Congrats to Cal Ripken

Cal Ripken's election to the Baseball Hall of Fame is anything but surprising. After all, he did break Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games played. But only two other members of the Hall of Fame have ever received a higher percentage of votes in their elections: Tom Seaver (in 1992) and Nolan Ryan (in 1999). Cal received 98.5% of the available votes, a nearly unanimous election. And it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Cal Ripken might not have been the most talented baseball player of his time and he certainly wasn't the most powerful. What he was was reliable. He played in 2,632 consecutive games in a career that spanned 21 seasons and a total of 3,0001 games. He had an incredible work ethic, and understood that the fans were important to the game. He stayed at the ballpark long after the game to sign autographs for anyone who wanted one. He was humble and quiet, traits that are far to rare among professional athletes. Today, he spends his retirement working with youth baseball and the minor league teams he owns, helping to promote the game he loves.

See Thomas Boswell's column from today's Washington Post.

D.C. schools to require HPV vaccination?

The D.C. city council has introduced a bill that would require all female students enrolling in sixth grade to be vaccinated against the human papilloma virus (HPV), which can cause cervical cancer. Now, I'm a believer in immunization, and preventing cervical cancer is a good thing, but is this really a necessary requirement for school enrollment? The purpose of mandatory vaccinations for school children (as I understand it) is to prevent the spread of communicable diseases through the school age population. Thus, for readily contagious diseases such as measles, mumps, chicken pox, and the like, requiring vaccinations makes good sense. However, HPV is not readily contagious through casual contact in the school environment. This virus is sexually transmitted, and is not going to cause any epidemics in our schools. While I would encourage parents to have their daughters vaccinated so as to reduce their risks for future health problems, I have a great deal of trouble understanding why this vaccination should be included on the list of those required for school enrollment.

[via The Washington Post]

For an even stronger critique of the proposed legislation, read Courtland Milloy's column from today's Washington Post.