THE DAILY BLADE: Somebody Up There Doesn’t Like Embryonic Stem Cell Research
It seems that every time Congress has scheduled a vote to get around President Bush’s restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, there is a major scientific breakthrough showing that you don’t need to kill embryos to generate embryonic stem cells. Lobbyists, legislators and scientists who think there is nothing wrong with sucking stem cells out from otherwise viable embryos have gotten so spooked, they are starting to bandy about conspiracy theories, according to The Washington Post:
"It is ironic that every time we vote on this legislation, all of a sudden there is a major scientific discovery that basically says, 'You don't have to do stem cell research,' " Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.) sputtered on the House floor on Thursday. …
"Convenient timing for those who oppose embryonic stem cell research, isn't it?" added University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Arthur Caplan in an online column. (The bill passed easily, but not with a margin large enough to override Bush's promised veto.) …
Twice in six months. What are the odds? …
"Papers are coming out about embryonic stem cells so regularly that the odds are going to be high that some will come out when Congress is voting on them," said David Ropeik, an expert in risk assessment at Harvard Extension School. …
"Nature has no hidden agenda in publishing these papers," said the journal's senior press officer, Ruth Francis, in an e-mail. The real goal was to get the papers out before a big stem cell conference in Australia next week, she said.
Perhaps not surprisingly, it isn't only proponents of stem cell research who over-connect the dots.
"I will confess, I said to one of the congressional staffers of my general persuasion: 'Doesn't G-d have a sense of humor?' " said Richard Doerflinger of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which opposes embryo research and fought against the bill.
Yes, and He works in mysterious ways, too. Otherwise, He wouldn’t have created atheists (subscription required).
Is Mitt Romney Being Square With Voters About His Religion?
It’s safe to say that the vast majority of Americans are in the dark about the tenets of Mormonism. So Mitt Romney promised to elucidate his belief system to voters as part of his presidential campaign. It’s one more thing he’s flip-flopped on, because instead of explaining Mormonism to voters he has put voters in the position of explaining they are not anti-Mormon bigots if they do not automatically support his candidacy despite not having the benefit of knowing what, exactly, he stands for and believes in.
Now that the media has begun focussing on the spiritual lives of the candidates, Romney is being asked about Mormonism – and is misstating or obfuscating its tenets, according to fellow Mormons:
Some Mormons have watched with concern how Mr. Romney has responded to grilling by interviewers about his church’s distinctive doctrines. …
Mr. Romney’s tendency to gloss over Mormonism’s history and distinctive tenets has upset some fellow Mormons. Some said they cringed when Mr. Romney said on "60 Minutes," "I can’t imagine anything more awful than polygamy."
Tom Grover, 26, a Mormon who is the host of a weekday talk show on politics on radio station KVNU here, said that while he thinks Mr. Romney has handled the scrutiny admirably, some of his callers were incensed about Mr. Romney’s repudiation of his own ancestors’ polygamy. The church outlawed the practice a century ago, but members are taught to understand that polygamy had a theological and historical context in the church, which Mr. Romney’s remark ignored.
"That really left a bad taste in people’s mouths," Mr. Grover said. "That’s a tough thing for people to hear when their ancestors sacrificed a lot to live that life. They probably wouldn’t bring polygamy back, but they honor the place of it in church history."
Audrey M. Godfrey, a historian who has written books with her husband, Kenneth, said of Mr. Romney, "If I were one of his relatives, I would be upset with him."
Another case arose when George Stephanopoulos of ABC News asked Mr. Romney about a Mormon teaching that Jesus will come to the United States when he returns to reign on earth. Mr. Romney responded that the Messiah will return to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, "the same as the other Christian tradition."
Mr. Grover said some of his radio listeners were astounded.
"They were just in disbelief, saying that’s not true, Jesus is coming back to Missouri," Mr. Grover said. "It’s the L.D.S. Church’s 10th article of faith that Zion will be built upon the American continent."
Other articles of faith Romney, a self-described devout Mormon, may be asked about by the media or by voters at Town Hall meetings:
Mormonism is polytheistic, it denies original sin, it teaches that both God the Father and God the Holy Spirit have physical bodies, that Jesus was conceived through sexual intercourse between God the Father and Mary, that Jesus was the spirit-brother of Lucifer, that Jesus was a polygamist, that Jesus traveled to the Americas during His three days in the tomb, and that every Mormon male will one day become a God ruling over his own planet, accompanied by multiple wives, just as the God of this Earth, named Elohim - who was once a man - has done here.
Romney spent two years as a missionary in France (subscription required), and knows better than any other Republican candidate - except ordained Baptist minister Mike Huckabee - how to explain his beliefs to others. It is counterproductive, and ultimately futile, for Romney to be cagey or disingenuous about Mormonism, as people can easily research online whatever the presidential candidate is not telling them.
Paris Hilton Has Saul Of Tarsus Conversion In Prison
The tough love Paris Hilton has been receiving in the psych ward of Los Angeles County’s "Twin Towers" jail facility has brought her to G-d. (Or is it powerful psychotropic meds?)
In an impromptu telephone interview with Barbara Walters, Paris said: "I have become much more spiritual. G-d has given me this new chance."
Paris has been passing the time reading the Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal, as well as such self-help books as "The Secret," "The Power of Now." She told Walters that when she’s done serving her time, she would like to help fight breast cancer or multiple sclerosis (MS).
Paris is due to be released June 25th. At this astounding rate of spiritual and intellectual growth, she will either be Mother Theresa or Albert Schweitzer by then.
Update
TB Or Not TB, That Is The Question
The Associated Press has obtained e-mails from the globetrotting TB-infected attorney’s lawyer father and microbiologist father-in-law showing that both of them hampered the efforts of our government health officials to prevent Andrew Speaker from posing a risk to others.
Meanwhile, five residents of Tucson, AZ, who the Centers for Disease Control believe were among the 300 or so U.S. citizens sharing a May 12 flight with Speaker have been tested for TB, reports The Associated Press. None of the five sat within a couple of rows of Speaker, and so far none have tested positive for the highly infectious respiratory disease.
And in a completely coincidental and unrelated development, 10 of 250 endangered elephants in Nepal's Chitwan National Park (50 miles south of Kathmandu) have contracted TB, and the disease has the potential to spread to humans and other wildlife, according to Reuters.
On Romney: I've read through the Quran, and lo and behold, contained therein is the assertion that Jesus was merely a prophet (albeit far up the scale) and that their conception of the Trinity is God, Jesus, and the Virgin Mary...someone really needs to clarify things.
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