[cyslespitocop]

I can't believe this b**tard.

Bush Vetoes Stem Cell Research Bill

WASHINGTON — President Bush vetoed an embryonic stem cell research funding bill Wednesday and called on Congress to put aside politics and support legislation that would advance science without crossing an ethical line. Truth is, the real “ethical line” is, Congress has not been granted authority to redistribute money from the federal treasury to privileged individuals engaged in such medical research. Those who pretend Congress has constitutional authority to fund and regulate stem cell research are far removed from historical fact. In general, the framers of our Constitution agreed free enterprise to be the best depository in the advancement of science, and intentionally sought to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts by granting power to Congress:
To promote the progress of science and useful arts,by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries
Madison's Notes on the convention of 1787 reveals that Charles Pickney, on August 18th, of the federal convention, proposed a power to be vested in Congress "To establish seminaries for the promotion of literature and the arts and sciences", but this proposal, as many other proposals, was rejected by the Convention, and the only power agreed upon by the Framers and Ratifiers relating to the advancement of science, was the limited power "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, [How?] by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."


Federalist Paper No. 45 also tells us:
"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation and foreign commerce. … The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives and liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement and prosperity of the State." It should also be noted that the prohibition against our federal government appropriating money from the federal government and transferring that money to privileged individuals for the promotion of science is again confirmed on February 7th 1792 by Representative John Page speaking before the House of Representatives:

"The framers of the Constitution guarded so much against a possibility of such partial preferences as might be given, if Congress had the right to grant them, that, even to encourage learning and useful arts, the granting of patents is the extent of their power. And surely nothing could be less dangerous to the sovereignty or interest of the individual States than the encouragement which might be given to ingenious inventors or promoters of valuable inventions in the arts and sciences. The encouragement which the General Government might give to the fine arts, to commerce, to manufactures, and agriculture, might, if judiciously applied, redound to the honor of Congress, and the splendor, magnificence, and real advantage of the United States; but the wise framers of our Constitution saw that, if Congress had the power of exerting what has been called a royal munificence for these purposes, Congress might, like many royal benefactors, misplace their munificence; might elevate sycophants, and be inattentive to men unfriendly to the views of Government; might reward the ingenuity of the citizens of one State, and neglect a much greater genius of another. A citizen of a powerful State it might be said, was attended to, whilst that of one of less weight in the Federal scale was totally neglected. It is not sufficient, to remove these objections, to say, as some gentlemen have said, that Congress in incapable of partiality or absurdities, and that they are as far from committing them as my colleagues or myself. I tell them the Constitution was formed on a supposition of human frailty, and to restrain abuses of mistaken powers.” (Annals of Congress Feb 7th,1792 Rep Page) Although our President vetoed the bill, he vetoed it for the wrong reasons!

Having identified the intended functions of the federal government, intended to operate on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation and foreign commerce, here is a current A-Z Index of U.S. Government Departments and Agencies, click on any particular listing to find the countless plum jobs created in that department, many of which have six figure salaries, top of the shelf medical benefits and outrageous retirement pensions, all of which is paid for by Mary and Joe Sixpack who can only dream of the lifestyle our Capitol Hill Political Plum Job Empire has created for itself!

Fact is, our federal government personifies a living creature, a predator: it grows, it multiplies, it protects itself, it feeds on those it can defeat, and does everything to expand and flourish, even at the expense of enslaving a nation’s entire population with a national debt which exceeds $50 Trillion. Indeed, the servant has become the master over those who have created a servant, and the new servant pays tribute to a gangster government which ignores our most basic law…our constitutions, state and federal.

I guess, if the founders were around today one thing they would certainly say is: “He has erected a multitude of new offices , and sent hither swarms of officers, to harass our people, and eat out their substance” ___Declaration of Independence

Regards,

JWK


"To lay with one hand the power of the government on the property of the citizen and with the other to bestow upon favored individuals, to aid private enterprises and build up private fortunes is none the less a robbery because it is done under forms of law and called taxation." ____ Savings and Loan Assc. v. Topeka,(1875).

[mincbiori]

Is it 2009 yet?


Ex-surgeon general faults White House

Richard Carmona says the administration 'simply buried' his scientific data on such issues as stem cell research and teen pregnancy.

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
Times Staff Writer

July 11, 2007

WASHINGTON — President Bush's first surgeon general testified Tuesday that his speeches were censored to match administration political positions and that he was prevented from giving the public accurate scientific information on issues such as stem cell research and teen pregnancy prevention.

"Anything that doesn't fit into the political appointees' ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried," Dr. Richard H. Carmona, who was surgeon general from 2002 to 2006, told a congressional committee. "The job of surgeon general is to be the doctor of the nation — not the doctor of a political party."

Early in the administration, when the issue of federal funding for stem cell research arose, Carmona said, he felt he could play an educational role by discussing the latest scientific research. Instead, he said, he was told to "stand down" because the White House already had made a decision to limit stem cell studies. He said administration appointees who reviewed his speech texts deleted references to stem cells.

Carmona's remarks were the latest in a series of complaints from government scientists about what they say are administration efforts to control — and sometimes distort — scientific evidence in order to support policy decisions.

NASA scientists have complained, for example, of political pressure to tone down warnings about global warming. Environmental Protection Agency officials have complained that technical information on such subjects as power plant emissions and oil drilling have been ignored.

Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni, director of the National Institutes of Health, recently dissented from the administration's position by saying its restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research were holding back progress and should be lifted.

Scientists outside the government also have complained about what some call the administration's "war on science."

In the case of the surgeon general, Carmona told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, "the reality is that the nation's doctor has been marginalized and relegated to a position with no independent budget, and with supervisors who are political appointees with partisan agendas."

His testimony drew a pointed rebuke from the White House. Officials suggested that any breakdown in communicating health information to the public was ultimately a failure on his part. "Dr. Carmona was given the authority and had the obligation to be the leading voice for the health of all Americans," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said.

"It's disappointing to us if he failed to use his position to the fullest extent in advocating for policies he thought were in the best interests of the nation. We believe Dr. Carmona received the support necessary to carry out his mission," Fratto said.

Carmona served his four-year term as surgeon general and was not reappointed. A trauma surgeon from Arizona with no previous experience in a high-level Washington post, he told the committee he had taken the job believing he could be an unbiased public health educator.

But he said, "I was blocked at every turn."

In an interview, Carmona said he thought about quitting many times, but added: "You also realize that if you quit, who else is going to do this job?"

One of his major accomplishments as surgeon general was a landmark report on the dangers of secondhand smoke. Its release was delayed for political reasons, he said. Other reports on mental health, emergency preparedness and global health issues were blocked, he added.

Carmona said he also ran afoul of politics on teen pregnancy prevention. Although the administration emphasizes abstinence from sexual relations, Carmona said he believed a variety of approaches was needed, including contraception for teens who are sexually active.

The administration "did not want to hear the science … but wanted to preach abstinence, which I felt was scientifically incorrect," Carmona testified.

On the issue of stem cell research, Carmona said he found much of the discussion within the government "devoid of science."

Embryonic stem cells can be grown into any type of cell in the body, and many scientists see in them the promise of a cure for diseases such as Parkinson's and diabetes. But producing the cells involves the destruction of human embryos — which religious conservatives and others find morally objectionable.

Bush has limited federal funding for stem cell research and blocked attempts by Congress to lift the restriction.

Carmona testified alongside former Surgeons General C. Everett Koop and David Satcher, who served in the Reagan and Clinton administrations, respectively. They also told the committee that they had faced political interference — particularly on morally charged issues such as sexuality or drug use.

Carmona said their testimony showed that political interference was "a systemic problem," but he also said several former surgeons general told him they had never seen it rise to the levels he described.

"The surgeon general has to be independent if the surgeon general is going to have any credibility," said Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles), chairman of the oversight committee.

Some Republican committee members sought other explanations for Carmona's frustration. They suggested that Carmona, who worked his way up from humble origins and was decorated for combat service in Vietnam, simply wasn't cut out for the Washington insider's game of bureaucratic turf battles.

Though called the nation's top doctor, the surgeon general actually reports to an assistant secretary at the Health and Human Services Department.

The House hearing occurred two days before a Senate panel meets to consider the nomination of Carmona's replacement, a Kentucky cardiologist who already has become a political lightning rod.

As a prominent lay member of the United Methodist Church, Dr. James W. Holsinger Jr. strongly opposed liberalizing church policies toward gays. His stance, including his views in a paper he wrote on human anatomy and homosexuality, has drawn strong opposition from major gay and lesbian organizations.

Several prominent Democratic senators have expressed reservations about Holsinger, raising questions of whether he can be confirmed.


ricardo.alonso-zaldivar@latimes.com

[viagradiscounttt]

His testimony drew a pointed rebuke from the White House. Officials suggested that any breakdown in communicating health information to the public was ultimately a failure on his part. "Dr. Carmona was given the authority and had the obligation to be the leading voice for the health of all Americans," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said.

"It's disappointing to us if he failed to use his position to the fullest extent in advocating for policies he thought were in the best interests of the nation. We believe Dr. Carmona received the support necessary to carry out his mission," Fratto said.

Cynical hypocrites.

The best defense is a good offense, I guess, even if it's a lie.

Spin is the only thing that has kept this administration from being swept away by a tsunami of indignation. They spin everything.

[MilenaJaf]

^
Maybe Spin will be the theme of the future Bush library.

Will he even have one? I can't see it.

[Toninvell]

Cynical hypocrites.

The best defense is a good offense, I guess, even if it's a lie.

Spin is the only thing that has kept this administration from being swept away by a tsunami of indignation. They spin everything.

Works for gyroscopes......

[drexigordiche]

... the future Bush library.

Will he even have one?

If so, the first acquisiton ...

The Pet Goat

[AnIInWon]

God, it seems like we are living in a horror movie.



Any shot this guy^^ is running for prez??

[Qauunet]

>Bump

[irrelaAnnekly]

The courts are going back and forth ...

Federal Stem Cell Funding is Temporarily Back on Track

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
by Ashby Jones
SEPTEMBER 10, 2010, 9:37 AM ET

The federal government, at least for now, has been given the go ahead to fund research involving human embryonic stem cells.

Washington, D.C. federal judge Royce Lamberth (pictured) last month issued an injunction against such funding on the grounds that it violates a 1996 law that prohibits federal money for research in which an embryo is destroyed.

The National Institutes of Health had suspended funding for some research projects in the wake of Lamberth’s ruling. The judge earlier this week had rejected the Justice Department’s request to lift his injunction pending an appeal of his ruling.

But yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit agreed to lift Lamberth’s injunction.

The appellate court, however, also indicated that it was not making a final decision in the case. The government is unlikely to resume funding of stem cell research until the appellate court issues its final ruling.

FULL ARTICLE

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