NVIC Vaccine News

Freedom to Dissent and the New Blacklist in America

By Barbara Loe Fisher
Published July 01, 2019 in Rights & Ethics


Freedom to Dissent and the New Blacklist in America

 

To activate and view hyperlinked references, please click once and then click any superscripted number below to access a hyperlinked reference, or scroll down to the bottom of the article to view all hyperlinked references.

Every July 4 since our nation declared independence in 1776, Americans have celebrated this truth:

“…that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” 1

The Declaration of Independence rejected unjust laws imposed by a privileged ruling class. The guiding principles of the Declaration of Independence were codified into the Bill of Rights to limit the power of government and protect our unalienable natural rights.

The First Amendment of the Constitution states that:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” 2

Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Freedom of Thought, Conscience, Religion

After World War II, natural rights were defined internationally as human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights published in 1948 states: 3

“Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person;” and

“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood; and

“No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks;” and

“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance;” and

“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

These are among the globally recognized human rights that protect individuals and minorities from discrimination and the kind of government oppression that President Thomas Jefferson talked about when he warned:

“All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression.” 4

Freedom to Dissent Hallmark of Freedom

silence

The legal right to dissent has been a hallmark of freedom in America. Unlike in authoritarian governments, 5 in our country, citizens have the right and responsibility to participate in the law making process. We have – or should have - the freedom to openly debate government policy, law and ethics in public forums and dissent from the majority without fear of intimidation or punishment. 6 7

But two and a half centuries after the Declaration of Independence, that is changing.

Autonomy, Protection of Bodily Integrity Attacked By New Ruling Class

An unprecedented attack on civil liberties and the right to dissent is being led by a new privileged ruling class whose power is not derived from aristocratic titles, wealth and political influence linked to genetic heritage and ownership of land. The power of the new ruling class in America is derived from academic titles, wealth and political influence linked to corporatized government 8 9 10 11 12 13 that seeks ownership of our physical bodies. 14 15 16 17 18

The right to autonomy and protection of bodily integrity is the first human right. 19 20 If you cannot voluntarily decide when and for what reason you are willing to risk your life or the life of your child, your unalienable right to life and liberty has been taken from you.

Whether you do or do not agree that every liability free vaccine product sold by pharmaceutical companies is safe and effective, or that federal vaccine policy is anchored with sound science, or that mandatory vaccination laws without informed consent protections are moral, you should take a hard look at recent actions by government officials and corporations to censor and repeal civil liberties that safeguard your human right to autonomy and protection of bodily integrity.

Defaming People and Delegitimizing Civil Liberties with Yellow Journalism

The extraordinary efforts by industry, medical trade and government to delegitimize free speech about vaccination unless it conforms with government policy has given a green light to corporate-owned mainline media outlets to use name calling and other yellow journalism techniques to legitimize the stripping of civil liberties from public health laws. Today, any parent, 21 22 23 doctor, 24 25 research scientist, 26 27 journalist, 28 29 celebrity, 30 31 32 politician, 33 philanthropist 34 35 or non-governmental organization 36 37 38 asking questions about the quality of vaccine science or the ethics of laws requiring use of a liability-free pharmaceutical product that can harm or fail to work, is immediately labeled as an “anti-vaxxer” 39 40 41 42 and publicly defamed, 43 humiliated, 44 discredited 45 and relentlessly targeted for personal and professional ruin. 46 47 48

When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child and parents describe what happened, their suffering is magnified when journalists gaslight them for witnessing in the public square. It is a shameful display of ignorance and prejudice against biologically vulnerable children and their parents who have been compelled to unequally bear the risks of vaccination for society, and are being demonized for advocating for safer vaccines and more scientifically informed and humane public health policies. 49 50 51 52 Most of all, it is a dangerous assault on freedom of speech by a profession that should be pushing back on discrimination and the erosion of civil liberties, not actively condoning it.

Despite Congress officially acknowledging the fact that vaccines can injure and kill in the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, 53 and even though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2011 that government licensed vaccines are “unavoidably unsafe” so that the multi-billion dollar vaccine industry cannot be held accountable in a court of law for failing to improve the safety of vaccine products, 54 today anyone who publicly questions vaccine safety or advocates for voluntary vaccination is treated like a criminal.

Well-referenced, factual information about vaccine risks and failures is being automatically slapped with the label “misinformation” so it can be censored. 55

Those who advocate for informed consent protections in vaccine laws are called “anti-vaccine” so they can be silenced.

benjamin franklin quote

Benjamin Franklin, co-author of the Declaration of Independence, 56 warned:

“Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government; when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins.” 57

Half of US Adults Doubt Vaccine Safety

When people are oppressed by unjust laws and speak up, those in control of lawmaking often resort to censorship to silence calls for reform and force compliance. Your freedom to think, speak and dissent has been put in jeopardy this year at precisely the same time that growing numbers of people in the U.S., Europe and other nations are expressing increased, legitimate concern about the safety of vaccines. 58 59

A recent poll found that nearly half of American adults doubt vaccine safety and of the 45 percent who do, 16 percent were influenced by online information, 16 percent were influenced by knowledge of past secrets and wrongdoing by the pharmaceutical industry and 12 percent were influenced by information from medical experts. 60

Government Officials Call for Censorship of Freedom of Speech on the Internet

So this year, powerful federal legislators have sent a series of letters telling the CEO’s of Google, Facebook and Amazon 61 62 that, “there is no evidence to suggest that vaccines cause life-threatening or disabling diseases,” and that, “the dissemination of unfounded and debunked theories about the dangers of vaccination a great risk to public health.” 63 The social media platforms were directed to remove vaccine “misinformation” and replace it with “medically accurate information.”

This year Americans have watched government health officials making false statements in congressional hearings denying that vaccines like MMR cause brain inflammation and claiming that doctors can predict which children will be harmed. 64 65 And even though thousands of parents traveled to those hearings stacked with witnesses blaming “anti-vaccine misinformation” for disease outbreaks, not one individual was allowed to testify offering a different perspective. 66 67 The FDA Commissioner even threatened state legislators that if they did not restrict or remove vaccine exemptions, the federal government would step in and “mandate certain rules about what is and isn’t permissible when it comes to allowing people to have vaccine exemptions.” 68 69 70

denied

After thousands of Americans showed up at public hearings in multiple states to testify against proposed laws to remove vaccine exemptions, 71 72 73 by June only the state of Washington had eliminated the conscientious belief exemption for MMR vaccine, 74 and Maine had eliminated both the religious and conscientious belief exemption for all vaccines. 75

Then, on June 13, 2019, the New York legislature suddenly rammed a bill to repeal the religious exemption to vaccination through both the Assembly and Senate in one day with no public hearings. 76 77 78 This legislative coup completely cut the citizens of New York out of participating in the law making process. 7980 Within hours, the Governor of New York signed the bill into law and issued a press release quoting one of the bill’s sponsors declaring, “I am incredibly proud that science has won with the passage of this bill. We should be taking medical advice from medical professionals, not strangers on the internet spreading pseudo-science misinformation.”  81

In the weeks leading up to the vote, major newspapers published editorials. 82 83 84 The Partnership for New York City, which represents more than 350 major city employers, including Pfizer, Google, Microsoft and other corporations, also sent a letter to legislators calling for an end to the religious vaccine exemption. 85 86

Many of the lobbyists argued that no major religion has a tenet opposing vaccination, even though vaccine products were not being mandated by governments until long after the world’s major religions were founded. 87 In addition, the U.S. constitution prohibits our government from requiring citizens holding sincere personal spiritual or religious beliefs to identify with an organized religion or be a member of a certain church in order to receive equal protection under the law. 88

The justification for violating the religious freedom of New York residents 89 was primarily based on more than 1,000 cases of measles reported in 28 states this year, with 800 cases identified in several New York City neighborhoods, although there have been no reported measles deaths or injuries. 90  About 75 percent of the New York measles cases have been confirmed in unvaccinated persons with the majority living in orthodox Jewish communities holding sincere religious beliefs opposing the use of vaccines. 91 92 About 97 percent of children attending kindergarten in New York have received two doses of MMR vaccine compared to more than 94 percent of school children nationally. 93

Government health officials and the media blame unvaccinated school children for measles outbreaks. However, on May 25 NVIC published a special report on the history of measles and MMR vaccine providing documented evidence that MMR vaccine failures and waning immunity in vaccinated adults are equally responsible for reported measles outbreaks in highly vaccinated populations like ours. 94

doctor

The illusion of durable MMR vaccine herd immunity is rapidly dissolving.  Measles is being transmitted by vaccinated persons, who are subclinically infected but are not being identified or reported because they show few or no symptoms, while unvaccinated persons fully expressing measles symptoms are being identified, reported and very well publicized. This information is not part of the public conversation when government officials and the media talk about measles outbreaks because it calls into question the accuracy of the narrative simplistically scapegoating unvaccinated children and their parents. 95

Since January, America has been operating under a perceived state of emergency. 96 97 98That happened after the World Health Organization announced that “the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate” - termed “vaccine hesitancy” - is one of top 10 “threats” to global health. 99 100 101 102The word “threat” is defined as one “regarded as a possible source of harm or danger.” 103 It is often used during wartime to elicit fear and hatred of an enemy that a government considers to be a danger to national security.

In any war, real or perceived, rational thinking is the first casualty of fear, which makes it easier for people to agree to a loss of freedom in exchange for a promise of protection from harm.

Just like in 2015 when cases of measles were reported at Disneyland, 104 105 106 107 this year there have been calls for public identification, criminal prosecution and imprisonment of unvaccinated people and parents who don’t vaccinate their children.108 109 110 Anyone who defends the informed consent ethic and criticizes the use of coercion to force compliance with one-size-fits all vaccine policies is called an “anti-vaxxer” and subjected to personal attacks on his or her intelligence, integrity, motives and patriotism in the name of protecting the public health.

blacklist

The litmus test question is: Are you or have you ever been anti-vaccine? If you hesitate, qualify your answer, express doubt or admit to being currently or previously associated with a person or organization labeled as “anti-vaccine,” it is over. You are publicly condemned as an “anti-vaxxer” and a danger to society for infecting others with your opinions, values and beliefs. You are blacklisted and turned into a horrible warning for any person like you who is even thinking about speaking up. Often people recant or throw their friends and colleagues under the bus when threatened with excommunication from society for being labeled “anti-vaccine.”

There was another dark era in American history during the mid-20th century, known as “The Blacklist” or “McCarthy” era, when government officials operated in a climate of fear under a perceived state of emergency that was used to justify taking extreme measures in the name of protecting national security. Beginning in 1947 through 1954, federal legislators suspected there were “communist sympathizers” in government agencies and working in the fields of journalism and entertainment.

Congress held a series of hearings in the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) followed by U.S. Senate hearings chaired by Senator Joseph McCarthy (R-WI). 111 112 113 Americans suspected of being a threat to national security were summoned to publicly testify about their personal philosophical, religious and political beliefs and association with persons or organizations believed to be communist sympathizers, a term that became synonymous with being “anti-American.”

The litmus test question was: “Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?” If the person answered “yes” or refused to answer, he or she risked being blacklisted as a political subversive who infected others with opinions, values and beliefs that posed a danger to national security. Hundreds of Americans, including authors, artists, filmmakers and high profile Hollywood celebrities, were persecuted for their beliefs, sent to prison, denied employment or left the country in self-exile in order to find work. Often people recanted or threw their friends and colleagues under the bus when threatened with excommunication from society for being labeled “anti-American.”

Broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow, 114 who helped unmask the smear tactics used by Senator Joseph McCarthy that ended government inquisitions of the “blacklist era,” observed that:

“The right of dissent, or, if you prefer, the right to be wrong, is surely fundamental to the existence of a democratic society. That’s the right that went first in every nation that stumbled down the trail toward totalitarianism.” 

On June 20, despite thousands of parents testifying against a bill that essentially eliminates the medical vaccine exemption in a state that has no personal belief exemption, 115 the California legislature Assembly Health Committee voted to give absolute power to state health officials to reject any exemption granted by a doctor that does not conform with federal vaccine policy. 116 In other states, legislators are moving to pass laws allowing doctors to vaccinate minor children without the knowledge or consent of their parents. 117 118

medical record

Americans are being coerced and denied not only an education, but medical care, insurance and employment for refusing one or more government recommended vaccines. 119  120 121 If you or your child have already suffered vaccine reactions or struggle with chronic brain and immune system problems that doctors deny can be made worse by getting re-vaccinated, you know what it feels like to live in perpetual fear that you will be hunted down and forced to get vaccines that could cause further damage to health. 122

If your life has not been touched by a vaccine reaction, there is no guarantee it won’t happen tomorrow. 123  Government electronic medical records tracking systems are monitoring every vaccine you do and do not take 124 125 and many new vaccines are being developed by industry and government that will be mandated for children and adults alike. 126

Do you want to be forced to use every new vaccine Big Pharma produces 127 and public health officials mandate without your voluntary informed consent?  128129 And what will be done to you if you refuse to comply? Will you be able to get a driver’s license or passport, shop in a store, go to a football game, enter a hospital emergency room, get on a bus or plane, or simply leave your home if you cannot show proof that you have complied with government vaccine policies? Will your unvaccinated children be taken from you? Will you be criminally prosecuted and imprisoned?

What has happened this year are signs that America may well be stumbling down the trail toward totalitarianism by allowing our inalienable rights to be taken away. But we, the people, have the power in our constitutional republic to secure our civil liberties if we refuse to live in fear and defend freedom of speech and conscience and the right to dissent, and if we elect lawmakers who cherish freedom as much as we do.

Unjust laws enacted today can be repealed tomorrow, but only if we wake up, stand up and never, ever give up. 

Be the one who never has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.

It’s your health, your family, your choice. And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.

 
 

References:

1 National Archives. Declaration of Independence.

2 Bill of Rights Institute. U.S. Constitution The Bill of Rights: Amendment 1.  

3 United Nations General Assembly. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Dec. 10, 1948.

4 Jefferson T. Extract from Thomas Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address. Mar. 4, 1801. Monticello Thomas Jefferson Foundation.

5 Encyclopedia Brittanica. Authoritarianism. Jan. 30, 2009.

6 American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Freedom of Expression: ACLU Briefing Paper Number 10. UpCounsel.

7 Brian B. Suppression of Dissent. What It Is and What to Do About It. Social Medicine 2012; 6(4): 246-248.

8 Barrio JR. Consensus Science and the Peer Review. Mol Imaging Biol 2009; 11(5): 293.

9 Fagone J. Will This Doctor Hurt Your Baby? Philadelphia Magazine May 27, 2009.

10 Drutman L. How Corporate Lobbyists Captured American Democracy. The Atlantic Apr. 20, 2015.

11 Fisher BL. Here Comes the 21st Century Cures Act: Say Goodbye to Vaccine Safety ScienceNVIC Newsletter July 21, 2015.

12 Vanbergen G. The Rise of the Corporatocracy. The European Financial Review Jan. 20, 2016.

13 Breaking News Time. Doctors Are the Highest Paid Workers in EVERY State in the Nation. Jan. 18, 2019.

14 National Vaccine Information Center. NVIC Calls 21st Century Cures Act “A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” and Urges Presidential Veto to Protect Public Health. NVIC Press Release Dec. 8, 2016.

15 Smith TC. Vaccine Rejection and Hesitancy: A Review and Call to Action. Open Forum Infectious Diseases 2017; 4(3).

16 Drug Companies Pay FDA and NIH to Fast Track and Market VaccinesThe Vaccine Reaction Sept. 28, 2018.

17 Fisher BL. WHO, Pharma, Gates & Government: Who’s Calling the Shots? NVIC Newsletter Jan. 27, 2019.

18 Fisher BL. No Mercy for Mothers or Their Vaccine Injured Children. The Vaccine Reaction Apr. 25, 2019.

19 Coggon J, Miola J. Autonomy, Liberty and Medical Decision-Making. Camb Law J 2011; 79(3): 523-547.

20 Cohen J, Ezer T. Human Rights in Patient Care: A Theoretical and Practical Framework. Health and Human Rights Journal 2013; 15(2).

21 Editorial Board. How to Inoculate Against Anti-Vaxxers. New York Times Jan. 19, 2019.

22 Norton A. What Drives ‘Anti-Vaxxer’ Parents? It’s a Mixed Bag, Study Shows. US News & World Report Mar. 21, 2019.

23 Salzberg S. Measles is Back. Blame the Anti-Vax Movement. Forbes Apr. 29, 2019.

24 Caplan A. Revoke the license of any doctor who opposes vaccination. Washington Post Feb. 6, 2015.

25 Gallagher S. When an anti-vaccination organization convinces a physician to join their ranks. Medpage Today’s KevinMD Feb. 26, 2018.

26 Mold M, Umar D, King A, Exley C. Aluminum in brain tissue in autism. J Trace Elements Med Biol 2018; 46: 76-82.

27 Greenfield P. Professor who claims vaccines linked to autism funded through University portal. The Guardian June 1, 2019.

28 Orange County Register. CORRECTION re: August 4, 2008 article “Dr. Paul Offit Responds.” April 18, 2011.

29 Fisher BL. Gardasil Vaccine, Katie Couric and Cyber-Lynching. NVIC Newsletter Jan. 14, 2014

30 Offit P. Six times celebrities pushed dangerous bad science. Salon July 29, 2018.

31 Hamilton IA. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey recorded a podcast with a fitness star who recently said that vaccine cause autism. Business Insider Mar. 13, 2019.

32 Jackson D. Jessica Biel is Labeled an “Anti-Vaxxer” After Posing with Known Vaccine Opposer Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. US Magazine June 12, 2019.

33 Allen A. How the anti-vaccine movement crept into the GOP mainstream. Politico May 27, 2019.

34 Sun L, Brittain A. Meet the New York couple donating millions to the anti-vax movement. Washington Post June 19, 2019.

35 Kucinich J. DNC Pockets $50,000 from Anti-Vaxx Activists. The Daily Beast June 20, 2019.

36 Wheeling K. A Brief History of Vaccine Conspiracy Theories. Pacific Standard Jan. 3, 2017.

37 Gerth J. Measles shmeasles? Louisville Forum wrongly gives anti-vaxxer group a platform. Louisville Courier Journal June 10, 2019

38 National Vaccine Information Center. Wikipedia June 21, 2019.

39 Oxford Dictionary. Definition of Anti-vaxxer.

40 Merriam Webster Dictionary. Definition of Anti-vaxxer

41 O’Connor PT, Kellerman S. From ‘anti-vac’ to ‘anti-vaxxer.’ Grammarphobia Dec. 14, 2018.

42 Granlund D. Anti-vaxxer thinking. GazettXtra Mar. 10, 2019.

43 Fisher BL. Amy Wallace and Yellow Journalism. NVIC NewslettervSept. 9, 2010.

44 Suh J. People Who Don’t Vaccinate Their Kids Are Selfish. Cosmopolitan Apr. 11, 2017.

45 Bruni F. The Real Horror of the Anti-Vaxxers. New York Times Mar. 9, 2019.

46 Fisher BL. Class & Race Profiling in the Vaccine Culture War. NVIC Newsletter July 17, 2017.

47 Fisher BL. Baylor’s Doc Hotez Bullies Parents of Vaccine Injured Children. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 10, 2018.

48 Lubrano A. Anti-vaccine parents are often white, college-educated, ‘Whole Foods moms’The Philadelphia Inquirer Apr. 10, 2019.

49 Fisher BL, Williams K, Wrangham TK. NVIC response to an inquiry from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the implementation of the federal vaccine injury compensation program (VICP) after passage of the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury ActNational Vaccine Information Center July 11, 2014.

50 Fisher BL. A Guide to Reforming Vaccine Policy and Law. National Vaccine Information Center 2014 (Rev. 2017).

51 Offit P. Facebook, Twitter Are Blocking Dangerous Antivaccine Posts. It’s About TimePhiladelphia Inquirer Mar. 4, 2019.

52 Shaffer B. “Anti-Vaxxer” Parents Try to Educate Editorial Cartoonist. Lew Rockwell Apr. 1, 2019.

53 Public Law 99-660. Title III – National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986. 42 USC 300aa. Nov. 14, 1986.

54 National Vaccine Information Center. National Vaccine Information Center Cites “Betrayal” of Consumers by U.S. Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big PharmaBusiness Wire Feb. 23, 2011.

55 Roberts J. With Vaccine Misinformation Libraries Walk a Fine Line. Undark Mar. 22, 2019.

56  History.com. Benjamin Franklin. Jan. 18, 2019.

57 Biography.com. Benjamin Franklin Biography. June 19, 2019.

58 Boseley S. Survey shows crisis of confidence in vaccines in parts of Europe. The Guardian June 19, 2019.

59  Miles T. Vaccine doubts spread like disease, must be taken offline: vaccine chiefReuters May 21, 2019.

60 American Osteopathic Association. 45% of American Adults Doubt Vaccine Safety, According to Survey. June 14, 2019.

61 Congressman Adam Schiff News Release. Schiff Sends Letter to Amazon CEO Regarding Anti-Vaccine Misinformation. Mar. 1, 2019.

62 Office of Sen. Bob Mendendez. Menendez Questions Facebook on Dangerous Anti-vaccine Content. Press Release June 18, 2019.

63 Press Release. Schiff Sends Letter to Google, Facebook Regarding Anti-Vaccine Misinformation. Congressman Adam Schiff Feb. 14, 2019.

64 U,S. House Committee on Energy & Commerce. Hearing on “Confronting a Growing Public Health Threat: Measles Outbreaks in the U.S.” Feb. 27, 2019.

65 Fisher BL. Dr. Fauci, It’s Not Nice to Fool Congress About Vaccine Reactions. The Vaccine Reaction Feb. 28, 201

66 U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions. Hearing on “Vaccine Save Lives: What Is Driving Preventable Disease Outbreaks?” Mar. 5, 2019.

67 Sun L. Senate panel warns of dangers of anti-vaccine movementWashington Post/Stars & Stripes Mar. 5, 2019.

68 Cohen E, Bonifield J. FDA chief: Federal government might step in if states don’t change lax vaccine laws. CNN Feb. 20, 2019.

69 Hoyt R, Pittman T. Health officials reacts to FDA chief comment on vaccine exemptionsTHV 11 Feb. 22, 2019.

70 Parmet W. Gottlieb’s threat of federal vaccine mandates: questionable legality, poor policyStat News Feb. 28, 2019.

71 National Vaccine Information Center. More Than 100 Bills Proposed in 30 States to Expand, Restrict, Eliminate Vaccine Informed Consent Rights. Feb. 17, 2019.

72 St. George J, Kruegel E. Controversial vaccination bill abandoned in Colorado Senate. Fox 31 News May 2, 2019.

73 Glucklich E. In Salem, Democrats Will Scrap Controversial Vaccine Bill to Appease Republicans. The Lund Report May 13, 2019.

74 Flaccus G, LaCorte R. Parents no longer can claim personal, philosophical exemption for measles vaccine in Washington. KOMO News May 100, 2019.

75 Thistle S. Maine Senate reverses course, ends religious exemptions for vaccines. Portland Press Herald May 14, 2019.

76 New York State Assembly. A02371 Bill to Repeal Exemption to Vaccination for Religious Beliefs. Bill History Summary of Actions. June 13, 2019.

77 Allyn B. New York Ends Religious Exemptions for Required Vaccines. NPR June 13, 2019.

78 Precious T. New York Ends Vaccination Exemptions Based on Religious Beliefs. Buffalo News June 13, 2019.

79 National Vaccine Information Center. New York Bill Removing Religious Vaccine Exemption Turned Into Law on One Day with No Public Hearings. NVIC Statement June 13, 2019.

80 Silberstein R. New York revokes religious exemption for vaccinations. KOCO 5 News Jan. 14, 2019.

81 Office of NY Governor Andrew Cuomo. Press Release: Governor Cuomo Signs Legislation Removing Non-Medical Exemptions from School Vaccination Requirements. June 13, 2019.

82 Editorial. Infecting People Isn’t a Religious Right. New York Times May 21, 2019.

83 Advance Media NY Editorial Board (Syracuse). Repeal NY’s religious exemption for vaccine. Apr. 14, 2019.

84 Editorial. Albany lawmakers shouldn’t duck vote on measles vaccine. Newsday June 3, 2019.

85 Deffenbach R. City’s largest business group supports bill to end religious exemption for vaccines. Crain’s New York Business June 7, 2019.

86 Partnership for New York City. Members.

87 McNeil DG. Religious Objections to the Measles Vaccine Get the Shots, Faith Leaders Say. New York Times Apr. 26, 2019.

88 Sherr v Northport – East Northport U. Free Sch. D.United States District Court, E.D. New York. Summary. Oct. 21, 1987. 

89 Brum R, Cutler N. Vaccinations: ‘You don’t change people’s religious beliefs by passing a law.’ Rockland County Westchester News June 14, 2019.

90 CDC. Measles Cases and Outbreaks. June 10, 2019. 

91 CDC. Measles Cases and Outbreaks. Rockland County, New York City. June 24, 2019. 

92 Darrach A. Measles outbreak pits orthodox media against anti-vaxxer movement. Columbia Journalism Review Apr. 10, 2019.

93 CDC. Vaccination Coverage for Selected Vaccines and Exemption Rates Among Children in Kindergarten – United States, 2017-2018 School YearMMWR Oct. 12, 2018; 67(40): 1115-1122.

94 Fisher BL. What’s Going On With Measles? The Science and Politics of Eradicating MeaslesNVIC Newsletter May 25, 2019.

95 Belluz J. Measles is Back in the US Because States Make It Too Easy to Avoid Vaccines. Vox Feb. 16, 2019.

96 Karlis N. The anti-vaxxocalypse: What happens to humanity if vaccine hesitancy continues? Salon Jan. 17, 2019.

97 Adalja AA. Today’s skepticism of vaccines could be as big of a health threat as HIVUSA Today Feb. 1, 2019.

98 Associated Press. Over 1,000 People Impacted by Measles Quarantined at Los Angeles Universities. Apr. 26, 2019.

99 World Health Organization. Ten Threats to Global Health in 2019. January 2019.

100 Trimble M. WHO: Anti-Vaccine Movement A Top Threat in 2019. US News & World Report Jan. 16, 2019.

101 Fisher BL. WHO, Pharma, Gates & Government: Who’s Calling the Shots? NVIC Newsletter Jan. 27, 2019.

102 United Nations. Misinformation and growing distrust on vaccines, ‘dangerous as a disease’ says UNICEF chief. June 28, 2019.

103 American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Definition of threat. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co. 2016.

104 Fisher BL. Measles in Disneyland: Third MMR Shot and Vaccine Exemption Ban? NVIC Newsletter Jan 28, 2015.

105 Berezow A. Jail 'anti-vax" parents. USA Today Jan. 28, 2015.

106 Mathews J. Unvaccinated Families’ Addresses Should Be Made PublicTime Magazine Feb. 11, 2015.

107 Urist J. Should you be able to sue a parent for not vaccinating their children? Today Feb. 2, 2015.

108 Coleman PA. The Anti-Vaxxers Spreading Measles in Portland Should Be Arrested. Yahoo Feb. 26, 2019.

109 Siegel E, Berezow A. Opting Out of Vaccines Should Opt You Out of American Society. Scientific American Mar. 21, 2019.

110 Kayyem J. Anti-vaxxers are dangerous. Make them face isolation, fines, arrests. Washington Post Apr. 30, 2019.

111 History.com. Hollywood 10. Dec. 16, 2009.

112 Andrews E. 7 Artists Whose Careers Were Almost Derailed by the Hollywood Blacklist. History.com Aug. 29, 2018.

113 Pufong MG. McCarthyism. The First Amendment Encyclopedia.

114 Biography.com. Edward R. Murrow Biography. Apr. 18, 2019.

115 Cornwall G, Chan D. Medical Exemptions From Vaccines Endanger Us AllSan Francisco Chronicle Feb. 1, 2019.

116 Oxford A. California Assembly committee backs vaccine exemption law. ABC 10 June 20, 2019.

117 Austermuhle M. Vaccines for Kids? New DC Bill Would Allow Minors to Get Shots Without Parental ConsentWAMU 9 Mar. 6, 2019.

118 Ollove M. Teens of “Anti-Vaxxers’ Can Get Their Own Vaccines, Some States Say. Pew Charitable Trust June 24, 2019.

119 Branham D. Anti-vaxxer parents are unwelcome at more Dallas clinics amid latest measles scare. Dallas Morning News Mar. 10, 2019.

120  Lardieri A. Company Fires 50 Employees for Not Getting Flu Shots. US News & World Report Nov. 22, 2017.

121 The Vaccine Reaction. Pennsylvania Bill Would Prevent Doctors From Refusing to Treat Unvaccinated Patients. May 22, 2019.

122 National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC). Cry for Vaccine Freedom Wall.

123 Greenfield B. Parents of Vaccine Injured Children Speak Out: ‘The Guilt’ Is Huge. Yahoo Parenting Feb. 17, 2015.

124 Daniel J, Coyle R, Chi A. Immunization Information Systems Help Track Vaccinations. HealthITBuzz Aug. 27, 2014.

125 CDC. 2018-2020 Immunization Information System (IIS) Strategic Plan: Dec. 27, 2017.

126 World Health Organization. WHO Product Development for Vaccines Advisory Committee (PDVAC) meeting. June 26-27, 2018.

127 LaVigne P. Global Vaccines Market Projected to Surge to $58 Billion by 2025The Vaccine Reaction Jan. 3, 2019.

128 Editorial: Ending religious exemption will not end epidemic. RecordOnline June 20, 2019.

129 Scientific American Staff. The U.S. Needs to Tighten Vaccination Mandates. June 24, 2019.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with an *

*
Name is a required field
*
Please enter a valid email address
*
Please enter a comment.
11 Responses to "Freedom to Dissent and the New Blacklist in America"
Commenter Name
Jan Halsell
Posted: 7/2/2019 12:11:27 PM
I agree that our personal soverignty is indeed being attacked by the ruling class. I do not believe any amount of protest,petition,vote or legal defense will change the course we are on . The ruling class have devised our legal system to work for them not us. The principles of Commercial Law is the law that all civilization is built upon and is both judicial and and non judicial.The entire world's commerce functions under the UCC Uniform Commercial Code, the corporate United States'version of Commercial Law.Every other law,code or statute is inferior and can be changed or overturned by it's authority. Which is why we can never win within our so called legal system . We need to understand and apply the rules of Commercial Law to win.
Commenter Name
Patty Freedom
Posted: 7/2/2019 2:36:21 PM
The ruling class believes each of us is nothing more than property of the state and our only role in life is to feed the corporations, in this case Big Pharma. Unfortunately, I don’t think most people care or they actually support the tyranny. For those of us who refuse to be raped, for how else can you describe being forcibly injected without consent, we must resist, knowing that we are morally right.
Commenter Name
Denise
Posted: 7/2/2019 4:14:55 PM
I had a brother who in the 1960s had his inoculations at 4 months, and had a severe reaction. Fever as high as the thermometer reads. Causing brain damage. Things were never the same for my family. He eventually passed away 10 years later as a result. Vaccines are toxic chemicals that are injected into the body that could harm. You never know until it’s too late.We should have the right to chose what we feel is best for our family. Not be forced and told you have to or else there are consequences. IT MUST STOP!
Commenter Name
Diane H
Posted: 7/2/2019 4:31:53 PM
Dear Jane Halsell...if you can offer advice as to how to “understand and apply the rules of Commercial Law to win” it would be so appreciated. I feel most helpless in this struggle against unjust governmental mandates, single-minded politicians, and super-wealthy/influential corporations. The only thing I know to do is question a political candidates intentions in this matter and vote accordingly, which does not give me much power since most are already compromised. It has become exceedingly difficult to even try to discuss this issue with others, as it is now a “black and white” situation... patriot or anti-vaxxer!
Commenter Name
Julie Williams
Posted: 7/2/2019 4:55:08 PM
On point pr It MUST be pointed out that during the McCarthy congressional era hearings - The people called into question were in fact members of and philosophical adherents to despotic communism - employing subversive tactics which if allowed to reach their end goal would have led to institutionalized totalitarian government - and indeed be anti-American. Fortunately they were called out and had to go crawling back into their dark corners although they should have rightly been deported or prosecuted for treason against our constitutional republic. Can you not see the irony of the correlation today? It exactly is communistic to force vaccinate by stripping individuals of their natural right to self governance and bodily autonomy. THAT IS (((COMMUNISM))) The denial of the individual of their natural rights -to serve the greater good? Hello? Yes - Lines must be drawn so that we can all enjoy and practice our personal beliefs as long as no harm comes to another from that practice. But beliefs don’t do anything - they are in our minds. They are mental constructs which are contained until put into physical action or inaction. Under communism - NO ONE is allowed to have or practice their own beliefs. Entire populations are forcibly swept into a mass of servile automotons answering to the borg if they step out of line. Surely the just fight against communism is being lost today and just as certainly - we will lose our rights if we don’t call it out and put (((them))) on the defensive. Early to mid century Communism led to the bloody red terrors of mass slaughter of intellectuals, professionals, writers, artists, and anyone who stood out as having a belief contrary to the official state dogma. The results being the same as what is happening today - convicted and guilty without any rights or recourse - people under communist regimes ALL over the world were tortured, raped and slaughtered during those times and these are well known FACTS, not hypothetical conjecture. That these facts are rarely mentioned today conveniently serves the agenda - an agenda of willful ignorance, the denial of facts, the silencing of logic and reason, the result will be the loss of our freedom of speech or any other right except to go online shopping. Truth speech is being called hate speech - because the haters of truth have climbed to the top and are trying to comprehensively take over our very lives. This ramble is attempting to point out that it’s communism which cannot be tolerated as it is the practical equivalent of totalitarianism. BAM You have NO MORE RIGHTS - period.
Commenter Name
perennial
Posted: 7/2/2019 6:53:50 PM
Thank you very much Barbara for your continuing devotion to the best principles which have distinguished the American form of government from all others. Sadly, these principles are under attack and must be defended before they are completely trampled. Your example of the low point in our history as demonstrated by the witch-hunts against American "Communists" is a good comparison to what is happening now regarding government vaccination "recommendations". The "Communists" who were being persecuted then, were individuals who dared to question the principles of unbridled "Capitalism" as the only economic system which was acceptable and those few, who were benefitting most from that oppressive system, needed to stop that questioning -- the oppressed masses be damned. Authoritarian government can come in the form of totalitarianism from the left or the right. The current form of American authoritarianism is a monstrous hybrid where the corporate control of government (fascism) is controlling government legislation through a "Democrat" Party Initiative of forced vaccination intended to lead to "Healthy People 20/20". I believe this is the time for all individuals of conscience in science, law, media and organizations of conscience like the Civil Liberties Union, to come out of the "closet" and confess their horror with the recent developments perpetrated by our bribed public officials. They need to used their skills and credentials to call press conferences and explain the dangers of what is happening regarding the erosion of our civil liberties and rights and the censoring of independent science. This calls for the next civil rights movement. What can be more personal than the right to your own body? Without that, you are a slave of the state whether it's called communism, fascism or capitalism? What
Commenter Name
Diane Maupin
Posted: 7/2/2019 11:11:21 PM
I am from California. Today, while shopping for groceries at Safeway the intercom system addressed vaccines encouraging parents to start their children's vaccines for the start of the new school season. They said it was for the greater good and protecting children from diseases such as MMR, FLU and DPT...It was scary to hear the lengthy vaccination persuasion that was being espoused in a grocery store. There seems to be no safe place from this kind manipulation and intrusion in our lives. I wanted to tell the pharmacists that it's not true, and at some point I realize I will have to speak up. Another time I was at Rite Aid and I was asked by a cashier before leaving the store if I had gotten my flu shot yet. Amazed I said, "no one has ever asked me that question before, certainly not from a cashier. The cashier replied that she was getting paid to ask that question. The lengths that Big Pharma will go to!
Commenter Name
Chris Graf
Posted: 7/3/2019 3:30:11 PM
"Diet, injections, and injunctions will combine, from a very early age, to produce the sort of character and the sort of beliefs that the authorities consider desirable, and any serious criticism of the powers that be will become psychologically impossible. Even if all are miserable, all will believe themselves happy, because the government will tell them that they are so." Bertrand Russel
Commenter Name
Magpie
Posted: 7/4/2019 2:11:22 PM
Thank you, Barbara, for your efforts to preserve our freedoms. I realize that vaccines are only one battle in a larger fight, whether we can regain control of our rights of self determination. I read once about two tenets of mind control. One was that you control belief by controlling the facts on which it is built. Thus, vaccine manufacturers get in front of public opinion by distributing their facts first to "key opinion leaders" like doctors and legislators. This happened before we even knew there was a fight on. The second leverages this seeded ground with the creation of mind guards. These are self-appointed keepers of these facts who attack anyone who challenges that received reality. By attacking other points of view and ridiculing non-believers, they put an electronic fence around unapproved facts that could cause a change of mind. California is a particularly bad example of how this works.
Commenter Name
David L
Posted: 7/4/2019 6:19:56 PM
Good morning. People are mobilizing and will join others from all around the world. Perhaps its fate that today is the 4th of July, and you will once again start to be fighting for our freedom, not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution -- but from health annihilation. We're fighting for our right to live, to exist in the manner we choose. We decide what to put into our bodies, not a lawmaker or pharmaceutical corporation. Now we are engaged in what can only be seen as a great civil war, testing whether our nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. The time has come for everyone who wants to be healthy and for the masses to speak out and campaign against the deliberate attacks on censorship of information and independent science, informed consent and the things potentially harmful to our health. An electronic burning of the books has begun. We must rally against policies that are being enacted by the corrupted lawmakers on behalf of the pharmaceutical corporations who have been profiting from the agenda to sicken the nation in the name of disease prevention and health. It is no longer ok to poison our bodies, our food, our water, our air, and our environment. It is not ok to have vaccines that are not properly tested, have thousands of reports of harm and then force people to take them regardless of genetic issues, risk or, religious and personal beliefs instead of a focus on improving the safety. The greed of one corporation harms all as well and must be stopped. Those who are pushing vaccines and pharmaceuticals for money are being harmed by those who push glyphosate and gmos over health, and they are being harmed by those who push Emfs and 5g over health, and they are being harmed by those who push biosolids over health, and they are being harmed by those who push plastic and chemicals over health and on and on. Greed of one harms all. Profits over peoples health must end. If we cannot look within as a nation and see that, then there is no hope for humanity to survive. We must change and do the right thing for the sake of humanity which truly now hangs on a precipice. The world may little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it will never forget what we can start. It is not just for you, but for all the living, and future generations that we are here, to now dedicate here to the great task remaining before us - the unfinished work so these catastrophic mistakes will not continue. That this nation, under God, shall have a new rebirth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. There have been certain points in human history where people have stood up to strong destructive forces against what often appeared to be insurmountable odds. Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot. Nothings going to change. The fact its just not. Begun, the health wars has...
Commenter Name
Barry Fortington
Posted: 4/21/2020 8:24:35 AM
All is for not without Freedom of Speech........Thank you for all you are doing ♥️ ! Barry Fortington, Ontario. Canada.
Make A Difference

NVIC is 100% funded by donations.
 

Connect with Us!

Ask 8 Information Kiosk

Explore FREE downloadable educational materials


NVIC Websites:
Opens in new tab, window
Opens an external site
Opens an external site in new tab, window