21 posts tagged “bush”
"I've abandoned free market principles to save the free market system."
President George W. Bush
Washington, D.C., Dec. 16, 2008
In April of 2008, President Bush signed into law S.1858 which allows the federal government to screen the DNA of all newborn babies in the U.S. This was to be implemented within 6 months meaning that this collection is now being carried out. Congressman Ron Paul states that this bill is the first step towards the establishment of a national DNA database.
S.1858, known as The Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2007, is justified as a "national contingency plan" in that it represents preparation for any sort of public health emergency. The bill states that the federal government should "continue to carry out, coordinate, and expand research in newborn screening" and "maintain a central clearinghouse of current information on newborn screening... ensuring that the clearinghouse is available on the Internet and is updated at least quarterly". Sections of the bill also make it clear that DNA may be used in genetic experiments and tests.
Read the full bill: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xp...Twila Brase, president of the Citizens' Council on Health Care warns that this new law represents the beginning of nationwide genetic testing. Brase states that S.1858 and H.R. 3825, the House version of the bill, will:
• Establish a national list of genetic conditions for which newborns and children are to be tested.
• Establish protocols for the linking and sharing of genetic test results nationwide.
• Build surveillance systems for tracking the health status and health outcomes of individuals diagnosed at birth with a genetic defect or trait.
• Use the newborn screening program as an opportunity for government agencies to identify, list, and study "secondary conditions" of individuals and their families.
• Subject citizens to genetic research without their knowledge or consent.Read her entire analysis of the implications of this bill here: http://www.cchconline.org/pdf/S_1858_NB...
Brase states that under this bill, "The DNA taken at birth from every citizen is essentially owned by the government, and every citizen becomes a potential subject of government-sponsored genetic research." All 50 states are now routinely providing results of genetic screenings to the Department of Homeland Security and this bill will establish the legality of that practice plus include DNA.
Ron Paul has also vigorously argued against this bill making the following comments before the US House of Representatives:
"I cannot support legislation...that exceeds the Constitutional limitations on federal power or in any way threatens the liberty of the American people. I must oppose it."
"S. 1858 gives the federal bureaucracy the authority to develop a model newborn screening program. Madame Speaker, the federal government lacks both the constitutional authority and the competence to develop a newborn screening program adequate for a nation as large and diverse as the United States. …"
"Those of us in the medical profession should be particularly concerned about policies allowing government officials and state-favored interests to access our medical records without our consent … My review of S. 1858 indicates the drafters of the legislation made no effort to ensure these newborn screening programs do not violate the privacy rights of parents and children, in fact, by directing federal bureaucrats to create a contingency plan for newborn screening in the event of a 'public health' disaster, this bill may lead to further erosions of medical privacy. As recent history so eloquently illustrates, politicians are more than willing to take, and people are more than willing to cede, liberty during times of 'emergency."
Video of a journalist in Iraq who threw his shoes at President Bush today; during a press conference. (Just to be clear, I do not think this is cool. However, I have no idea what that journalist and his family have been through since the war started.)
WH Tells Obamas, No Room at the Blair House
By Dan Eggen
The Bush administration has denied President-elect Barack Obama's request to move early into an official guest house across from the White House, citing previously scheduled commitments, a transition official said today.
The Obamas wanted to move into Blair House before Jan. 5, so that daughters Malia and Sasha could start classes on time at Sidwell Friends School in Washington. "But there were previously scheduled events and guests that couldn't be displaced," said a transition spokesperson, who agreed to be quoted only on condition of anonymity.
Sally McDonough, a spokeswoman for first lady Laura Bush, said in a statement that Blair House will be "available to President-elect Obama and his family starting January 15, as is historically the case." Prior to that, McDonough said, "should he need to use it for a meeting or such he can certainly request it and the transition office will check its availability...
The Soup's parody trailer of Oliver Stone's new movie W.
This poll / survey from October 2004 is a gentle reminder that this election isn't over. Keep on advocating, keep on giving, keep on keeping on. We are close to the finish line, now is not the time to rest.
The question from The Scripps Survey Research Center at Ohio University, October 14, 2004:
The major candidats for president this year are Republican George W. Bush and Democrat John Kerry. If the election were held today, for whom would you vote?*
John Kerry 47%
George W. Bush 42%
Don't know 8%
Other 3%
*This question had 1009 respondents; it was part of a survey posted on newsPolls.org on October 14, 2004.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
George Santayana (1863 - 1952)
The Life of Reason, Volume 1, 1905
Jon Stewart compares President Bush's Economy speech with his Iraq War speech. I know it's not déjà vu; because that would be French.
déjà vu
Pronunciation: \ˌdā-ˌzhä-ˈvü, -ˈvue\
Function: noun
Etymology: French, adjective, literally, already seen
1 a: the illusion of remembering scenes and events when experienced for the first time b: a feeling that one has seen or heard something before
2: something overly or unpleasantly familiar
Nothing to add, I think the title says it all. Vote for Change Vote for Obama. McCain is just a third Bush term and the economy will continue to suffer.
Interesting and informative 1 minute 03 second video
Endangered Species Act Changes Give Agencies More Say
By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
The Bush administration yesterday proposed a regulatory overhaul of the Endangered Species Act to allow federal agencies to decide whether protected species would be imperiled by agency projects, eliminating the independent scientific reviews that have been required for more than three decades.
The new rules, which will be subject to a 30-day per comment period, would use administrative powers to make broad changes in the law that Congress has resisted for years. Under current law, agencies must subject any plans that potentially affect endangered animals and plants to an independent review by the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service. Under the proposed new rules, dam and highway construction and other federal projects could proceed without delay if the agency in charge decides they would not harm vulnerable species.
In a telephone call with reporters yesterday, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne described the new rules as a "narrow regulatory change" that "will provide clarity and certainty to the consultation process under the Endangered Species Act."
But environmentalists and congressional Democrats blasted the proposal as a last-minute attempt by the administration to bring about dramatic changes in the law. For more than a decade, congressional Republicans have been trying unsuccessfully to rewrite the act, which property owners and developers say imposes unreasonable economic costs.
"I am deeply troubled by this proposed rule, which gives federal agencies an unacceptable degree of discretion to decide whether or not to comply with the Endangered Species Act," said Rep. Nick J. Rahall II (D-W.Va.), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, who asked for a staff briefing before the proposal was announced but did not receive one. "Eleventh-hour rulemakings rarely, if ever, lead to good government -- this is not the type of legacy this Interior Department should be leaving for future generations."
Bob Irvin, senior vice president of conservation programs at the advocacy group Defenders of Wildlife, questioned how some federal agencies could make the assessments, since most do not have wildlife biologists on staff...
