Things that used to be on a blog.

A different debate

May 6, 2014

Meryl Dorey, ex-President of the Australian Vaccination-skeptics Network, wants me to debate her at a woofest in Queensland later this month. I offer my own challenge to her, with the only changes from suggestions made by the festival organisers being that the submissions are to be in writing, and the prohibition on talking about certain things is extended to include Australian Skeptics, the Stop the AVN Facebook page (and its members), and talking about me.

===================================

Challenge to Meryl Dorey.

Here are the three questions to be "debated" at the Expo in Caloundra on May 24:

1. Does herd Immunity apply to the use of vaccinations
2. The ingredients in Vaccines are Toxic and Small Babies cannot tolerate even small amounts
3. Can it really be proven that it is vaccination that is controlling disease rates or do diseases die out naturally and recur in cycles.

And here are the rules:

1. No discussion of the AVN or Meryl Dorey at all, as this is about Vaccination not personalities
2. All information and debate to be kept on topic
3. All discussion and debate is to be kept informative, educational and scientifically grounded
4. At all times a civil and respectful attitude is to be kept in tone, word and deed

These questions and rules have been set by the event organisers. With one change (that Rule 1 also prohibit discussion of Australian Skeptics, SAVN, or me) I propose a written debate.

At or before 9pm on Sunday, May 11, I will produce three essays, each approximately 1000 words, addressing the three questions. Ms Dorey is invited to do the same. To avoid either of us gaining an advantage neither will get to see the other's submissions before they are published. Both of us will email our submissions to nominated administrators of both the SAVN and AVsN Facebook pages, and all six will be published simultaneously (as closely as possible) on both sites.

Ms Dorey says that I am afraid to debate her. I am giving her the opportunity to make her arguments in front of audiences which are divided on their opinions on vaccines and I am prepared to do the same.

Bring it on.

[Need I say that the debate never took place, but MS Dorey spent some time lying crowing about how I wouldn't debate her.]