Wingnuts,Sponge Bob and a flying penguin

The March of Science and Medical News investigates the dark side
May 26, 2005



Flying lessons from a penguin--A supporter of the stem cell research bill in the U.S. Senate says there are enough votes to override a presidential veto. Unfortunately, that is probably not true in the House of Representatives. Sen. Arlen Spector (R-Pennsylvania) , now, incidentally, being treated for Hodgkin’s disease, said he did not enjoy being threatened with a veto by the President, so thought it appropriate to shoot back. The bill is supported by almost 60 percent of the American public. Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) said the bill would never become law. DeLay thinks that the procedure of using embryonic cells for research is immoral. Of course, getting advice from DeLay on morality is like getting flying lessons from a penguin. The President restated his objections as well. A move by a key House Republican, David Dreier (R-California) to find a compromise also was shot down by Bush. Meanwhile, a significant number of Republicans are bolting the President’s position.




Nevermind--In a contentious session, the largest union of university teachers in Britain ended its boycott of two Israeli universities, repealing a decision made last month. The 40,000 member Association of University Teachers had voted to boycott both Haifa University and Bar-Ilan because the first had allegedly penalized a professor who disagreed with government policy (never happened) and the latter because it has an affiliation with an Israeli university on the West Bank (happened). The show of hands was decisively for lifting the boycott. Opponents claimed the boycott was counterproductive and a violation of academic freedom. Supporters of the boycott said they would try again.


I’m not making this up—It has nothing to do with science or medicine, but attention must be paid. The wingnuts who have decided to determine the cultural standards of the U.S., have taken after Kraft food company because Kraft was a sponsor of the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago. They also put Sponge Bob Square Pants on their macaroni and cheese boxes and you know what a puss he is. Kraft, in a letter to its employees, told them to fuck off. It’s actually a splendid piece of writing—from a lawyer, yet. You don’t get to see that kind of guts very often.