Any number of things are making my brain hurt today, including 10.5.5, medical bills, and other stuff. Over my better judgement and instincts, I've given in and added a tip jar-like thing in the left sidebar because everyone else seems to do it and the health bills are still there. And that's the last I expect to say about it unless things get worse.

So it was already not shaping up as my favorite day when I went to bed as Wall Street was facing a meltdown. The stupidity has continued in so many ways today, mostly technological, but this just unhinged my jaw:

In July, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services quietly amended its list of required vaccinations for immigrants applying to become citizens. One of the newest requirements? Gardasil, which vaccinates against the human papillomavirus (HPV).

…This regulation goes directly against the advice of Dr. Jon Abramson, chairman of the CDC’s advisory committee on immunization practices. In Feb. 2007, Abramson said that he and other committee members advised that Gardasil should not be mandatory because HPV is not a communicable disease like chicken pox.

The problem with this regulation is that the HPV vaccine is not mandatory for U.S. citizens. Therefore, U.S. citizens are allowed to weight the costs and risks associated with Gardasil, but immigrants are forced to pay-out-of-pocket for a vaccine they might not want to take.

Keep in mind that conservatives, such as the Bush administration, intensely dislike Gardasil. Cervical cancer is caused by HPV, which is sexually transmitted. Conservatives think that vaccinating teens against an STD is giving them license to have sex, so they've been working hard to keep Gardasil off the required vaccination lists from federal and state governments.

So now we have the typical hypocrisy laid bare: the right wing folks say that US teens shouldn't take Gardasil because it's dangerous whether they and their families choose to accept the risk or not, but similarly mandate that immigrant (women, at least) take the same drug without regard to their own assessment of risks and rewards.

I swear, I'd just go to bed and pull the covers over my head, but I have no evidence that Tuesday will be any less stupid. I wish I had a box of kittens right now.