WHY to VOTE YES for PROPOSAL 2 and the CATA Millage

Nobody die of shock. I am actually writing about something other than the impending presidential election. 

On Nov. 4 you will have to vote for two issues that I feel are important. 

THE FIRST ISSUE is the CATA millage. This issue is mostly personal, but I feel that it could affect all of us. It is proposed that property taxes are increase by $0.78 for every $1000 of taxable property to help support CATA. If this millage doesn't pass then CATA has declared that it will have to cut out service on the weekends and after 6 pm. This would be very problematic for me since I end up riding the bus home after 6 pm at least twice a week. On a larger scale, the cut back of service could potentially negatively affect the local economy by making it that much harder for low income individuals to get to and from work. PLEASE VOTE YES on the CATA Millage.

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THE SECOND ISSUE is PROPOSAL 2. This is a proposal to amend the Michigan constitution to allow the use of discarded embryos from statewide fertility clinics to be used for stem cell research. The opposition to this proposal have unfortunately engaged in what I deem unethical tatics - aka LYING and DISTORT the TRUTH.

The opposition asks why we are trying to amend the constitution to include stem cell research. 
Shouldn't that be addressed with simple legislation?
- I agree. However, over that last several years many bills have been presented to our state 
legislature, and none of them have ever seen the light of day. Therefore proponents of stem
cell research have decided to bypass the legislature and ask the people Michigan directly.

The opposition says that the bill is going to costs taxpayers vast sums of money.
- Obviously the people touting this increase in taxes have never been involved in biomedical
research and they are counting on their audience to not know how research is funded in this
country. Having been involved in biomedical research over the last 5 years I have never,
NEVER, heard of anybody conducting biomedical research from money obtained from the
state. Research in the US is pretty much exclusively funded by the National Institutes of 
Health (NIH) and private companies. Just because Michigan passes this proposal does not 
mean that the NIH is going to be able to levy increases in federal taxes to support the 
measure either. Therefore, you will not see one cent of tax increase (barring some kind 
radical legislation) as a consequence of this passing of this proposal.

The opposition claims that the bill leaves not room for the state to regulate stem cell research.
- True, it does limit the states ability to regulate stem cell research. But guess what? States
do not actively regulate other types of biomedical research. The general governing bodies
in terms of biomedical research are the NIH, the FDA, the USDA, and the institution where
the research is being conducted. Stem cell research will NOT be conducted unregulated. 
Besides the proposal has language to regulate itself (not allowing for donors to be paid or 
coerced, that embryos are not allowed to be kept longer than 14 days, and that all research 
must be conducted in accordance with good scientific practices (which includes ethics - so 
don't worry, there will not be 'cow-people' generated from the passing of this proposal)).

There are other lies and distortions being spread concerning this proposal, but I don't have the 
time or room here to address all of them. 

The things that WILL come from the passing of Proposal 2 are the possibilities of curing currently 
un-curable diseases such diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, spinal cord injuries, 
and many others. The passing of this proposal will allow Michigan universities to recruit top 
scientists to come here and setup labs that generate good press and jobs to conduct research. 

PLEASE VOTE 'YES' on PROPOSAL 2.

Don't Take My Word for It

I'm in Vegas having a wonderful time eating myself sick and singing myself hoarse at piano bars (okay, only one bar).  I head home tonight, and am pretty ready to be there.  I'll post a few pictures when I get in.  SillyGirl isn't here with me, so my desire to be a shutterbug has tanked!  (Who wants to see self-portraits of a pregnant lady?)  

But, I wanted to share this from my cousin Ben and his wife's blog.  Ben is at Iowa doing a PhD in political science, and he recently posted this.  He has met several of the candidates in the election (if you read back on his blog you can see a lot of the pictures) and obviously has a lot of insight into the process.  So, if you're still wondering about who to vote for, check out Ben's very thoughtful views.

I hear it's supposed to snow in Michigan today... guess I better enjoy the 85 degree Las Vegas weather!

Trying to Help Out

Just trying to get my PhD programs website more traffic so that it will come up more readily when people are looking for Neuroscience programs.   So if you are looking for something to do and you stumble across this...click on the link.  I have a very pretty picture in there.

CLICK HERE for Neuroscience Info!

McCain votes for Obama?

New Phone Numbers

FYI-- Doc and I (not SillyGirl, yet) have new cell phone numbers (finally Michigan) and will be cutting off our home phone shortly. I sent an email with the new numbers to everyone I had. If you didn't get it, let me know and I'll get you our new numbers... obviously I won't be posting them here. Thanks!

Recent Gems from and Stories about SillyGirl

In the car, we approached the capitol building in downtown Lansing.  I said, "Look, SillyGirl, it's the capitol!"  She looked up and said: "Is that where Barack Obama is?"

Yesterday she told me the baby in my tummy is "a boogie baby who shakes her booty."

She refuses to wear panties under her pajamas.

Everything small is cute and just her size, even her boogers: "Mom, they're tiny, little boogers in my nose!  They're so cute and they shake their booty."  (Booty shaking is obviously also popular.)

Last night she slept in her Dora blow-up bed ON TOP of her regular bed.

Many of you already know about the baby in her tummy, Ellie.  Ellie has been there since February, and every time we ask her when the baby will come out, she replies "Wednesday." Also, Ellie is her baby sister.

And, as a grand finale: