Worthy News: Bush Vetoes Stem Cell Bill As Promised - ABC News

[anti-hillbilly]

After doing a google search into the matter of military requirements, this is what I was able to find out. A G.E.D. is occassionally accepted if the person also has 15 college credits to go with it. The age requirements are 17 to 35 for the Army, Navy, and Coast Guard and 17 to 29 for the Air Force and Marines. This has absolutely nothing to do with the stem cell argument but since the subject came up and there has been some dispute over what is true and what is made up about the military, I wanted to include this post.

Well, a GED was accepted when I joined; even the army link refers to "when they accepted one". [link] You can still get a waiver but you have to score high enough on the ASVAB. I was in the AF and their requirements are higher than the Army's but I joined a couple years after the Vietnam War and they were hurting for recruits. It's getting that way again; the army recently raised the age to 42 [link].

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Now back to the topic of stem-cell research; from an article by William Fisher:

When the religious right-wing is in full-throated opposition, it is highly effective in conveying the impression that it speaks for every religious soul. The white noise of its rhetoric tends to drown out all other points of view and maintains that other points of view don't exist at all.

Not so. Thankfully, there are thousands of religious leaders who believe that it is right-wing fundamentalism that dishonors God and science. They are still less visible and a lot less well-funded than the James Dobsons and Tony Perkinses of the world. But the more the Bush administration continues to pander to what it still calls its base, the more these other voices grow both in numbers and in influence.

One of the most articulate of these voices is Rev. Tim Simpson, who heads a relatively new organization known as The Christian Alliance. What he had to say about President Bush's stem cell veto is worth our attention.

The president's use of his veto authority, Rev. Simpson said, "will result in the early deaths and unnecessary suffering of millions of Americans. It is one of the most stunning, irrational decisions of an administration with a reputation for such and the most telling piece of evidence yet that America is under the sway of theocrats whose obsession for ideological purity outweighs their concern for America's, and the world's, sick and dying."

He continues: "The most illogical aspect of this debate is that the embryos which were to be used had the legislation passed will be thrown away! The twisted moral framework that would allow the embryos to be discarded rather than used to heal and save lives goes hand in glove with the pseudoscience that has become the hallmark of the Religious Right, to which this administration gives its highest loyalty."

And he asks, "How long will Christians in this country stand for such outrages?"

Rev. Simpson tells the story of Jesus the Healer in Mark 6. "The text says that Jesus had compassion for the crowd because they were 'like sheep without a shepherd.' Into the midst of the chaos of the people's lives, Jesus' compassion manifested itself in the healing of their bodies, as the crowds brought the sick to him to make them whole. Tens of thousands of American churches whose pastors follow the lectionary will hear this text this Lord's Day in congregations all across the country. How sad that this is to be the text in so-called Christian America, on the Sunday after the Christian President of the United States threw the sick under the bus. Talk about sheep without a shepherd."

Rev. Simpson assures us, "This is not a partisan issue. There isn't a Democrat, Republican or Independent who doesn't know someone who is suffering from diabetes, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, cancer, paralysis or a host of other diseases and ailments that could be ameliorated or cured through the use of stem cell therapies. Forget the Red State-Blue State clash. Polls indicate that better than 7 out of 10 Americans approve of federal funding for stem cell research. Even someone as conservative as Bill Frist, anxious to help mainstream America forget his embarrassing role in the Terri Schiavo affair, demonstrated that even he had not taken complete leave of his senses by supporting the bill. But the President threw a sop to the radical fringe in his party, so the entire nation has to suffer."

Throwing the sick under the bus is likely to be a big part of the "compassionate conservative" legacy of George W. Bush. And we will probably never know whether his veto was borne of genuine conviction, however misguided, or of Karl Rove's need to mobilize his flock to get to the polls in November.

But November is not an opportunity only for Mr. Rove. It is a chance for the nation's flock to show that it's a lot smarter than our president and our craven Congress thinks it is.

Let us pray.

[billie]

Early deaths? How much earlier than you get than an embryo?

[anti-hillbilly]

Early deaths? How much earlier than you get than an embryo?

If you believe an embryo that is so small you need a microscope to see it is fully human; equal to a little child going thru chemo or a diabetic child pricking their finger and taking daily insulin shots then by all means call your representative and ask them to ban invitro fertilization. If the religious right is going to take away this pursuit of a cure for our sick kids then the religious right should have to live with the barren wombs that God gave em!

[anti-hillbilly]

question: How many of these microscopic embryos will be saved by President Bush's veto?

answer: None; no change from before, they'll continue to be labeled "medical waste" and disposed of .....for nothing.

Those of you who really think this is murder should be up in arms about this "medical waste" disposal. Why so quiet on the subject? After calling your representatives you should also give James Dobson, Jerry Fallwell and Pat Robertson a call too and tell them to use their power to put a stop to this "crime" against microscopic embryos immediately. Also, imo, those of you who've gotten invitro fertilization but oppose this research need to get on your knees and repent for your "sin" of "murdering" your "left-overs" AND for your "sin" of hypocrisy.

[billie]

I agree that having invitro fertilization, then throwing away the "leftover" babies is murder, just like abortion or creating an embryo and destroying it.

[anti-hillbilly]

So are you going to do anything about it? Are you gonna raise a stink about it?

[billie]

I've already signed petitions to my representatives and the president. Let me ask you something, brother. Are you asking because you care about these precious babies, or because you're trying to prove yourself right?

[billie]

I mean sister, sorry.

[nebula]

Anit-hillbilly -

What part of "adult stem-cells are provenly more effective than embryonic stem-cells" do you not understand?

What part of couples adopting the frozen embryos did you not hear?

[anti-hillbilly]

Anit-hillbilly -

What part of "adult stem-cells are provenly more effective than embryonic stem-cells" do you not understand?

What part of couples adopting the frozen embryos did you not hear?

I understand that and I'm all for adult stem-cell therapy.

I'm also in favor of couples adopting frozen embryos; then putting a sock in it when it comes to using those slated for disposal for medical research.

What do you not understand about the FACT that almost ALL of the left-overs are destroyed.....everyday? What do you not understand about the glaring hypocrisy.