Friends,
As I am sure many of you have seen on TV or read in the newspaper, our right wing governor of Texas has ordered mandatory HPV vaccinations for all school aged girls 12 to 13 years old. Predictably...it has created a firestorm from the Governor's own right wing religious base even though the proposed law (decreed by the Gov, not passed by the legislature) would allow parents to choose to opt out for their children. Of course we are hearing the usual right wing babble about encouraging sex, etc.

One wonders why a conservative governor who has in all of his years in office, done absolutely nothing regarding the health and welfare of Texans (especially the young and the poor) would take such a controversial stand. Of course his former chief of staff is the main lobbyist in the State of Texas for Merck, the maker of the Gardisil vaccine.

It is an intriguing battle....and fun to watch. Does this guy really care about women getting cervical cancer or is he a cheap shill for the pharmaceutical industry? We don't know, but it is fun to watch...and in the end, perhaps some good will come from it.

Danny G.