The Hannah Poling autism case continues to enthrall that rarified spectrum of the blogosphere where the debate about vaccines and autism rages. The consensus among reasonable, well-informed people like me and SF-area doc Rahul Parikh (here on Salon.com) is that Poling’s case is rare and may not even by linked to vaccines. Others, like the incurable thimerosal flak David Kirby think that the Poling case is the National Treasure of Government Malfeasance. Here’s a nice post by a Manhattan lawyer with an autistic child who notes that John McCain, perhaps chastened by his staff, has backed off his endorsement of the vaccines-cause-autism theory. Here and here are a pair of takedowns on Kirby, Handley et al’s “rebranding” of autism as a mitochondrial disorder. Dr. Poling, a young neurologist and the girl’s father, lays out a good case for further investigation of mitochondrial disorders in autism and vaccine reactions in kids who have mitochondria disorders and autistic symptoms.