Time to Approve Federal Funding of Stem Cell Research

Veto! Thanks for playing our game.  Thanks for giving the Democrats a political issue they can't win, but will try to score points on.  Thanks for letting them try to pander to people they give somewhat false hope to (though they do that with all of the core constituency, but that's a different story).

Thanks for make a recommendation that can't be passed because there is far from THE VAST MAJORITY you mis-speak of ready to support it.

Sorry, but there are plenty of ethical and moral reasons to avoid going down the road of federal funding, not to mention the idea that perhaps, just perhaps, keeping the federal government out of it will keep a potential profit motive in it which might spur private funding, private research, and an eventual legitimate use for the technology that might be developed and pursued.

Back to your drawing board on this one loser.

Terpfan1980

Please explain the moral issue that will allow the destruction of these embryos for NOTHING as opposed to destroying them with the possibility of helping millions of people? Legislation that would only allow embryos that were left over from In Vitro Fertilization, would not end a SINGLE new life.

About 70% have said they support this research. In a democracy that should be the end of this discussion.

As for a Bush Veto and any in Congress who would support such a veto and deny what the majority want, keep track of them for the 2008 election!!!!!!

I would explain again, but we have already gone through this issue months ago. 

About 70% have said they support this research. In a democracy that should be the end of this discussion.

Where do you come up with these numbers?  A poll of 1000 Americans is not the deciding factor in a democracy.  A President should NOT run the coutnry based on biased and media-driven polls.  Do you undrestand that?

Answer this col.

If the media goes and takes a poll and finds that 70% of people want to live under Sharia law in the U.S., would you support it?

IslandDog

There have been many polls as well as the majority of Congress that passed such legislation that Bush Vetoed. We are not talking about Sharia Law. We are talking about what the elected representatives of this country passed.

As I said, the next Congress needs to pass this again, allow Bush to veto it, attampt to override his Veto and keep track of those that supported a Bush Veto and deal with them at their reelection.

The point of this Blog still stands. Since the In Vitro cells will be destroyed as medical waste, the argument that they should not be destroyed in research makes NO SENSE. They will be destroyed anyway!

There have been many polls as well as the majority of Congress that passed such legislation that Bush Vetoed. We are not talking about Sharia Law. We are talking about what the elected representatives of this country passed.

And we have shown how polls are not reliable and usually biased in favor of democrats.  You won't answer the question because you are wrong.  If you believe polls should be used to base laws off of, then answer the question.

We have gone through this same topic before and shown how the government does not need to fund this kind of research. 

Island Dog

If you choose not to accept polls, how do you explain away that Congress passed this legislation by a substantial margin in Both Houses?

How do you explain that these Stem cells will be destroyed as Medical waste?

You don't even have to get into the morality of stem cell research. Federal funding of anything usually ends up a big feeding frenzy for waste and mismanagement. I see little point of taking revenue from state and private research to be bled dry by federal vampires.

The most ridiculous argument is the objection of Bush and the Conservatives to federally supported research using stem cells.

WHY? Why is it the business to federally fund the research? What good will it do? If this research had so much promise then why are privately funded institutions not picking up the fight? The money made by private organizations would be vast if they had promise of a single breakthrough. Private industry would jump on it in a heart beat if it was worth the trouble. The argument that this research will make people walk, save lives and a host of other miracles does not even look like it is anywhere near coming true. But we should waste federal dollars on it just in case? Be for real, be honest, every time people demand federal funding it is because the private sector does not see a profit. If the feds pay for the research and something is found then the people who got the funding can make millions on the discovery and the government by law can not partake in the profits. An example is something simple like WD-40 developed by NASA, but the government can’t hold a patent so it paid for all the research and people get rich and the only money the government gets back is in taxes from the sales. I think MRI’s are another example. All good things that the private sector wants to make money on but does not wish to fund the R&D. If there is profit to be made let someone earn it. You who scream how money is being wasted by Mr. Bush demand that money be wasted on research that does not hold any promise.

My argument is not the killing of an innocent life but the waste of my tax dollars on crap that if it had a chance in hell of working would be happily funded in the private sector.

Bakerstreet

How is Federal Funding taking money from State and Private research? The issue is that the majority approved of this and the majority of Congress passed this legislation. It is time to have Congress pass it again and anyone that stands in the door vote OUT in 2008!

The discoveries resulting from research has produced many things that later become commercially manufactured items. In the late 1960's I worked for GE and when the federally funded research produced several products GE developed and sold commercially. They were required to repay the federal Money used to develop the products that were sold commercially. In the case of Stem Cell research we are talking about helping human suffering. The Moral issue is pure smoke and mirrors since the stem cells from In Vitro will be destroyed if they are not used in research.

I also worked at U of P and ran the dept of Biology. The 35 Research grants were all federally funded and produced a wealth of information that helps our society. People that say this research is not a good investment do not understand how the things learned by basic research benefit all of us both in America and thought the world!

"How is Federal Funding taking money from State and Private research?"

Where does the federal government get its money, thin air? Do people print their own money? If I have 10 dollars, and the federal government takes 2 dollars, I still have 10 dollars for the states to tax, or to contribute as private donation? Where did you study math?

All you do when you suck money out of the states to the federal government, and then send it BACK to the states is leach a double digit percent of it out in the transfer. Do you really, in your most deluded, insane moment, believe that when the federal government takes a dollar out of your pocket anything like a dollar gets back without pennies, nickels, and dimes being siphoned off at every step through the process?

You are a cheerleader for THIEVES, Col.

The only time research of this type should be funded with tax dollars is if any medical treatments derived from said research is available free of charge to the tax payers who funded it. But we all know that isn't the case.

The treatments are available at huge profits for the companies who develop the treatments at tax payer expense. Either we have an open capitalist market or we don't. There is no reason at all for tax money to be spent for drug companies to make hundreds of billions of dollars in profits.

Bakerstreet

If you are concerned about taking money from State government you must be wild about Bush cutting the Medicaid funding and pushing that on the states. You must be wild about the refusal of Bush to enforce our immigration laws and the result is millions of illegal’s that suck the tax dollars for schools, health and law enforcement.

Nice dodge, but no, I think as much as possible should be handled by the states. I think the farther our tax dollars travel from our front door the less power we have to oversee its use. You, on the other hand, want to whisk it as far away as possible to be buried in mountainous federal budgets.

The problem with what you describe is that people like you advocate LEECHING money from the states, WHILE more responsibility is being handed to the states. Every time something is delegated to states, a proportional part of federal taxes should be reduced.

You won't have it that way, though. You want all our money in the hands of people who have no, zero, accountability. You play advocate for people who steal hundreds of thousands through earmarks, get caught, and then get the job paying the bills for the very federal agencies that investigate them.

You want to hand work this important to people whose freezers are stuffed with bribes. You're a cheerleader for thieves.

Bakerstreet

Better reread my Blogs. I am the one that has pointed out how how Bush and the people he has appointed have FAILED to properly use our tax dollars. However many things must be National and will not work to be handled by state and local government. As a society we must decide what it is we want government to do and then be willing to pay the bill. The current administration is not meeting what the MAJORITY want and is not funding what they do choose to spend! That is the worst of all worlds.

You must be wild about the refusal of Bush to enforce our immigration laws and the result is millions of illegal’s that suck the tax dollars for schools, health and law enforcement.

This is just hillarious.  Do even know what the democrats plan for immigration is col?

 

"Better reread my Blogs. I am the one that has pointed out how how Bush and the people he has appointed have FAILED to properly use our tax dollars."

Heh, yeah, and after how many years you still fail to even acknowledge who holds the purse strings of our government, and whose freezers all the money gets stuffed in...

In the case of Stem Cell research we are talking about helping human suffering.

Ok, how will this research help human suffering? At best there is speculation that the research will help people walk, see, hear, and breathe. So far all research in those areas has proven nothing but failure. Causing more suffering in my opinion, as people’s hopes that are raised with all the hype and are dashed on the rocks of reality. Research with other cells has been more promising and in some cases proves that the stem cells you plead for will not be as useful as hyped.

If you are concerned about taking money from State government you must be wild about Bush cutting the Medicaid funding and pushing that on the states.

Do you ever answer a persons question without dodging around the facts?

IslandDog

I do not care if it is Democrats or Republicans. I want our laws enforced. Bush has been the responsible elected official for the past 6 years and he has FAILED to enforce our laws and stop illegal immigration that is costing communities BILLIONS. Until the Democrats control the White House, we must look to Bush to enforce the laws.

Paladin 77

Many doctors and researchers believe the use of embryonic Stem Cells hold great promise to find cures for many diseases. I am not a doctor but I know if we never try we will not find cures. I will side with the researchers over you or Bush.

Many doctors and researchers believe the use of embryonic Stem Cells hold great promise to find cures for many diseases. I am not a doctor but I know if we never try we will not find cures. I will side with the researchers over you or Bush.

AGAIN argued to a stand still on this. The biggest promise is from ADULT STEM CELLS "not" the embryonic ones!

READ THIS: Whoever Would Cure, Must Use Adult Stem Cells It has been known for about 30 years that stem cells are present in the tissue of the adult, but it was assumed that they could only form cells of a particular tissue. That is, reprogramming them was considered impossible. In recent years, however, pluripotent stem cells were discovered in various human tissues–in the spinal cord, in the brain, in the mesenchyme (connective tissue) of various organs, and in the blood of the umbilical cord. These pluripotent stem cells are capable of forming several cell types–principally blood, muscle, and nerve cells. It has been possible to recognize, select, and develop them to the point that they form mature cell types with the help of growth factors and regulating proteins. This shows that in tissues of the body, adult stem cells possess a much greater potential for differentiation than previously assumed. This knowledge must be brought into the public consciousness with all possible emphasis. If stem cell research were really only meant for therapeutic uses, which it most obviously should be, adult stem cells would promise a very productive research field–and beyond that, a possibility, without moral objection, to discover fundamentals of the dynamics of tissue differentiation. It has become clear from transplantation experiments with animals, that stem cells of a particular tissue can develop into cells of a completely different kind. Thus, bone marrow stem cells have been induced to become brain cells, but also liver cells. Adult stem cells obviously have a universal program for division that is common to all the kinds of tissue stem cells, and makes them mutually interchangeable. This was discovered by Alexei Terskikh at Stanford University School of Medicine in California. He was able to prove that adult stem cells of blood-forming tissues, and of the brain, activate the same genes, in order to preserve their status as stem cells. In May 2001, a further, spectacular experiment was reported, which was carried out on mice by scientists at Yale University. The researchers obtained stem cells from the bone marrow of male mice, and injected it into females whose own marrow had been destroyed by radioactive irradiation. Eleven months later, the male stem cells (identifiable through the male Y-chromosome) were found not only in the females’ bone marrow, but also in their blood, and in their gut, lung, and skin tissues. If these observations are correct and are confirmed by other teams of scientists, science should concentrate on research with adult stem cells and renounce further experiments with the embryonic. Human Treatments Link Many doctors and researchers believe the use of embryonic Stem Cells hold great promise to find cures for many diseases

So then this statement is a lie!

I do not care if it is Democrats or Republicans. I want our laws enforced. Bush has been the responsible elected official for the past 6 years and he has FAILED to enforce our laws and stop illegal immigration that is costing communities BILLIONS. Until the Democrats control the White House, we must look to Bush to enforce the laws.

Sorry but unlike he Clinton Administration laws are being enforced.

Many doctors and researchers believe the use of embryonic Stem Cells hold great promise to find cures for many diseases. I am not a doctor but I know if we never try we will not find cures. I will side with the researchers over you or Bush.

And what you don't seem to understand is that the research is being done. It is not being financed by the Government except for certain conditions as authorized by the President. So to once again prove you wrong there is federal funding for stem cell research. There is no federal restriction on stem cell research. If anyone wants to do the research they are free to do it. If they want federal funding they have some sets of stem cells that are authorized for federal funding. The rest private industry can pay for.

It seems you are at odds with the researchers, but in line with the people that want to do the research on the federal dime. What I mean is they can't get work anywhere else and they get paid by government grants.

drmiler


There are many researchers that believe that the embryonic stem cells that remain undifferentiated hold greater promise then adult stem cells. You and I can not settle this. ONLY research will show the truth and that is what Bush is slowing with his Veto of the Bill that would allow Federal Funding of this research. As I said, Congress needs to pass another bill and if Bush is dumb enough to Veto it a second time, attempt to override his second Veto and keep track of ANY member of Congress that votes to support Bush and they can be removed from office the next time they want to be reelected. The issue I raised in this Blog is that the argument Bush used to Veto this research is not valid. The cells frozen from the In Vitro process will be destroyed anyway and thus using them for research does not destroy life that will not be destroyed anyway!

Read This:



As long as the embryonic stem cells in culture are grown under certain conditions, they can remain undifferentiated (unspecialized). But if cells are allowed to clump together to form embryonic bodies, they begin to differentiate spontaneously. They can form muscle cells, nerve cells, and many other cell types. Although spontaneous differentiation is a good indication that a culture of embryonic stem cells is healthy, it is not an efficient way to produce cultures of specific cell types.

So, to generate cultures of specific types of differentiated cells—heart muscle cells, blood cells, or nerve cells, for example—scientists try to control the differentiation of embryonic stem cells. They change the chemical composition of the culture medium, alter the surface of the culture dish, or modify the cells by inserting specific genes. Through years of experimentation scientists have established some basic protocols or "recipes" for the directed differentiation of embryonic stem cells into some specific cell types (Figure 1). (For more examples of directed differentiation of embryonic stem cells, see Chapters 5–9 and Appendices B and C of the NIH report Stem Cells: Scientific Progress and Future Research Directions.)

If scientists can reliably direct the differentiation of embryonic stem cells into specific cell types, they may be able to use the resulting, differentiated cells to treat certain diseases at some point in the future. Diseases that might be treated by transplanting cells generated from human embryonic stem cells include Parkinson's disease, diabetes, traumatic spinal cord injury, Purkinje cell degeneration, Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, heart disease, and vision and hearing loss.

If scientists can reliably direct the differentiation of embryonic stem cells into specific cell types, they may be able to use the resulting, differentiated cells to treat certain diseases at some point in the future. Diseases that might be treated by transplanting cells generated from human embryonic stem cells include Parkinson's disease, diabetes, traumatic spinal cord injury, Purkinje cell degeneration, Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, heart disease, and vision and hearing loss.

Nuff said!

In May 2001, a further, spectacular experiment was reported, which was carried out on mice by scientists at Yale University. The researchers obtained stem cells from the bone marrow of male mice, and injected it into females whose own marrow had been destroyed by radioactive irradiation. Eleven months later, the male stem cells (identifiable through the male Y-chromosome) were found not only in the females’ bone marrow, but also in their blood, and in their gut, lung, and skin tissues.

Why is it the responsibility of the federal government to fund this, or any other, line of research?  If it is suitably important, private funding or even state funding should be able to pick up the slack.

I personally support stem cell research, but I don't think that the federal govt should be responsibile for funding every bit of research that crops up.  Our government is in the business of security our general safety and to ensure a smoothly functioning society.  Nowhere in any founding document does it state as a requirement that the government has to FUND research of any variety.

I do not care if it is Democrats or Republicans.

Then why don't you hold democrats accountable? 

Until the Democrats control the White House, we must look to Bush to enforce the laws.

Bush does not control everything col.  If don't realize that by now then it's pointless.  If this was a democratic President you would praising them for not wasting the money on this research.