“She has backed off of her most heated rhetoric saying she is now not against all vaccines …”
From Time, 2010

On the other hand:

“Time magazine’s article on the autism debate reports that the experts are certain ‘vaccines don’t cause autism; they don’t injure children; they are the pillar of modern public health.’ I say, ‘that’s a lie and we’re sick of it.’”
From Huffington Post, 2010 (after the 2010 Time piece)

Later in the same essay:

“Almost all kids get vaccines — injected toxins — very early in life.”

On whether she is “anti-vaccine”:

“People have the misconception that we want to eliminate vaccines. Please understand that we are not an antivaccine group.”
From Time, 2009

But then, in the same interview:

“I do believe sadly it’s going to take some diseases coming back to realize that we need to change and develop vaccines that are safe. If the vaccine companies are not listening to us, it’s their f___ing fault that the diseases are coming back. They’re making a product that’s s___.”

On the false choice between infections and autism:

“If you give us a safe vaccine, we’ll use it. It shouldn’t be polio versus autism.”
From Time, 2009

But measles is OK?

“If you ask a parent of an autistic child if they want the measles or the autism, we stand in line for the f___ing measles.”
(That quote, again, is from the same 2009 Time interview)

On the tone of her rhetoric:

“For all her bravado, Mccarthy prefers to cast herself as a voice of moderation. She claims her goal is to move the debate toward what she sees as the middle…”
From Time, 2010

On the other hand, see above! But also:

“We get that [vaccines are] saving lives, but the increase is ridiculous, you guys. Look, it’s plain and simple. It’s bull (EXPLETIVE DELETED).”
From “Larry King Live,” 2008

“During appearances on ‘Oprah,’ ’20/20,’ ‘Good Morning America,’ ‘Larry King Live’ and other televsion shows, she decried what she claimed was a vast and profitable conspiracy to vaccinate children, which she said was responsible for the great upsurge in autism diagnoses… she glibly and with irate dismissal of the scientific evidence accused pediatricians of poisoning children and then witholding treatments that could save them.”
From Time, 2010

In an interview with Cookie magazine, Peet says that as a new mother, she was nervous about vaccinations, wondering: “Why are all these necessary? Why are some people staggering them?” But she eventually decided to vaccinate her daughter according to the normal schedule: “I buy 99 percent organic food for Frankie, and I don’t like to give her medicine or put sunscreen on her,” Peet tells Cookie. “But now that I’ve done my research, vaccines do not concern me.” This is a celebrity profile, so Peet doesn’t get into many details, but she does have some harsh words for parents who choose not to vaccinate their children, since their kids benefit from the “shield” from disease provided by children who are immunized: “Frankly, I feel that parents who don’t vaccinate their children are parasites.”

Yet, as more parents choose not to vaccinate their kids that shield is becoming less effective. In one recent outbreak of measles in San Diego, 12 kids were infected. What happened? An unvaccinated 7-year-old traveled to Switzerland with his family, contracted the disease there and brought it back home, infecting some of his unvaccinated classmates and several infants in his pediatrician’s office, babies who were too young to have received the immunization.

As of early July, there had been 127 cases of measles in the United States this year, with incidences of the disease reported in 15 states, according to Reuters. That’s the most cases in a single year since 1997. To put that number in perspective, in 2007, there were just 30 cases in the United States in the whole year. It bears remembering that around the world, where many don’t have access to vaccines, measles remains a leading cause of death among poor children, killing about 250,000 annually.

Now, Peet vs. McCarthy is the celebrity smackdown du jour. Sure, we’d all be better off taking our medical advice from doctors and nurses rather than celebrities. Yet, everyone from the American Academy of Pediatrics to Salon columnist Dr. Rahul Parikh has tried to reassure parents that vaccines don’t cause autism. Meanwhile, public health officials worry when public confidence in vaccinations continues to erode, in part because of high-profile celebrity advocacy, like McCarthy’s Green Our Vaccines march and rally held in Washington, D.C., in June.

Paging Oprah’s producers! In the interest of equal time, having put McCarthy’s story out there, why not do a show focusing on the measles outbreak in San Diego? If you need to put a celebrity face on the issue, I’d wager Amanda Peet is available.

As they say on “The X Files”: The truth is out there.

But there is one thing she doesn’t mind.

“I DO like my lips,” she says. “I like my lips because my boyfriend says he likes my lips.”

The admiration, it seems, is mutual.

“We’re just like magnets when we get together in a room,” the pop princess says of beau Justin Timberlake. “He’s a good kisser, too.”

Sounds like they’re right ‘N Sync …

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And they’re excited about the kid, too

“We are thrilled to bring a bundle of love into our family.”

– Jenny McCarthy, announcing that she and husband John Asher expect their first baby in June.

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Sex and the shitty perfume?

Hope Matthew Broderick didn’t take it upon himself to ply wife Sarah Jessica Parker with fancy bottles of expensive perfume for Valentine’s Day.

The “Sex and the City” star’s a bit of a cheap date when it comes to her taste in toilet water.

“One of my favorites is Bonne Bell Skin Musk — it’s around $10,” Parker said when InStyle.com asked her to name her favorite scent. “I get it at Target, and I buy several bottles at a time.”

Eau for Pete’s sake! Throw in a few Bonne Bell Lip Smackers and you’ve got yourself a 13-year-old girl’s cosmetic dream.

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No envelope, please

“The nomination bit is the exciting bit; it’s horrible when someone has to go and win it all.”

– Judi Dench, speaking from experience about her fourth Oscar nomination in five years — for “Iris.”

The bald truth

And speaking of unusual predilections, Cate Blanchett has decided that bald is beautiful. Particularly when there’s a breeze.

Blanchett, who shaved her head for the German film “Heaven,” which was just shown at the Berlin Film Festival, says she’s really into being hairless.

“My agent advised me to wear a cap, but I don’t care,” the actress recently told Germany’s Stern magazine. “It feels great when the wind blows over your bald head.”

I’m gonna have to take her word on that.

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Like father, like sons?

Two of Bob Marley’s sons are in trouble with the Tallahassee heat after Florida police stopped them for speeding and got a big whiff of ganja.

“I walked up to the driver’s door and smelled a strong odor of marijuana,” Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Hugh Cutchen told Reuters. “In searching the vehicle we found eight big joints of marijuana.” Not to mention rolling papers and other drug paraphernalia.

Julian Marley, 26, and Stephen Marley, 29, both reggae musicians like their late father, were hauled in on possession charges and later released on bail.

Hope they didn’t run into the sheriff at the station.

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Miss something? Read yesterday’s Nothing Personal.

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Specials

Tonight’s highbrow sweeps special from Fox: Banned in America: The World’s Sexiest Commercials 2 (8 p.m., Fox). Carmen Electra hosts.

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Talk

Rosie O’Donnell (syndicated) Mariah Carey, Susan Lucci

David Letterman (CBS) “Late Show Backstage”: Rerun segments of appearances by some of Dave’s favorite guests are interspersed with new segments where the guests reminisce about their “Late Show” gigs. Tonight: Regis Philbin interviews Jerry Seinfeld and Danny DeVito.

Jay Leno (NBC) Martin Short, Kobe Bryant

Conan O’Brien (NBC) Jenny McCarthy, Jimmy Fallon