MEDICAL PATENTS: The absurdity of patenting a gene...

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In a radical departure from my usual blogging subjects, today’s topic will be PATENTS and the absurd way they are being handled by our judicial system.

As you know, if you invent something, you can patent that invention.  A patent acknowledges you as the owner of the invention and prevents all others from copying it and or selling it without your permission.

The concept of a patent seems very simple but lately that simple concept has been challenged.

Since I work in a medical industry that has many patented technologies, I started becoming concerned when patents were being granted for “ideas” or “interpretations”. Let me give you an example. CRP or C - reactive protein, is a naturally occurring substance in our blood that when measured, can indicate a specific medical condition. A high level usually indicates a state of inflammation.

Some medical researcher who studied CRP and the role of inflammation in humans, concluded, based on his studies, that the inflammation the CRP test indicates could point to  cardiac involvement as in cardiovascular disease and he wants to patent that conclusion? What the hell did he invent?

So in our literature that comes with our CRP test, we cannot state that elevated CRP levels may indicate a coronary problem because that conclusion belongs to a specific scientist and only he can use the conclusion even though the conclusion applies to all makers of CRP tests.

Now a federal appeals court has granted a patent to a firm that discovered a variant of a human gene.

Now we all know that we, as humans, posses genes which govern who we are and everything about us. Since the Gnome Project which mapped out our DNA sequence, we are quickly discovering the roles of individual genes. We are also discovering which gene mutations cause certain conditions or diseases.

One company, researching breast and ovarian cancer causes, discovered the gene mutations that indicate a heightened risk of breast or ovarian cancer. These genes are labeled as BRCA1 and BRCA2 and testing for the presence of these gene mutants could warn females of their impending risk and allow them to take preventive measures.

Well the company that discovered these genes and their correlation with cancer has patented that discovery which prohibits researchers from using those genes to develop tests as well as perform further research.

Since these gene mutants exist in humans, what the hell did they invent? They just discovered the genes that cause a specific cancer and to me, that medical discovery is un-patentable as are all other medical discoveries. Now if you invented a unique test to identify these mutant genes…that’s an invention…go patent it…but you cannot patent a naturally occurring material even if you were the first to discover it.

One judge said that “Extracting a gene is akin to snapping a leaf from a tree”.

This will go to the Supreme Court BUT my point is why it has to, when simple logic should have prevailed in this case.

I think judges can be easily bamboozled by creative scientists using all sorts of scientific jargon that judges could not possibly be conversant with and that is my point, an invention is an invention, finding something is not inventing it; it was always there.

Related articles

• Divided Appeals Court Rules That Companies May Patent Breast Cancer Genes, but Invalidates Patents on Comparing the Genes (redantliberationarmy.wordpress.com)
• US Court upholds Myriad's breast cancer gene patents (blogs.nature.com)
• Federal court upholds patenting on human genes ()
• Federal court upholds patenting on human genes (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Court Greenlights Cancer Gene Patent (paralegalsandiego.wordpress.com)
• Appeals Court overrules lower court, upholds breast cancer gene test (arstechnica.com)
• Most women carrying cancer genes take action: study (mazumdarshawcancercenter.wordpress.com)

OBAMA: Punish the rich strategy?

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I have written about Obama’s campaign to vilify the so called “rich” (>$250,000) as not paying their “fair” share of taxes is getting a little grating on people who know their economics and know where his populist brand of socialism is heading.

Democrats, by their very nature, need to rob the rich to give to the poor and where in the days of Robin Hood, that strategy made sense, it no longer is a valid and worthwhile economic endeavor and actually will harm our fragile economy.

While in Atlanta, attending a convention, I ran into an article in USA Today titled: “Punishing the rich: Impractical, unethical” by Michael Medved (Tuesday, July 26, 2011).

The facts are these: The top 5% earn 35% of the adjusted gross income but pay 59% of all income taxes. Take a look at that again…the top 5% of earners in this country pay nearly 60% of all taxes; that leaves only 40% for the rest of the 95% of income earners.

Out of the remaining 95% of wage earners, 50% pay NO taxes at all. The remaining 45% of wage earners (Middle Class) pay the remainder so how can Obama say that the rich are getting away with murder?

Just the word “rich” applied to anyone or any household that makes $250,000 or more is absurd; how can you compare someone earning $250,000 to someone making multiples of millions?

Medved points out that most Americans want to be rich, they strive to be rich, they dream about being rich so rich is a goal and not an abomination. People that have reached their goals are living the American dream and for that they should be punished?

Democrats are all about poor people and how money from the rich provides welfare for the poor. Nobody wants to be poor and instead of teaching the poor how to better themselves and get out of poverty, the Democrats encourage poverty by paying them to stay poor; they make more money on welfare than trying to work for a living.

Obama wants to prevent people from becoming rich by heavily taxing their income. As a nation, I think we want MORE rich people and FEWER poor people but Obama disagrees?

Medved points out the disconnect that occurs when you try to punish the high achievers and reward those that are dysfunctional and therefore dependent on government handouts; does that even make sense?

Obama’s brand of populism which promotes hatred and resentment in the have-nots against those that have, is not only a dangerous game but it is unproductive and in the end will destroy him and his party.

I don’t like radical Tea Partiers but their message of taking personal responsibility for not only yourself and your family but also responsibility for making this country great, is a message that a majority of Americans can agree with and Obama’s push for forced unionization and more welfare will not sit well with the majority of responsible, hard working Americans and will lead to his political demise.

Related articles

• Robert Barro: Robin Hood Can't Lead Us Out of the Debt Hole (online.wsj.com)
• Why is our government AFRAID to tax American Rich People!!??? (bonjupatten.wordpress.com)
• The Democrats' Big Tax Lie (thedailybeast.com)
• Why Is Yale Grad And Radio Host Michael Medved Spreading Lies About CA's LGBT History Bill? (queerty.com)
• 10 reviews of Americans Earning in excess of $200K (rateitall.com)
• Poor are not poor because rich are rich (dakotavoice.com)
• Letters: The end is near; help people in here, now (knoxnews.com)

NORWAY TRAGEDY: Religion again at the core...

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I have not written about the massacre in Norway because I was stunned just like everybody else. It was very hard to even imagine a crazy kook like Anders Behring Breivik, methodically shooting and killing young people gathered on an island for a camp experience.

I had to wait till some sense of the tragedy could be made by the police there and now we know that when all is said and done, it is again a matter of RELIGION.

Leonard Pitts, Jr. a great columnist featured in the Detroit Free Press, tried to put some words about the tragedy into play. He talked about 9/11 as a Muslim inspired tragedy, the psychiatrist shooting soldiers in Texas inspired by his Muslim religion, Quran burning pastor in Florida uses Christianity for his antics, arson to stop construction of a mosque in Tennessee and now a Norwegian conservative Christian killing his own, probably Christian, countrymen because their political affiliation allowed Muslims into his Christian country.

Yup, religion at the core of the turmoil; my god is better than your god! Of course the religions are tied to cultures and that is where the clashes are coming from.

Germany and France have already stated that they want immigrants to become westernized or at least abide by western cultural rules or don’t come at all…but they keep coming for mainly “economic” reasons; read better life.

I guess the clashes are inevitable but do they have to be so extreme and inhuman?

In Dearborn, Michigan we have one of the largest ARAB populations in the country. Yes, many are Christians but others Muslim and we have no problems (except for the Quran burning asshole from Florida); Mosques are built next to synagogues and cathedrals and churches with no problems; we, as a people, as a family, want the same things for ourselves and our children, so we live all as Americans.

But there will be pockets in this country and obviously in the world, where things won’t come together smoothly but I feel in time, we will all realize that we belong to the human brotherhood and not to some religion that demands we remain separate and different from others with different religions.

My hope and goal is for religion to take a back seat in our lives and our shared humanity to be of primary concern but alas, that will not come to pass, at least not in my lifetime but maybe in my grandkid’s time…I hope.

Related articles

• Bill Maher On Norway Bombing: "Religion Is What Gives People License To Commit Crazy Acts" (thenewspundit.com)
• Religion and Violence (aphilosopher.wordpress.com)
• My Argument Against Organized Religion (inurbase.wordpress.com)
• Bill Maher To Panel On Norway Gunman: 'He's A Christian Terrorist' (mediaite.com)
• What are the Similarities between churches synagogues and mosques (wiki.answers.com)
• On the Norway Terrorist: The View from the Muslim Perspective (zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com)
• Chrislam (pjh95811.wordpress.com)

FAA RE- AUTHORIZATION BILL: Unions once again are blocking legislation...

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I am sure you have not been following the FAA (Federal Aviation Agency) funding reauthorization battle between the House and the Senate in our capital.

I just wanted to remind everyone that the stumbling block in these seemingly simple issues, is again Obama’s sticking union demands into everything he does.

In this case, unionization rules for airline and railroad employees required that a “majority” of those employees agree to unionization and not just a majority of those voting in an election. These rules have been standing for nearly three-quarters of a century (75 years).

Obama and his union twits want to make unionization easy as pie and so they changed the long-standing rules to require a simple voting majority to approve unionization and that could mean 51%, leaving 49% of the workers NOT wanting to unionize, whistling Dixie.

If you remember, the reason very much needed free trade agreements are in limbo because Obama wants unions to receive vast amounts of money for allowing these free trade agreements to pass; is that blackmail?

I am very happy that our House of Representatives is Republican controlled and the Senate controlled by Democrats. Yes, they can “check” each others radical moves but alas, it can also cause a “stalemate” where nothing gets accomplished.

Just think about it, if Obama had his way, all employees would be unionized and unions would once again control the economy and politics and be as corrupt as they want to be.

On the issue of unionization, Obama is starting to smell… a lot!

Related articles

• Congress must OK trade agreements to create jobs in Washington and the U.S. (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• AP source: Obama delays work on trade pacts (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• UNIONS: Obama may have lost my vote on this one... (jmszyszko.blogspot.com)
• FAA shutdown complicated by debt negotiations (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

UNION RECALL ACTIONS: In Canton, Michigan...

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Friday, July 29, 2011

To:         Canton Observer

Re:         “Colbeck targeted in latest recall drive”, July 28, 2011

I may not like everything my state senator Patrick Colbeck stands for and if I really conclude that he is not doing the job that I think he should be doing, I vote against him in the next election; that is how our democratic process works.

The so called “very, very angry people” who are attempting to recall Senator Colbeck for supporting emergency manager legislation, are not only wasting taxpayer’s money but undermining the legitimate votes of a majority of voters in Canton that elected Patrick Colbeck do a specific job; get our state’s finances in order and get us out of the fiscal morass we are in.

There is no question that the recall effort is pushed by unions angry at the power given to emergency managers that include vacating union contracts that are no longer sustainable and probably very ill-advised to begin with.

Unions, it appears, are not willing to allow our democratic process to properly function but as witnessed by the many union sponsored recalls nationwide, are hell bent on getting their way by hook or by crook.

All I can say to these union lackeys is to grow up and face reality. Michigan is finally waking up and seeing the damage caused by politicians paying unions for their voter support and money by voting for every benefit the unions asked for.

Senator Colbeck is exactly the type of politicians the state desperately needs right now; a politician unafraid to do what is good for the state and its people and not kowtow to union workers and leaders who represent only a small fraction of the state’s population, but are used to getting everything they want, all the time.

B-17 FLYING FORTRESS: My ride into history...

Yesterday, I finally realized my birthday present given to me by my daughter and son-in-law which was a ride on the famous WWII bomber, the B-17 Flying Fortress at the annual air show at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Willow Run is also the location of the Ford Motor Company’s B-24 Liberator factory where during WWII; one bomber per hour came out the factory doors. Ford’s assembly line put out 650 planes per month and 18,400 in total.

Anyway, my first impression after climbing on board was what a sardine can. The men of that generation must have been much smaller than we are and probably much younger and skinnier because we all had problems getting around.

Couple of guys could not get to the front of the plane because they could not cross the bomb bay section which consisted of a very narrow steel path and two support beams that you had to slide sideways through; they were also very narrow.

We got to sit in all the positions, gunners, bombardier, navigator, radio man and could visit the cockpit and watch the pilots do their thing.

The plane was noisy as hell and very hot. They took off one of the plastic bubbles to allow some air circulation.

To get to the bombardier’s seat, you had to crawl below the cockpit and into the front bubble; I hit my head a number of times.

The flying fortress had guns basically on every side: back, front, below, above and on either side. I tried to imagine how things were inside when the plane was under attack by fighters like the Messerschmitt; it must have been hell.

Related articles

• Aviation History (dynolights.com)
• Vintage WWII bomber plane crashes outside Chicago (thestar.com)

UNIONS: Canton school bus driver's union not too bright...

Here in Canton, Michigan our school board is faced with the daunting task of cutting $11 million out of the school budget due to cuts in state funding; many school districts here are facing similar if not worst situations.

I have maintained that there is always waste in budgets or money spent unwisely or the possibility of a better deal somewhere and I have always said that PRIVATIZING programs will ALWAYS save you money and this goes for any and all spending budgets.

Plymouth – Canton schools employ some 150 unionized bus drivers and monitors which cost the schools $6.4 million annually. The board decided to privatize and sent out for bids which also included the driver’s union as a potential bidder.

Michigan Educational Transportation Systems, Inc., the only outside bidder, came in at $3.5 million, saving the schools $2.5 million in its first year. You ask, why wasn’t this done years ago? Well, Michigan is a union state and that is why we are broke but when push comes to shove, we are forced to see the light and go for what makes real sense.

Here is the kicker, the school board showed the bid from METS and said that if the union matched the bid, they could have it. WOW – we are incredibly stupid when it comes to unions and that is why we are paying for it now.

The idiot union came in at a much higher quote than METS and so the board signed on with METS and what did the union have to say for itself? They said we were ready to negotiate some on their bid which is totally idiotic since the board said MATCH THE BID or else. Somehow the union did not quite understand this?

Anyhow, the drivers will have first dibs on driving for the new company with basically the same pay scale as they were getting…which ain’t bad in my opinion.

How is METS able to bid so low? I suspect it is not the wages that drive the cost but it is all those extra benefits like health insurance, pension payments and whatever else makes union jobs so desirable and so unsustainable during our recession or depression.

I have to hand it to the school board for doing what was needed to be done. They still have a long way to go but I think they realize that they cannot keep postponing the HARD decisions that have to be made.

Related articles

• UNIONS: Our economic future is at stake here...they cannot succeed... (jmszyszko.blogspot.com)
• MICHIGAN TENURE REFORM LAW: We must be able to fire bad teachers... (jmszyszko.blogspot.com)

ECONOMY: Balanced Budget Amendment is a goofy idea...

Now the Republicans and Tea Party nuts are calling for a CONSTITUTIONAL AMMENDMENT to force our government to BALANCE THE BUDGET. We all know how difficult it is to pass an amendment to our Constitution (2/3 states vote yes) but we passed the Prohibition Amendment so it is not impossible BUT is a law requiring a balanced budget actually good for us.

Tea Party people are saying the government budget should be run like a family budget; incoming matches outgoing or better yet; you spend what you make. Well, I don’t know of any family that has a balanced budget; most families run a deficit because we borrow…

We borrow to buy homes (mortgages), to buy cars (auto loans), send kids to college (education loans) and of course we use our credit cards most unwisely. So the best a family can do is to make sure there is enough money coming in to cover monthly payments.

Running a deficit, as explained in the last blog, is a tool to stabilize the economy during a recession or down-turn, without it we would enter into a another DEPRESSION so a balanced budget idea is just plain stupid and the Republicans know that but again, they are trying to placate the Tea Party…why?

BUT there is nothing wrong with cutting the deficit to a manageable level by eliminating wasteful spending and starting to take control over rising health costs.

I bring up health costs because I will be 65 next year and me and many millions of my fellow baby-boomers will be filing for MEDICARE and if you think healthcare costs are out of control now, wait till next year…

ECONOMY: Deficit a must during recession...

There was a great article in the Detroit News this morning titled: “DEFICIT DEBATE STIRS UP MYTHS: by Brian J. O’Connor which prompted me to talk economy AGAIN.

I have stated in the past that the reason I don’t want the democrats to raise taxes was because I believe (I am not an economist) that taking money OUT of the economy specifically at this time in our history, is detrimental to the economy; money should be in consumer’s hands.

I also believe that if democrats raise taxes, they will spend the extra revenue on their pet welfare projects and also, they will not cut waste in a serious manner; don’t give them money to play with.

I still believe as I expect everybody else does, that the economy can only recover when consumers start spending again and they will not do that if they are scared about tomorrow or if they are out of a job, so confidence and jobs (low unemployment) are the key.

The “debt ceiling” battle in Congress is all politics; Bush did it numerous times without a peep out of anybody. The Republicans want Obama out in 2012 so they are making political hay at the economy’s and our expense.

I also want to throw in the role of the so called TEA PARTY RADICALS who Congressmen and women think have control over elections and that is just not so. Also, many Tea Party members are ignorant about economics and think they know how to solve our fiscal morass; they don’t.

I think it bears repeating what Brian O’Conner wrote in his column, as a means of helping to dispel the many economic myths that seem to get people all upset and angry.

The biggest myth is thinking that the DEFICIT is somehow hurting the economy as the Tea Party would want you to believe but it is important to show the difference between WASTEFUL spending and spending that creates jobs.

In other words, cutting spending on programs that support jobs is counter-productive; we do not need to loose any more jobs and add to the unemployment lines. We do need to cut spending on programs that basically “waste” taxpayer’s money.

Again, in a down economy like ours, the government by necessity has to show a deficit because the tax revenues are down (because of the down turn) but spending on safety net programs like unemployment, food stamps and Medicaid is up. Add to this “stimulus” spending and the deficit goes way up; the spending is a must and actually keeps the economy alive.

Now add to this our myriad wars or military actions that cost billions per month and the Bush tax cuts on the rich…are you starting to see the problem?

More on the flip side…

Related articles

• Tea Party Republicans to push for huge cuts (cbc.ca)
• Or Else: Tea Party Wants What It Wants When It Wants It (bilerico.com)
• Why Did Congress Waste Six Months? (themoderatevoice.com)
• Why Unemployment Makes the Tea Party Happy (my.firedoglake.com)
• The Latest Debt Kamikaze: The Tea Party (outsidethebeltway.com)
• Who to Blame for the Debt Fiasco (usnews.com)
• Obama on progressives, deficits, jobs and entitlements (dailykos.com)

MICHELE BACHMANN: Anti-Catholic?

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Michele Bachmann is in the news quite often because she is the front runner in the Republican presidential race AND because she has a lot of issues surrounding her that make for interesting chatter.

I have already mentioned that on historical matters, both her and Palin are dumb as dirt BUT she tries to defend her historical miss-pronouncements which just makes her look dumber.

She is good at avoiding embarrassing questions as when her husband’s psychological counseling practice was revealed to try to cure people of their “gayness”, something normal psychologists and psychiatrists say may be dangerous and definitely detrimental to gays seeking help. She merely said that she is concentrating on creating more jobs in the U.S. and has no time to talk about what her husband does.

Now, the Lutheran denomination the Bachmanns “used” to belong to (over a decade but left in June) has been asked to explain why they believe the pope or the papacy is the anti-Christ. Does that make Michele an anti-Catholic?

The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) of which Bachmann’s church is a part of (Salem Lutheran Church in Stillwater, Minnesota) said that they identify the anti-Christ as the papacy based on historical judgment based on Scripture. They added that it is the office of the papacy that they view as the anti-Christ and not individual popes.

Well, many people I bet have never heard the pope or the papacy called the anti-Christ but I have and many protestant denominations hold that view and especially the more conservative Lutheran denominations.

It goes back to ole’ Luther himself who, as you remember, had many run-ins with the papacy due to its open corruption (selling indulgences…get your mother out of purgatory for $5). Luther challenged the papacy and eventually started the whole protestant movement.

The term “anti-Christ” is found in a number of New Testament spots, specifically in Revelations, John 1&2 and Paul talked about a “man of sin”. I won’t go into all the interpretations of the term but generally it is a man or organization that pretends to do good but is really evil and controlled by Satan.

Luther stated that the pope has set himself up in place of Christ and therefore is an anti-Christ? Luther and therefore Lutherans believe in salvation through “faith alone” and not obedience to church doctrine, church leaders or by “good works”…but that is a long and complicated argument for this space.

So is Bachmann an anti-Catholic or are Lutherans anti-Catholic? I don’t think they hate Catholics but remember that Protestantism arose because the Papacy was so corrupt so obviously the whole movement was started in opposition to the Catholic Church and their hold on religious thought and power.

Some of my protestant friends recounted what they were taught as children and that is that the pope is not infallible and no you did not have to belong to the Catholic Church to be “saved” and that the pope was an anti-Christ figure and that they cannot play with any of their Catholic friends.

Bachmann has some very serious issues about her and the fact that she is a voter favorite right now makes her even a more dangerous candidate BUT being anti-Catholic is probably not an issue at all; its just more religious mumbo-jumbo.

Related articles

• Bachmann's Former Church Defends Anti-Catholic Views (huffingtonpost.com)
• Are you now or have you ever been a Lutheran? (getreligion.org)
• Michele Bachmann & the Antichrist (andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com)
• Brief summary of Luther vs. the Pope (johnmeunier.wordpress.com)
• Ah-he-he-hem: Sally Quinn Wishes to Know To What Extent We Should Hold A Politician's Religious Associations Against Him (minx.cc)
• Antichrist (economist.com)
• Does the Media Think Michele Bachmann is the Anti-Christ? (gunnyg.wordpress.com)
• Michele Bachmann thinks the world is ending and the pope is the antichrist (salon.com)
• The Protestant Martin Luther (gofishministries.wordpress.com)

DE-CRIMINALIZE POLYGAMY?

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This headline caught my eye: “POLYGAMISTS CHALLENGE UTAH’S ANTI-POLYGAMY LAW”.

It caught my eye because I have been defending the rights of gays to marry and did not see this perfect opportunity for polygamists to demand equal rights. They are not asking us to approve of polygamy; they are asking for the government to de-criminalize it.

When polygamy makes the news, it usually involves a dirty old man marrying a bunch of 14 year old girls which makes him a statutory rapist in this country.

The suit is being brought by a family that stars in the TLC show “SISTER WIVES”. I think there have been other attempts at reality TV showing the inner workings of a polygamous family.

Males in this country may be jealous of the man in the center of a polygamous family but knowing how much trouble some wives can be; how about five of them all at once?

The family is saying “We are only challenging the right of the state to prosecute people for their private relations and demanding equal treatment with other citizens in living their lives according to their own beliefs”.

We have travelled extensively in Utah and I can tell you that there are many families there practicing polygamy as we speak.

As far as religions go, Mormonism is a truly strange one with a drunken founder (Joseph Smith, Jr.) who had visions and a leader (Brigham Young) that led them out west where they would not be persecuted and could practice their religion in peace.

Hey, two candidates for president (Mitt Romney & Jon Huntsman) are Mormons.

Child abuse and underage marriage was what criminalized polygamy so if the participants in a polygamous relationship are all adults and are living this way because of free choice; what is the problem?

We may have opened a can of worms with gay marriage and now we will have to deal with “plural marriage”…what an interesting time we live in.

I will have to ponder this one for some time…

Related articles

• Polygamists Challenge Utah's Anti-Polygamy Law (huffingtonpost.com)
• Star Of "Sister Wives" To Challenge Constitutionality Of Utah's Anti-Polygamy Law (outsidethebeltway.com)
• Polygamist reality TV family to challenge bigamy law (ctv.ca)
• 'Sister Wives' stars challenge Utah bigamy law (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• "Sister Wives" clan to challenge constitutionality of Utah's polygamy law (hotair.com)
• Sister Wives Clan Goes A-Courtin' Over Utah Polygamy Laws (eonline.com)

CNN'S AMERICAN MORNING SHOW: Drives me crazy...

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I have watched CNN’s AMERICAN MORNING newscast at 6:30 AM for many, many years. I catch up on the news while I exercise.

This year I have gotten so fed up with the show that I have been looking for some other show to watch.

Why did I get fed up? - Mainly because I cannot stand when two or more people talk over each other. Everyone knows that we all cannot speak at the same time and common courtesy tells you to allow one to finish before you start talking.

I have always been amazed at why people do that; can’t you hear that the other person is talking? I would think that professional news anchors would know that and act accordingly.

For a long time I watched the team of Kiran Chetry and John Roberts deliver the news. They were fine for a while but Kiran has the knack to talk over people talking. She even does all the talking when asking people questions, never letting them get a word in, so why in the hell are you interviewing him?

John Roberts disappeared one day and I wondered what happened until I found out today. He went to FOX after telling Kiran where to get off on live TV as she kept talking while he was doing an interview.

CNN, which I thought actually knew what they were doing, combined Kiran Chetry with Ali Velshi (whom I like) and Christine Romans, normally the economics reported who now joined them as the three anchors. Now you had them all talking at the same time, each trying to show how good they are by hogging the air time…I nearly threw something at the TV.

Now I hear that someone at CNN is finally listening to the bullshit going on and is cleaning house…Kiran Chetry is finally getting her ass kicked out but I don’t know who the new team will be.

I am a creature of habit and I don’t like my routine disrupted but now I am forced to look for a different news show at 6:30 AM. I tried CNN’s Headline News with Robin Mead but there is too much fluff and cuteness in it; I want the hard news of the day. I then tried MSNBC’s Morning Joe and it is a bit better but again there are many people around the table but they seem to know not to talk over each other but it happens…

I have written to CNN on many occasions giving them my opinion of the American Morning show but they have not listened until now or maybe they are making changes because it is the lowest ranked news show at that time slot.

Watching FOX is not an option for the sane.

I needed to get this off my chest…

Related articles

• Kiran Chetry To Leave CNN: 'This Isn't Goodbye, This Is See You Soon' (mediaite.com)
• Report: Kiran Chetry To Leave CNN (mediaite.com)
• Stu Bykofsky: A look at cable news' breakfast clubs (philly.com)

TEXAS GOVERNOR: Religious nut and law breaker...for president?

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I mentioned the FREEDOM FROM RELIGION FOUNDATION some time ago and how they are getting to be quite the activist front in the war on religion? Maybe I should say, efforts to stem illegalities by religious groups?

Anyway, Governor Rick Perry, governor of Texas and possible presidential candidate is a very far right Christian of sorts and he will be holding or organizing and supporting, a day of prayer and fasting to be held August 6 at Houston’s Reliant Stadium; this is a Christian only affair and probably only evangelicals are welcome.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation filed a suit saying, dude, it is unconstitutional for government to endorse a religion, a specific religion because we guarantee the freedom of religion as well freedom from religion for all and the government cannot guarantee that when the governor is saying, this is the religion the government of Texas supports (official state religion of Texas?).

Obviously this will not stop the crazy religious governor from having his day of prayer but it should warn citizens of this country that happen not to be so hot into religion, disagree with evangelicals, practice a religion other than Christianity or are confirmed agnostics / atheists, that this man wants to be your president and he has a lot of support from the holy rollers of this country.

Do not remain silent on the side lines, speak up; I’m glad the Freedom From Religion Foundation is keeping their eyes open, looking for signs of a religious invasion of a great country founded on freedom of and from religion.

Related articles

• FFRF Sues To Prevent Texas Governor Rick Perry's Prayer Event (patheos.com)
• Group sues to prevent Perry participation in prayer event - Austin American-Statesman (news.google.com)
• Group sues to stop Texas governor's prayer day (sfgate.com)
• Christian nation and freedom of religion (aleksandreia.wordpress.com)
• What is right to Freedom of religion (wiki.answers.com)
• Atheist Group Files Suit To Stop Rick Perry Prayer Rally (alan.com)

CATHOLIC CHURCH: Stem cell research...

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Toledo’s Catholic bishop, Leonard Blair, discouraged parishes and schools from raising money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation which supports breast cancer research.

The bishop stated that the foundation “was open to embryonic stem research and may very well fund such research in the future” and money should be directed at organizations the Church approves of.

Embryonic research (stem cell) is against Catholic teaching.

The Komen Foundation is trying to help real women with real problems, said a U of M stem cell researcher.

Since my sister and various other members of our circle have had breast cancer and some did not survive, I have a special interest in curing the disease and we have participated in many “Relays for Life” to gather funds for research to get this disease under control.

I won’t go into any technical details about stem cell research but to say that the potential is huge. And if anyone suggests to you that there has been no progress made with this type of research, they are very ignorant of the medical facts out there; miracle cures are already being documented.

My problem with the Church is its continued worship of the embryo as a potential human (even if the embryos were to be thrown away anyway) and totally ignoring the plights of adult, human beings that are in need of medical help. I can understand if babies are being killed for their cells but that is just plainly absurd.

Again, Church leaders that don’t have a clue as to the science of stem cell research are making decisions based on ignorance and superstition and that is influencing how some Catholics view things and how they behave, as in not financially supporting research that has such great potential for them and their loved ones.

The Catholic stand on stem cell research is thankfully not shared by many Catholics especially those that have family members with breast cancer. My sister is a super Catholic but she follows common sense thinking and just ignores the inane gibberish coming out of those men with the pointy hats.

The quote “helping real; women with real problems” is at the core of this issue; the Church is more concerned with their invented dogma than with real, suffering human beings and that says a lot.

Related articles

• Toledo bishop: Parishes can't fund Komen (dispatch.com)
• Stem Cell Research (healthyours.wordpress.com)
• Heroic News: "Planned Parenthood comedy show raises temperatures" plus 7 more (deaconjohnspace.wordpress.com)
• Two Patients Undergo Stem-Cell Blindness Treatment (technologyreview.in)
• The Great Debate Over Stem Cell Research (campbellzc.wordpress.com)
• Stem cell therapies move into the real world (newscientist.com)
• Lung Stem Cells Isolated (lezgetreal.com)
• Stem Cells Exactly Know Their Path: Mcmaster Researchers (medicalnewstoday.com)
• Dr Farjo BBC News 24 interview about new stem cell research and hair transplant surgery (chanaview.wordpress.com)

OBAMA: No time for ideology...action needed.

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This morning President Obama left a meeting at the White House in a huff and said he will not compromise on “raising the debt limit” by abandoning the tax increase on the rich proposal “even if it means the end to his presidency…” them are strong words indeed.

Many have said that the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy cannot and should not be allowed to continue because we just can’t afford those cuts any more. Many also say that we are taxed at record low rates so why not increase the rates for those that can afford it.

The arguments are well founded and under normal circumstances, I would agree with them BUT we are not in normal circumstances. Yes, Ronald Reagan raised taxes in a recession but he didn’t face a housing scenario that we have today. Under Reagan, the recession was just a normal economic cycle whereas today, we have a depression that has no precedents in history; we are in uncharted waters.

My big objection to raising taxes (even on the wealthy) is that it makes Democrats continue to play their spending games and will not get serious about cutting the government’s spending. As long as they can increase taxes, they will not cut spending as deeply as they need to be cut.

This may well be Obama’s only term as president and it is not only because he wants to raise taxes so badly; he has failed in other areas of the economy for ideological reasons. Instead of doing what economists indicate needs to be done, he plays around politically, supporting unions and spending on programs that do not work.

He needs to stop playing politics and get down to business. I realize that the Republicans are playing politics but they are the opposition and that is what a party in opposition does. He is the president and party ideology should not matter to him at this time; he needs to do what needs to be done period.

Related articles

• Political tensions rise as debt talks continue at White House (cnn.com)
• Hat-Gip - Again with the Reagan references (politico.com)
• Olive: America's tyranny of yokels (thestar.com)
• It's Obama's problem, until the checks don't go out (sfgate.com)
• 'C'mon, Man!' Exclaims VP in Deficit Meeting. 'Let's Get Real!' (blogs.abcnews.com)
• Obama on Debt: 'Enough Is Enough' - Fox News (news.google.com)
• Bennet Kelley: Debt Ceiling 101: The 5 Things You Should Know (huffingtonpost.com)
• Trying to break a stalemate (whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com)
• Obama warns Cantor: 'Don't call my bluff' in debt talks (thehill.com)
• Oh my: Angry Obama storms out of debt-ceiling negotiations; Update: "This may bring my presidency down, but I will not yield on this" (hotair.com)

DETROIT: Head Start money wasted all these years...Feds wake up.

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A new headline “Detroit may lose control of Head Start” is an admission from the federal government that Detroit is hopelessly broken and the millions of dollars that have been administered by the city for the last 20 years to help 7,000 children get a “head start” on their education was a waste of time and money.

The feds accused Detroit departments that handled the program (Human Services) with improper accounting (read corruption); extravagant spending (read corruption) and failed oversight (read incompetence).

You can lament the loss of all those taxpayer dollars but more damaging is the ineffective use of those dollars to help poor children get a head start in their lives.

One bright spot is that finally the federal government (under the first black president) is not simply dumping taxpayer dollars into a poor city but actually asking for accountability; Barak is no Lyndon B. Johnson it appears.

Related articles

• Ax Head Start: Ending Programs That Don't Yield Results (time.com)
• Time to Ax Public Programs That Don't Yield Results (time.com)
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NEW LOW FOR OBAMA: Using Social Security checks as hostages...

Image by Tony the Misfit via Flickr

I was very disappointed to hear that President Obama has resorted to cheap scare tactics to get his way with the debt-ceiling fiasco.

He stated that if he does not get his way, Social Security checks to 70 million elderly, veterans and people on disability may not go out next month.

This is a new low for him and I am embarrassed for him and his party.

The issue of taxing the rich should not even be on the table at this time. No tax proposals should even be discussed at this time.

The Democrats are playing their usual socialist game but in times of financial jeopardy as we are in right now, taxation is not a tool that can be used.

The Democrats want the Republicans to take the blame for shutting the government down but they are the ones that are not compromising on taxes and if they think they took a drubbing in the last election; they may not be any Democrats left after the next election.

Related articles

• Obama Holds Retirees and Vets Hostage to Debt Negotiations (treeofmamre.wordpress.com)
• Obama: If We Don't Get a Deal, I Can't Guarantee We'll Be Sending Out Social Security Checks on August 3rd (michellemalkin.com)
• Obama Warns on Social Security, Veterans' Checks (blogs.wsj.com)
• There's Finally One Guy In Washington Who's Talking Sense On The Deficit -- Too Bad Everyone Else Just Wants To Get Reelected (businessinsider.com)
• Gingrich Urges Republicans to Call Obama's Bluff on Social Security Scare (gunnyg.wordpress.com)
• Senior scare - Obama: SS checks in jeopardy (politico.com)
• Earl Ofari Hutchinson: The GOP's Debt Ceiling War Not About Debt But About Obama (huffingtonpost.com)
• Senate Republicans Considering Back-Door Debt Ceiling Increase (businessinsider.com)