Getting harder and harder to find good people

I mean, Regent U isn't producing too many Ph.D. biologists for Bush to appoint as cronies at the NIH, so instead, actually-qualified people are appointed, some of which have a rational view on stem cell research...which of course opposes that of their boss.

More on stem cells.

**UPDATE: Luckily, Bush was able to find a Regent U-connected crony to fill the top spot at the DHHS -- Susan Orr: also see here.**

*UPDATE 2:


Wow. Ironically, a news story just broke about Regent U after I finished typing this. Read it here. You won't regret it.*

Stem cell op-ed 'toons

They say picture = 1000 words. Since I've already put in the latter...

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Technorati tags: Politics

Let's play "pin the tail on the logical flaw"

BushCo brag about the president's bold "science over ideology" approach to stem cells. [*gag*]

They feel the president "supports" some research -- privately funded, while opposing federally funded research. The rationale for opposing the funding of the research is that it is murder. But the logic is deeply and hopelessly flawed: if stem cell research is murder, then how can the president have two separate policies -- condoning some forms of what he has termed murder?.

Why do they support privately-funded stem cell research, since it is still murder?

Yesterday, Tony Snow said the White House wants to “encourage” privately-funded embryonic stem-cell research. He practically boasted about the “billions of dollars available in the private sector to make such research possible.” All of this came just minutes after Snow said the president believes this research “involves…the taking of a human life.”

That’s the real contradiction.

Kevin’s right, banning this research outright would take the affirmative passage of a bill, which falls outside the president’s purview. But therein lies the point — if Bush really believed that the privately-funded research was literally slaughtering untold thousands of human lives in this country, he’d ask Congress to do something about it.

But he doesn’t. On the contrary, his spokesperson boasts about how great all this private investment in mass murder is.

So long as theocons run the GOP, the health needs of millions of Americans will be subservient to their narrow-minded dogmas. Should we be surprised at this late date with the recurring Alice in Wonderland-esque reasoning of these people? I'm not.
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Technorati tags: Religion, Politics

For ammo against idiots

To battle misinformation:
http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/stem_cell_research

I remember a while back when some Christian groups tried to respond to the first Bush veto of stem cells by putting out this atrocious defense of it by saying that, yes, the embryos will die anyway, but that we should adopt as many as possible...then, stop letting women get in vitro fertility treatments. Even Republicans like Orrin Hatch are against Bush on this issue, along with 60% of Americans.

It is only the slimiest scum -- the Religious Right -- to which Bush panders with these vetoes.

Religion really does have utter control of people's two most important possessions for survival: their brains and their genitals.

The creator of 50,000 billion billion stars (more than the number of grains of sand on earth) cares what people do with their pee-pee parts more than curing Parkinson's. What a dick. [applies less to God than Bush]
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Technorati tags: God, Religion, Atheism, Church-state, Politics

Stem Cell Veto Promised Again

From CNN:

Several of Bush's Republican allies in Congress, including Utah's Orrin Hatch, have joined the Democratic leadership on the issue. Though a longtime abortion opponent, Hatch told reporters: "A pro-life agenda demands that we care for the living -- not just the unborn."

Hatch said his views were influenced by the family of a 2-year-old boy with a family history of severe diabetes that had claimed his grandfather's life at age 47.

"For the life of me, I can't understand how we can discard 7,000 to 20,000 in vitro fertilized eggs a year as hospital waste and not utilize them to help little boys like this with virulent diabetes," he said.

Indeed.

The sycophantic morons who oppose funding the use of frozen embryos under the label "pro-life" should have bestowed upon themselves the more accurate moniker -- "pro-lump over pro-child". They pick an unfeeling, uncaring, unloved clump of cells over a human being who feels the pain of their disease, and suffers with a loving family. This pisses me off so badly I want to curse like a sailor -- these people are morally bankrupt: most say "I"m pro-life," but don't add that they're also pro-war and pro-death penalty (and pro-Alzheimer's, pro-ALS, pro-diabetes...).

Not only do King George and his religious right minions have the blood of an unjust war on their hands, he has the blood of the suffering millions whose cure he refuses to fund too. 2008 couldn't come soon enough. God I wish they'd impeach this bastard.
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Technorati tags: Religion,Politics

Bush Opposes Stem-Cell Research Which *DOESN'T* Destroy Embryos

You thought Bush opposed research on embryonic stem cells for the reason of it destroying embryos?

Wrong.
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Technorati tags: Politics

Bush is a F&%*ing Moron, Proof #20,193

Harsh title? Yes.

Tim Russert just got to the crux of the issue on stem cells. Josh Bolton stammered and stuttered around, but the completely absurd illogic is clear: destroy the embryos, don't use them. Bolton tried to duck and dodge, shuck and jive, but Russert nailed him [more, his stupid boss] to the wall. If Bush doesn't oppose the process of IVF, which creates hundreds of thousands of excess embryos, yet calls the use of these embryos in research "murder" [via Tony Snow], then there is a clear disconnect in the Prez's already-fuzzy little brain.

Bolton was also asked whether he agreed with Karl Rove's statement that adult stem cells contained "far more promise" than embryonic stem cells, a statement which Russert pointed out had zero scientific support. Bolton once again stuttered and stammered, saying, "I'm no scientist," to which Tim quickly replied, "neither is Rove".

Bolton goes on to point out that adult stem cells have already shown promise...without seeming to be able to comprehend that an unfunded area of research will never be able to prove its promise. Universities, where the most crucial fundamental research is carried out, receive very very little private funding. If federal funds are not made available, and NIH and NSF grants are not devised for stem cell therapy research, then millions of people will continue to suffer and die, needlessly. Why? Because of our prez's "moral fiber". The same sort of fiber that I saw in a toilet once -- pure shit. "Blastocyst-Americans" apparently garner more votes for our prez than those dying of ALS and diabetes.

Bolton also fell back onto the "snowflake children" that Bush used as a prop in his PR event on the veto. Isn't that heartmoving, to see those kids, and think, "yeah, we can't kill them!"...? Problem here is that there was absolutely no potential of that happening.

Considering the fact that one of the two bills that passed outlaw "fetal farming" (what a joke) and ensured that no embryo which would otherwise be adopted would be used, there is absolutely no logical ground for this dolt to stand on:

SEC. 498D. HUMAN EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH.
`(a) In General- Notwithstanding any other provision of law (including any regulation or guidance), the Secretary shall conduct and support research that utilizes human embryonic stem cells in accordance with this section (regardless of the date on which the stem cells were derived from a human embryo).
`(b) Ethical Requirements- Human embryonic stem cells shall be eligible for use in any research conducted or supported by the Secretary if the cells meet each of the following:
`(1) The stem cells were derived from human embryos that have been donated from in vitro fertilization clinics, were created for the purposes of fertility treatment, and were in excess of the clinical need of the individuals seeking such treatment.
`(2) Prior to the consideration of embryo donation and through consultation with the individuals seeking fertility treatment, it was determined that the embryos would never be implanted in a woman and would otherwise be discarded.
`(3) The individuals seeking fertility treatment donated the embryos with written informed consent and without receiving any financial or other inducements to make the donation.
`(c) Guidelines- Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary, in consultation with the Director of NIH, shall issue final guidelines to carry out this section.
`(d) Reporting Requirements- The Secretary shall annually prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of the Congress a report describing the activities carried out under this section during the preceding fiscal year, and including a description of whether and to what extent research under subsection (a) has been conducted in accordance with this section.'.
Passed the House of Representatives May 24, 2005.

According to sub-section 2 here, the only potential embryos to be used are explicitly not those which may be "adopted" and implanted -- thus no "snowflake babies" will be murdered.

What he has done is prevent millions of people from receiving life-saving research, and send hundreds of thousands of embryos to a trash can, because he is a stupid ass with no moral principles at all. What moral principles guide a moron into sending potentially life-saving research into the trash can? Yes, I'm as mad as hell.

Bush just walked into a burning hospital, and there was one Alzheimer's patient on one side, and a million fertilized embryos on the other side, and he only had time to save one...what did he do?

...the f&%*ing idiot just turned his back on both, and walked out, whistling to himself and patting his own "morally-princpled" back, leaving both to die, based on his "ethics".
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Technorati tags: Bush, Stem Cells, Veto, Bush is a F&*%ing Moron