Morning Open Thread
Good morning.
President Obama being briefed by Heather Higginbottom, Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council, Senior Advisor David Axelrod, and Cecelia Munoz, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs. Photo by Pete Souza.
Comments (93) «
Good morning, DEMS!
(No trolls allowed!)
So, is Sorry Failin' doing anything newsworthy today. Has she ever dome anything newsworthy?
Or did she decide to quit her quitting, as is her wont?
It doesn't matter what anyone's 'opinion' of 'opinion polls' is.
Here is a compendium of ALL the polls, compared side by side on a daily basis. Note that Rasmussen is a VERY Pug riented poll, and therefore ALWAYS skews toward Pug favorability. If you choose to start using polls to back up a certain issue, make sure to use the SAME poll each time.
Polls like Rasmussen are useful only in ascertaining trend lines, and should NOT be used as a day to day snapshot of opinion because people sign up to be polled by them and therefore are not a random sampling of any population other than those who WANT to be polled. They do mix up the participants in their calling list though, but these people may very well be Pug operatives who specifically signed up to skew the results.
Zogby uses a similarly weird methodology where he averages results from a handful of polls from a preselected phone list list of contacts.
The DO NOT CALL laws basically put the kibosh on telephone polling and most companies are too cheap and lazy to pay actual foot soldiers to go out and ask the questions face to face.
Also when using ANY poll pay attention to the methodology and weighting.
ZERO internet polls are accurate in any bit.
Here is the chart of the average of ALL the polls. Note how Rasmussen is almost ALWAYS the "outlier" if not the 'outright liar'.
And why are you using a women's shoe style for your user ID?
Just pick one poll and stick with it. You can't compare a Gallup from one day against a Rasmussen from the next and say "SEE? This proves whatever BS I'm trying to spew!".
Also, pay close attention to the wording of specific questions.
A goos resource for this kind of fact finding is Nate Silver @ "FiveThirtyEight (DOT) Com"
He's a numbers cruncher who has predicted (among other things) the last few election cycles to within 0.01%, even by State breakdown. He started out doing baseball statistics and then expanded his scope into political number crunching. He looks at EVERYTHING, including the wording of specific questions and mashes it all together with other factors to obtain his results, which are always spot on.
Good afternoon, all.
Now that Iraq has been forced to be our friend, maybe the Swiss should take their place on the Axis of Evil.....
Swiss ready to seize UBS data to stifle Washington
By BALZ BRUPPACHER, Associated Press Writer
BERN, Switzerland – Switzerland's government said Wednesday it would forbid the Swiss bank UBS AG from complying with any court-ordered transfer of data on tens of thousands of American clients to the U.S. government, and would consider seizing documents to prevent that.
The statement was the strongest yet by Swiss authorities locked in a battle with the U.S. Justice Department over the identities of more than 50,000 American clients at UBS.
The case in the federal district court in Miami has become a focal point of Washington's efforts to crack down on tax evasion and the foreign banks that help wealthy Americans send money overseas. But UBS and the Swiss government say handing over the names would violate Swiss law and subject bank employees to criminal prosecution in Switzerland...
Then change your damned laws or you Swiss are aiding and abetting criminals in this country. That could be considered an act of war.
Let's invade and take all their watches and chocolate. Then we can hire Cheney to torture all the officials to get those back taxes before we nuke them.
Just kidding. But just think what MsSame and Palin might have done.
Actually, McCain wouldn't have seen anything wrong with protecting rich American tax cheats. Cindy's family has probably used those unmarked Swiss accounts ever since her father got paid off by The Mob.
Howard Dean: "This Is Ridiculous. We're 60 Years Behind the Times" on Fixing Health Care
By Joshua Holland, AlterNet.
Posted July 8, 2009.
Progressive leader and health crusader Dean on what it's going to take to overhaul our health care system...
Apparently, it's going to take cattle prode and more than a few bribes and kickbacks. The graft always works for the lobbyists?
Not to mention the former ban against calling cell phones. That was recently changed to allow some calls, but they can't be robo-dialed and have to be called individually by a person one number at a time, which increases the cost per call by a factor of four times. A LOT of people are now on cell phone only usage, and don't even own a land line, so the age of the polled population is skewed to older people who have to stand by a wall at home in order to talk on a phone.
Calls made on behalf of and commissioned by a political campaign or party are exempt from the Do Not Call list and since this is not a campaign season the rules are pretty tight as to how they can be made. That's why outfits like Rasmussen use a list of people who sign up for their polls to call and why their polls always skew Pug, and why the trolls use Rasmussen as some sort of blankie.
But then again, these are the same small brained types who think FOX is a legitimate news source and who actually believe their marketing slogan about balance and fairness and how they only report and let the aging and low IQ types that make up their audience "decide".
Colin Powell Attacks Critics of Sotomayor
Colin Powell: Sotomayor Shouldn't Be Labeled Racist Because of Affirmative Action Stand
WASHINGTON July 5, 2009 (AP)
The Associated Press
Colin Powell, one of the nation's most prominent African-Americans, is going after people who attacked Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor because of her stand in favor of affirmative action....
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=8005223
Apparently, only a general dares to speak the truth in the Republican Party. I guess he'll need an entire army if he wants to dethrone Limbaugh as the party leader.
13
SandyH on July 8, 2009 at 12:22 PM
It should be more like "berm" since he's basically just a pile of dirt.
I'm reposting this from last night. Mainly because I have to go do some things shortly, and when I did get on last night, it seemed to be at the tail end of the discussion, and I don't type that fast.
We need to lean on Max Bacchus(D(?)MT), but I'm not sure how, since he's locked in until 2014 now.
Here goes---
May I point out a several things about our "health care" system?
This is a multi-part problem.
Firstly, as far as some young people not feeling that they need health insurance. Most kids are not being educated in the simple processes of everyday 21st century survival. It's not being taught in schools, and few parents either have or take the time to sit down with the kids and explain budgets, checking accounts or credit/debit cards. Most especially they don't get any kind of insurance explained to them.
This means that they usually some foggy notion of how things work, which many times isn't how things work. Then they wind up learning the hard way.
Another part of the problem is there is not any kind of continuity of medical care, since the primary care community, doctors, PAs, and RNs, are fairly transient, moving to greener pastures as the opportunities present themselves.
A third part of the problem is the stagnation of wages, and scarcity of entry level jobs that pay living wages, and its effect on purchasing insurance.
The first part of the problem can be fixed through education, both by and of parents, and through the media.
The second part is extremely urgent, because we have a growing shortage of primary care physicians. We need many more MDs in the primary care field. The shortage is being caused by the pay differential between primary care docs and specialists. Primary care docs don't get paid jack, and the specialists are cleaning up. When a new doctor comes out of med school, he looks at the debts he's racked up in student loans, and at this pay differential, and goes for a speciality, so he can get his loans paid off before his kids go to college.
This leaves the field open to less well trained PAs and NPs, who are also looking for better pay so they can pay off their student loans, so they keep job shopping. This lack of continuity of primary healthcare is detrimental to good health management.
The third problem is wage stagnation, which has been bad for the past 8 or 10 years, and now we have job losses to add fat to the fire. Wage earners don't know if anyone in their families will get sick, but they do know there are immediate needs like groceries, gas, housing, and myriad other needs that keep occurring for their household.
Add to this a chronic health problem, which, in this day of non-permanent jobs means that there are gaps in employer paid health coverage, and a choice between peonage to a company that has provided the original coverage, or moving to maybe a better paying job, and having a family member excluded from health coverage because of a "pre-existing" condition, puts that wage earner between a rock and a hard place.
This current "health care system" is more like anarchy, and leaves many many people out in the cold, whether they have insurance or not. Don't forget HMOs do not allow people to choose their doctors, and all HMOs and insurance companies feel they can dictate/limit the care their customers get, if they feel they can get away with it.
Some communities have Community Health Clinics, like the one here in Butte, that have sliding scale fees based on patients ability to pay, but they are underfunded and overworked.
I have several friends and relatives who have been shafted by the "health care system". I'll lay odds that even the trolls know several people who have been screwed by the current system, if they'd be willing to face up to reality.
In a way, I'm lucky, since as a military retiree I have Medicare plus Tricare For Life, which don't dictate either what doctor I go to, or any limits to the care I get. In a way this is single payer insurance, but they come out of different pots, and are handled by different agencies. I'm still better off than most civilians.
But in another way I am being victimized too, because it's hard to find a primary care giver who is; a. as competent as the majority of Army doctors who've treated me, and b. will stick around for longer than about a year.
Locally, Butte is short at least 5 primary care physicians, a cardiologist, a decent orthopedics doc, and who knows what else. And we're better off that many other towns in the area.
Healthcare reform is imperative if we are to continue as a first world nation. These bonehead "conservatives" who keep blathering against reform, are falling into the trap of the rich and greedy parasites who are getting fat of the suffering of the rest of us.
78
Butte on July 7, 2009 at 11:51 PM
Doo-Bee-Doo-Bee-Doo on July 8, 2009 at 12:48 PM
DPD,
Not to mention that polls are only sampling people who want to be polled. Most people hang up on them. While others just tell the pollster what they think they want to hear to get rid of them or lie to show their contempt for being bothered at home.
People have become suspicious of anyone who calls them as you noted with the Do Not Call lists.
And then there is the problem that polls are not timely. A major news story can turn a person's opinion on a dime.
A better way to get a read on people's opinions is to see where they are spending their money or lack there of these days.
It would be a real surprise if most people are not cynical about everything and everybody since the economic meltdown last fall. People are frustrated and worried. Nobody is going to poll well with those circumstances still affecting us all.
bbl.
Face to face is the most accurate. On line polls are useless and are just to generate internet traffic and "hits" for whoever is running that site.
Zogby uses internet polling, but uses a list of subscribers similar to Rasmussen using a list of phone nembers. In bith cases the people polled come from a VERY small sampling population.
Also, pay attention to the number of people polled and the Margin of Error. When I took Statistics in College it was a guaranteed "FAIL" if any student devised a poll with a MoE of over 2.5.
Now some of these outfits feel freee to publish polls with a MoE of 5 to 8 percent. Which means a possible swing of 10 to 16%; rendering them pretty much useless, but teh willing shep will cite whichever BS they can find to bolster a specific claim.
Why the interest? Am I doing your homework for you? Just start studying the polls on your own and se which one you find more useful.
I don't put too much faith in any of them, especially when the Pugs stole a bunch of elections and then claimed for the first time since polls were invented 60 years ago that "the polls were wrong".
NOW the Pugs are constantly running to them with their hackish MoE, small sampling size, skewed questions, missing choices in answers, ambiguous wording, preselected populations, and the mysterious "what to do when people refuse to answer certain questions?" conundrum. But I'm repeating myself by citing Rasmussen as an example again.
And I forgot to mantionhow they break down the Democratic and Pug voters. Tye Pug polling outfits like to keep it somewhere close to 50/50 although the real population self identifies as "Democrat" far more often than "Pug". The rise of the "Independent" category recently is due to people fleeing the "R" label, and as a rule, most "I" voters have voted "D" in the past.
Another trick the trolls like to do when citing Rasmussen is to ONLY use the Dem v.s. Pug numbers and ignore the Ind. ones. Right now the Pug popularity/approval number is floating somewhere in the 21 to 23% range, except for Rasmussen, which has them MUCH higher than any other poll. Surprised? I'm not.
But as usual, the trolls will take that 21% and add it to the Independent numbers wholesale and claim all the I's as their own, regardless of past voting data.
DO NOT TRUST PUGS, EVER. THEY LIE, ALWAYS.
This is a good first step:
White House, hospitals reach deal on health care
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 11 mins ago
WASHINGTON – The nation's hospitals will give up $155 billion in future Medicare and Medicaid payments to help defray the cost of President Barack Obama's health care plan, a concession the White House hopes will boost an overhaul effort that's hit a roadblock in Congress.
Vice President Joe Biden announced the deal at the White House on Wednesday, with administration officials and hospital administrators at his side.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090708/ap_on_go_co/us_health_care_overhaul
Doobie: Hi! I don't know the poster to whom you have been explaining polls but I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. Some of this I knew but not all of it and I have really enjoyed reading this thread. THANKS!
O'Reilly is just scum - that's what it comes down to - scum!
From Think Progress:
O’Reilly Tells African-Americans Whom They Can And Cannot Hold Up As Icons
Fox News host Bill O’Reilly was full of his usual hypocrisy as he went off last night about the death of Michael Jackson. O’Reilly started off on a respectful note, saying, “The family of Michael Jackson honored his memory today in Los Angeles. And I do not, do not wish to intrude on that. They are entitled to grieve any way they want.” However, he then decided to intrude, saying that he was “just about fed up with all the adulation” because it’s “basically grandstanding and pathetic in the extreme.”
O’Reilly was also offended at the “racial component” to the Jackson coverage. “The message is very clear, if you criticize Michael Jackson, you hate black people,” said O’Reilly. He, however, then injected race into the discussion by telling Fox News analyst Marc Lamont Hill that blacks shouldn’t look up to Jackson:
O’REILLY: Okay, then why is he being held up by the African-American community as a pillar of black America when he blanches his skin? [...]
But answer me this, if he is such a black American icon, why did he have his kids with white men?
HILL: That’s a personal matter. That doesn’t make him less black. There’s no blackness meter here. You don’t become less black when you have a white kid.
O’REILLY: You don’t become an African-American icon when you do something like that.
HILL: No, you become an African-American icon for producing the greatest music and being the greatest entertainer ever for being extraordinary humanitarian and for.
O’REILLY: No. You just become an American icon for that, not a black American icon. [...]
HILL: It’s not — oh, he is an American idol — icon. He is quintessentially American, but he’s also undeniably black. You can’t take black from him just because he has white kids.
That’s right — O’Reilly, who has said he is “terrified” about interacting with African-Americans and is amazed that a restaurant “run by blacks” is like “any other restaurant in New York City,” is now dictating whom people of color should hold up as icons
Hi, Mary. I just remember what was drilled into my head when I took 300 level Statistics and Analysis. My Profs were constantly being wooed by companies like Neilsen and Gallup to quit teaching and run their shops, but both of them said they would rather teach students how to figure this all out whether they went into the field or not, They kept stressing the importance of reading the fine print on the bottom before using the data with whatever sized grain of salt would be necessary.
AS for that suddenly "found" giant chunk of change the hospitals have suddenly found behind the drapes, all they will do is stop charging $8.00 per aspirin tablet and only charge $6.00. It won't address in any way the problem with denying health care coverage due to pre-existing conditions, family history, or any other slimy weasely way the rip off artists dream up to deny service, so I'll take that for what it's worth. This in no way will improve the mess one iota, just lower the billing amount to Medicare.
Doobie: The health care problem is so huge that we will not fix it quickly. It will also not be 'fixed' with just the 'public option' that is being proposed. It will help - alot - but there are so very many things wrong that we have to start somewhere. Health care has gotten screwed up over the last 60 or so years and to fix it will take well beyond the 8 years of President Obama's administration.
Finally, Sen. Reid told Sen. Baucus to stop chasing Republican Votes.
http://www.rollcall.com/news/36546-1.html
Montanans have been telling him that all year. Hopefully he will listen to Reid because he isn't listening to us.
In a related point. In my family we have cousins that we get along with great, but one silent rule is that we do not talk politics with each other. They are life long Republicans and we are life long Democrats.
Last night during my parents 50th wedding anniversary, one of my cousins said out of the blue, "I don't know how we can fix this health care problem unless we go to a single payer system." I about hit the floor. He is in his late 50's and runs a medical supply business. His father started the business when he came home from WWII, and he took over in the 80's.
He told of one problem he had with Blue Cross/Blue Shield where he was selling one thing for $68 dollars, while the insurance company told his customers that it was worth 68 cents. They also told his customers in letters that he was overcharging by 10,000%. My cousin sued them and subpeoned the documents from Blue Cross/Blue Shield. As soon as the documents were subpeoned, they were shredded, so my cousin had to drop the suit.
Then he mentioned how great his Sister, who lives in Calgary, Canada, loves her health care system. The taxes are a little higher but they are taken care of.
I was shocked, but I couldn't agree more with him. I hope our Congressmen are finally getting it.
Single Payer is simple and the best system, but if we have a public option then that option should mirror single payer and remove all the red tape. I will be the first in line.
Swiss to stop UBS handing over data in U.S. tax rowWed Jul 8, 2009 9:26am EDT
By Lisa Jucca
ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland has vowed to prevent UBS from handing over client information to U.S. authorities, in an attempt to defend bank secrecy, saying a tax case targeting its main bank is souring diplomatic ties.
Wealth management giant UBS is facing a court hearing in Miami next week after refusing to disclose data on 52,000 Americans holders of secret Swiss bank accounts to U.S. tax authorities.
The Swiss Justice Ministry said on Wednesday that Swiss law prevents UBS from handing over client information and the government would seize UBS client data, if necessary, to stop that happening.
The case, which comes amid a global fight against tax cheats supported by the U.S. administration, has damaged the UBS brand and could result in an expensive settlement for the bank at a time when the bank needs to focus on restructuring.
"Switzerland will use its legal authority to ensure that the bank cannot be pressured to transmit the information illegally, including if necessary by issuing an order taking effective control of the data at UBS," the Swiss government said in a response to U.S. authorities filed in Miami on Tuesday.
The tax litigation is also crucial for the future of the multi-billion dollar wealth management industry and is pushing several offshore banks to force clients to come clean.
A court hearing that will lead to a ruling on the UBS data issue is due to start on July 13. Washington has accused UBS of hiding nearly $15 billion in assets in secret accounts.
The Swiss statement came in response to a filing by the U.S. Justice Department last week asking the Miami court to enforce tax compliance with the full weight of U.S. law.
Although Swiss criminal law prohibits banks passing on client information to foreign authorities, UBS and Switzerland have already made concessions on their treasured bank secrecy.
UBS agreed to pay in February $780 million, admitted wrongdoing and disclosed about 250 client names to avert tax fraud criminal charges the Swiss government said threatened the bank's survival.
And faced with the threat of possible sanctions from the G20, Switzerland -- along with other tax havens -- vowed in March to redraft its tax treaties with the United States and other countries and cooperate more on tax evasion...
Then every Swiss official who is complicit in this ought to have conspiracy charges filed so the next time they step into U.S. territory they're arrested. We will not tolerate the rich and infamous getting free rides on their taxes any more. I am sick to death of paying taxes for the rich to get their loopholes. Pay up or get out of the U.S.. It really is that simple.
Just dropping by.....
The only "trigger" we need for a public option is passage of a bill including it.
This would also trigger a big increase in economic growth as companies finally have a competitive edge rather than the traditional disadvantage with foreign competitors who have government-backed healthcare.
And it would trigger consumer confidence that we haven't seen since the enactment of unemployment insurance.
It makes good business sense, consumer sense, and political sense...and common sense...to enact legislation that would keep costs down, promote business expansion, and make citizens feel more secure.
So why are the conservatives fighting it? Can anyone say bribes and blackmail from the lobbyists? These are the same people who promoted giving the financial banks a license to gamble with our money.
All the health care providers have written off on this public option, and American consumers have overwhelmingly said they wants ALL choices including a public option.
But the people who have been most instrumental for the skyrocketing costs of health care in the last few decades, the insurance companies and the Republicans say "no". They want to pour more government subsidies into the pockets of those who have been grossly incompetent. The voters told Washington last November that they have had enough of this graft and corruption.
Dr. Dean was just on MSNBC explaining that without a public option we might as well do nothing. We will just be wasting more money by increasing insurance company profits without giving them any incentive to control costs.
We will actually be worse off if we listen to the conservatives.
But then that's what the Reagan Revolution was all about...increasing profits and helping foreign business interests at the expense of the American middle class and working poor.
bbl.
BobVADemocratHawk on July 8, 2009 at 04:38 PM
Bob,
I agree with you completely. See my comments in a post above. Let's seize their chocolate and watches and then nuke them if they want to aid and protect American criminals.
Good afternoon Sandy and Bob. I hope that you are both well today.
Did everyone see the concessions negotiated by the Obama Administration that is the start of health care reform?
26
TMH on July 8, 2009 at 03:18 PM
Max chasing Republican votes? Is Reid out of touch, or just ignoring the obvious?
Max doesn't care any more about Republicans than he cares about Montanans.
We all know what he cares about.
If I had a dollar for every invitation he's turned down to speak at Montana events so he can hold fundraisers in Washington and schmooze with lobbyists, I could pay cash for a new roof, probably with change left over.
As we speak, key committees in Congress are weighing options and making final decisions about how to tackle health care reform. This could be one of the last opportunities to shape the legislation before it's written.The behind-the-scenes committee negotiations aren't front-page news, but the lobbyists trying to block reform are following every detail, and they won't miss a day. If the final plan is to uphold President Obama's principles of reduced costs, guaranteed choice -- including a robust public insurance option -- and quality care for all, your voice must be heard.
Please call your representatives right now and ask them to support President Obama's three principles for real health care reform. Our records show that you live in Virginia's 4th congressional district. Please call:
Rep. J. Forbes at 202-225-6365
Senior Senator Jim Webb at 202-224-4024
Junior Senator Mark Warner at 202-224-2023
Make sure to click here to let us know what happened.These calls are an easy but powerful way to make a difference. Just tell whoever answers the phone that you're a constituent (mention what city you're calling from), and that you're counting on your representative to support real health care reform, which must:
Reduce costs
Guarantee a choice of plans and doctors -- including the choice of a robust public insurance option
Ensure quality, affordable care for every American
The opponents of real reform have deep pockets and insider access, and they're holding nothing back in their drive to derail progress before the plans go public.
Your call, right now, can help remind your representatives that the American people are counting on them to stand up to the special interests and deliver the comprehensive reform we so desperately need.
Thanks for all that you do,
Mitch
Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for AmericaP.S. -- These calls are a vital first step. Stay tuned for other critical ways to organize locally and make a difference in this campaign. We can only win this thing if we all work together every step of the way.
Light up that phone bank fellow Americans. Tell the people in D.C. you want a single-payer system and that you're tired of corporations making a buck off of sick and dying people.
To find your Senators, click here: http://www.senate.gov/
To find your House Rep., click here: http://www.house.gov/
WASHINGTON (AP) - The powerful attack that overwhelmed computers at U.S. and South Korean government agencies for days was even broader than initially realized, also targeting the White House, the Pentagon and the New York Stock Exchange.
Other targets of the attack included the National Security Agency, Homeland Security Department, State Department, the Nasdaq stock market and The Washington Post, according to an early analysis of the malicious software used in the attacks. Many of the organizations appeared to successfully blunt the sustained computer assaults.
The Associated Press obtained the target list from security experts analyzing the attacks. It was not immediately clear who might be responsible or what their motives were. South Korean intelligence officials believe the attacks were carried out by North Korea or pro-Pyongyang forces.
The attack was remarkably successful in limiting public access to victim Web sites, but internal e-mail systems are typically unaffected in such attacks. Some government Web sites—such as the Treasury Department, Federal Trade Commission and Secret Service—were still reporting problems days after the attack started during the July 4 holiday. South Korean Internet sites began experiencing problems Tuesday.
South Korea's National Intelligence Service, the nation's principal spy agency, told a group of South Korean lawmakers Wednesday it believes that North Korea or North Korean sympathizers in the South were behind the attacks, according to an aide to one of the lawmakers briefed on the information.
The aide spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the information. The National Intelligence Service—South Korea's main spy agency—said it couldn't immediately confirm the report, but it said it was cooperating with American authorities...
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D99AEP680&show_article=1
Mr. President, this should be considered as an act of war and treated as such. These types of attacks should not go unpunished. We have been mollycoddling the N. Koreans for far too long. Turn that God-forsaken place into a parking lot and be done with it once and for all. There will be a second Korean war. It's a matter of time. Don't let there be a third, Mr. President.
Wednesday, Jul. 08, 2009Scientists Create Human Sperm from Stem Cells
By Alice Park
Researchers at Newcastle University in England report they have coaxed the first human sperm cells from embryonic stem cells, in a remarkable demonstration of how quickly the field of stem-cell science is moving.
The achievement, described in the journal Stem Cells and Development, comes just 11 years after the first human-embryonic-stem-cell line was created — an eyeblink in scientific terms — in the lab of James Thomson at the University of Wisconsin. (See the top 10 scientific discoveries of 2008.)
Although the development once again raises the specter of creating humans in a petri dish or custom-designing egg and sperm cells for reproduction, lead author Karim Nayernia says that was not his team's intention. Rather, the experiment was a proof of concept that stem cells can generate any cell in the body — not only the dozens of tissues that make up the human body but also those egg and sperm cells that may give rise to altogether new bodies. "Other cell types don't generate the next generation," says Nayernia, a professor of stem-cell biology at Newcastle University. "This makes a very big difference between our study and the study of other cell types from embryonic stem cells."
Nayernia's in vitro–derived sperm, or IVD sperm, are not exactly like naturally occurring sperm, though they do bear four important similarities to the cells created in the testes. They contain half the number of chromosomes of other human cells (somatic cells contain 46 chromosomes, but egg and sperm cells have only 23, since they combine their genetic payloads during fertilization); they possess a head and a tail; they contain proteins essential for activating the egg during fertilization; and they swim, or move as sperm do in seeking out eggs to fertilize.
On the outside, however, IVD sperm are not identical to normal sperm. "We think, for normal structure development, sperm needs the testes environment," says Nayernia. It takes 15 to 16 years in the testes before the primordial germ cells that morph into spermatogonia, or a primitive precursor of the germ cells, are able to mature into sperm cells that can successfully fertilize an egg...
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1909164,00.html
I think I'm becoming redundant based on this article. The lesbians and hardcore feminists may get their wish after all.
Harpo_TheWatchman on July 8, 2009 at 05:46 PM
Well, at least we agree on Afghanistan.
P.S. - If you want to consider forty-four elderly, go right ahead.
Good night fellow Americans. Keep the Faith and keep the faith. Yes we can, yes we will, and yes we did!
BobVADemocratHawk on July 8, 2009 at 05:39 PM
LOL - my husband said something similar when he read that article. I told him not to worry - he was more 'wanted' than 'needed!'
marymac_memphis on July 8, 2009 at 05:54 PM
Your husband is a lucky man, Mary. I hope there are more women like you.
I heard a news clip today on ABC radio news. It seems that a majority of people are scraed stiff if they happen to get cancer. They panic over the fact that they might be dumped in the event that they need treatment. Yet these same twits are against single payer health care. Go figure. I think they have been listening to too much hannity or bates.
The Democratic Senate Committee should make a documentary targetting all the selfish bastard senators who are against any kind of health care for Americans. These people should be singled out publicly and driven into the ground with our message.
"you have to be a stupid twit to vote for these senators in your state."
"These senators hate America and hate Americans even more."
"Don't vote against your own best interests.
"Here are the senators who voted against your best interests."
"They are only interested in getting reelected so have taken bribes from health insurance companies and pharmas (this information is readily available) to screw you, their constituents."
"Don't be taken in by these negative twits, they don't have your best interests at heart."
The same applies to the Cap and Trade Bill.
"Those senators who voted against it were most likely bribed by the oil and coal companies and don't give a damn about you or your vote."
"These people are money grubbers and only care about lining their own pockets."
"Don't believe a word they say."
"They hate your guts."
"So go ahead and vote for them, your children and grandchildren will have a very short life when the planet dies, or maybe you don't give a damn either."
REPUBLICANS AND BLUE DOG DEMOCRATS ARE ASSHOLES!
THEY PROBABLY HAVE TO TIE A STRING TO THEIR PETERS SO THEN CAN FIND THEM TO TAKE A PISS. TALK ABOUT INADEQUATE IN EVERYTHING INCLUDING COMPASSION.
I think the way to handle illegal immigration is require everyone that is hired to prove they are citizens. One method would be to show a birth certificate. When a person applies for Social Security they have to submit a birth certificate to receive benefits. Companies that disobey the law would be sent to jail and fined a bunch of money, say $1 million.
It is easy to forge a social security card. We need to develop a system whereby an employer can check if it is valid using fingerprints or pictures.
This would solve the republican led invasion of illegal aliens authorized by raygun back in the 1980's when he gave amnesty to 2,000,000 illegals from Mexico, Central and South America. The reublicans scream about illegals getting free health care and social security but are the cause of the problem trying to suck the dicks of the coroporate criminal pals.
Some prominent Californians are saying that they need to tax marijuana. This alone would solve their present budget woes.
Speaking out against it are the republican assholes, after all it is the Republican War on Drugs that just must be kept alive so privatized prisons can make a few million and they can keep the minorities under control.
Hi Maary,
Did you see the tribute to Michael Jackson. His daughter was a real tear jerker. So was one of his brothers who said that Michael is probably with his brothers twin who died some years ago.
In Washington "We the people" need Angel guardians to restore the Constitution from John Yoo redefinitions. And we need laws to protect our homes Freedom and Democracy from CorPolitical intrusion using "Ay Will" eminent domain powers that have no due process protection in the Federal Courts.
Angel Guardians
A)
Where art thou Angel guardians of troubled souls,
Tattered remnants lay scattered in the wind’s fury
Amongst doubts devastation in inert heartbeats hole,
Gravity weight of hourglass grains quicksand jury.
B)
Whig Scarlet Letter incrimination, pit mongrel solution,
With Tory embossed gold embroidery royal members.
Country Club fashion models, Liberal fang persecutions,
Conservative using God, in a venom of Satan’s scar embers.
CorPolitical goD of Blackwater Abu Ghraib Inquisition,
Holocaust Scales of Judeo-Christian in Justice positions.
Pulpits silently say, “We are a Saved Nation” of Crucifixion -
Images of excrement, and urine naked bodies law violations.
C)
God’s savage children, again being denied, the Constitution,
A nation declaring all religions have rights to Federal Courts.
A nation declaring all races and creeds have rights in the Court.
Remember Indians, Japanese Americans, other past retributions.
Military Justice of denied Civil Liberties of Due Process denial,
Guantanamo Geronimo lifetime internment camp Habeas Corpus.
Civilian lawyers being denied like China, Myanmar, Korea, Iran trials
Military Tribunal, government mandated guilty verdicts, law’s corpse.
D)
Washington Supreme Judge Legislative Commander President,
Patriot Act Premier Totalitarian Autocratic “At Will” authority,
CEO Executive Privilege of Enron redefinition power residence,
Of Creative Intelligence, who is the War President master - majority.
E)
Angel guardians, this poet has weathered words of Free Speech,
Within home’s censure, Corporate ban in Poetry’s demonization.
That the Uni-Verse within was denied, like Abu Ghraib bleach
That whitewashes Truth, that torture and abuse are abominations.
Walking Wounded among Corporate PTSD symptom depressions,
Upon reincarnated mistakes ranting post Vietnam dire impressions.
The gravity wears heavy among heartbeats Free Verse Freedom rights,
Where aging Veterans have been reenlisted inside censorship plights.
F)
Guardian Angels, my needs for you, lay in prayer’s Constitution,
While personal needs need consoling in support systems living suicide,
Saying every day, one must walk the miracle of words proposition,
Within America’s Blackwater quagmire quicksand Katrina sighs.
We the people” are the Guardian Angels of our children inheritance
With birthright diligence of such vigilance in heroic wing valiance,
Patriotic Potomac defenders of Declaration of Independence existence
Where we will never surrender the deed to our futures, dwelling brilliance.
Angels do not need, Blackwater goD’s Inquisition Holocaust Scales of Justice.
Congress should make a law that anyone here without a legal passport be fined and required to prove their identity. All foreign workers need to have a valid passport to work here, especially with anything dealing with national security concerns.
Does the states have the right to ask persons that are in their state for a passport. That upon a felony they can hold it to assure the person will appear in court. Foreign countries and their police department seem to have that right.
The judiciary committee took a deposition from KKKarl yesterday. It took eight hours and they are not releasing any details until the investigation is complete.
I hope they hang his fat fascist ass. He is such a smug prick that I cannot stand to even look at him. He is just like the "If you will" smug prick cheney.
They both need to deposed. I don't care if they spend an eternity deposing these pricks. They must be brought to justice if there is even a hint of criminal activity involved.
Johne: I did not think that I would get at all emotional watching the Jackson tribute; but, when his daughter spoke, my heart absolutely ached for her. I was crying before I knew it!
Johne on July 8, 2009 at 07:05 PM
Boy are we on the SAME PAGE! I wish both would be charged, convicted and rot in jail - along with the rest of the corrupt Bush administration!
Mary,
Maybe we should investigate a few of the republican senators and congressmen who voted lock-step with bush and cheney. With the threat of prosecution hanging over their fat heads, maybe they would be more inclined to vote yes on the Health and the Cap and Trade Bills.
They must be brought to justice too, for they are as guilty as bush and cheney for war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes against peace.
Good evening, all.
Don't you find it odd that Palin blamed the MSM for making her look bad and then invited them along on her fishing excursion? Something smells rotten in the state of Alaska...and it isn't all those dead fish innards.
Sarah's manipulating the media to get free publicity because....? I'd be real scared if I was Lisa Murkowski.
Emanuel faces liberal pressure over 'trigger' comments
It seems that again the Obama White House is back pedaling.
Emanuel faces liberal pressure over 'trigger' comments
It seems that again the Obama White House is back pedaling.
Tonight MSNBC read a Dear John letter written by Senator Ensign to his girlfriend. It was "leaked" by the girlfriend? Sure.
The hypocrite is now using souvenirs from his affair as press releases and a means to beg conservative voters for forgiveness? This guy doesn't miss a step when it comes to rank opportunism.
Just how many people do you think ever keep a copy of their Dear John letters...just in case they might be able to use them later for publicity? Why doesn't he just e-mail a copy to all his constituents?
Do we get to see the used condoms on his Facebook page next? Or do we get to hear a tape from the confessional when he asked God for forgiveness on YouTube?
These Republicans have all become Looney Tunes characters.
YoungPoet on July 8, 2009 at 08:03 PM
Poet,
We bad progressives have been putting a gun to his head and threatening to pull our own "trigger"? I find that a much better strategy than blackmail or offering him a bribe which is the way most business is conducted in Washington.
All we are asking is to give Change a chance.
One must not forget who the people were who sent them to the White House and what was expected of them when they got there. Compromising with conservatives on health care was not it.
And it will get you a 49% approval number in Ohio.
If the public option is blown off by this administration, the defection of Independents will intensify proportionately. The current poll just represents disillusioned liberals.
Sandy: I read that the girlfriend's husband is the one who leaked the letter. That's just as unbelievable to me. Republicans are a bunch of holier-than-thou hypocrites!
good evening, everyone.
For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
Deuteronomy 30:16
If adultery was a crime, I truly believe that most republicans would be in jail.
What a bunch of "family values" losers. Their constituents must also be "family values", holier than thou hypocrites.
Evening Essie,
It's been in the mid 90's here the last few days. the humidity is only 16% so it doesn't feel so bad.
A coyote scared the crap out of us early this morning. It was three a.m. and all of a sudden this coyote starts howling outside our bedroom window. It sounded like it was right in the room. I leaped out of bed. The cats hid behind the dryer in the laundry room and the dogs took off through the pet door. Thank goodness our patio is closed in with a chain link fence.
One of our favorite cats disappeared the night of the June 28. I am thinking of buying a shotgun and blowing this coyote to kingdom come.
hi ya, johne. the weather has been great here. a slow, steady rain would be nice though. my flower gardens need some h2o.
marymac_memphis on July 8, 2009 at 08:43 PM
mary,
Rachel Maddow is saying tonight that the C Street evangelicals told Ensign to write the letter and pay the Hamptons off. Ensign wrote the letter, hired his girlfriend's son, continued the affair for another six months anyways, and then gave her $25,000 in parting gifts.
Boy, that intervention did wonders.
Essie,
I forgot that it was a full moon. That's probably why the coyote was howling.
Sandy, That intervention did wonders just like the gay guy who was "cured" in two weeks.
time to get some rest...early to bed, early to rise makes a girl healthy, wealthy and wise.
Essie,
You must be very healthy, wealthy and wise. Goodnight Essie.
g'nite, sandy & johne. here's one for the road...
Matthew 7:2 —
For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Good night, Essie.
Hi, Johne.
They said on the news today that some old lady beat a fawn to death for eating her garden...said it was self defense. I don't know how big of a gun that deer was packing.
The figure skating star Nicole Bobek was arrested on meth charges. She must be a damned republican evangelical hypocrite.
http://www.newsrunner.com/topic/nation/229472055/0?&summaryon=1&sg=4401
Sandy,
That's terrible about the fawn. I really couldn't hurt any animal. I guess I am soft hearted. I just keep my pets close to the house and inside at night. I dont't even like to fish anymore.
Johne,
The deer have really learned to adapt and thrive in suburban areas all across the country.
We have so many deer at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery that mourners now look for them regularly at military funerals.
http://my.opera.com/musickna/blog/2009/03/02/jefferson-barracks-national-cemetery
They are beautiful, but can be really dangerous to motorists. Both my father-in-law and nephew have hit one with their trucks.
So many deer are being killed in auto accidents that it would be a lot kinder and smarter to allow hunters to thin the herds more often. Several municipalities here have a controlled kill at least once a year.
That mug shot of Nicole Bobek has me believing she could speak in tongues. Meth addicts are some crazy people.
July 8: NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports the latest on the feud between House Democrats loyal to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and CIA Director Leon Panetta.
CIA deceived Congress?
WASHINGTON - CIA Director Leon Panetta told Congress last month that senior CIA officials have concealed significant actions and misled lawmakers repeatedly since 2001, the chairman and other members of the House Intelligence Committee said in letters revealed Wednesday.
Exactly what actions Panetta disclosed to the House Intelligence Committee on June 24 are unclear, but committee chairman Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said that the CIA outright lied in one case.
"These notifications have led me to conclude that this committee has been misled, has not been provided full and complete notifications, and (in at least one case) was affirmatively lied to," Reyes wrote in a letter Tuesday to Michigan Rep. Peter Hoekstra, the committee's senior Republican. A copy of the letter was obtained by The Associated Press...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31808054/ns/politics-capitol_hill/
It sounds like Pelosi and Leon Panetta have a grudge match going on. It's never wise for any agency head to publicly contradict the third-in-line for the presidency.
After the abuses that went on in the CIA and FBI during the the last eight years, you'd think the agencies would not want to bite the hand that appropriates them funds. Doesn't Panetta realize that funding begins and ends in the House not the White House?
I expected that there would to be some turf fighting and mistakes made by this administration, but it's never good to side with the opposition party on anything that can come back to haunt you later when you want a favor from your own side.
Live and learn?
Hi, Chicago.
Coming down for the All Star Game?
It's supposed to be hot and rainy. Last time that happened when I was at that ballpark, we had wind surges and the pexiglass in the media box blew in and hurt a bunch of broadcasters.
And guess what? They forgot to build emergency shelters. You have hold up in the restrooms till the monsoon and tornadoes subside just so you won't be electrocuted when the drains back up on the concourses.
Cheap Republican bastard owner. He built a retro slum stadium. What does he care. He's got a bunker below the field where he can hide when the winds start howling and Auntie Em flies by with Dorothy clinging to their farmhouse.
I hope Bush attends again. We gave him a one finger salute when he threw out the first pitch in the new stadium a few years ago. Never saw so many limos in my life. Every rich Texan oil man in the country showed up. You can still hear the boos echoing around the stands.
Well, I have one more load of laundry to fold. Catch you all later.
Good night, everyone.
Sandy,
I don't think I'll be making the trip down to the all-star game. Buherle is the only CWS player. I think I'll stay home and watch it on the big screen.
82SandyH on July 8, 2009 at 10:43 PM
they're tasty too. we grilled some venison loin that I marinated for a day just last night.
not much left in the freezer, but now the carpenter is fishing, so fresh crappie will have to do.
Arrogance Alert: G8 Leaders Vow To Prevent Temps From Rising
Be afraid, world. Be very afraid.
99Cleveland on July 9, 2009 at 03:25 AM
no, the bible says fear not. you big scaredy-cat.
well, duh! what do you think they are going to use those big mirrors for? I posted about them years ago...you just picked up on them a couple of months ago.
James 1:5
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach; and it will be given to him.
good morning esmeralda. we had tons of rain in june and now are looking at one of the finest mosquito crops i've ever seen. i just need to figure out a way to package these suckers and sell them on the home shopping nitwork and i'll be set for life!
Morning Essie,
Have a good day.
Morning gregg,
Why don't we train mosquitos to attack republicans only.
gregg,
Our weather has changed overnight. I see strands of clouds which probably indicates moisture in the atmosphere which translates to thunder storms.
Yesterday the humidity was 16% and this morning it is 32%. That's quite a change.
Asshole savage had the idiot rasmussen on last night. Although rasmussen is a right winger and his polls lean way toward the right, he tries to sound like he is non partisan. What a loser.
savage is still complaining about not being allowed into England. "Boo hoo, I am on the list with criminals and liberals." "England is violating my constitutional rights."
This guy is a loser too. He SHOULD be banned from England. He is a homophobe and a right-wing extremist. The English people don't need people like him spewing his hate around their country like he is doing here.
Good morning Fine Dems!
I get such a kick out of the senile old troll, extolling Gold and Silver. Remember back when he was going to make a killing Day Trading? That lasted like 2 weeks---until he lost his shirt when he realized he was too dumb to be running with the big boys. NOW, he thinks massive inflation is going to come along, and his petty little purchases of gold are going to make his retirement package! Guess what, the roller coaster of gold is coming , and soon he will have some shiny objects in his closet worth NADA !
Oh well, try and tell him anything and he won't listen!
Hi Esme, I chuckle when I see how disturbed the trolls get from your Bible comments! Me thinks they get a feeling of unease when they are made to realize that HE is watching them, even while in their little dark corner hiding , while posting filth, racism and attacks! Keep up the good work !! Luckily the Thomass passes out by 10 each night, or else his 200 lb wife comes and grabs him by the ear off his wobbly little computer stool! heehee...........
ahahahahahahahahaha....
Michael Savage and the Truth???? He is an Extreme Reich Wing Hate Monger! Hate does not tell the truth.
"Nation.
Savage took offense and sued, not GLAAD, but the owners of three small non-commercial websites in the federal court, and the two websites that used "Savage" in ICANN for their use of his name. savagestupidity.com and michaelsavagesucks.com In his filing, one Savage claim was that his fans could be confused if they visited these sites, and believe that they were visiting his site instead, immediately spawning sarcastic remarks regarding his fans' IQ upon the juvenile anti-Savage boards. Because of documented comments Savage had made on the airwaves towards the owner of michaelsavagesucks.com, he was allowed to use a shield of anonymity throughout the lawsuit. Both defendants won against Savage's suit, and the Federal lawsuit was dropped shortly after.
[edit]Savaging Television
MSNBC, as mentioned earlier, contracted a show with Savage, and broadcasted the debut of The Savage Nation on TV in March, 2003. The boycott effort gained steam and an aggressive letter writing campaign to sponsors was begun, causing many major corporations to remove their advertising on the show, but with very mixed results regarding smaller companies. Despite poor ratings, MSNBC kept the Savage Nation on until Saturday, July 5, 2003, when MSNBC broadcast its last Savage Nation show. On it Savage took a call from a prankster who claimed he was gay, to which Savage responded in part:
"Oh, you're one of the sodomites. You should only get AIDS and die, you pig. How's that? Why don't you see if you can sue me, you pig. You got nothing better than to put me down, you piece of garbage? You have got nothing to do today, go eat a sausage and choke on it. Get trichinosis. Okay, do we have another nice caller here who's busy because he didn't have a nice night in the bathhouse, who's angry at me today? Get http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=65727me another one. Put another sodomite on."
.
WOW, at this rate, Jackson's debt will soon be eliminated and his Estate will be even wealthier. He is giving 20% to charity. What a nice thing to do.
Michael Jackson has three of the five best-selling albums in the U.S. for the second week in a row. Number Ones sold 339,000 copies this week and would have held at #1 on The Billboard 200 if catalog albums were eligible to compete on that chart. (The 2003 compilation sold a little more than twice as many copies this week as NOW 31, the album that holds the #1 spot.) Thriller sold 187,000 copies and would have jumped from #3 to #2 if catalog albums were invited to the party. The Essential Michael Jackson sold 125,000 copies and would have dropped from #2 to #5. (Billboard excludes catalog albums from the big chart on the theory that new albums need the spotlight the chart provides more than past hits do.)
Jackson's catalog of solo albums sold 800,000 copies this week, up from 422,000 copies last week. (This was the first full week following Jackson's death on June 25. Last week's total reflected just four days of sales.) Billboard reports that 82% of the Jackson albums sold this week were CDs (vs. digital downloads). Last week, 43% of the Jackson albums sold were CDs. I think this shows that on a special album, people want the CD as a keepsake. (What a retro concept!)
This is disgraceful in the land of the Free, Home of the Brave!!! Look at what Bush and Republicans have done to our country and it's people!!
WASHINGTON – The face of homelessness in the United States is changing to include more families and more people who live in the suburbs and rural communities.
The number of homeless has remained steady since 2007, but within the overall count are trends that can tell officials where federal resources would do the most good, the Housing and Urban Development Department says in its annual report to Congress being released Thursday.
About 1.6 million people used a homeless shelter or lived in transitional housing between Oct. 1, 2007, and Sept. 30, 2008 — about the same as the year before. But within that group, the number of families grew 9 percent, from about 473,000 to 517,000.
Officials said they also saw more demand for transitional housing in the suburbs and in rural areas of the country. Residents of suburban and rural communities made up about a third of those in need of housing, up from about 24 percent the year before.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090709/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_homeless_americans
Good morning Johne,
Gregg is right----all this rain and humidity have created one large mosquito problem here in the Northeast. I have never seen so much rain in my life, and the thunder----it shakes the house and the animals and the grandkids are scared to death by the noise.
So much for any nonsense ideas of Global Cooling--Climate Change must be solved!
bbiab,........
johne, actually i think the repubicans are mosquitos....they are useless, try to drink our blood and ruin some otherwise perfect days...
Off to work.
The $10,000 electric motor for our water pressure booster station arrived broken. Now it will be delayed up to eight weeks to get a new one. The manufacturers in the US have cut back so much that they don't have parts. The need for parts generates more jobs in the supply chain. This one pump motor is supporting hundreds of jobs across the country and this is just one little city in this great nation.
Keep up the good work President Obama.
The right wing extremists on the radio are trying to besmirch President Obama's trip to Russia by saying that there was no fanfare and that the republicans already had rights to the travel routes through Russia to Afghanistan. What a bold faced lie. They are trying to take credit for President Obama's successes but it won't work. Republicans are two-bit whores with Syphilis in my book. Who needs them.
johne, actually i think the repubicans are mosquitos....they are useless, try to drink our blood and ruin some otherwise perfect days...
123gregg on July 9, 2009 at 08:44 AM
LOL, Gregg, and all the time---that droning little whine going on, which I believe comes from the mosquito ass, does it not????
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