept the consequence of second-hand smoke.

Of course government meddling in restaurants and bars is nothing new – just look at all the drama that played out over mini-bottles or video poker - not to mention the ban on trans-fats currently playing out in other states but will soon make its way here.

We’ve lost the freedom not to wear a seat belt anymore.  We’ve never even had the freedom to play a friendly game poker with the neighbors.  Mention school choice and most people shudder at the idea of having to make decisions in the education of their children.  The same goes for private retirement accounts in lieu of our faltering social security system.  Socialized health care is just around the corner.  The government routinely dictates minimum wage to private companies.  The list goes on and on.

So, please, I know I don’t speak for all veterans, but as long as you choose not to be free, don’t thank me for “fighting for your freedom.”

Captain Shawn Keller
US Army Reserves
1443 Cecilia Drive
Charleston, SC 29407

** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE **

January 23, 2007

SCRG LAUNCHES TWO NEW “VOICE FOR SCHOOL CHOICE” RADIO ADVERTISEMENTS STATEWIDE

Columbia – South Carolinians for Responsible Government (SCRG) today unveiled two new radio ads that highlight the importance of expanding parental choice in South Carolina beyond the limited options available to parents within the public school system. Both ads are running statewide and begin their full rotation this week SCRG President Randy Page issued the following statement on the new ads:

“It’s becoming incredibly popular to say you’re for school choice in South Carolina these days, and that’s a good thing. It shows that our message is resonating when opponents of real school choice like Superintendent Jim Rex have been forced to embrace it.

But people need to know what real school choice is – and what it isn’t.

For example, supporting school choice strictly within the public system is not supporting school choice. Choosing between one failing school or the other is not a choice, nor is being told that the ‘good’ public school you wish for your child to attend is already full.

In addition to highlighting the need for choices beyond the scant options available within the public school system, these ads also draw attention to the inconsistent and hypocritical state policy that denies support to families receiving a non-governmental K- 12 education, but subsidizes a non-public pre-school and college education.

In making these and other key points over the months to come, we look forward to maintaining a strong and steady presence on South Carolina’s airwaves.”

To listen to the new “Voice for School Choice” radio ads, click on the links below.

Voice for School Choice - Moms

Voice for School Choice - Dads

Contact: Denver Merrill South Carolinians for Responsible Government

web: http://www.scrgov.org

As a former Charleston area resident, I enjoy your informative website. However, the recent op-ed by Jeffrey Sewell (The State) draws some odd conclusions. First of all, our organization has never advocated the prohibition of tobacco products, nor have most serious tobacco control organizations. To conclude otherwise is an inflammatory tactic not based on fact.

Second, your attempt to describe resistance to smokefree laws as “a key battleground in the fight for American liberty” is without merit. I don’t recall any of the Founding Fathers promoting a right to pollute someone else’s workplace because of their drug addiction. Of course, this issue wasn’t addressed because the impact of tobacco smoke pollution was not fully understood at the time. According to former US Surgeon General, Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, “Secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance, but a serious health hazard.” Having worked closely with many fine people in the US military for several years, I don’t recall any of them being motivated by the need to protect smoking in public places.

Finally, although bars and restaurants are privately owned, they are by definition – public places. Business owners must safely accommodate the entire public, not only those who don’t care about the harm of tobacco smoke. Ventilation and separation don’t work, and stepping outside for a smoke is not a problem for most fair-minded people. Will you be writing a column about the need to repeal the government mandated, heavy-handed restaurant sanitation codes? Maybe we should restore “freedom” to those who wish to bring dogs into restaurants? Why should mine operators be restricted by safety regulations that cost money? Miners who don’t feel safe can just “get another job.”

Fortunately, most Americans now realize that the ability to poison others in workplaces and public places has nothing to do with “liberty.”

Greg Hartley, Assistant Director
SmokeFree Pennsylvania
www.NoSmokeDining.org
412-445-5570

Profiles of politicos

Will Folks is the former press secretary to Governor Mark Sanford and the president of Viewpolitik a public relations firm most noteable for recent work with Thomas Ravenel’s successful campaign for state treasurer. Folks blog is located at FITSNews

SC Hotline: Tell us a little bit about yourself:
Where and when were you born? Where did you go to college? What have you done in the past?

Folks: I was born in Columbia, S.C. in 1974. My mom says I was not even five minutes old and I had already shot her a look that told her I was going to be nothing but trouble.

I’ve got two degrees from South Carolina. I’ve been a sportswriter, a bass guitar player, spokesman to a governor and owner of my own PR firm. I also help five incredibly attractive women (who may or may not exist) write a political blog called FITSNews.

SC Hotline: What is the book you are currently reading or what is your favorite book?

How about let’s start with what I’m currently listening to instead? I’m listening to Dean Martin’s “Volare” right now but my favorite bands are all more recent - Smithereens, REM, Smashing Pumpkins, Pavement, Led Zeppelin, Death Cab for Cutie, Cracker, Afghan Whigs, Luna, Foo Fighters, Radiohead and Spoon, to name a few.

My favorite book is a tie between T. Harry Williams biography of Huey Long and Albert Speer’s Inside the Third Reich. Shelby Foote’s Civil War Trilogy is also good stuff.

SC Hotline: What is the best moment you had in a campaign?

Reading the newspaper the morning after T-Rav told Aaron Sheinin “That’s how I roll.”

I’m kidding.

Honestly? The best moment I ever had on a campaign? It was July 4, 2002, hands down. Sanford had won the Republican primary like eight days earlier and we had just beaten back the first round of negative ads from Jim Hodges. Anyway, we were dead tired. We had worked our asses off for months and Sanford finally left for a couple days vacation. Well myself, Daniel Layfield and C. Tyson Nettles took the Sanfords’ six-seat golf cart, loaded it up with beer, threw a CD player on the back of it and basically rode up and down the entire length of Sullivans Island all day long handing out “Sanford for Governor” coozies to all the pretty girls in bathing suits walking down to the beach. I seriously think that when I die and go to heaven that it’s going to be that day … playing over and over again. Well, except the part when the S.I.P.D. pulled us over and one of us almost got a “Golf Carting Under the Influence” citation. It was great, though. Sanford got back and asked us what we had done all weekend and we told him “grassroots campaigning.”

SC Hotline: What is the worst moment you had in a campaign?

Folks: Watching the Republican Governor I helped elect sit back and do absolutely nothing while one of his appointees beat up on T-Rav. Total coward move on Sanford’s part. I lost a lot of respect for him.

SC Hotline: Do you have any hobbies besides politics?

Folks: I love to bodysurf, play chess, shoot hoops, throw darts, bowl for money, shoot pool and play the guitar and piano. I also have a large collection of sports cards (all worthless) and shark’s teeth (equally worthless).

SC Hotline: Who is your political hero?

Anybody who is honest with the people.

SC Hotline: What is you best political accomplishment?

Folks: The fact that I’m still here.

SC Hotline: What would do if you were president for a day?

Pardon myself for anything I might do in the future.

SC Hotline: What are the Secrets of you success?

I don’t know that I’ve been around long enough to really be successful in my own right. I work hard and generally give people advice that makes sense. This stuff isn’t rocket science. Find right thing. Do right thing. It amazes me that so many people in politics are so obtuse.

SC Hotline: What are your biggest gripes?

Folks: No gripes. Life’s too short.

SC Hotline: What are your predictions for 2007?

Folks:

1- We’ll break $7 billion on the state budget.
2- The Mitt Romney balloon will pop in South Carolina
3- Jeffrey Sewell will start a nationwide “Ascot” phenomenon.