Michigan Social Conservative Legislature ignores the will of its people and a Constitutional Amendment

Michigan Social Conservative Legislature ignores the will of its people and a Constitutional Amendment:

I am getting rather disgusted by the fact that the Michigan State Legislature is engaged in an unrelenting effort to do whatever they possibly can to ether restrict or reverse Proposal 2, which in 2008 we the people voted overwhelming in favor of. What is it about a majority vote in a general election that they don’t understand? I am beginning to suspect that the Social conservative legislature actually thinks it knows what is best for us, more that we do. That can be the only plausible explanation for such behavior.

My God ,University of Michigan is conducting some of the most advanced, cutting edge stem cell research in the world in an ultimate attempt to relieve the suffering of hundreds of Millions of people suffering with Parkinson’s, MS, Heart disease, Spinal Cord Injury, and Type 1 Diabetes. This stem cell research offers the most promise in history to find cures and therapies for all the diseases and more.

Our own elected officials in the MI state legislature are trying to quietly shut this research down through little bits of legislature at a time. This is in direct opposition to the will of the citizens of Michigan who spoke unequivocally at the polls in November 2008, and passed a constitutional amendment in favor of embryonic stem cell research. This is because they possess the misguided ideology that it is somehow better to destroy an embryo than donate it for use in this life saving research. I find this attitude morally reprehensible, but even worse is the semi- clandestine effort by those with this bizarre ideology to subversively impede the law we the majority approved. I am sorry to say this but I really have no forgiveness for this group of self-righteous hypocritical douche bags.

At a time when national politics is ever-present and in a nonstop spotlight it is hard to follow Michigan state politics much less establish any kind of involvement. But stuff is happening, and it will affect us. I may be guilty of exaggeration when I present the idea that if the conservative legislature were able to reverse Prop 2…..what will be next….is genetic research evil?....is invitro fertilization evil?.....Will we outlaw fertilization clinics?...... What the hell, how about organ transplant?.....but then again, maybe it’s not an exaggeration after all.

THESE BASTARDS WOULD LET MY TYPE 1 DIABETIC DAUGHTER DIE, IN ORDER TO FLUSH AN EMBRYO DOWN THE TOILET, RATHER THAN LET IT BE USED FOR RESEARCH THAT WOULD SAVE HER LIFE! It is just that simple.

We all might do well to keep this in mind when we go the polls in November. I guess it is not enough to pass a constitutional amendment. We have to elect the guys who will actually follow it. What a concept!

 Michigan Stem Cell Amendment, Proposal 2 (2008), also known as "Cure Michigan," was on the November 2008 ballot in Michigan as a initiated constitutional amendment, where it was approved.The amendment enacted the allowance of the donation of embryos produced in fertility clinics that would otherwise be discarded, and the allowance of researchers to create embryonic stem cell cultures to study disease. It would allow government funding of stem-cell research. Human cloning would continue to be illegal.

(Detroit Free Press)- Republican members of the Michigan House higher education committee flexed their muscles Friday, passing a budget recommendation that would strip state aid from Michigan's two most prominent universities over disagreements on stem cell research and mandatory student health insurance.

The Republicans have been feuding with both the University of Michigan and Michigan State University in the past year over the two social issues and has threatened to pull state aid over it. But neither MSU or U-M blinked at the move. "We believe there are elements in this proposal that are intended to be punitive in nature and that it would force us to raise tuition more than anticipated," said Heather Swain, MSU's vice president for university relations. This budget recommendation, which would still have to be passed by the full committee, the full House, the Senate and eventually signed by the governor, would make good on the previous threats.

At risk is U-M's and MSU's share of nearly $40 million in performance funding, which, under the House plan, would be doled out to those universities meeting a number of criteria.

"We are, of course, disappointed that the House higher-education budget proposal restricts funding for U-M over the way the university reported its stem cell research," said U-M spokesman Rick Fitzgerald in a written statement. "The university provided a detailed report on the breadth and depth of this critical research being done on our campus. But in the weeks and months ahead we'll be focused on getting the best possible outcome for the University of Michigan." The GOP legislators are mad at MSU because of a provision passed this year that mandates all incoming students have health insurance. If students don't certify with the university they have health insurance, they are automatically enrolled in a university-picked plan and the cost added to a student's bill.

The same legislators are upset with U-M over reporting on stem cells. In this year's state aid budget, legislators mandated that universities report on several aspects of universities embryonic stem cell research. The only university that would have had to report that this school year would have been U-M. U-M sent in what legislators called more than 50 pages of news releases about its stem cell research. Legislators said the numbers they wanted weren't included. That led to a testy exchange earlier this month between GOP lawmakers and U-M President Mary Sue Coleman. State Rep. Joan Bauer, D-Lansing, tried to strip each of these measures from the bill, but failed after offering multiple amendments.

The requirements "are picking on issues that some of us don't like. They are targeting specific universities. They are punitive. They should not be part of performance funding," she said.
"I think voters were very clear when they voted four years ago regarding stem cell research and not having any impediments to it." "This is an unprecedented attempt to water down our universities' autonomy and expand the role of government."

So, as is clear to see, the social conservative movement is not only alive at the national level as represented by the stunning array of candidates lining up for approval in the republican national house of pancakes, but at the state level which is far more cunning, under the radar, and scary. It's one thing if a supreme court justice doesn't want to read all 2700 pages of a health care bill before opining it's constitutionality, not good but i suppose understandable.....but to have a CLEAR, several page, State Constitutional amendment, and simply ignore it, as our Michigan House of Representatives has done......IS JUST PLAIN CRIMINAL.