Thanks, Debbie
Tuesday, Feb 3, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Great news…
* Back in the day, Illinois state Sen. Debbie Halvorson pushed hard to mandate the HPV vaccine in Illinois. But her proposal was met with an awful and ridiculously inappropriate pushback from the far-right Illinois Review publication and its anti-vax, witch hunt ilk. ArchPundit, among others, covered the story…
The Illinois Review is happy to show off stupidity and just vileness on a regular basis:
So when state Sen. Debbie Halvorson admitted she had HPV and worried others might get it, you would think she’d focus on her behavior that caused her to contract that sexually transmitted disease.
Halvorson would be most helpful by discussing the health consequences of pre- or extra-marital sex. Here are some potential topics:
* Halvorson could discuss the number of sex partners she has had throughout her lifetime and how each one increased the likelihood of contracting HPV.
* If Halvorson even had only one sex partner aside from her husband, she could discuss how one can contract HPV from a sole encounter.
* Halvorson could discuss whether she realized at the time her sex partner carried HPV, which most trusting, vulnerable women don’t.
* Halvorson could disclose whether it was her husband who passed HPV on to her after sleeping with other women, demonstrating another reason for chaste behavior outside the marriage bedroom.
* More uncomfortably, if Halvorson contracted HPV through rape, she could discuss ways to avoid rape.
Wut?
“She could discuss ways to avoid rape”?
Are you freaking kidding me?
* OK, so why do I say “witch hunt?” Well, because an element of the far-right wanted females to suffer and even die for their behavior…
Illinois Review wrote that Halvorson “does not advocate avoiding a risky behavior that leads not only to HPV but to 20-plus other STDs and their strains, along with unplanned pregnancy. Halvorson merely advocates trying to avoid the consequences of risky behavior. Shame on her,” (Stanek, “Debbie Does…??” 2007).
I just can’t with them.
- Perrid - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 10:34 am:
So for example, if the authors of that article don’t want to be punched in the nose then they should avoid writing articles that makes it more likely to be punched in the nose, right?
I’m 50/50 on whether you let this comment through Rich but I had to say it
- btowntruthfromforgottonia - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 10:34 am:
Speechless………
- Jocko - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 10:42 am:
==she could discuss ways to avoid rape==
Lemme guess Illinois Review. Not dress so provocatively? /S
- 47th Ward - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 10:44 am:
Illinois Review is awful and always has been. Unfortunately, what was once fringe is now mainstream among what is left of the Illinois Republican Party. The Illinois Review types won the ILGOP purity contest and our entire state is worse because of it.
Very good news on the cancer stats. I don’t expect IR co-founder Fran Eaton and former editor will celebrate it though.
- Jack in Chatham - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 10:47 am:
Dr. Stone’s Bar chart should be “in thousands”. Also HHS and Secretary Kennedy are not against HPV vaccines, what a big fat lie. It used to be depending on whether you were a Child or Adult Two or Three vaccines were recommended. Because there are studies that show protection is achieved with one vaccination they are now recommending only one shot. Just because someone posts something on Twitter doesn’t make it true. Pharmaceutical companies hate this change but it is not going to hurt public health just profit lines on income statements.
- BobIsMyUncle - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 10:57 am:
- Jack in Chatham -
Is the “in thousands” meant to change the interpretation of deaths from HPV being reduced from a great thing to a minor good? If not, what was the point that you were making that I am obviously missing?
Also, according to NPR, “Kennedy is an anti-vaccine activist who has spread false claims about the HPV vaccine, including the assertion that it can cause cancer, and has benefited financially by referring clients to support legal challenges against manufacturer Merck.” (https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/03/12/nx-s1-5323229/hpv-vaccine-cancer-rfk)
If that isn’t against HPV vaccines, I’m not sure what qualifies.
- Dirty Red - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 11:01 am:
= I just can’t with them. =
If you could, hopefully they would not.
- low level - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 11:03 am:
== Just because someone posts something on Twitter doesn’t make it true.==
You don’t say?
- Andrea Durbin - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 11:32 am:
The misogyny is so palpable, it is breathtaking.
And you know, boys can get the vaccine too. It provides protection against a wide range of cancers, including penile.
- Occasionally Moderated - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 11:56 am:
Did actual good in the world. Good on her.
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 12:08 pm:
==what a big fat lie==
Thank you for identifying that Kennedy puts out big fat lies. He is anti-vax. There is no question about that. He is destroying the recommendations for vaccines in the country by dismissing all of the science around them and then inserting his anti-vax views into new “recommendations” for vaccines.
You’re buying right into the lies.
- froganon - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 12:14 pm:
Repulsive ideas from repulsive people. Jack in Chatham - how is a drop in deaths of young women from over 60,000 to 12,000 or so not fantastic news (banned punctuation).
- JS Mill - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 12:34 pm:
Unfortunately for jack in chatham, the kennedy receipts are voluminous and not from the socials. Kennedy’s own words on video and in print from his op eds. So you can fool yourself and claim he is anti-vax and maybe the socials you read say that, but bobby himself says otherwise.
And less death is good no matter what.
- Penny - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 12:42 pm:
Who’s to say that gardasill reduced the incidence of this cancer. Teen s*xual activity is drastically down also during this same period. https://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren23/beh4.asp
- Billy Bob - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 12:46 pm:
Probably worth noting that was the IR regime considered less crazy than the current one.
- Grandson of Man - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 1:02 pm:
The HPV vaccine is extremely effective in preventing cancer. The far right wing and Republican Party are the same today. The anti-science positions must be taken for political success, after many years of stoking the base with propaganda. Doubt must be created, facts be darned.
Experts are distrusted, and know-nothings are given high public health positions due to political loyalty and support, like RFK Jr who is not a medical expert. Old Republicans who revered science and education wouldn’t recognize this party.
- JS Mill - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 1:06 pm:
=Who’s to say that gardasill reduced the incidence of this cancer.=
Science for one.
=Teen s*xual activity is drastically down also during this same period.=
Who is to say kids are being honest with researchers?
- Excitable Boy - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 1:10 pm:
- s*xual activity -
If you can’t bring yourself to type “sex” I can’t bring myself to take anything you type seriously.
- ArchPundit - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 2:03 pm:
Few things more awkward than talking to a State Senator’s husband about her HPV status (he was very nice as was Debbie).
—=Who’s to say that gardasill reduced the incidence of this cancer.=
JS Mill’s got this. I just cannot today.
- Penny - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 2:30 pm:
A scientific study has to have control factors for other variables such as sexual activity. Please note that the chart headline, not the poster, says that the vaccine “probably” reduced the incidence of HPV. I have young adult sons, have taught in public schools during that period. I can say that many kids (boys mostly) are isolated playing video games. Teens in general were more isolated 2020-2021 from covid as well. Such factors play into the reduction of teen sexual activity and incidence of sexually transmitted conditions. (Glad to know this site doesn’t have auto-rejection for certain words. One never knows.).
- ArchPundit - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 2:37 pm:
Sigh…largest clinical trials for a new vaccine ever conducted
https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/hcp/vaccination-considerations/safety-and-effectiveness-data.html
References to actual studies on the site (until the roid abuser gets to the page)
- ArchPundit - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 2:37 pm:
Sigh…largest clinical trials for a new vaccine ever conducted
https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/hcp/vaccination-considerations/safety-and-effectiveness-data.html
References to actual studies on the site (until the roid abuser gets to the page)
- Formerly Unemployed - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 3:13 pm:
Fun fact: many girls don’t get to choose when they lose their virginity.
- Excitable Boy - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 6:56 pm:
- I can say that many kids (boys mostly) are isolated playing video games. -
Speaks to scientific method, shares anecdotal evidence. Very compelling.
- Barnaby Wilde - Tuesday, Feb 3, 26 @ 8:44 pm:
A friend of mine died of throat cancer caused by HPV. The he-man woman haters might take note that men can also be afflicted. Every kid should get vaccinated.