Emergency Petition: Demand George Bush Sign the Stem Cell Bill

[helderheid]

I just walked off the Senate floor, where a bipartisan group of lawmakers voted to pass the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, offering hope to millions of Americans. I wish we could celebrate - however, George Bush has indicated he might make this bill the first veto of his Presidency.

After signing numerous bills giving tax breaks to millionaires and giveaways to his friends at oil companies, it is unbelievable that George Bush's first veto might come on a bill that could save millions of lives. I need your help letting George Bush know this is unacceptable -- he must sign the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. We need to act in the next 24 - 48 hours -- every moment is critical.

Tell George Bush to sign the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, by visiting:

http://giveemhellharry.com/stemcell

The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (H.R. 810) offers hope to millions of Americans who are suffering from debilitating diseases and conditions such as Lou Gehrig's disease, spinal cord injuries, diabetes, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune diseases and cancer. For too long, Americans have been denied hope because this President and this Republican Congress put ideology over sound science and have refused to act.

Now we have acted with an overwhelming bipartisan majority and passed H.R. 810. Only George Bush stands in the way of it becoming law.

http://giveemhellharry.com/stemcell

Today before H.R. 810 passed, the Senate was forced to vote on two other measures: The Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapies Enhancement Act (S. 2754) and the Fetus Farming Prohibition Act (S. 3504). The only reason we voted on these bills was to provide political cover for the opponents of stem cell research such as George Bush and Rick Santorum. They know their opposition to stem cell research is outside the American mainstream, so they want to give themselves this cover by voting for two meaningless bills that do nothing to harness the potential of stem cell research for the millions suffering from deadly diseases. It's a playbook straight from the Republican's Orwellian world.

We need to make H.R. 810 law because the President's current stem cell policy is hindering promising medical research that could lead to treatments and cures for many diseases and conditions. Under his current policy, federal research funds can be used on only a small number of embryonic stem cell lines that were created before August 9, 2001. As a result, we are needlessly impeding the work of scientists who cannot use federal funds for research on newer, more promising lines.

H.R. 810 solves this problem by expanding the number of human embryonic stem cell lines eligible for federally funded research. Scientists would be able to use new stem cell lines derived from any of the more than 400,000 surplus embryos from fertility clinics that will never be used to create pregnancy and would otherwise be thrown away.

This is a rare opportunity to enact legislation that is about curing disease and saving lives. Tell George Bush to sign this bill into law:

http://giveemhellharry.com/stemcell

A veto of this bill is a veto of research and cures for hundreds of diseases and that is unacceptable.

Thank you,

Harry Reid

[helderheid]

1. thank you for the recommend - I'd love to get this on the greatest.

[NVMojo]

2. here's my reply from one I sent through DefCon

On behalf of President Bush, thank you for your correspondence.
We appreciate hearing your views and welcome your suggestions.
Due to the large volume of e-mail received, the White House is unable to respond to every message, and therefore this response is an autoreply.

Thank you again for taking the time to write.

FROM: [e-mail]

[helderheid]

3. DefCon?

[medeak]

34. I received it too... n/t

[AndyA]

4. Done! Can you imagine this nit-wit of a President, who is supposed

to value life so much, will do so little to protect lives already being lived?

There is no excuse for Bush.

[helderheid]

5. These are stem cells coming from embryos that would otherwise go in the

TRASH! There is NO excuse for him not to sign the bill. NONE.

[rodeodance]

6. k and r for sure. and signed

[rodeodance]

7. ;///

[rodeodance]

8. K

[rodeodance]

9. I

[rodeodance]

10. C

[rodeodance]

11. K

[rodeodance]

12. y

[rodeodance]

13. poooo

[rodeodance]

14. poo

[helderheid]

15. I love you!

:hug:

[rodeodance]

16. kicky poo

[rodeodance]

17. this thread is fast sinking.

[helderheid]

19. I know!! Crazy. Thanks for your help. PEOPLE please get this on greatest!

[Ghost in the Machine]

18. Done! ................... K&R

but I'd much rather sign a petition demanding his IMMEDIATE resignation....

[DanCa]

20. K&R and done (nt)

[helderheid]

21. Awesome. Your post was SO amazing. I recommended it. I am

so sorry about the pain you live with.

[Ian David]

22. Onward, Stem-cell soldiers, marching off to war!

My solution: A military skills draft to fight the war against Cancer...

Onward, Stem-cell soldiers, marching off to war!

Every Frozen-American composed of undifferentiated cells should be immediately drafted into the US Military, and sent to fight in the war against Cancer and other diseases.

Onward, Stem-cell soldiers, marching off to war!

All our soldiers were once fetuses. The Iraqi children we're bombing were once fetuses. Some of the Iraqi women we're bombing have fetuses inside them, too.

Onward, Stem-cell soldiers, marching off to war!

If we can bomb fetuses (and former fetuses) to save us from imaginary weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a man who had nothing to do with 9/11... then surely we can induct a few petri dishes into the battle to save human lives.

Onward, Stem-cell soldiers, marching off to war!

Hail to thee, Frozen-Americans!

[helderheid]

23. LOVE IT!

[helderheid]

24. 2 more recs? Pretty please?

[helderheid]

31. with

[helderheid]

32. sugar

[helderheid]

33. on

[helderheid]

35. top?

[medeak]

25. does anyone know if we have the votes to over ride veto?

as told stem cell passed "overwhelmingly"?

[helderheid]

26. we needed 67 to override - we got 63

[medeak]

30. thank you! We need emergency letters to target those on the fence!

anyone have any idea who to start with?

[Ian David]

27. You know who the first people to afford stem cell therapy will be?

Billionaires.

Bush's Quaeda.

The haves and the have-mores.

This is really hurting the rich people the most right now.

[helderheid]

29. yeppers. I'm just shaking my head.

[medeak]

37. just like my right winger Mother in Law flying daughter to Japan

TWICE for abortions before they were legal.....they make me puke.

[Ian David]

"The Only Moral Abortion is My Abortion": When the Anti-Choice Choose

"The Only Moral Abortion is My Abortion"

When the Anti-Choice Choose

By Joyce Arthur

Copyright © September, 2000

Abortion is a highly personal decision that many women are sure they'll never have to think about until they're suddenly faced with an unexpected pregnancy. But this can happen to anyone, including women who are strongly anti-choice. So what does an anti-choice woman do when she experiences an unwanted pregnancy herself? Often, she will grin and bear it, so to speak, but frequently, she opts for the solution she would deny to other women -- abortion.

In the spring of 2000, I collected the following anecdotes directly from abortion doctors and other clinic staff in North America, Australia, and Europe. The stories are presented in the providers' own words, with minor editing for grammar, clarity, and brevity. Names have been omitted to protect privacy.

"I have done several abortions on women who have regularly picketed my clinics, including a 16 year old schoolgirl who came back to picket the day after her abortion, about three years ago. During her whole stay at the clinic, we felt that she was not quite right, but there were no real warning bells. She insisted that the abortion was her idea and assured us that all was OK. She went through the procedure very smoothly and was discharged with no problems. A quite routine operation. Next morning she was with her mother and several school mates in front of the clinic with the usual anti posters and chants. It appears that she got the abortion she needed and still displayed the appropriate anti views expected of her by her parents, teachers, and peers." (Physician, Australia)

"I've had several cases over the years in which the anti-abortion patient had rationalized in one way or another that her case was the only exception, but the one that really made an impression was the college senior who was the president of her campus Right-to-Life organization, meaning that she had worked very hard in that organization for several years. As I was completing her procedure, I asked what she planned to do about her high office in the RTL organization. Her response was a wide-eyed, 'You're not going to tell them, are you!?' When assured that I was not, she breathed a sigh of relief, explaining how important that position was to her and how she wouldn't want this to interfere with it." (Physician, Texas)

More:
http://mypage.direct.ca/w/writer/anti-tales.html

[medeak]

39. here is Defcon link... SIGN THEM BOTH!

http://ga3.org/campaign/stem_cell_bush/wkew5sw4f5bd7k6?

[helderheid]

40. thanks for the link!

[Ian David]

42. Shouldn't those deadbeat stemcells be paying taxes?

I bet none of those damn stemcells can even speak no English good!

What's next? They're gonna wanna be gettin' maried and all?

[tinfoil tiaras]

28. Signed! nt

[DanCa]

36. Thank you for this link.

I just copied my post and sent my letter directly to the chimp. He may want to force me to sit in a wheel chair for the rest of my life, but I am not going to give up with out a fight.
Thank you so much for posting this link Helderheid you truly are a lifesaver. :hug:

[helderheid]

38. oh bless your heart!

:hug:

[medeak]

41. DanCa

can you get this out to Parkinson's folk? Am forwarding as many as I know...You have more connections than me.

[kimpossible]

43. But who will think of Sammy?

Jim Earl's Sammy the Stem Cell, that is!

[medeak]

44. carpetbagger thinks there's hope?

Bush has caved before — In 2000 and 2001, Bush repeatedly and publicly said he'd veto McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform legislation. The GOP base, which strongly opposed the measure, expected the president to keep his word. He didn't. Facing political pressure and polls showing strong bi-partisan support for the bill, Bush reversed course and signed the bill into law. He did the same thing with Congress' transportation bill and an anti-torture measure in 2005 (though, with the latter, he used a signing statement to get around the need for a veto). Just because Bush says he's going to veto something doesn't mean he will.

* There may be a little wiggle room — Even in denouncing the legislation yesterday, the White House showed that Bush could still sign this bill into law. The president has said he'd oppose any effort to "create new incentives for the ongoing destruction of emerging human life" — except the legislation doesn't create new incentives for anything; it merely uses embryos already created for in vitro fertilization. The White House has also said the president would reject any effort to create human life "for the purpose of destroying it," which is fine since the legislation centers on using embryos that otherwise would be discarded — and the bill does not permit embryos to be created specifically for the purpose of medical research.

And then there's the third, and probably most important, reason, at least as far as the Bush gang goes…

* A Bush veto is a gift to the Dems — As DSCC Chairman Charles Schumer said, "This will be one of the major issues of the campaign, and it is going to allow us to win voters we have not won before." GOP officials think the veto will balance out in the end thanks to support from the far-right base. They're mistaken. The legislation is going to pass both chambers with bi-partisan majorities and it enjoys broad support nationwide. Dems have been waiting for a wedge issue like this for two years — and Bush is poised to help gift-wrap it for them. Facing this kind of pressure — and getting leaned on by Nancy Reagan — Bush may still see the electoral writing on the wall.

[mom cat]

45. Just found this in my inboxand was about to post it. K&R instead!

:kick:

[medeak]

46. kick again!

[mom cat]

47. Kickity kick

[KeepItReal]

48. Done!

'Luck y'all!

[Old and In the Way]

49. Sign the damn Bill, Mr. pResident.

Stop playing politics and pandering to your base of psuedo-moralists.