This is a platform to comment on local, state and national politics and political news. A special area of interest is the role of corporate media in politics as we move closer and closer to one huge corporation owning all of the media outlets in the country and stifling all independent and critical voices. It will also focus on the absurd 30-plus year Nixonesque political strategy of the “liberal media” lie.
This blog is on temporary hiatus because of my job and thin-skinned Republicans.
The deliberate deceptions by the opponents of Ballot Proposal 2 that will allow embryonic stem cell research continue.
Prop 2 proposal opponent Sen. Tom George, R-Kalamazoo, has been traveling the state debating the proponents of Proposal 2. Clearly, the head-to-head debates are a great idea, but the only problem is George, an anesthesiologist, is the only person the opposition can find to debate for their side. This time, George debated former Republican Congressman and medical doctor Joe Schwarz, of Cure Michigan, at a forum at Wayne State University, according to the Detroit Free Press.
One of the biggest deceptive talking points that has been repeated time after time is that as written, Proposal 2 would prevent the state from regulating a science that critics believe could lead to human-animal hybrids and other "chimeric" creatures.
According to the Free Press, George told "the seemingly pro-stem cell crowd, he said, "You can be in favor of embryonic stem cell research and still oppose this measure." He refused to say if he personally was in favor of embryonic stem cell research.
Schwarz called out George on the false talking point that the Legislature could do nothing to regulate stem cell research.
"I maintain that if this passes, that Tom George and the health committee in the Senate will be setting up a regulatory framework around which this research could be done," Schwarz said.
Better yet, if George is not against embryonic stem cell research and wants to ensure it's regulated properly, then he can vote for House Bill 4616 that will allow the creation of embryonic stem cells for research and HB 4617 and 4618 that would increase the penalties for engaging or attempting to engage in human cloning.
HB 4616 was introduced by Rep. Andy Meisner, D-Ferndale, on April 19, 2007 and is stuck in the Judiciary Committee. HBs 4617 and 4618 were introduced by Rep. Mark Meadows, D-Lansing, and are also stuck in the Judiciary Committee. George can get an assurance from the Senate Majority Leader that the bills will be taken up by Senate during the Lame Duck session so they can be moved out of the House Committee. He can then rewrite them any way he pleases to ensure proper regulation.
The debate over embryonic stem cell research and Michigan's Ballot Proposal 2 is simply an attempt to trump science and progress with blind ideology and politics.
We have been hammered by false and misleading TV ads funded by anti-choice groups, Catholic groups and far rightwing organizations like the Family Research Council.
Embryonic stem cells have the potential to cure countless diseases, such as autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis; cancers; cardiovascular diseases; circulatory and respiratory diseases; spinal cord injuries; infectious diseases like HIV; metabolic diseases like cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease; muscular dystrophies; neurological diseases of adulthood like Alzheimer's disease and Lou Gehrig's disease; and neurological diseases of childhood like Asperger's syndrome and autism. The embryos are never implanted in a woman’s body, and the embryos are routinely discarded by fertility clinics.
The bottom line is this: instead of using the embryos for anything useful and helping the more than 770,000 Michigan residents who are suffering from the above mentioned diseases, opponents of embryonic stem cell research would rather see them thrown in the trash. That is just sad.
Cure Michigan, proponents of the ballot proposal, have done an excellent job of putting a human face on the 770,000 Michiganders this could help if passed. One is a friend of mine, Julielyn Gibbons. Her very personal video makes me proud she grew up and her parents still live in my home county of Livingston County in Green Oak Township.
I met her through blogging and politics, and the "Cruise Director" – as she is affectingly known in the liberal blogging world - is one of the people responsible for the success of liberal blogs. She works hard for what she believes in, and that's why she is working hard in this campaign. I have never seen her in a bad mood, despite the pain she has been in. But her story is just one of many personal stories, and the web site has many more.
For another good piece of video, check out the "Off the Record" episode with Tim Skubick that features an opponent and a proponent of Proposal 2, as well as Prop 1, debating the issue. For me, this is the best way to reach a decision instead of a one-on-one interview where statements can go unchallenged when they are facing off.
It speaks volumes about the two side's agendas by who were the spokesmen, and it was science versus politics and ideology. The anti-stem cell proponent was Republican state Sen. Tom George. The proponent was Dr. Sean Morrison, the Director of the University of Michigan Center for Stem Cell Biology. Granted, George is also a medical doctor, but he is playing the role of politician. It's worth watching.
What we have seen from the opponents of Prop 2 is false, misleading and even disgusting ads from the opponents of stem cell research. They have pushed falsehood after falsehood. They have falsely claimed it will raise taxes. Only 12 states have chosen to publicly fund embryonic stem cell research, and this proposal does not do that. The fact is Michigan is losing out on millions of dollars in federal funding and grants.
They also falsely claim it will open the door on human cloning, but they are, of course, ignoring the fact that a 1988 Michigan law already bans human cloning. Opponents also claim Proposal 2 would allow unrestricted research. Not true because the research conducted in Michigan meets existing strict federal laws and guidelines.
The newest one I heard says even if Proposal 2 is voted down embryonic stem cell research will still go on. That ignores that research here is severely limited to existing stem cell lines, many of which are contaminated and unsuitable for study, and any attempt to create new ones is a felony. Michigan has three of the best research universities in the country, but we have already lost some of brightest minds to states that allow embryonic stem cell research.
To see how politicized this has become we have the Catholic Bishop for the Lansing Diocese criticizing Gov. Jennifer Granholm for her support of Proposition 2. Now, I'm not a catholic, but apparently the Governor is a Catholic. I don't see why that even matters, and the Bishop's opinion is just one more opinion and that's not based on fact or science.
What the Catholic Church thinks is irrelevant, and I don't understand why their opinion carries any more weight than supporters of Prop 2, like the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, the American Dental Association or the Unitarian-Universalist Association of Congregations.
This reminds of the issues raised when President Kennedy, the only Catholic President, was running. It was feared he would take policy direction from the Vatican. He put that to rest in a speech in 1960 to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association: "I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president - should he be Catholic- how to act."
Nonpartisan Livingston County Voters Voice and Community Unitarian Universalists in Brighton are sponsoring a forum on the expansion of embryonic stem cell research that is on the General Election Ballot at 7 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Brighton Performing Arts Center at Brighton High School, 7878 Brighton Rd.
In July, the Stem Cell Research Ballot Question Committee, now called Cure Michigan, filed petitions with 570,793 signatures to place the question on the ballot. On Nov. 4 voters will vote on Proposal 2 that will allow the expansion of embryonic stem cell research. Federal law allows embryonic stem cell research, but it bans federal funding of it. But Michigan has even tougher restrictions, and Michigan law makes conducting the research a felony. Rep. Andy Meisner, D-Ferndale, introduced House Bills 4616-4618 in April 2007 that lift that restriction, but the bills are stalled in the Judiciary Committee.
The proposal on the ballot will allow doctors and researchers to use leftover embryos from fertility clinics that would otherwise be discarded as medical waste, and use them instead for finding cures and saving lives.
Dr. Jack Mosher, Assistant Research Scientist at the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute, and former Republican U.S. Congressman and medical doctor Joe Schwarz will be the presenters.
Embryonic stem cells are primitive cells that can be generated in a Petri dish after an egg is fertilized by sperm in a dish in a fertility clinic. Many scientists consider stem cell research the most promising medical technology of the 21st century. Stem cells could be used to treat or cure more than 70 diseases and conditions affecting millions of people, including diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, cancer, multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS), spinal cord injuries, blindness, and HIV/AIDS.
The proposal has widespread support, and the only real opposition is coming from anti-choice groups like Right to Life because of false claims that it will promote human cloning and that it is destroying human life. It ignored the fact that the eggs are simply thrown away when no logger needed.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information call Voters Voice at (810) 229-7887.
The Voter's Voice is a group for independents, moderate Democrats and moderate Republicans formed in 2002 for people concerned about politics and public policy.
