Category: Political
Yeah GINA – Wahoo Congress!
| May 8, 2008 | Posted by under Health, Political |
The GINA is almost law. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) has cleared congress after 13 years of debate. In one of the only positive moves to come out of this Administration/ Near Hollywood style parody of unfathomable incompetence, President George (too stupid for Words) Bush is expected to sign it into law. Why is this a good thing? Because knowledge is power and power is to often abused. A few years ago I sat with my wife at a conference on Crohn’s & Colitis, one of the speakers was urging suffers to participate in genetic testing. I urged her to wait. While I know I was doing a disservice to other with this disease, there is a very real danger with allowing the wrong people to get a hold of the code, that in-part, makes us who we are. I am strong believer in the progress of science, but the fear that she or our children*could be discriminated against based on this Mitzvah** could – well, as they say, no good deed goes unpunished. GINA, once it becomes law will help allay those concerns. GINA has the opportunity to help shape the future of humanity, create a world were we can reap the rewards medical progress without the fear of personal reprisal for the gift of sharing our fundamental nature. This may yet prove to be the one positive legacy that Bush leaves to humanity.
*currently one – at the time none
** I do believe that understanding our nature through science is a Mitzvah
Random Updates
| April 17, 2008 | Posted by under Home, Political, religion, Weekend Update |
This was a good weekend for getting thing things accomplished. And when I say things I mean concrete real world stuff. Unfortunately not one word penned to paper. I did think up a short story involving a disastrously bad President but I quickly realized that it wasn’t going anywhere. I couldn’t bring myself to make him likeable and any other direction I took it in was just too damn depressing.
Our new community has an annual tradition around Passover where they arrange for the removal of large items*. I believe they give anything in working order to charity and toss the garbage. So I spent Sunday, hauling crap to the curb. Yes, even though we just moved in, we had/have plenty of crap. Some brought with some left behind by the previous owners. I even did a little weeding in the garden. This was after helping fulfill some family obligations** on Saturday.
We finally put up our Mezuzahs on our front and back door. We even said the prayer. Interestingly enough, we pulled out our Judaism for Dummies guide, we realized we had installed it in on the wrong side of the door at our old Condo. Anyway, I really wanted to get it done before Passover and it is done so I feel good about that.
*Our community has a large Orthodox Jewish population and it is common to clean out ones house in preparation for Passover. Growing up I was unaware of this tradition as my family wasn’t particularly observant. Not to say I was completely ignorant of Jewish tradition. I knew enough to know why it was amusing that one of our cousins brought a Ham to a Passover Seder. And the irony was not lost on me that we had a family tradition of breaking the Yum Kippur fast by gorging ourselves on Pork, Crab and Shrimp dishes at our favorite Chinese Restaurant.
** My brother and I hauled bags of mulch from the driveway to the backyard of my parent’s house. Additionally I had the added joy of climbing in to a cobweb infested crawlspace in their basement to turn on their outside water faucet.
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