Open thread

Grand Rounds 2:42 has the latest from the medical blogosphere.

While I was trashing Pope Bein’-A-Dick for his anti-gay rhetoric in Spain, a country with legalized gay marriage, Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero was skipping the papal hate meeting because of its ad hominem attacks on gays and personal choice.  Good for the PM.  Even attending the gathering of bigots would have bestowed upon it a legitimacy it did not deserve.

President Bush doesn’t want to develop better treatments and even cures for things like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, spinal cord injuries, strokes, burns, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, to name a few.  That list is just a sampling of the many ailments and conditions for which stem cell research holds great promise.  Right now, Congress is giving serious consideration to “legislation to expand federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research”.  Sadly, Dubya is threatening to veto the bill.  Note this would be the first veto from his administration.  Sad that he must exercise that right by picking on and abusing the sick, the weak, and the dying.

What’s a cuculoupe?  It’s the the offspring of an accidental cross between cucumber and cantaloupe plants.  Very cool in that it happened on its own.  Can you say chimerism?

“A community activist who made a habit of confronting the powerful and had filed papers to run for D.C. mayor was fatally shot early yesterday in a park a block away from the city’s thriving new convention center.”  Am I the only one who finds that very suspicious?

John asks a very good question: “Remember the good old days when being a conservative meant arguing that government should stay out of peoples lives?”  He’s then forced to answer it: “Those days are long gone.”  It’s about Congress’ new attempt to legislate on gambling, this time via the internet.  Look, if people want to throw their money at cards or machines or dominoes or horse racing or whatever, let them.  It’s their money and none of the government’s business.

Bird flu picking up speed.  Of course it’s not time to panic, but we can ill afford to miss any details as this rapidly spreads around the globe.

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