>> ^Psychologic:
>> ^jonny:
So why the hell haven't you reversed the ban on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research yet?!
He's been working on economic stuff. His administration has said that he will be reversing the ban "soon".

They said the same thing during the transition period, i.e., that it would be one of the first things he did. It's an executive order, it would take ten minutes. It's not some complex legislation they need to craft. An L.A. Times article from a couple of days ago suggests that he's going to wait for Congress. Passing well crafted legislation on the issue is great, but in the meantime, he really needs to sign the damn executive order reversing Bush's policy.

The faith based initiative stuff mentioned in that article is also pretty alarming.

I know the guy has a lot on his plate at the moment, but there are a number of things like this that could be done quickly to reverse really bad policy set through executive orders by Bush, and they wouldn't have to distract from the "big" issues.

>> ^jonny:
So why the hell haven't you reversed the ban on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research yet?!

He's been working on economic stuff. His administration has said that he will be reversing the ban "soon".



>> ^yourhydra:
just the word "conservative" is anti-science.

What about "fiscal conservative"?

So why the hell haven't you reversed the ban on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research yet?!

Libertarian: The water would taste better if people were responsible for doing their own water quality testing.

Republican: Liberals took the other half in taxes, and gave it to gay illegal immigrants who just had abortions to harvest the stem cells for research on global warming, which isn't happening since it got cold in winter.

Austrian economist: The glass would be full if we were still on the Gold Standard.

Ron Paul: The Federal Reserve stole the other half through artificially increased evaporation.

Milton Friedman: Only private industry could have produced this glass and the process by which this water came to you.

Paul Krugman: We need to fill the glass up to increase people's marginal propensity to drink.

Videosifter: This glass won't sift unless the water bursts into flame, or is tossed in someone's face, or is really highly concentrated hydrochloric acid, or better yet, all three.

my understanding, limited as it is, is that not a single medical treatment has been developed from embryonic stem cells, and that the most promising techniques have been and are using adult stem cells

another point is that even the 'bush ban' only stopped *federal* funding, while still allowing full embryonic stem cell research to be funded privately - it follows that a free market looking at 'extremely promising' medical techniques springing from the embryonic cells would find its funding adequate vis a vis its *promise* - and the bush restriction was only on *new* embryonic lines, not those already researched (and found unproductive)

furthermore, those that claim that private research was running into a lack of viable embryonic stem cells harvested for research... well, evidently they are leaving out the fact that undifferentiated stem cells do not face the 'hayflick limit' - meaning that the cell lines can be divided indefinitely (immortal cells) because of no shortening of their telomeres during cell replication

i may be misunderstanding some part of the science, but in this day of polemics and political rhetoric... i suspect that those against the bush (and clinton, iirc) decision weren't showing all their cards

imho, overstated arguments = lost credibility

There are many game changing technological advances that are much closer on the horizon than settling mars (stem cells, genetics, nanotech, etc).

in light of hearing about Obama's possible efforts to reverse the ridiculous stem cell research hindrance I will *ptomote

Just recently I spent Christmas with my parents (yes, I'm an atheist and I love Christmas, there are plenty of videos and writeups on why that is well and truly AOK), we went to a large hedge maze place that has a little village of small buildings hidden inside it. Each of these buildings has a theme, and one of the was against Evolution, and had a collapsed pile of ruble, with Charles Darwin written as 'Chuck Darwin', I think it was his birthday was listed as 666, and the big bang theory was written as 'God said let there be life and 'bang' there it was'.

So... I was later saying how annoyed I get at displays like that. Not so much that they believe that, but that they can be so vindictive and attacking of science that they can go to the effort of building a little house/pile of bricks etc. and a sign and everything to demonstrate their blind ignorance.

My Father said (in effect) 'You have to stop letting them get to you... Them saying all that doesn't change anything, it doesn't change what is true, it doesn't negate reality, so let them believe it, what does it matter.'

Which I do agree with to a point, but then there are people like this dick PCS... It's this ranting AT science, this denouncing of Science while at the same time reaping all the wonder that it has sowed that really makes my blood boil. I mean ARGH. YOU can choose to believe that there is more outside of 'this reality', but STOP with the bullshit, nonsensical attacks on those that have made our lives so much better.

And why do I think it matters? Because of the brainless fools who lap this shit up and who on mass end up stopping stem cell research and stopping gay marriage, and making it neigh on impossible for an Atheist to be elected leader of the most powerful country on earth.

THESE things are what make me so angry at these people... BELIEVE what you want to about the supernatural etc. BUT:
* Stop judging people based on their disbelief of that
* STOP trying to halt scientific progress based on your fear and lack of understanding
* STOP killing people who do not follow the same old book that you do

JUST STOP IT.

ARGH

You can't fight wrinkles. You'll just have to wait for the stem cell cures in a couple decades.

Another thing that I keep repeating, and seeing other people repeat, is this whole "God does not exist" thing. When people say this, the vast majority of the time they mean "your God does not exist". Just like we can be fairly certain that Santa Claus doesn't exist. There may be something out there, but it ain't that.

But as I said, I will happily never mention this again when the Creationists and School Prayer people shut up, and they let stem cell research go forward. I don't want to see people waste their lives and money supporting a church, but I won't rouse myself to shout at foolish people if they just leave the rest of us alone.

>> ^CaptainPlanet:
seriously, wouldn't you rather be dead?


I think one's strategic perspective doesn't have to change in a situation like this. Her brain is normal, in contrast to an individual like this. Work hard/smart, contribute to society and the economy... people will want to help you. Eventually, regenerative medicine (stem cells) will be able to make her pretty.

It's just really counter-productive for the pro-stem-cell advocates to take for granted (or refrain from disputing) the false premises upon which anti-stem-cell beliefs are based.

Politics has become the art of misdirection in which concerns are sidestepped by appeals to only the benefit side of the cost-benefit analysis.

a 6 year old norwegian girl was also just cured for cancer with a stem cell transplant procedure in germany.

Not to say "I told you so" to all those against stem cell research but.. hey.. you guys are fucking morons

Stem cells and bone marrow ftw

>> ^imstellar28:
>> ^jwray:
Bush got elected on a platform of small government and humble foreign policy. He did exactly the opposite. The only people he kept his promises to were the social conservatives (by OFBCI and trying to stop stem cell research and comprehensive sex ed).

George Bush in 2007 spent less in every budget category than Bill Clinton in 1997, when adjusted for inflation.


I call BS on that, especially the defense category. Produce the evidence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Us_federal_spending(4).png