Posts (page 2)

I am so glad someone had the guts to finally address this critical topic.  With all the attention to the economic meltdown, flu pandemics, etc, we have really lost site of our core American value that what you look like is more more important than anything else.  Fat actors, even if they are middle-aged and have earned the right to focus on something other than their appearance, are a sure sign that our society is on the edge of complete collapse.  It must be stopped!  Maybe we can get a congressional mandate on body mass index for A list actors (and scale it down for those on the B, C, and D lists) with fines and jail time for those who don't comply.  Or, since it is inexplicably socially acceptable in our culture to bully and discriminate against fat people--even though that sort of behavior would not be tolerated against any other group--maybe we should consider organizing some grassroots movements to ridicule and torment fat actors until they finally achieve an acceptable physique.   

Good grief, what a superficial, ridiculous thing to worry about!  Anyone who looks to Ted Casablanca as the paragon of culture deserves whatever unfulfilled life they end up with. 

Despite being a needy little guy, Gus has decided that he is not very interested in bedtime snuggling. At least not with with me. He has a definite preference for sleeping with Rory, who really is not a much of a snuggler.

Gus Contemplates His Fate

I've attempted to reason with him--after all, snuggling with me is not strictly torture as defined in the Geneva Conventions--but as Donald Rumsfield would say, sometimes you just have to go to bed with the dog you have, not the dog you want. 

BTW, isn't it odd that when your dog snores it's adorable and endearing, but when your partner snores it's grounds for justifiable homicide?

October 25, 2008

Dear Governor Palin,

I applaud your interest and stated commitment to improving the quality and availability of care for children with special needs. As the mother of a now grown special needs child and the founder and director of an organization dedicated to research on her disorder, I know firsthand the challenges families of these children face. Unlike trisomy 21 (Down syndrome), my daughter’s disorder, a rare genetic disease called primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), does not enjoy broad public awareness, which makes finding health services and funding for research even more difficult.

Last week in a policy speech you indicated that certain research expenditures were wasteful and foolish. The specific example you used was fruit fly research. Because I believe you are sincere in your desire to help those with special needs, I was dismayed to hear your perspective on basic science research. When my daughter was diagnosed in 1991, we were told that her disorder was so rare there would never be genetic research done on it.  Finding a patient group large enough for human genetic studies would most likely be an insurmountable challenge.  But people were working on PCD genetics--albeit indirectly. Basic scientists were unraveling the genome of a single-celled algae called Chlamydomonos. This organism was simple and plentiful and scientists could grow pools full of it for research.  In 2002, the first PCD gene was discovered in an ortholog of Chlamydomonas. Since then, several more have been identified, resulting in the first-ever genetic test for PCD and the promise of genetic therapies for this incurable condition in the future. It can not be overstated that these advances are the direct result of research on, quite literally, pond scum. It was heartbreaking to me to hear a candidate for national office make a joke of these efforts simply to score political points and I was saddened beyond measure for the families relying on basic science research in fruit flies that you chose to single them out for this unwarranted ridicule.

Translational research, applying the discoveries of basic science to human populations, is a critical element of medical science advancement.  In this country, we have suffered through the William Proxmire “Golden Fleece” awards and other attempts by politicians to gain political points by criticizing science they simply don’t understand. Because I was hopeful that you would be a true ally to special needs community, I was particularly dismayed to see you participate in this activity and ask you to spend some time speaking with the individuals involved in basic science research and educating yourself on the promise these activities offer to people with rare, genetic and incurable diseases.

A recent article by the Massachusetts General Cancer Center published in the peer-reviewed journal Current Opinion in Genetic Development states that “more than 60% of genes implicated in human disease have Drosophila (fruit fly) orthologues.” A very short list of human diseases with fruit fly genetic correlates includes neurological and neurodegenerative disorders (including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and spinal muscular atrophy), birth defects, development delays (including autism), tumor suppressor genes (ironically in melanoma, your running mate’s genetic curse), infertility, polycystic kidney disease, deadly and catastrophic lipid metabolism disorders, and Huntington’s chorea.  Again, this is a short list.

I am not an expert at fruit fly research, but was able to compile this list in about five minutes by doing a simple Internet search of the government-maintained National Library of Medicine database of scientific publications (PubMed:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=PubMed&itool=toolbar). I do not think it is too much to ask our national leaders who will be responsible for establishing crucial health and science policies to do at least that much.

Special needs communities have never had adequate representation in this country. Attempting to manage the extraordinary challenges of caring for chronically or catastrophically ill family members leaves us short of the financial resources and time required to mount effective lobbying efforts. As a result, we do not wield political clout and end up being an invisible minority group with few supporters. Your high-profile status gives you the opportunity to change that for us and I ask you to consider working with the groups who are engaged in daily efforts to improve the lives of special needs individuals through important research initiatives. We truly welcome your support. 

Michele Manion, Executive Director
Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia Foundation
Phoenix, Arizona

For more information on PCD: www.pcdfoundation.org

So we have had Milton for eight years now and all this time I assumed he was, religiously speaking, just like me, i.e. a reluctant agnostic, raised in a fundamental Christian home, who has serious doubts about organized religion in general but is not cynical enough to say for sure there is no God, yet is unwilling to relinquish free will for some questionable quest for salvation, etc.

Turns out he is Jewish.  We discovered it this weekend when he refused to have any of my son Rory's ham and bacon pizza.  Admittedly so did I, but not not for religous reasons in my case, more for general "preferring not to vomit" reasons. Milton has never made that that distinction with food (exhibit 1 below), so we must assume there is a loftier, more noble reason for his principled stand against pork products. 

Milton "Manishevits" Gooberman

Naturally, we felt very bad at neglecting every Jewish holiday for the past eight years (all 2,312 of them), so we decided to help him embrace his Hebrew heritage, starting by changing his name to Manishevits Gooberman in honor of Sarah Silverman's Great Schlep:

We still have a few things to work out. It's kind of hard to tell when Manishevits is honoring the Sabbath. Seems like it's pretty much "Sabbath 24/7" with him, but maybe he's just not well-versed enough in the tenets of his faith yet.  Also, we're a little concerned about the whole circumcision thing (and no doubt so is Manishevits) because we can't find the requisite 'holy organ' anywhere. 

In fairness, we decided to rename Tiny Milt, too. "Tiny Manishevits" was just a little much, however, so we decided to jump on the recently reinvigorated "Spice" bandwagon (Sarah Palin=Bible Spice) and she will from now on be "Fuzzy Spice."

"Fuzzy Spice"

Michele Bachmann, Congressprophet from Minnesota's 6th congressional district which consists of the northern suburbs and exburbs, including St.Cloud (Motto: We're All Family Here! No--Literally--We're All Family Here. Thousands of Residents, Only 3 Last Names!) went on Hardball with Chris Matthews last Friday and made a complete ass of herself, suggesting that anyone who does not agree with her End of Days judgmental form of Christianity should be evaluated for anti-American views a la Senator Joseph McCarthy and his delightful House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Here's the infamous clip:                                                                                                                     

In Bachmann's America, the one that has God's blessing, membership in an Evangelical "prosperity"  church is the best indicator of your patriotism and value to the creator.  I'm not entirely clear which Bible these folks are reading, however. I was raised in a fundamental home.  My parents apparently believe that the Flinstones was a documentary and that humans and dinosaurs roamed the earth together, a charming viewpoint captured best in song:

"Hey Sarah Palin, did you tell them in Wasilla
That 4,000 years ago we roamed the planet with Godzilla"

However, they also believed if you were gonna take the Bible literally, you had to take ALL of it literally, like Christ saying that God made no distinction among his children (racism and bigotry are sins), Christ refusing to be made king of Israel because his kingdom was "no part of this world" (religion and politics don't mix) and Christ driving the money changers from the temple (materialism is an affront to true worship). They did not believe the Fruitages of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, self-control, etc.) were simply "suggestions," but rather the bare minimum requirements for Christian behavior.  It is hard to imagine what Christ might think when he comes back (which will be in Sarah Palin's lifetime, according to her) and has to navigate through a sea of SUV's in the parking lot of a hundred acre 'campus' (because true piety requires oodles of square feet) of a megachurch, just to find a thriving giftshop and Starbucks in the the lobby.  Might I suggest, Mrs. Bachmann, that while others may have a splinter or mote in their eyes, you have a freakin' rafter up your backside that should be of much more concern to you.

So the "Lewey" referenced in the title (a stretch for poetic effect, I admit. Get it, Huey, Lewey and Dewey? Get it?) was Congressman George Lewis of Georgia, a hero of the Civl Rights movement and outspoken critic of the McCain/Palin/Bachmann style of hate-mongering campaigns. In response to Bachmann's freak out, the ever reasonable Mr. Pat Buchanan compared her insane ranting to the reasoned denunciation of Republican race-baiting offered by Mr. Lewis.  Typical of the comic stylings of Pat Buchanan, his logic was nearly impossible to capture--even if you'd have had a net--so I won't even bother to post it. Something about the KKK being reformed or words to that effect. Suffice it to say that even Chris Matthews was not buying Pat's schtick. He finally told him, "Be careful, Pat. Your old instincts are coming back."  Hmmm..could he have been referring to this: http://www.realchange.org/buchanan.htm

Listened to Andrew Halcro's call-in show a couple of days ago.  You don't even need to follow right-wing talk radio to know what current meme the echo chamber is pushing.  Regardless of the actual topic, all of Halcro's callers kept bringing up the ACORN/Obama connection.  Halcro is an Alaska Republican turned Independent. I suspect that we would probably have very different ideological viewpoints on many issues, but I do respect that fact that he is an honest debater and he tries to see all sides of an issue.  By his own admission, he didn't know much about the ACORN situation, so I sent him a note trying to explain what was and what was not relevant in the ACORN media push. There are some organizational problems with ACORN, but nothing that even approaches the excessive fear-mongering going on with the right (McCain accused ACORN of threatening the "very fabric of our democracy" at the debate last night. It was all Obama could do not to laugh out loud).  Andrew graciously offered to share this information with his callers, although I don't know what came of that since I was not able to listen that day (damn real-life responsbilities!). 

Here are the crucial points to remember about ACORN:

1.) It is a coalition of many community organizations, not a single entity.

2.) Registering people to vote is one of their missions, not their only mission.

3.) ACORN pays people by the hour OR by the registration form (probably a bad idea).

4.) ACORN is legally forbidden to throw any registration form out, even if they know it is a duplicate or is suspicious.  It is the job of state or local voting officials to determine which registration forms are bogus and one way these officials can prevent fraudulent registrations is to insist that ACORN not be given the authority to determine which registrations are valid and which are not. ACORN knowingly turns in suspicious registration forms because they are legally required to do so and then they are crucified for doing what they are required by law to do.  Also, they generally attempt to flag suspicious forms with a cover letter, a fact that never seems to be addressed in media reports.

5.) Filling out a registration form does not make you registered to vote. You are not registered until state or local officials certify your registration.

6.) At worst, this is "voter registration fraud." It does not become "voter fraud" until someone tries to vote using a bogus registration. The incidences of true voter fraud are so rare as to be practically non-existent.
 
7.) Going after ACORN is a favorite pastime of Bush Republicans because if they can get people riled up about this issue, it gives them ammunition to pursue voter suppression efforts.  This has already worked in this election.  An Ohio judge approved the purging of 600,000 voters in a Democratic district due to Republican efforts to cast doubt on ACORN.

8.) This obsession with voter registration fraud is the chief reason for the improper firing of seven US attorneys by the Bush administration.  In several of these cases, Republican US attorneys refused to pursue cases against ACORN and similar groups because they could not find evidence to support claims of voter fraud.  They were replaced by Gonzalez's DoJ with "loyal Bushies" who were willing to pursue these cases on a partisan basis, evidence be damned. A recent report vindicates these seven individuals whose reputations were tarnished by the DoJ in an effort to justify the firings after the fact.  There will most likely be prosecutions of DofJ officials related to these improper firings after the election.

David Iglesias, one of the seven fired US attorneys and the one most viciously maligned by the DOJ, did an interview regarding this with PBS a while back.  Here is the transcript of that that interview: http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/330/david-iglesias.html

9.) Barack Obama does have ties with ACORN, both as a community organizer in the past and as a Constitutional lawyer.  He represented ACORN in a federal lawsuit against the State of Illinois because Illinois was refusing to honor a legally sanctioned "motor voter" registration effort.  Obama's co-counsel in this suit was the Department of Justice, so apparently the federal government is also implicated for shady ties to ACORN. 

In her acceptance speech, Governor Palin suggested that community organizers "have no real responsibilities," yet her running mate suggests that ACORN, an organization made up of community organizers threatens the "very fabric of our democracy," so which is it?  I can agree that ACORN needs some organizational restructuring, but this paranoid fear being incubated on the right against a group of community organizers and volunteers is downright foolish.

UPDATE:
Hendrik Hertzberg weighs in on this scandal-less scandal at the New Yorker: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/hendrikhertzberg/2008/10/voter-fraud-fra.html

UPDATE II:
The real danger with these make believe scandals: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/us/politics/09voting.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

UPDATE III:
Representative John Conyers spanks the DoJ and FBI on behalf of the House Judiciary Committee: http://judiciary.house.gov/News/PDFs/Conyers081016.pdf

UPDATE IV:
David Iglesias expresses dismay that the DoJ is up to its same old politicized tricks:
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/10/iglesias_im_astounded_by_dojs.php

UPDATE V:
Letter from Obama campaign's legal counsel to DoJ and Special Prosecutor in charge of the US attorney firings case: http://www.politico.com/static/PPM106_obama_doj_letter.html