The President, The State of the Union, and Genetics

At last night's State of the Union, the president said "Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit the most egregious abuses of medical research, human cloning in all its forms, creating or implanting embryos for experiments, creating human-animal hybrids, and buying, selling or patenting human embryos." Jamie happened onto a link today which humorously and insightfully addresses this bit from the speech. It's worth your time. Relatedly segphault writes "Ars Technica has an interesting look at scientific research and technology proposals included in Bush's State of the Union address."

huh?

[grub]

Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit the most egregious abuses of medical research [...] creating human-animal hybrids

Bush wants to be the last of his species?

As Cartman would say...

[Kesch]

Mr. Bush, you're breaking my balls here. You're breaking my balls...

Bush against hybrids

[Lev13than]

Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit... creating human-animal hybrids

I suspect that Bush is pissed because this all hits just a little too close to home [boomersfunnies.com].

Thank you Mr. President.

[dr_dank]

creating human-animal hybrids

Wiretaps, schwiretaps, HE'S GOING TO BAN FURRIES.

Thank you, Mr. President.

I Don't Believe The Article At All

[Wandering Wombat]

The President said "egregious"? I don't buy it...

Re:huh?

[hkgroove]

No, Bush wants to make sure Spender and his scientists stay focused on alien-human hybrids.

Re:Oh, Democrats, oh the humanity...

[Anonymous Coward]

I heard the applause too! It felt like a great disturbance in my retirement plan, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.

Re:The proper response is

[Wandering Wombat]

You keep using that word... I do not think it means what you think it means.

Hahaha, you underestimate me!

[eldavojohn]

My friend, I was in the food service industry for over four years of my young adult life. It has been ingrained into me to be able to tolerate some of the worst forms of human communication.

To those who think they break me through mere text, I welcome their assault. To those who have a glass of merlot and a full plate of prime rib to throw into my chest ... well, I'd rather not go through with that again ...

Re:One would hope...

[Anonymous Coward]

"there are intelligent arguments on all sides of the table"

You must be new here.

Re:I'm guilty.

[CosmeticLobotamy]

I'm all for genetically modifying humnity. The human race is so pathetic that we need to improve ourselves anyway we can.

That's exactly how I feel about GM corn. Fucking stupid corn.

Re:Not an ignorant position

[Anonymous Coward]

Put aside your hatred of Bush and judge on the merits. No, I don't agree with the position but it is a defendable position ethically. And there is a lot there I can agree with.

Come on Charlie Brown, put aside your hatred of Lucy and judge on the merits. This time she's not going to pull the football away.

Re:One would hope...

[Kesch]

And the pi-equals-3-ists.

My computer truncates integers you insensitive clod.

no, no, no

[circletimessquare]

Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit the most egregious abuses of medical research [...] creating human-animal hybrids

he's only worried about EGREGIOUS abuses of human-animal hybrids, and i believe an egregious is half egret, half religious person (egre-gious)

so i support the president's narrow, case-specifc take on this issue, it makes sense, because we don't want a bible-thumping skinny bird strutting around now do we?

Re:But we need to know

[grub]

You mean all these years I've been spreading embryos on toast, I've been eating people?

Re:Human/Animal Hybrids

[Isaac-1]

The problem with genetic engineering, hybrids, and human DNA is one of a slippery slope. When does this hybrid become a person with rights, if never then what is to stop us from creating a "sub human" classs of slaves or more worrisome, a "super human" one.

Ike

Re:No, you've been eating scrambled eggs.

[grub]

I was buying 1 litre jars of waste from the local abortion clinic. The bones are soft, like eating salmon.

Re:Oh, Democrats

[deanj]

I think my favorite part of the entire speech was when Bush was discussing social security and mentioned how legislation for it had not been passed in congress last year, and the entire side of Democrats stood up and applauded.

The video of that will be played by their opponents for every election from now on.

Speech writers know how each side will react when they write these things. I'm amazed that the Democrats fell for it.

Re:huh?

[vgaphil]

"I wish there were pig-men. You get a few of those pig-men
walking around, suddenly I'm looking a lot better. That way
if someone wanted to fix me up they could say, 'Hey, at least
he's no pig-man.'"

-George Costanza

Re:It is wrong because

[sqrt(2)]

Shhh! It's funnier when you don't point out the hideously flawed logic the religious zealots try and use. Watching these apologists fumble through scientific topics they have no business explaining to others is one of my main sources of entertainment.

Re:once upon a time

[line-bundle]

A bummer that Africa never gets a turn.

My Intelligent Argument

[copponex]

Obviously God does not want us to mess with genes or embryos. Even though I have no religous documentation to back this up, it's what I think, so let's just go with it, okay?

PS: That whole "THOU SHALT NOT KILL" thing doesn't apply to fighting for natural resources or the march of freedom. Uh, because that's also what I think. Ain't it amazing how often God agrees with me?

Re:The President? Of what?

[Overzeetop]

Oh, come on. How many "Presidents" are there in the world that would get headlines by suggesting a ban on human-animal hybrids? You've got to take it in context! ;-)

Re:It is wrong because

[mrfunnypants]

I would disagree, and I, for one, welcome our new bacteria overlords.

Go do a search on microbial communication. This is a contested scientific topic, I would say it is still too early to disregard this research and poopoo it as you have. Besides would you argue mammalian cells as not self-aware?

Obligatory Simpsons

[MortalityTechnician]

"God, schmod -- I want my monkey man!"

I hate every ape I see

[RLiegh]

from chimpanzee-a to chimpanzee-W [whitehouse.gov]

Re:Oh, Democrats

[corbettw]

However, I don't ever remember them heckling a Democrat President.

Funny, I could've sworn Tom DeLay shouted out "Who's under the podium, Bill!?" during the 2000 State of the Union address...

Re:because...

[blues_shuffle]

We must put an end to the murderous females who consume millions of our young nightly!

Re:But we need to know

[Anonymous Coward]

"A human embryo does not have a brain. Nor does it have a functional nervous system. Therefore it can neither think nor feel. Therefore, experimentation on them involves no suffering or loss of freedom (for the embryo)." This kind of talk is to typical of the so-called "secular humanist." Brain? Nervous System? Has your childish hubris so blinded you to God's providential plan that you forget the most important thing -- the human soul? That's right, the human soul! At the moment of conception, God creates a human soul and releases it to the ether, where it floats until the embryo is commodious enough to accept the soul's divine vastness. If you kill the embryo, it will float in space until it finds you and haunt you for the rest of your life. You should read the Bible more carefully.

Re:I'm not passing judgement...

[Anonymous Coward]

Genetically altered foods are bad because Evil(tm) Agribusiness Corporations are behind it. Genetically altered humans are good because Evil(tm) Bush doesn't want them. See, it's simple!

No, genetically altered humans are OK because, unlike the altered foods, I don't plan on eating them.

Re:Pretty much. :)

[Anonymous Coward]

By your definition, every 13 year old boy has produced millions of these ``potential people'', and sprayed them all over his room wall.

This must be stopped!

Re:I Don't Believe The Article At All

[BaseSequence]

The President said "egregious"? I don't buy it...

You didn't spell what the President said correctly. He was just describing when two people have the same point of view. You know: "Dick Cheney and I are agreegious on the economy."

Re:But we need to know

[The Amazing Fish Boy]

No. Of course not. Do not be ridiculous.

Sincerely,
John Soylent
President, Soylent Green Corporation.

Re:Thank you Mr. President.

[Furry Bastard]

*ahem* *points to his username* Insensitive clod!