From The Onion

Bill Walton Spends Entire Lakers Broadcast Gushing About His Son

LOS ANGELES—Bill Walton, the former NBA Most Valuable Player and popular current NBA broadcaster, spent the entire running time of Tuesday night's Milwaukee Bucks–Los Angeles Lakers game lavishing praise and affection on his son Luke,...

New Perspective

I've decided that, to preserve my sanity, I have to find another way of looking at the divorce. It's breaking my heart and stressing me out. I know that mothers cannot bear to see their children hurt (all mothers except Stefani, that is) and when Steve is doing better, I'll be doing better. But in the meantime I've got to start thinking about how much better off everyone will be without her in our lives. She really was controlling . . . we just didn't mention it. Why? I guess we were afraid she'd be mad. Stupid. She was overly concerned about appearance - her own physical appearance, the way her children appeared to other people, whether the house looked perfect or not. She was probably embarrased by us, but couldn't admit it. I don't think she knows how to love anyone. She certainly doesn't love herself. Steve knew it unconsciously. She used to complain that thanking him for some romantic thing he did was never enough for him, that she couldn't convince him that she really did like whatever it was. Well, what he was looking for was the reaction that someone has when they love you and they are touched that you love them back. That reaction is genuine and he never got it, so he was not convinced that what he did for her mattered to her. It probably didn't.

He was always so happy that I came to his basketball games and at the last game of the year when the players gave their Moms a rose to thank them for their support, I always thought that it would be nice if Stefani was the one in the stands for him instead of me. But, she was teaching, too, so I thought that she just couldn't get away. Now, I'm not so sure. I think she could have come to some of the games - she just wasn't interested. Maybe the next woman will be. Maybe the next woman will really love him and love our whole family.

This will force Steve to take more responsibility and when he meets another woman, he probably won't be so willing to let her manage every single aspect of their life together. She managed their social life and took it with her when she left. She decorated the house except for the "garage" room, and I'll be interested to see what he chooses now that he has the opportunity. She even picked out his clothes. Now he can decide for himself what he wants to wear.

We've already noticed that the kids seem more relaxed and happier when they are with us than they ever have before. Maybe Steve will wake up one morning and realize that he doesn't have to worry about displeasing her ever again.

Anger & Depression

I guess it's true that anger unexpressed turns into depression because I sure feel depressed today. My son's despair over the end of his marriage is so difficult for all of us. My soon-to-be-former daughter-in-law is truly a monster. Not only does she not understand why everyone is so upset by this sudden decision of hers, she truly doesn't seem to care about anyone's feelings. I'm beginning to suspect that she really, really doesn't care - as in pathological. She has absolutely no remorse, she denies any feelings of loss, she doesn't even want to keep any of the furniture or anything from the past 15 years. She says she wants to buy all new stuff. Now, any woman reading this will know that that is weird. Everyone has some cherished possession, some little favorite item, a favorite pot to cook in, a picture that you love, the treadmill, those good-feeling sheets, SOMETHING! How can she not care about ANYTHING? Isn't that a symptom of some emotional shut-down?

Being Alone

Here's a link to Anna Quinlan's latest column.
Click here

Problems or Opportunities?

I so much enjoy reading the Stealthmode Partners blog, and this post is worthwhile reading for everyone. Check it out here:

Kill No-Fault Divorce!

I WANT TO KILL NO-FAULT DIVORCE!

It’s been a long time since I wrote anything for this blog. I went on a short trip to Colorado with friends, and meant to upload some photos from that trip. So, since I hadn’t gotten that done, I kept putting it off.

So, forget the photos. They’ll be available eventually. In the meantime, I want to express a few opinions about marriage. But first, a story.

I, like many, many people of my generation, have been divorced. My husband was diagnosed schizophrenic and I stayed for 10 years, hoping for a cure, but finally was too afraid for myself and my 3 children to continue hoping. And the truth is, he is still besieged by his illness and has never been able to live a normal life. My children have grown up to be successful, happy people, but I am under no delusions that they were not affected by those troubled years and by the loss of their father, even if he was sometimes on another planet.

Last month my son’s wife (38) suddenly announced that she “didn’t think she was inlove anymore,” and 3 days later took off her wedding ring, started going out dancing in Scottsdale, coming home at 3:00 in the morning, having secret conversations on her cell phone, having lunch with her friends every day, and even going out and purchasing a $25,000 Volvo for herself.

We are all absolutely devastated by this news. We never had any idea that she was unhappy. We thought they were a typical couple who have been married for 15 years. Is there any married woman who hasn’t felt like she isn’t in love anymore? Anyone who’s ever read anything or even watched Dr. Phil knows that every marriage goes through hot and cold spells, ups and downs. That’s why, for God’s sake, the wedding vows say “for better or worse,” and I am so surprised that she, a teacher, contends that divorce is no big deal. All the recent literature states the opposite – that longitudinal studies show that children of divorce are still experiencing difficulties in their 30’s. That children of divorce are more likely to drop out of school, have teen pregnancies, get in trouble with the law, and, of course, end up divorced themselves, causing more children to experience the death of a family.

My daughter-in-law’s parents were divorced when she and her siblings were teenagers. Her brother is a drug addict and no one in the family wants him around because he steals from them. Her sister is a different kind of addict. She is addicted to the attention of men. She has been in at least 10 different relationships since we’ve lived in Arizona. The joke is that she changes men like most people change their underwear. She cannot move from that initial passionate stage of love (which is really lust, I think) to a mature kind of love. And now, this daughter is acting out. I can’t imagine what her parents must be going through, no matter what the daughter says. They surely suspect that something is seriously wrong here.

In the meantime, my son is a wreck. Their two kids have no idea what’s coming at them. They have heard the word divorce, but they are 6 and 10. They’ve known nothing but a close and secure family life, they can’t even imagine what divorce really means. For years, my son and his wife have focused on the children, and now, these poor kids are going to see what it’s like when their parents are too consumed with taking care of themselves to pay any attention to them. No one is willing to take the kids to counseling. The idea of family counseling sends the wife into a temper tantrum.

They have the most beautiful home – a home that they have both worked hard on, and now the housing market is terrible. It may take 6 months to sell it. There certainly won’t be enough money out of the house to buy two other houses, so the kids will wind up in an apartment, I guess. They just recently hired a muralist to paint an undersea mural for the 6-year-old’s room – he’s in a shark phase – and he loves it. Well, goodbye to that. The other one loves to dunk the basketball as he jumps into the lovely pool. Goodbye to that, too.

Years ago, I made the mistake of thinking that divorce is the answer. But I’ve learned a lot since then. I now believe that marriage is a contract and you have a duty and an obligation to work things out. If there are children involved, I think a divorce should be granted only if there is abuse of a spouse or of the children. Biologically speaking, I believe that humans are required to make sure their children grow up and pass on the genetic information they were given. I don’t think that nature gives a shit whether you’re happy or not, fulfilled or not, in love or not. What nature cares about is that you teach your children to cope with trouble, to survive hard times, to be creative in looking for solutions, to be caring and compassionate. Nature wants us to value the family more than anything so that the offspring can grow to maturity, find a mate, and reproduce. What divorce does is make children distrustful of members of the opposite sex, to think that betrayal is guaranteed. After all, if the people who are supposed to love you and take care of you can’t do it, then what chance have you?

I am joining the Americans for Divorce Reform and will work hard to try and repeal no-fault divorce. The legislators who passed that law are appalled now at what they’ve done.
"I did not foresee the approximately one million American children now affected annually by divorce, twice the number of 30 years ago. 'No-fault' divorce has too often harmed children. This must change."
Congressman Tim Penny (D-Minn.), recalling his vote to introduce
no-fault when he was a state legislator.

They realize that no-fault divorce has ruined thousands of lives and will continue to do so. Go to the web site and learn how we can fix this. Please join and help us. It’s too late to help my son and my grandsons, but it may not be too late for others.

Don't Be a Dinosaur

You all know who Walter Mossberg is, right? He's only THE most respected techie guru in the country. He writes the technology column for the Wall Street Journal. I've been telling everyone I know for years not to use Internet Explorer - maybe they'll listen to Walt!

http://ptech.wsj.com/report.html

It's the Border, Stupid!

I read Tony Blankley's post this morning and am relieved to find someone who pretty much sums up my stance on the whole immigration business. Living here in Arizona, we have been to Mexico several times, but it would never occur to me to stay there illegally. I'm pretty sure I'd be thrown in a Mexican jail as soon as they found out I wasn't legal. What do you think?

http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20060502-093648-3192r.htm

Recent Site-ings

Blogs I enjoyed today.

http://time.blogs.com/eye_on_science/

http://base10blog.blogspot.com/

Who Thinks Like You?
Do you ever lose it with someone - family, friend, co-worker - because they do or say something you would never do or say in a million years? Ever find yourself thinking, "Why would someone do that?" Well, it's simple. They don't think like you. Did you really believe that God made everyone the same? Of course not - at least not on the outside. We learn early that some people are tall, some are short, some are athletic, some are clumsy, blah, blah. BUT somebody forgot to tell us that the same applies on the inside. Leaving physical differences aside, each person's brain is as different from another's as their faces are. The way each person processes information is unique.

So, the next time you're tempted to scream at your kids or your spouse, or your co-workers, try to remember that we think differently. You may have to communicate better, explain in another way, or just shut up.

Did You See That?

I've been advidly watching the NBA Playoffs and, like everyone else, I've screamed at the TV - "Did you see that? He hit him right in the face! Call a foul for Christ's sake!"

And just because Mark Cuban is a spoiled little rich kid that happens to own one of the best NBA teams doesn't necessarily make him an idiot. Read this suggestion about improving NBA officiating and see if you agree with him.

http://www.blogmaverick.com/entry/1234000970073680/

Are You a Whiner?

I have to admit that I've never been a fan of Mark Cuban. He strikes me as a big baby and a poor example of franchise owners. I might have to rethink that position after reading his blog.

http://www.blogmaverick.com/entry/1234000210073685/

Be Healthy - Move to England

This is a link to Malcolm Gladwell's post for this week. Very interesting article on a study done comparing the health of people in the U.S. and the people in Great Britain. I have thought for a long time that stress is more of a culprit than doctors want to think it is. This study bears that out.

http://gladwell.typepad.com/gladwellcom/

New at the Zoo

We have a new baby orangutan at the Phoenix Zoo. Here are some photos taken recently at the zoo, and also one of Jodie, our Golden Retriever puppy.

The Good Guys Win!

If you are looking for real-life examples of courage, determination, and all the qualities you'd like to see your children exhibit as adults, just show them the record of Round 1 of the Suns vs Lakers Playoffs.

With leaders like Steve Nash (Nash for President?) and team members like Leandro Barbosa, who never quit, never gave up, even when he was asked to play a position he was never meant to play; Tim Thomas, who was called in as an emergency backup for Kurt Thomas and ended up playing the Suns way, all the way, as if he'd been with these guys since the Barkley days; and Boris - oh, Boris - don't you want to just clone him?

Night after night, day after day, Shawn Marion, Raja Bell, James Jones, Eddie House, and all the rest of the team, spend time together, practice together, travel together. They are friends. They like each other. They respect each other. They support each other. And they win together.

You Gotta Have Heart!

I'll freely admit it. I'm a wild and crazy basketball fan. I am a Tar Heels fan and I HATE DUKE. But just as much as I hate Duke and JJ Redick, I thoroughly detest the Lakers and that spoiled, nasty brat Kobe Bryant. Just because he can shoot the basketball like a laser beam doesn't make him a man. If I were Raja Bell, I would have gone for Kobe's knees. If life were just, assholes like Kobe would be the one not playing because of knee surgery. His career would be hanging in the balance instead of Amare's.

I am so proud to be living in Phoenix and be able to claim the Phoenix Suns as my team. They play with heart, courage, and class. Steve Nash deserves the MVP award for the second consecutive year, but even more appropriate is his inclusion in Time's 100 Most Influential People IN THE WORLD! Top that, Kobe! No championship ring can equal Steve's legacy to the game and to his fans. And Steve will get a championship ring - I have no doubt about that. It may not be this year, but I have faith.

Are You My Mother?

Yesterday, April 24, 2006, a woman named Gertrude Johnston Day died in Lafayette, Louisiana. Two months shy of her 97th birthday, she had spent the past 15 years in an assisted living facility. She was physically healthy, but Alzheimer's disease made it impossible for her to take care of herself.

This woman gave birth to my brother and me, but there were only rare occasions that I remember when I could call her my "mother." She was a Jehovah's Witness and for my entire life I never knew what she - that woman named Gertrude - thought about anything. What I had instead of a parent was the Watchtower society. We never discussed politics in my house. We never discussed science, we never talked about society and culture, we never talked about current events. I entered my adult years crippled by the lack of knowledge about how the world works and how to navigate my way to happiness. It's no wonder that I am so omnivorous about knowledge still. To read about someone else's similar experience go to this link: http://www.dooce.com/archives/daily/04_13_2005.html To further complicate matters, my brother and I are adult children of an alcoholic father. So between them I never had any fun growing up. Not like Heather http://www.dooce.com/archives/daily/02_08_2005.html and Heather grew up MORMON!

I can name the things I remember that were things a mother would do. I wanted to go to school so badly, but my birthday was in late December, so I had missed the deadline. My mother enrolled me in "dancing school" so that I could still say I was in school. Ballet has been a passion since I was 5. She also was the person that I saw reading Pearl Buck, Jane Austen, Dostoyevski; all the classics. She was the one who took me to the library to get my cherished library card. She enrolled me in a program offered by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art and they sent a little booklet every month with stickers that I had to place in the right spots. I learned about the Mona Lisa, Michelangelo's David, the Winged Victory of Samrothrace, Picasso, Monet, so many wonderful works of art. My favorite was the now-famous-for-the-Bud-Lite-commercial Winged Victory and many, many years later when I stood in the Louvre and saw her, I cried. And when I moved with my husband to Montana to the sheep ranch, for a while she wrote to me every single day. Not much, just something, so that I would get mail - like you would for a child at summer camp.

She always loved my brother best and made no bones about it. He was the good son, I was the stubborn, recalcitrant, wicked daughter. Even though she had to grant that I was smart, she made sure that I knew that I was not good at math and I didn't know that she was wrong until I took a math class in Billings when I was 30-something and got an A. Somehow, my parents helped my brother graduate from medical school. They provided me with one year of college with the stipulation that I take shorthand and typing. Apparently they believed that only boys could make a living being doctors.

They say that parents love their children unconditionally. Not my mother.

What Marriage is About

This morning my husband was flipping through the pages of a little book a friend gave me, "The Quotable Woman." Many of you have probably seen it in your local bookstore. He read one quote to me and we laughed together. Then he said, "Funny, there aren't any quotes from that one woman . . ." and paused, not able to come up with her name right then. I looked up and said, "Dorothy Parker?" "Yes!" he said.

Now, how did my brain suddenly just know, out of all the millions of women alive, the one his brain was thinking of? In Malcolm Gladwell's book, Blink, he discusses how the brain processes information, sifts through all sorts of facts you've come across in your life, and somehow picks out the exact thing it needs. If you haven't read it, you should.

Then I asked my husband, "Do you love that, or hate that? I mean that I knew exactly what you were thinking?"

"I love that - I love that!"
And, that, my dears, is one of the things marriage is about.

Golda's Balcony

Never Again
Those are the words inscribed on the nuclear warheads in Israel. I didn't know that until yesterday when I went to see Golda's Balcony, a one-woman play starring Valerie Harper. This is the story of a woman who grew up in Milwaukee, only finished the 8th grade, left home when she was only two years older than my grandson to go to Denver and live with her sister, and eventually came close to ending life on this planet. Hearing about her decision to go to Palestine in 1921 and work for a state for the Jews, I could not imagine myself doing such a thing. But maybe for her it was the same as when I threw as much as I could into 3 hefty bags and loaded my kids in the car and left home and eventually made a life unlike the one I thought I would have.

It was amazing to realize that when Golda was agonizing over whether to strike first at the countries aligned against Israel during the Yom Kippur War in October of 1973, I was agonizing over whether or not I had cancer, not knowing that this growing tumor in my belly would turn out to be my darling daughter, Nancy. I had no idea that across the world, a fearless and tough woman was the one who truly held my fate in her hands.

This play revealed a truth that I had not seen quite so clearly before: that history is made by ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

Great Sand Dunes National Park

We're planning a trip in May with our best friends. They're flying here to Phoenix and we'll drive to Gallup, New Mexico, then head north into Colorado. We'll go first to Durango and meet another couple there whom we haven't seen for many years. Together we'll ride the Silverton Railroad which is a 9-hour round trip. We'll stay another night in Durango before heading east to Alamosa. On the way, we hope to sample the hot springs at Pagosa Springs. Maybe even a bit of white-water rafting if that's available. We'll stay in Alamosa so that we can visit the Great Sand Dunes National Park, something I've wanted to do for a long time. Visit their web site for some spectacular photographs of the dunes. I might have to even get up early to get some good shots. After we explore the park, we'll return west to Mesa Verde and enjoy the magnificent views and architecture of the pueblos. Then back home to Phoenix. It should be a very enjoyable and informative trip.

Boot Camp

Yeah, baby! Now there is no reason for you not to buy a Mac. For all of you out there who thought that you'd like to have a Mac because, after all, they are so cool, so reliable, so upscale, but all you've ever worked on is Windows and you think you'd have to learn a whole new operating system (which you wouldn't) - run, run, run to your closest Apple store and hand over your credit card. Because now you can own a beautiful computer and still run your old clunky Windows program that you're used to. With Boot Camp, you have the choice of running Windows XP or Mac OS X. Is it a perfect world now, or what?

Big News out of the ACC!

No credit is given in this short blurb, but I think this breakthrough is probably the work of the scientists at Wake Forest. Anthony Atala left Harvard's ivy halls to come to a new institute of regenerative medicine at Wake Forest. The word is that he's been able to make cell suspensions that form uteruses, vaginas, and large blood vessels. Atala's group has even constructed a fully functioning rabbit penis! Now they're working on solid organs.

URINE LUCK
We can grow you a new bladder. Can we conquer death?
By William SaletanUpdated Tuesday, April 4, 2006, at 9:15 AM ET
(For the latest Human Nature columns on birth control, polygamy, and old people, click here.)

Scientists have grown and implanted the first custom-made human organs. They made bladders and put them in patients who donated the source tissue. Recipe: Take a tiny tissue sample from each patient, grow it in a dish, wrap it around a scaffold to shape it, grow it for seven weeks in an incubator, then put it in the patient, where the new bladder keeps growing. The bladders have been functioning in seven patients for about four years. Next, scientists plan to grow kidneys, livers, and hearts. Interpretations: 1) Tissue engineering has arrived. 2) We did it without embryonic stem cells. 3) Death, RIP. (For Human Nature's take on growing organs from embryos, click here.)

My Final Final Four!

That was the worst Final Four I've ever seen! The first rounds were so very, very exciting. Many games went into OT and even double OT. We were all talking about those great games. Then by the round of 8, I didn't even care who won anymore. I could have cheered for "Big Baby" but LSU was playing so badly, that it was painful to watch.

I hate Duke, and I'm not crazy about Jim Calhoun's UConn team, either, but that would surely have been a much better game. I feel sorry for those players who had NBA scouts watching them and then, as time went on, their stock fell lower and lower. Let's see how it plays out when draft time comes.

Whew! I'm glad baseball season is here!

Stomp!

Just got home from seeing a performance of Stomp! at ASU's Gammage Auditorium. It was wonderful! The creativity is just mind boggling, and kids could actually learn from the performers how to make music out of almost anything. This performance included brooms, dustpans and dust sweepers, long sticks, short sticks, flexible pieces of rubber hose cut to various lengths, matchboxes, zippo lighters, 55-gallon drums, plastic garbage cans, metal garbage cans, garbage can lids, and a large assortment of pots and pans, dishpans, plastic water cooler bottles, and anything else that makes a sound. The timing and syncopation was impeccable, and the performers were funny, energetic, athletic, and, of course, fine musicians.

If you ever get a chance to see this marvelous show, don't miss it!

Toward a More Holistic Approach

One of the major obstacles, I believe, to solving our planet's problems is that there is such a disconnect between the way we need to look at a problem and the "political" solutions that are considered. Imagine it this way: the earth is one organism, but we treat it as if the boundaries we have drawn actually mean something. That's like saying you have a fever, but only in one leg.

This administration has refused to sign on to Kyoto for various reasons, among them the fact that Kyoto excluded India and China (and with so many people, maybe it would be a good idea for them to be included), and that millions ofjobs will be lost if the strictures of Kyoto have to be followed in the U.S. Maybe nobody projected how many millions of lives will be lost if the sea level rises 20 feet. Jobs or lives, ummmm, let's see.The following link is a quick overview of the issues. There is a remark in this article that suggests the holistic approach that I think is necessary in thinking about almost any problem we face. The author posits that if the U.S. and other industrialized nations cut their consumption of coal, oil and gas, the cost of those fuels will go down and make them more affordable to developing nations. So, while we're cutting, they're increasing emissions. Hmm, not much of a solution for the planet, is it?

http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.html

In terms of stem cell research, this holistic approach is also necessary. Is it a good idea to develop therapies that will regenerate a smoker's lungs so that the tobacco companies can continue to profit from tobacco addiction? Should we offer an alcoholic a new liver when his old one disintegrates from cirrhosis? Of course, no one is talking about that much yet, because the field is so new that the focus is naturally on curing disease - Parkinson's, spinal injuries, cancer, heart failure, etc. There are many other "moral" issues besides whether or not to use embryonic stem cells for research. With the coming election cycle approaching, I suggest asking candidates whether they think it's a good idea for our most eminent scientists to be forced to leave the U.S. because another country offers them money, a state-of-the-art lab, and the support of the government? This link is very informative.
http://bedfordresearch.org/stemcell/stemcell.php

Have a great weekend! We're expecting 80 degree weather here in Phoenix.

Put Science on the Agenda

DO YOU REMEMBER THE SPACE RACE?

I remember when the Russians put Sputnik in space. Talk about a panic! All of a sudden, science and math became more important than anything else. Our students were losing the race and we had to do something quick to catch up. And here we are again. It is becoming clearer every week that we need a new way to think about problems that confront us now, and will confront future generations even more. Katrina was a big "I told you so" to those who don't want to think about climate change because it might disturb their cushy lifestyle. Christopher Reeve died waiting for research and drug developments that would treat spinal injuries. His wife, Dana, died because there was no treatment that would stop the cancer from destroying her. It seems that it is time to put some scientists in the legislature, so that our leaders, our government, can actually lead the way in finding solutions to the problems of this century.

I have been reading Stem Cell Now by Christopher Thomas Scott and this is a quote from page 95:

By 2010, over 2 million Americans are projected to contract end-stage renal disease, at an aggregate cost of $1 trillion. In 2001, nearly 80,000 people needed organ transplants, fewer than 24,000 got them, and 6,000 died waiting. Of those receiving organs, 40 percent die within the first three years after surgery. One in five of our elders 65 years old or older will require temporary or permanent organ repair or replacement during their remaining years. In 2002, the prevalence of diabetes in the United States exceeded 18 million people - 6.3 percent of the population. That year, total healthcare costs of diabetes surpassed$130 billion. Cancer kills one out of four of us, more than 1,500 people a day. Even though we are living longer, many octogenarians are unable to appreciate their lengthy lives: nearly half of the people over age 85 have Alzheimer's disease. American lifestyles promote physical inactivity and overeating, causing morbid obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. Add to this list crippling conditions such as spinal injury, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, and a host of genetic and metabolic disorders.
Heart disease is the biggest health crisis of all. In 2004, more than a million Americans died from cardiac failure and stroke, and heart disease leads death by all causes, outpacing cancer by 40 percent. No longer does it afflict only the old. More than 64 million Americans suffer from it, but only 25 million are 65 years or older. The total cost of treating cardiovascular diseases and stroke in the United States in 2004 was estimated to reach $368 billion.
Given an ever-widening chasm between treatment and morbidity, it is no wonder the stem cell has become a common denominator of hope. Behind the sobering facts, patients and their families ask, "Will there be a cure? And will it be in time for us?" (p. 96)

I have no doubt there will be a cure, but it may not be available in the U.S. until long after the rich have been availing themselves of treatments in foreign countries because the research needed to develop those cures was not supported by our government. It is time to cast votes for people who understand that actions we take (or, in this case, do not take) will have consequences for Americans living after these politicians are out of office. I'm not sure what it would take for an elected official to take an unpopular stand for something that may not happen for 20 years.

Life can be confusing sometimes. Here in Arizona, we're trying to keep Mexicans from crossing the border while busloads of senior citizens travel to Nogales every weekend to buy cheaper prescription drugs. We pass legislation to promote trade between the U.S. and other countries, but won't let our citizens buy their medications in Canada, something you would think the Republican administration, with its love of "free trade" would applaud. And because of the moral stance of people who believe that a blastocyst is somehow the equivalent of an implanted embryo, when the baby boomers need cell therapies, they will have to spend their money in Korea, Israel, England, or perhaps India or China; countries who will move ahead as the science progresses, leaving the U.S. as a "third-world" country in terms of emerging technologies in medicine.

Let's vote for the Nerds next time!

This is our new Golden Retriever puppy. Her name is Jodie and she is 8 weeks old!