Published: August 07, 2008 12:21 am            

Previously Unreleased

Celebrities and good causes

Amanda Peet was on Good Morning America Tuesday in support of vaccines for children. She'd gotten some flak after she was quoted in "Cookie" magazine as saying parents who don't vaccinate their children are "parasites."

This of course brought Jenny McCarthy to mind, who believes there is a link to autism and vaccines. This is not a new theory, it's been around for many years, and the debate is still on.

After using lots of medical terms and dismissing claims that there could be a link between autism and vaccines, and explaining that the media isn't doing its job correctly, Peet was asked what her theory is to the rise in autism.

Then she said: "I'm not a doctor." And, she said part of why she wanted to become a "spokesperson" (she held a press conference with the American Academy of Pediatrics later that day) was to tell people "please don't listen to me."

She thinks we give too much credence to the opinions of celebrities. She thinks we should just follow the opinions of experts. I wish they'd asked Amanda what she is an expert on, so I would know when to do what she says. I think I will just follow her own advice about not listening to her.

Celebrities are just like us. We all have a job to do, we all have opinions. I happen to think we should all feel comfortable expressing our opinions, and expect to be challenged ... even the experts.



Something to say



One celebrity people have listened to for 43 years, thankfully, is about to make some noise again. The annual Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association is just around the corner.

A new feature of this year’s broadcast is the Jerry Lewis Telethon Online Auction at www.mda.org/auctions. Starting Aug. 21, it features items donated by celebrities, MDA sponsors and other friends of the Association. Hundreds of items are up for bid in such categories as travel, unique experiences, electronics, golf, excursions, sports memorabilia and more. One section carries items from Harley-Davidson's 105th anniversary celebration. The auction ends Sept. 4.

Pledges and donations to the 2007 MDA Telethon brought in a record $63.8 million.



Karla's in the calendar



And still on the subject of good causes, I want to congratulate Karla Boutwell, our area contestant in the Mississippi Hotties calendar contest. It was announced this week that she made it into the top 12 contestants who will appear in the calendar, which is expected to be done in October.

The 12 women with the most votes in the contest held on MySpace were chosen out of a total of 62 women from across the state. Proceeds from the project, developed by J&C Marketing out of Brandon go to the Heather's T.R.E.E. Foundation which battles domestic violence. The Web site is heatherstree.org. You can learn more about Mary Heather Spencer, the foundation's namesake who was brutally murdered last September.

        

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