Bye Bye Dingell

The longest-serving member of the House of Representatives just got served...eviction papers from his chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce Committee. There has been speculation ever since the election that Dingell would be given the old heave-ho, but nothing has happened until today. It is now being reported that Rep. Waxman from California is taking the chairmanship starting in January.

There are a lot of people in Michigan that are going to be furious about this. I don't think I count myself as one of them. I mean, sure he's been there forever and he deserves respect, but at the same time if new leadership is needed, new leadership is needed.

And in that paragraph, I just ousted myself from ever being an insider in Michigan politics. That's how powerful the Dingells (particularly Debbie Dingell) are.

I can't help but wonder what this does for the auto companies chances at getting some help in D.C.

Proposal 2--Vote Yes Now, Vote Yes Early

Michigan's Proposal 2 is glaringly important to me. But I realize that I don't necessarily represent the voice of all the people, sadly.

Everyday people are suffering from incurable diseases, chronic pain, chronic suffering. Their relationships are faltering because of their pain. Careers are going down the tubes.

Yet, instead of being compassionate, some people are trying to block the best known route to cures. It's as if I-75 were off limits and the people all suggested using US-23. It's another route, but it won't get you to Saginaw because it stops before there.

What boggles my mind more than the lack of compassion, is the outright lies coming out of the mouths of the No on 2 People. The commercials are outrageous and nothing short of fear-mongering.

They allege higher taxes would result. Lie.
They allege that human cloning would occur. Lie.
They allege that it goes too far. Lie.

I just hope that people look past the lies. The thing is that to be a good practitioner of any type of religion, you must be compassionate. Being compassionate isn't saying a prayer. It isn't just saying you're compassionate. It's actually doing something about it. Frankly, it's a lie if you say you'r compassionate and you chose to vote no on Proposal 2. All of the major religions ask you to do one thing--put your money where your mouth is, and by voting No on 2, you fail to do that.

Proposal 2 is your chance to be compassionate. So just do it. Vote yes. Be compassionate. Chose cures over fear. And chose life over just getting by.

Yes to Hope, Yes to Cures, Yes to Michigan: Yes to Proposal 2

I expect a lot off bullshit when it comes to ballot proposals. So you can imagine that it's hard to surprise me anymore.

Guess what? I'm surprised. I never thought there would be this much controversy over saying yes to medical research and a better quality of life.

Over the past few weeks, the opposition to Proposal 2 people have been fighting against common sense, dignity and just plan goodness. Mostly funded by the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit, the No to 2 people have been making such ridiculous and patently false claims that it makes Richard Nixon look like a saint.

Here are the facts from Cure Michigan:

• Proposal 2 will provide for safe and ethical research as permitted under federal law;
• Proposal 2 will keep in force Michigan’s ban against cloning; and,
• Proposal 2 will allow doctors and researchers to use voluntarily donated leftover embryos for finding cures and saving lives. These leftover embryos are currently thrown away as medical waste.

Why is Proposal 2 necessary in Michigan? Because under the current state law, Michigan criminalizes the use of new embryonic stem cells to find cures—researchers can be fined up to $10 million and imprisoned up to 10 years. That means researchers at our top institutions and even private medical research facilities are being forced to make a choice--research and jail or losing time and money.

The No to 2 people are right about one thing--this is a moral issue. This is an issue about whether you want people with severe spinal injuries to have the hope to walk again. This is an issue about whether you want people with chronic illnesses, like me, to live a pain free life. This is an issue about whether you want people with Alzheimer's and Dementia, like Nana Grace, to have a second chance at their golden years. So if you believe in those things, you believe in voting yes to Proposal 2.

Part of the problem now is that people are being fed these lies about Proposal 2 and it's alleged potential for raising tax revenues, allowing unethical use of human embryos and so on--all false claims mind you. The reason this matters--the No to 2 people have more money and captive audiences.

So what can you do? Until tonight at midnight, your donations are being matched dollar-for-dollar. You can only give ten bucks? Guess what, today you can make the impact of $20. Make a donation today, however big or small, to support such an important cause.

Don't let us wake up November 5 with a Michigan that is technologically inhibited and without hope. Donate here. And vote YES on Proposal 2.

Stem Cell Ballot Initative: A Prop 2 that actually works for MI

This is another post from a guest blogger, Julielyn Gibbons. Julielyn Gibbons has been fighting for those unheard voices in Michigan for nearly a decade both in Lansing and online as her nom de plume, Liberal Lucy. Diagnosed with a particularly severe case of Crohn's Disease while a teen, Julielyn's taken her own personal tragedy into a victory and is now one of Michigan's best known political voices and online strategists, recognized for efforts both in Michigan and nationally.

A terrible accident. A horrific diagnosis. A lifetime sentence of needles, medicine, or expensive medical equipment. Even worse, a terminal illness.

Juvenile Diabetes. Cancer. Alzheimer's. Parkinson's Disease. Spinal Cord Injury. ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). Auto-Immune Diseases. Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Your mother, your child, your brother, your friend, your grandparent, your aunt. You.
I was 14. They said I had Crohn's Disease and they were without a reason for the illness, without a cure, without a real treatment.

Almost 15 years later, I'm missing my colon and rectum, among other miscellaneous parts and pieces. My body is a walking tribute to the skill of surgeons after 36 surgeries and almost 80 hospitalizations.

To stay alive and functioning in society, I require over $300 in ostomy supplies a month, not to mention the various treatments and medications that keep the other 'peripheral' conditions and illnesses at bay. I have a deep love-hate relationship with the insurance industry.

I'd like to have children some day, but I realize that if I'm even able to have children, which is unknown at this point because of my health, there's a great risk of passing my disease on. Do I want to do that to my child?

Not a day doesn't pass when I don't realize how lucky I am to be alive, but I also understand that there are millions that like me, suffer from illnesses and injuries that could be one day cured, so that we don't have to suffer.

But first we need the proper research to be done, and so much promise lies in stem cell research.

Unfortunately, Michigan is one of five states that lies in wait for progress to happen. Since 1978, we've been stuck in a Draconian period along with Arkansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Louisiana; definitely some of the least progressive states in our Union.

Fortunately for us, that could change this November. We all have an opportunity to be a part of making a Cure happen for Michigan.

The ballot proposal, (Proposal 2) led by the Cure Michigan folks, would turn the current law right around, and put Michigan at the forefront of curing debilitating illnesses and conditions.

Despite the Extreme Right's moaning and belly-aching about the issue, it's a very practical solution that is quite a bit more 'pro-life' than the current standards. For instance, instead of throwing away unused embryos, parents who use fertility clinics have the option of donating them to helping find a cure. Right now, all they can do is have them thrown out. Seems like a waste, doesn't it?

A study has already found that more than half of all parents who benefit from fertility clinics are willing to donate their embryos to finding a much needed cure.

What's ironic is that under the current law, a researcher could be thrown in jail for up to 10 years for their work in finding a cure by using stem cell lines that would have been put in the trash. As a result, we've already heard the stories of the states that have benefited from our top researchers packing up and moving shop out of Michigan.

A change in Michigan could help cure our health and financial woes. It's a change that a majority of Michigan is already getting behind, as today's editorial from the Muskegon Chronicle highlights.

While you could say that my interest in the Cure Michigan campaign is selfish, there's a good chance that you have someone in your life who is either suffering now or has suffered in the past from an illness that could be helped or cured through stem cell research. In the end, we all benefit from finding a cure.

Get the facts, send it on to your friends, family, neighbors, and above all, let's make sure that we all check YES on November 4th. We can't afford not too.

I support this

Who knew? Apparently there is a campaign to make affordable health care a basic right under the Michigan Constitution.

Well...maybe I knew. But maybe you didn't. And now you know...and knowing is 3/4 of the battle.

Ugh....BORRRRRRRRING

Michigan's Presidential Primary is tomorrow. It means absolutely jack for Democrats (though some are pushing non-Clinton supporters to vote for Kucinich like that'll really do anything), but it means a lot for Republicans.

And so the chaos begins. Freep.com is already overloaded with this crap. Mindless Republican drivvel--and this is the more liberal of the two papers. Go figure.

Add in the opening of the Auto Show and you got yourself a big fat page of news I couldn't care less about.

How Convinient

Rejoicing be damned.

As predicted, the Michigan Senate took out my lungs and stomped on them a few times today. Just enough to make me think about using my inhaler. In an unsurprising move the Senate sent the Smoking Ban Bill back to committee. Shocking? No. Heartbreaking? Yes.

And call up this dude for me and send him a boquet of scissors:

Sen. Ray Basham, D-Taylor, decried the GOP maneuver as putting politics ahead of public health.

You're goddamned right, Mr. Basham. Goddamned right.

Here's what the GOP and the Michigan Retailers Association just don't get--the vast majority of people don't smoke. In fact, the vast majority of people don't want to go to restaurants or bars where they allow smoking. To be sure, when Mr. SG and I were out this weekend I was thrilled to find out the restaurant we were at was entirely smoke free. It was a nice thing to be able to sit near the bar and not choke to death. And I know plenty of smokers who'd rather go to a smoke-free facility. (Example from a Cleveland gal who previously commented on this issue.)

It's so frustrating and the worst part is that it's LITERALLY sickening.

FINALLY

I hate going out to a bar or restaurant and coming home smelling like smoke. Furthermore, and more importantly, I hate going out to a bar or restaurant and coming home and having an asthma attack because someone ELSE decided to throw tar down their lungs.

That's why I'm so happy that the Michigan House of Representatives has passed a bill banning smoking in restaurants and bars. It now goes to the Senate, where it will meet some heavy opposition from Republicans because their supporters either have stock in or support tobacco companies and so-called "free enterprise" or are smokers themselves.

HORRAY!!!

Degree for Women's Fired Up Lady of the Week Award: Jennifer Granholm

Now, I've been dogging her a bit lately because of the back and forth with the state legislature, but now she's my girl. Not only did she tell the legislature to give back 5% of their pay she told them to stop whining and not to take their vacation and get shit done.

That's why Gov. Jennifer Granholm is this week's Degree for Women Fired Up Lady of the Week. Congrats. When I actually get corporate sponsorship for this award, I will be sending out a sample pack of Degree for Women to the award recipient. Jenny From the Block--you'll have to wait. (If anyone has a connection with Degree, let me know. Their ultra clear rocks my world.)