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Movie Junkie

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    Former Bush Surgeon General says he was muzzled

    in Chat

    Posted

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The first U.S. surgeon general appointed by President George W. Bush accused the administration on Tuesday of political interference and muzzling him on key issues like embryonic stem cell research.

     

    "Anything that doesn't fit into the political appointees' ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried," Dr. Richard Carmona, who served as the nation's top doctor from 2002 until 2006, told a House of Representatives committee.

     

    "The problem with this approach is that in public health, as in a democracy, there is nothing worse than ignoring science, or marginalizing the voice of science for reasons driven by changing political winds. The job of surgeon general is to be the doctor of the nation, not the doctor of a political party," Carmona added.

     

    Carmona said Bush administration political appointees censored his speeches and kept him from talking out publicly about certain issues, including the science on embryonic stem cell research, contraceptives and his misgivings about the administration's embrace of "abstinence-only" sex education.

     

    Carmona's comments came two days before a Senate committee is due to hold a hearing on Bush's nomination of Dr. James Holsinger as his successor. The administration allowed Carmona to finish his term as surgeon general last year without a replacement in place.

     

    Gay rights activists and several leading Democrats have criticized Holsinger for what they see as "anti-gay" writings, but the White House has defended him as well qualified.

     

    U.S. surgeons general in the past have issued influential reports on subjects including smoking, AIDS and mental health.

     

    "Political interference with the work of the surgeon general appears to have reached a new level in this administration," said Rep. Henry Waxman, a California Democrat who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to which Carmona testified.

     

    "The public expects that a surgeon general will be immune from political pressure and be allowed to express his or her professional views based on the best available science," he said.

     

    Carmona said he was politically naive when he took the job, but became astounded at the partisanship and manipulation he witnessed as administration political appointees hemmed him in.

     

    Bush in 2001 allowed federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research, but only with heavy restrictions that many scientists condemn as stifling.

     

    Carmona said the administration prevented him from voicing views on stem cell research. Many scientists see it as a promising avenue for curing many diseases. But because it involves destroying human embryos, opponents call it immoral.

     

    Carmona said he was prevented from talking publicly even about the science underpinning the research to enable the U.S. public to have a better understanding of a complicated issue. He said most of the public debate over the matter has been driven by political, ideological or theological motivations.

     

    "I was blocked at every turn. I was told the decision had already been made -- stand down, don't talk about it," he said.

     

    Carmona testified with two predecessors, Dr. C. Everett Koop, who served under President Ronald Reagan, and Dr. David Satcher, named by Clinton but whose term ended under Bush.

     

    Carmona said some of his predecessors told him, "We have never seen it as partisan, as malicious, as vindictive, as mean-spirited as it is today, and you clearly have worse than anyone's had."

    Movie Junkie

    in Chat

    Posted

    :happybday: a belated Happy Birthday MJ :happybday:

     

    knew there was something i forgot to do :rolleyes: , Hope you had a good one ?

    Thanks Volvo. :thumbup: It was a great birthday.

    Movie Junkie

    in Chat

    Posted

    I know...ain't life a bitch sometimes.....first we discuss my new, stiffer frame then we discuss my failing memory....... >_<

     

     

    =))=))=))

    Yeah, things that shouldn't be stiff are...and things that should be aren't. :whistling: :whistling:

    Movie_Junkie

    in Chat

    Posted

    Corny; Thanks for the balloons. thank4mh.gif

     

    Bill; Here's your cake. torta.gif

     

    Blu; I'd rather keep it at 60. phiphi.gif

     

    LOCOENG; Thanks for your birthday greeting. slider_thankyou.gif

     

    lfcrule; Older than Blu??? 60.gif

     

    Kenadjian; Thank you. I appreciate it. thx.gif

     

    Jack; Thanks for the birthday wishes. :thumbup:

    And the War Goes On

    in Chat

    Posted

    How is this Obama fella related to Osama? I mean are they running on the same ticket? Do they stand for blowing up the government or just getting ridda George Bush (who has to go anyway, right?) :D :D

     

    Regards

     

    Good question Blu, it came out a while back, don't remember the whole story but Obama's father is actually Iraqi or from somewhere over there which makes me wonder how the hell he ever got to be Illinois senator :whistling: I wouldn't doubt he's not related to Osama somehow.

     

    I can however see bumper stickers reading "Clinton/Obama 08" and that just gives me a heart attack :boxed:

     

    Now this sounds better Clinton/McFartfinger 08" =))

    Here is information on Obama's father:

     

    Obama's father was a Kenyan international student in Hawaii when he met Obama's mother. She was just 18 when they married. The couple separated when Obama's father left to attend Harvard University. She later remarried, this time to an Indonesian oil manager, and moved with Obama to Jakarta from when he was six to when he was ten. In his teen years he was brought up mostly by his caucausian grandparents and had questions of racial identity which according to Obama was such a problem he dealt with by snorting cocaine. Realizing that was not a path he wanted to take, he embarked on a trip to Africa to learn more about his father and his heritage. From his experiences there he created his book Dreams from My Father. After college he worked for three years with a church organization on Chicago's south side helping people cope with plant closings. He then went to Harvard Law School where he became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. He turned down a clerkship at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals which likely would have led to one at the Supreme Court. Instead he went to work for a civil rights law firm in Chicago and became a lecturer at he University of Chicago law school. He leapt at a chance to run for state senate when it came up and unsuccessfully challenged four term congressman Bobby Rush in a primary in 2000. He lives in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood with his wife and two young daughters. Obama is a Christian, a member of Chicago

    And the War Goes On

    in Chat

    Posted

    I heard Obama say something the other day and hate to say but I have to agree with him.

     

    "George Bush is the best political statement the democratic party could have" =))

    That's one of the most accurate statements I've heard in recent times. :thumbup: :thumbup:

    And the War Goes On

    in Chat

    Posted

    ...Even though I agree all politicians are lower than whale crap I say bring back Bill...at least he was a cool guy, Bush just tries to be cool and ends up just looking like a poser. :D
    You've got that right.

    And the War Goes On

    in Chat

    Posted

    MJ, for God's sake, can you just, for one fucking minute, stop being so fucking ambiguous!!! =))

     

    Regards

    Blu, I want to apologize to you. You are sooooo right. I really need to start saying exactly what I feel instead of being ambiguous. I will try to make sure it doesn't happen again. :innocent:

    And the War Goes On

    in Chat

    Posted

    Aaaah - so that is King George the 5th MJ.
    Yeah, that's King george the 5th. (I purposely never capitalize his name because that rat-bastard piece of crap doesn't deserve it.)
    Gee, that is tragic to see so many deaths. Wasn't that the bloke whose brother kinda cheated him into power?
    No, not kind of cheated. He outright cheated. Those two bastard brothers need to spend the rest of their lives shoveling crap from pit toilets in prison. They are nothing but pure slime!
    Never mind. Pretty soon, you'll have Bill back as First Philanderer. But watch the dry cleaning bill in the White House! :D :D :D

     

    Regards

    I would rather have Clinton in the White House lying about a BJ then Bitch-Boy bush lying about the WMD's and how we've won the war. (Remember him saying that from the deck of the Navy ship?). I would rather spend a few dollars on President Clinton's dry cleaning bill that $4.00 for a fcuking gallon of gasoline that cost around $1.49 when that lying cock-sucker King george stole his way into office.

     

    MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT THIS, I HAVE NO LOVE FOR KING george OR ANY OF HIS BASTARD FRIENDS! IF AFTER POSTING THIS I FOUND OUT HE HAD DIED NOT ONLY WOULD I NOT SHED A TEAR I WOULD POST TO TELL EVERYONE HOW FREAKING HAPPY I WAS. IF THAT DICK, cheney, AND THE REST OF THOSE LYING ASS-WIPES bush PALS AROUND WITH ALSO DROPPED DEAD AT THE SAME TIME I WOULD BE EVEN HAPPIER!

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