i respect frist on some of this, but he's still an idiot

Meeting Stem Cells' Promise -- Ethically:

Because they have a property called pluripotence -- the ability to become almost any other type of body cell -- embryonic stem cells could eventually help treat spinal cord injuries, mitigate diabetes, repair damaged organs, relieve pain and preserve lives. Even though cures may take years to develop, I believe that we cannot ignore the promise these cells hold. But I also believe that whatever research the federal government funds should follow clear ethical guidelines and use only embryos that would otherwise be destroyed.

This is how its always been, and if he knew stem cell research, really, he would already know that this is the primary and most optimal source.  (And we won't need to go into the moral quagmire of God's Will that Frist brings up through his "live begins at conception": the amount of miscarriages and failed-to-implant embryos that occur just through natural acts makes that kind of "God" a bigger murderer than any human who's ever lived.  Limbo, before it was sold off on EBay, was larger than all the other rungs of his image of hell combined.)

Granted, to a degree, he's asking for the eventual law that will illegalize the ability for women who have no intention of ever having another child (either because they're "done" or they've chosen the child-free lifestyle - something he certainly doesn't believe is a choice a woman should even be allowed to make), from choosing to sell their eggs to science, but that restriction won't last forever.

At the same time, I recognize that research involving nascent human lives needs clear, strict safeguards. That's why I will also support a bill that would ban scientists from implanting human embryos in order to abort them for experimentation, thus placing important moral boundaries around biomedical innovation. Quite simply, we need to draw a bright line against this barbaric practice before it becomes a reality.

If he knew anything about stem cell research, he would know that not only do scientists not do this, but doing so would actually destroy the very thing they need to do their research. By the time fetal development has started to take place, the cells are useless.  (unfortunately, I can't find my source for this one right now).  Even if research did lead to development of proceedures that could "cure" something, but needed to have compatable DNA (i.e., from someone related to you), the proceedures always would be to take the eggs out first and do in-vitro fertalization and development in order to insure genetic compatibility - random doesn't cut it in science, nor should it in proceedural medicine.

Just as importantly, the Senate will also vote on increasing funding for research methods that would create pluripotent stem cells without harming or destroying human embryos. As Robert P. George and Eric Cohen noted recently on this page [July 6], new scientific techniques could create pluripotent stem cells without the need to destroy a single human embryo.

Tragically, George and Cohen are wrong. Their entire article in the 'Post was wrong to almost every paragraph. Just a start is the observation that neither of them are scientists in the first place...

tough room, tough room...

Uncertain Principles: Pirates of the Caribbean 2:

On Saturday, Kate and I went to see Johnny Depp swish his way through a second movie as Captain Jack Sparrow, with assistance from Kiera Knightly, Orlando Bloom, and a lot of other wooden props.

Hear, Hear!

Dispatches from the Culture Wars: Sollum on Internet Gambling Ban:

Is there a more empty word than "values" these days? I cringe every time I hear it - values voter, values agenda, family values. All of these are merely a veneer draped over the top of the desire to control others.

oh, and to follow up my prediction that "it's still a bird"

Orac has noticed that one creationist chap, "Emperor Darth Misha" (I assume no relation ;-) ) has jumped on the story and among all the other standard crapola (featuring a large criticism of peer-review that totally reverses the facts about Sternberg and the Smithsonian incident) included the wonderfully predictable statement, "And the finches, much to nobody's surprise, remained finches throughout.  Let us know when one of them turns into a giraffe.".

I win.  Again.

I'm going to go get a beer...

rewarding the good little "christian"

From the results of annual Baptist Creation Science Fair for 2006...

The World's Fair:

2nd Place [middle school levels]: "Women Were Designed For Homemaking"
Jonathan Goode (grade 7) applied findings from many fields of science to support his conclusion that God designed women for homemaking: physics shows that women have a lower center of gravity than men, making them more suited to carrying groceries and laundry baskets; biology shows that women were designed to carry un-born babies in their wombs and to feed born babies milk, making them the natural choice for child rearing; social sciences show that the wages for women workers are lower than for normal workers, meaning that they are unable to work as well and thus earn equal pay; and exegetics shows that God created Eve as a companion for Adam, not as a co-worker.

well, it makes sense to me!

NOT

rewarding discrimination and prejudice in the best way possible - with the veneer of "science"...

uh, i'll take "food bourne illnesses" for $400, Alex

Aetiology: Martha, Martha, Martha...:

The Today show had a cooking segment with Martha Stewart on BBQ'ing great hamburgers. So Martha put a burger on the grill, and the anchor asked her, "how long do you cook that for?"

Martha's reply? "For a rare burger, about 3 minutes on a side."

Ground beef. Martha Stewart, cooking icon, telling viewers that they can cook it rare. No mention of using a food thermometer to be sure that the internal temperature is up to 160 degrees F in order to kill any contaminating bacteria. No mention that eating such a burger rare increases one's risk of developing a food-borne illness. Nothing.

This is why public health officials bang their heads against the wall. Who has more influence--your local public health department, already understaffed and underfunded, trying to get the word out about safely BBQ'ing this summer, or Martha Stewart with 5 minutes on the Today show, telling everyone how to cook a rare hamburger?

yeah, its a busy day for me, can't you tell?

UPDATE to clarify MY position which is also likely Tara's:

if the average person could be told that "its ok if you're careful", they'll do it without being careful. and then they'll sue the person who says "its ok if you're careful".

if "normal" people would, like myself and most on my f-list, take personal responsibility, that would be one thing, but as long as the vast masses of Martha Stewart fans think she's a goddess who can say no wrong (rather than a convicted felon), people are going to get sick following her advice that she just preached on national tv to an audience of about 25 million.

hey disney types

particularly gargoylez and rennfoole  - can you help answer this question about WDW dining?

Several people have just gone or are planning trips to WDW.  Who has done or is doing the Dining Plan?  How does it work?  Is it worth the money?  Did you have the normal Dining Plan or the Super Special one?  Thanks!