Soapboxes

Yesterday was election day, and here in New York the big hubbub was about Bloomberg overturning a law against a mayor serving more than two consecutive terms, despite once saying he would never do such a thing. And since he's a billionaire, his money all but ensured he would win a third term. He did win, but by only a small margin, making it even more unpalatable to many people who otherwise approve the job he's done but feel taken advantage of by his maneuvers. I have mixed feelings myself. On one hand, who does he think he is to just change a law so that he can be mayor for a third term? On the other hand, it was still the voters that decided the result. And is it so bad to have a billionaire mayor? You know he's not in the job for the money, because he was already rich, and has spent bucketloads of his own money to campaign. Maybe he really does have New York's best interests in mind. I know if I was a billionaire, I could think of several more enjoyable professions than mayor of New York. Then again, what does a billionaire know about the needs of all the millions of working class people in the city? Personally I think he's doing a pretty good job, and I don't another term is going to be such a bad thing. After all, the mayor of Boston has been in office for 5 terms!

The other thing I have to rant about is the people who are scared of getting vaccinated. The swine flu is here and while it isn't turning out to be quite as deadly as people were worried about, it is still serious, and important for people to be vaccinated if they are at risk. Some people still persist in thinking that the flu vaccine has high levels of mercury in it, but the truth is that it contains less mercury than a can of tunafish. The benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the risks, and that goes for childhood vaccinations as well. When you look at the destruction done by mumps, rubella, smallpox, polio, and measles in the past centuries and compare it with the health of children today, we have so much to thank scientists and doctors for. There have been many studies trying to find a link between childhood vaccinations and autism, but there has been no evidence of a link. I can understand a parent being worried about the welfare of their child, and health is a delicate subject, but I believe that it is in everyone's best interest to take advantage of the vaccines that are available and prevent many devastating diseases.

I also feel like ranting about the mosquitoes that have been proliferating in the unseasonably warm weather we've been having, but I'm tired of standing on this soapbox. Let me just thank the doctors and scientists again for making it possible for me not to have to die of malaria or yellow fever, and I'll save the anti-mosquito rant for another day.