Don't know where you all stand on this issue...but we now know where JRB is!

[Debi]

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/

Differing on stem cells

Joe Biden today waded into the now-sensitive discussion of developmentally disabled kids, my colleague Victoria McGrane reports, and differed with Palin on the issue, though he didn't mention her by name:

I hear all this talk about how the Republicans are going to work in dealing with parents who have both the joy, because there's joy to it as well, the joy and the difficulty of raising a child who has a developmental disability, who were born with a birth defect. Well guess what folks? If you care about it, why don't you support stem cell research?

Palin reportedly opposes much stem cell research; McCain supports it.


+++++++++++++++++++++++

I say YEA JOE! :bounce;

[jillan]

1. Debi-

Is there anything I (we) can do for the campaign on this topic?

I have been thinking alot about this - how Palin said she would be an advocate for Special moms, yet slashed funding for SpecEd in Alaska.
I've been feeling that I need to do something.

At the minimum, I'm thinking about getting a bumper sticker made that says -
"Special Needs Parent for Obama", altho I need to work on the wording - that one sounds like I am the one with special needs....which most days, I am :P

[gateley]

2. I think that would be a FABULOUS idea, P!

It's almost as though they've give that part of our population to Palin.

And by the way, I'm not sure about the slashing funding. Someone posted that a lot of the things we're running with aren't factually backed up. Gotta look into it more, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was true. It's such a Republican thing to do.

[jillan]

3. Really? I need to look into that too.

But I wouldn't be surprised. Some repug in my state went hard after taking away money for special needs kids' programs. Luckily, Janet Napolitano is my governor and vetoed it.


But Biden is right.
Omg - my daughter was in the hospital again, and let me tell you... it is a whole different ballgame when it is a special needs child laying that hospital bed. Such bullshit, I cannot believe it. It's like I cannot leave her side. When my daughter first got sick a couple of years ago, the very thing she was sick from could have been helped by stem cell research. I sat by her side in ICU watching C-span as the repugs voted against funding for stem cell research. They talk about being pro-life, yet they don't give a shit about the living.

Sorry for the rant - got alot of pent up frustration right now :(

[gateley]

5. They say that Republicans are pro-life up until birth. After that... not so much.

I'm looking for the thread where it was. The DUer wasn't a troll -- just admonishing (rightly so) that we shouldn't run with these stories until we know for sure. Otherwise it'll be like the list of banned books which was bogus. S/he linked to factcheck.org.

There's a guest on a radio show I listen to who is a medical researcher. He was talking about research and actual trials and some non U.S. physicians doing a treatment, where the patient was treated with their OWN stem cells. Although in it's beginning stages, our own stem cells seem to work better than embryonic stem cells. On one of the shows they had a young girl on who was paralyzed in a car accident. She went to whatever country/doctor and had the treatment (with her own stem cells) done. She's walking. She had a lot of physical therapy and it's been a long process, but she's walking! Something the US doctors, with our current treatments, informed her she would never do again.

His name is Christian Wild and his website is www.myheartbook.com. He's written a book about what he's learned in the area of heart research. If you're interested, I'd suggest signing up for his newsletter (which I'm going to do when I get a job!) because he reports all the research and lists trials of what's going on around the world.

It's a pretty low-tech site, so don't be dissuaded.

I also have heard that he really tries to answer all questions he receives, so if there's something you think he could help you with, I'd give it a shot.

[jillan]

8. Interesting stuff!

I watched a program once on c-span that had a panel of people that were being helped by stemcells.
But had to leave the country to get the treatment they needed, but they were willing to do it because it helped them like nothing else could.

It was so touching, I will never forget their stories.

[gateley]

11. I THINK he said that they are beginning to look into doing research

with a person's own stem cells HERE, but I'm not positive.

That to me seems like a win/win. The Repubs couldn't argue against it, and the benefits to SO MANY PEOPLE with so many problems would be enormous!

I'm ashamed of my country sometimes.

[jillan]

12. What is so sad is this is another area where America is going to fall behind other countries.

So much for being the leader in innovation. Makes me sick.

[PatSeg]

6. Your rant is most appropriate

Why is it most pro-lifers (at least the high profile ones) are also pro-war, pro-hunting, anti-science, anti-women, anti-children, pro-capital punishment, etc?

The hypocrisy is so glaring!

[jillan]

9. Why they're not called out on it more often is beyond me.

Protect the fetus, then you're on your own.

[PatSeg]

13. I don't understand it either

I guess that's because we're "rational" and multi-dimensional. Whereas republicans appeal to one-track mentality. Their followers can't hold more than one thought in their head without having a melt-down. Just give 'em a slogan (the shorter the better) and a flag to wave and they're happy as shit!

[jillan]

7. You are right about her not slashing funds for special ed.

I just did some research on it, and it looks like there was a change in the way some major program was funded, making it look like there was a slash in funding, when there was actually an increase.

Glad to hear it, one less thing I loath about her.

[gateley]

15. We should point that out when we see it posted. Where did you find

the info?

[WheelWalker]

17. I think the facts as develop point out to a situation where money

allocated to special needs ed was put in a different bucket (line item), so the line item from the previous period looked slashed, but the money showed up again in another special needs ed bucket: therefore, there was not a reduction of funding overall, but a movement of funding. Where they moved it to is, of course, a legitimate question. I'll try to find that link.

[Debi]

10. Read this before pursuing the 'special education fuding' attack

http://www.newsweek.com/id/157986

(don't ask why Newsweek is doing the McCain/Palin's work for them....that's a whole other issue)

I think a specific group is a great idea - it gives all of us 'ownership' in the campaign for our own personal reasons.

[jillan]

14. Okay lady with the connections -

I'm in.

I just can't sit here and let her speak for me.


I couldn't get that link to work from Newsweek (my computer has been crazy lately)
but if it said that she didn't slash funding, I did some research and saw that funding for SpEd actually increased. good.

[Debi]

16. My 'connections' got me into a public campaign event....I'm not that high on the list

And frankly this campaign is not Joe Biden's but Barack Obama's - so I'm OUT and we need to find someone who is IN with the Obama folks.

Anyone??? :shrug:

[gateley]

4. Here's a thread on it:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=7001391&mesg_id=7001391