Break from stimulus bill - some good things Obama has done

[badaxemoo]

Obama is being savaged by Republicans and conservative pundits who are gleefully making mountains out of molehills in an attempt hit him hard out of the gate.

Many progressives like myself weren't thrilled with some of the appointees to begin with, particularly the economic advisors.

But beyond the stimulus debate and the appointment problems, I want to give Obama credit for following through on some important campaign promises:

He signed the Lily Ledbetter Act

He is closing Guantanomo

He is putting a stop to torture as an interrogation tool.

He signed the SCHIP extension.

He is ending medical marijuana raids.

I highly doubt McCain would have done any of those things.

Still glad I voted for you, President Obama! Now get yourself some more populist economic advisors and kick those Goldman-Sachs boys to the curb!


Lily Ledbetter Act, the closing of Guantanamo, the ending of torture, the ordering of a withdrawal plan for Iraq, the extension of SCHIP, and the end of medical marijuana raids.

 

[alice]

He allowed stem cell research again.

Thank God!!!!!

Whoa, this'll get a reaction...and I don't care.

Alice

 

[badaxemoo]

He allowed stem cell research again.

Good catch.

And he lifted the gag rule on international family planning.

And he is reviewing some of those last minute oil and gas leases in sensitive areas.

Oh, and I almost forgot, he has started to restore the U.S.A.'s image to the world.

 

[Sandhusker]

You forgot the reversal of the Mexico City Policy, so now US taxpayers are paying for abortions all over the world.

Hold your heads high.

 

[Cal]

Maybe we can catch up with the rest of the world now in research.

I wasn't aware that stem cell research had been halted. BTW, what new discoveries have the rest of the world found with embryonic stem cell research?

 

[Steve]

Badaxemoo

the ordering of a withdrawal plan for Iraq

Will Obama keep his campaign pledge or listen to the military commanders? and bypass his campaign promise and go with the recommended 23 month plan?

and how is leaving several brigades withdrawal?

Obama must weigh a number of risks in deciding how fast to pull out the 14 combat brigades that are now in Iraq, including the political risk associated with abandoning his campaign pledge to get out within 16 months.

wonder what is more important.. American lives or a campaign promise?

 

[Anonymous]

Maybe we can catch up with the rest of the world now in research.

I wasn't aware that stem cell research had been halted. BTW, what new discoveries have the rest of the world found with embryonic stem cell research?

Stem Cell Research Offers Promise For Paralysis
sdfCredit: AP Online CaptionBy Julie Henry, NBC17, 1 week, 6 days ago
Updated: Jan. 26 8:07 amRALEIGH, N.C. -

After years of debate, federal approval has been granted for controversial embryonic stem cell research on spinal cord injuries. A Raleigh trauma surgeon says for patients with no hope of recovery, it's an encouraging sign.

Dr. Osi Udekwu has had to deliver a lot of bad news. As a trauma surgeon at WakeMed, he has seen many patients whose lives have been devastated by spinal cord injuries. Aside from rehabilitation, there is no treatment he can offer them.

"The disability is so profound and hopeless, especially for quadriplegics," he said.

Stem cell therapy has been talked about for years as a promising therapy for spinal cord injury. The late Christopher Reeve, who became quadriplegic after a horse riding accident, spoke enthusiastically about it at a fundraiser for the WakeMed Foundation in 1998. Since then, private research studies have shown embryonic stem cells hold promise to rebuild damaged nerves that cause paralysis.

"We don't do the experimental therapy here," said Udekwu. "And since it isn't scientifically shown to improve outcomes, we can't offer it as an alternative. But if a patient asks us, then we help facilitate that if it's something they decide to do."

Udekwu said a few patients from WakeMed have pursued investigative treatment in other countries, but federal approval for embryonic stem cell research may make those therapies more accessible to patients.

"Anything that gives some hope of improvement in functional outcome of patients with spinal cord injury is worth pursuing," he said. "It might not help, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try."

First Human Stem Cell Trials
by Daniel Johnson and Stephanie Vatz
Volume 42, Issue 16 | Feb 02 2009
Earning the United States Food and Drug Administration's (USDA) approval, UC Irvine researchers will be the first to test an embryonic stem cell treatment on humans in clinical trials.

Hans Keirstead, co-director of the UCI Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center, headed the research responsible for earning the USDA's nod by using stem cells to cure paralysis in rats. This was accomplished by transforming the stem cells into oligodendrocytes, a form of spinal cord cells that maintain communication in the central nervous system of vertebrates.
http://www.newuniversity.org/main/article?slug=first_human_stem_cell177

 

[jodywy]

he stopped wolf delisting, he stopped oil and gas drilling, really helpes out here :?

 

[Mike]

Maybe we can catch up with the rest of the world now in research.

Adult stem cell treatments have been successfully used for many years to treat leukemia and related bone/blood cancers through bone marrow transplants.[22] Adult stem cells are also used in veterinary medicine to treat tendon and ligament injuries in horses.[23] The use of adult stem cells in research and therapy is not as controversial as embryonic stem cells, because the production of adult stem cells does not require the destruction of an embryo. Additionally, because in some instances adult stem cells can be obtained from the intended recipient, (an autograft) the risk of rejection is essentially non-existent in these situations. Consequently, more US government funding is being provided for adult stem cell research

Excuses, excuses. :roll:

 

[Anonymous]

I know a couple of paralysis victims that - just like Christopher Reeve's was- are putting a lot of hope (about their only hope) in stem cell research being able to regenerate/recreate nerve tissue...I understand the same is true with some cancer patients...
Just giving them hope is worth it....

 

[leanin' H]

I applaud him for the stem cell research! I cannot beleive that you listed his stoppage of oil and gas leases as a good thing! Our own energy and important jobs halted by Political favors to the radical enviromentalists that helped elect him! And i hope that his closing Gitmo doesn't come back to bite all of us in the butt. As for restoring what others think of America, i respectfully disagree. We are a great nation and always will be! I quit worrying about what folks think of me sometime around highschool! If you are upset because North Korea and Iran hate us you can if ya want. I just thinks it's impossible to please everybody all the time. And instead of worrying about a popularity poll why don't we take care of us and this country! Should we poll the Europeans and China before implementing policy? Should we just throw out our constitution and let the U.N. govern us? Or should we make decisions based on OUR sovernty and what helps America? Sure we need trade pardners and allies. Sure we should look out for little guys and face evil as needed. But at the days end WE NEED TO STOP CARING WHAT EVERYBODY ELSE THINKS AND DO WHAT'S RIGHT FOR US!

 

[Mike]

I know a couple of paralysis victims that - just like Christopher Reeve's was- are putting a lot of hope (about their only hope) in stem cell research being able to regenerate/recreate nerve tissue...I understand the same is true with some cancer patients...
Just giving them hope is worth it....

This is where your ignorance really shines.

Umbilical cord blood could furnish all the pluripotent stem cells (embryo equivalent) that we could ever need for research.

No need to make a brood embryo sow out of women to do it either. :roll:

 

[Anonymous]

Thank You Dr. Mike :roll: the researchers at Cal Irvine seem to disagree with you about the importance of this...

I like reader am pleased to see true science and research return to the US- rather than the censorship and limited research that GW only allowed if it fit his ideals...

 

[jodywy]

Thank You Dr. Mike :roll: the researchers at Cal Irvine seem to disagree with you about the importance of this...

I like reader am pleased to see true science and research return to the US- rather than the censorship and limited research that GW only allowed if it fit his ideals...

Hitler did research too!!! Sorry just could let that pass, Vegans use that a lot when you tell them planes would fall out of the sky if not for beef cow byproducts…

 

[Martin Jr.]

Why the push for embryonic stem cell research and not for adult stem cell research? Adult stem cell has been prove to work, and embryonic has not produced any positive results.
The reason is that it is more exciting to push the limits of ethics, to begin a human life and destroy it. Kind of like playing God.
But the real reason is probably just greed, love of money! Embryonic stem cells can be patented while adult stem cells cannot. That means a lot of money of it can be done, and the tax payers are paying for the research.

 

[Triangle Bar]

I know a couple of paralysis victims that - just like Christopher Reeve's was- are putting a lot of hope (about their only hope) in stem cell research being able to regenerate/recreate nerve tissue...I understand the same is true with some cancer patients...
Just giving them hope is worth it....

So, this is the Hope & Change the President campaigned on. Sacrificing one life, or more, for the hope of a cure. I would hope & pray that if I were ever so afflicted, that my own selfishness would not outweigh my morality.

 

[Tam]

He is closing Guantanomo

So you think closing Gitmo is a good thing, shouldn't there be a plan in place for the detainees BEFORE he announced the closing. Do you want the terrorist detainees moved to a prison in your neighborhood? If they are moved to a prison within the US how long do you think they will be alive once the inmates find out who they are? :?

BTW will you still think it is a good move if Obama releases some of the detainees and they show up on the battlefield killing US soldiers or are found to be involved in a terrorist attack on US soil?

 

[badaxemoo]

He is closing Guantanomo

So you think closing Gitmo is a good thing, shouldn't there be a plan in place for the detainees BEFORE he announced the closing. Do you want the terrorist detainees moved to a prison in your neighborhood? If they are moved to a prison within the US how long do you think they will be alive once the inmates find out who they are? :?

BTW will you still think it is a good move if Obama releases some of the detainees and they show up on the battlefield killing US soldiers or are found to be involved in a terrorist attack on US soil?

It isn't closing for a year.

There will be trials for some and some will be released.

That is the way a democracy should function.

We aren't the Soviet Union or Nazi Germany. We don't use gulags or concentration camps.

 

[badaxemoo]

I know a couple of paralysis victims that - just like Christopher Reeve's was- are putting a lot of hope (about their only hope) in stem cell research being able to regenerate/recreate nerve tissue...I understand the same is true with some cancer patients...
Just giving them hope is worth it....

So, this is the Hope & Change the President campaigned on. Sacrificing one life, or more, for the hope of a cure. I would hope & pray that if I were ever so afflicted, that my own selfishness would not outweigh my morality.

Don't most of those unused embryos end up in the trash eventually?

Especially when considering what just happened with those octuplets, I think bio-ethicists need to come up with some coherent policy on fertility treatments. In a country of 300+ million people do we really need more fertility?

But if they are likely going to be thrown away, isn't it better to get some benefit from them?

 

[kolanuraven]

I had asked this once before......and since you bring up the issue of un used embryos.....

What about selective reduction? Isn't that a form of abortion in the eyes of the Pro Life at any cost people????