The Free Radical

Last year we established Woodpecker as Eagle’s messenger. I would always see several woodpeckers right before being graced by Eagle’s presence.

Unfortunately, there won’t be any photos of Eagle included in this post. I swear that Eagle can see from his vantage in the sky the moment I press the button to turn my camera on; that’s right when he ducks out of view… every freakin’ time!

There were three eagles, two circling above the river toward the end of our walk, and a third one flew over the truck as we were driving home on the highway. So what’s it all about?

Recently I’ve been very busy finishing up the latest Newsletter for imminent release. These are the last clarifications within the old framework.

Often, the path through the forest of information is difficult to discern, especially when the way up ahead is obscured in mist.

There are always those, however, the most ancient, who are ever-ready to point the way.

The issue at hand this day was the vaccine debate… and by debate, I mean hysteria.

This is the graffiti cliff where locals scrawl their monikers in the hard clay, exalting their temporal identities…

…until the spring melt and the rains washes their poor egos away… in soft pools of muck.

Woodpecker is primarily black and white. His expertise is discrimination. The red crest on his head accents his analytical skill, as he bores through the toughest wood to get at the real meat inside.

When it comes to the ongoing vaccine debate, there is no promise of resolution… except now, Woodpecker says there is. I only touched upon it briefly in my vaccine article prepared for tomorrow’s Newsletter. Why is it so hard to settle a dispute supposedly rooted in sound science?

The beauty of science is its utter transparency. There’s no secret data or hidden procedures; it all has to be spelled out clearly in order to be called science. And then the very best of scientific theories stands proud and utterly naked, inviting the whole world’s scrutiny, inviting questions and challenges; and if the theory is to survive, it must meet those challenges head-on and answer all those questions satisfactorily. And then, happily, the theory goes on to inform future generations of its proven victories, supplying them with a valuable tool for predicting outcomes whenever its rigorous science is employed.

That’s how science works.

I, for one, would like to see the vaccine debate resolved once and for all. The ONLY way that can ever happen is if the vaccine industry lays all of the science bare, spelling out comprehensively the science behind vaccines, the theory of herd immunity, and how all this should relate to public health policy. In order to be called science, it all has to be nailed down in exquisite detail, so the compiled/compiling data can be held up to the theory in order to evaluate how viable the theory really is. It has to answer every rational concern with impeccable science. It has to clearly define the criteria for data to be included. It has to account adequately for its failures of predictive ability as well as its successes. All of the variables have to be identified.

Again, that’s how science works.

One is really left wondering, why hasn’t this already been done, long ago? Surely, if vaccine science is as valid and unassailable as the marketers would have us all believe, then comprehensively laying out the fully explicated science would very much be in the best interests of vaccine manufacturers. Furthermore, there is no lack of funds available for such an undertaking. The vaccine industry profits billions every year. It would be cost-effective and rather easy to detail the science of vaccines for the purposes of inviting peer and public scrutiny and comment, so that everyone on the globe finally has the chance to fully understand the nuts and bolts which supposedly informs public health policy in most developed countries.

This was my train of thought for most of my walk. It was endorsed by eagles. They shouted “Yes! Demand clarity and total transparency,” from their lofty vantage above the fray.

The time for resolution is now.