Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn blocks bill to honor Rachel Carson

[Tesha]

Maybe we talked about this, but I missed t until Sylvia
brought it up:

http://www.gocomics.com/sylvia/2007/08/04/



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/22/AR2007052201574.html

Bill to Honor Rachel Carson on Hold

Okla. Senator Vows Block, Saying Author Stigmatized Insecticides

By David A. Fahrenthold
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 23, 2007; Page B01

Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn has effectively blocked a resolution to
honor environmental author Rachel Carson on the 100th anniversary
of her birth, saying that her warnings about environmental damage
have put a stigma on potentially lifesaving pesticides,
congressional staffers said yesterday.

Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) had intended to submit a
resolution celebrating Carson, author of the 1962 book
"Silent Spring," for her "legacy of scientific rigor coupled
with poetic sensibility." Carson, a longtime resident of Silver
Spring who died in 1964, would have turned 100 this Sunday.

But Cardin has delayed the legislation, a spokeswoman said,
because Coburn (R) has signaled that he will use Senate rules
to halt it.

"We have not submitted the resolution yet because we understand
that Senator Coburn has said he will block it," said Susan Sullam,
a spokeswoman for Cardin. She said Cardin is considering whether
to submit the bill later this week.

<more>

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Don'tcha love that language? "We have not submitted the
resolution yet ... because {it might be blocked}." And
so rather than expose Tom Coburn as a neanderthal know-
nothing, the resolution to honor one of the great truth-
tellers gets shoved in a drawer somewhere.

Does anyone still wonder why we (the Democrats) aren't
getting anywhere on *ANY* of the issues that really
matter when we wuss out on even the slam-dunk easy ones?

Tesha

[madokie]

1. dr tom is my senator and he's nothing but a waste of human skin

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. He's a doctor?

Of what, lunacy?

[Heidi]

9. He's an ob/gyn who was accused of sterilizing an under-21 woman

without her consent. And, although he's rabidly "pro-life," I believe I read somewhere that he had, in fact, performed "therapeutic abortions" in his ob/gyn practice.

In addition, he's the idiot who said: ""You know, I immediately thought about silicone breast implants and the legal wrangling and the class-action suits off that. And I thought I would just share with you what science says today about silicone breast implants. If you have them, you're healthier than if you don't. That is what the ultimate science shows...In fact, there's no science that shows that silicone breast implants are detrimental and, in fact, they make you healthier."

He's a nut.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. OMG Breast implants make you healthier?

:rofl:

He sounds worse than Frist. And I thought he was a fruitloop.

[Tesha]

14. Actually, I could imagine how this could be concluded.

> OMG Breast implants make you healthier?

Actually, I could imagine how this could be concluded if you
were doing sloppy science.

Likely fact: Women who can afford implants can afford to
spend more on their overall health than women who can't
afford implants.

Likely fact: On average, people who spend more on their
overall health are healthier than people who spend less
on their overall health.

Accurate conclusion: Owing to their overall spending on
health, women with implants are healthier than women
without implants.

Erroneous causation: Implants make you healthier.

I could see a Republican jumping to this innaccurate
causation.

Tesha

[nolabels]

26. It's hard enough for a persons body to eliminate natural occurring substances.

The idea of implants seems crazy to me

Most Breast Implants Rupture Over Time


Silicone breast implants deteriorate over time, experts say, resulting in an increased risk of implant rupture. One study has estimated that 95% of implants can be expected to break within 20 years after surgical insertion. Experts believe up to two million American women have undergone breast augmentation surgeries involving implants. Twenty percent of those women elected to have the surgeries following mastectomy; the remaining 80% chose to do so for cosmetic reasons.

The FDA investigators contend that, although manufacturers of silicone-gel implants currently promote rupture rates as low as 0.2 - 1.1%, research is revealing that the integrity of breast implants deteriorates greatly over time. One study concluded that the proportion of patients who could expect to have both implants intact was 89% after 8 years and 31% after 12 years, but only 5% after 20 years.

One readily-apparent and unhealthy consequence of gel diffusion occurs when the immune system tries to isolate pockets of gel by forming hard 'granules' around them wherever they appear. In one case, a woman suffered pain, swelling, numbness and scarring in her hand after nodules formed around gel which had migrated to that extremity. Escaped silicone has also been discovered in rib cages, abdominal walls, livers, and groins. Extensive (surgical) dissection may be required to remove migrating silicone gel.

The Lancet, (1997;350:1531-1537)
(snip)
http://www.mercola.com/1997/archive/breast_implants.htm

[Heidi]

36. I could imagine a layman making that leap, but not a doctor. (nt)

[Tesha]

38. Yeah, but remember Bill Frist and the leaps he made.

One can make astounding leaps when it suits one's politics. :(

Tesha

[Botany]

4. you do have 2 winners

Coburn & Inhofe.

BTW DDT gone and the eagles and falcons have returned .....
no more "egg shell thinning" damn science.

[RufusTFirefly]

20. My condolences. At first I thought you had only one nutjob Senator

I didn't realize that Coburn was Tweedledee to Inhofe's Tweedledumb

Is this some retribution for some Oklahoman's sin we're unaware of?

[madokie]

31. Oh but you make me laugh

a nervous laugh but a laugh nonetheless. locally you won't find a re:puke:licon but on a national level seems as if we are having our votes stolen, i don't know

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. She stigmatized Insecticides, eh?

What an evil woman! Just think where we could be now! Who needs bald eagles anyway?
:sarcasm:

Maybe someone could have discovered an insecticide that eliminated Coburn!!

[AngryAmish]

8. except the millions of people who died from preventable malaria...

[Tesha]

10. Destroying ecosystems isn't an acceptable trade-off...

> except the millions of people who died from preventable malaria...

Destroying ecosystems isn't an acceptable trade-off for a
temporary decrease in mosquito population. There are many
other ways to manage the problem than the wholesale dosing
of entire ecosystems with DDT; the mosquitos adapt but the
fish and birds (that, BTW, eat the mosquitoes and help
keep mosquito poopulations in check) die off.

Tesha

[alarimer]

15. Insecticides have a place in malaria prevention but they tend to be overused

What killed the bald eagles and pelicans was the overuse of DDT on crops. Insecticides have their place but overuse only leads to environmental disruption, as we have seen time and time again. An acceptable use might be to treat the walls of a house with SMALL quantities of DDT, but I think that just opens the door to more widespread use, which is NOT acceptable and will only lead to the same problems as before.

In any case, mosquitoes will soon become immune to the affects of any insecticide so it would be useless. The best approach to controlling malaria is a multi-faceted approach, with better preventative medicines and treatments as well as using some insecticides in very limited quantities.

[hatrack]

16. Good thing today's mosquitoes don't have the DDT resistance gene, huh?

:eyes:

[OzarkDem]

22. DDT exposure also caused breast cancer

a recent study, not covered much in the news, showed that women exposed to DDT during puberty were 5 times more likely to get breast cancer than those who lived in areas w/ no DDT exposure. Women in their 50's are paying the price for DDT today.

Link to article:

http://www.insidebayarea.com/timesstar/localnews/ci_6520900

Susan Lydon, a Bay Area author and journalist, never forgot the DDT fog trucks that rumbled through the Long Island, New York, neighborhood where she grew up.

She was her block's fastest kid. The mist was cool. The trucks slow. Her speed allowed her to stay longer than any other pals in that comforting, pesticide-laced mist the sprayers left in their wake.

Lydon died of breast cancer at age 61 in 2005, going to her deathbed certain those carefree runs decades ago sealed her fate.

Her concern, it appears now, was justified.

A breakthrough study of Oakland women suggests exposure early in life to DDT significantly increases a woman's chances of developing breast cancer decades later, according to a new study published last week in the online edition of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

The findings bolster the controversial notion that exposure to low doses of hormonally active compounds at critical developmental stages — in this case, as the breast is developing — load the gun, so to speak, priming the body to develop cancer years later. ....


As we say, Genetics Loads the Gun, Environment Pulls the Trigger

[Lisa]

17. well, duh! as my students would say. She really seemed to want to get the message out ...

... that people should THINK about the effects that their biotoxins were having, on the environment and on their own health besides.

Mission Accomplished, Rachel C.!

[Me.]

5. How Is It One Senator Can Stop A Bill

And why have the dems, seemingly, never, ever used this tactic?

[Tesha]

7. There are a whole series of "colored" holds that can be placed...

Ultimately, it all traces back to the filibuster because if
a Senator has the stamina, they can debate a bill 'til the
cows come home, but nowadays, there's a whole series of
"colored" holds that can be placed on legislation to
ensure that it doesn't advance.

For example, a single Senator can "blue card" a judicial
nominee and that will stop the nominee.

(Well, because it depends on Senatorial courtesy and a
certain willingness to stand together, it will stop
Democratic nominees; it obviously doesn't stop Republican
nominees. Many of Clinton's appointees were "blue carded".)

Tesha

[VP505]

18. I think you must have

meant to say that Republics have "a whole series of "colored" holds that can be placed" on legislation, because the Dem's sure as hell didn't use any of them when THEY were the minority.
:sarcasm:

[OzarkDem]

6. He's also blocking the Breast Cancer & Environmental Research Act

He's added 14 amendments to it, trying to kill it in the HELP Committee. BCERA is also supported by those carrying on Rachel Carson's legacy.

Dems could overcome it in committee, but Ted Kennedy thinks it would be too time consuming to deal with Coburn's amendments. I disagree.

http://www.stopbreastcancer.org/bin/index.asp?strid=654&depid=3&btnid=2

[Hidden Stillness]

11. This is Unbelievable; a Frightening Outrage

This is just fucking unbelievable; I can hardly even believe that this is actually happening. What the fuck are these people doing anymore; are they just completely treasonous corporate property?

I remember when I was a very young kid, just a few years old, and I heard my Mom and other adults talking about how you never hear Robins singing anymore--it was a tragedy and an alarming situation that nobody yet understood. I live in Michigan, so Robins, our State bird, were once everywhere. This was the time of Rachel Carson's groundbreaking work, and I remember clearly how people feared the loss of Robins. Carson was a biologist who began to study a new field that had not really been dealt with before, pollution and the use of chemical insecticides, and their poisonous effect on nature, blazing the trail as she went along. When her book "Silent Spring" came out, I think 1962, it was made up of research plus some brilliant theoretical conjecture. She was immediately attacked by the chemical/pesticide industry, (they called her an "emotional woman"--how clever!), and so Pres. Kennedy appointed a Commission to study her claims. Not surprisingly, they confirmed what she was warning about, she was honored by Pres. Kennedy, and Jackie, she became a huge influence on the still-unknown Lady Bird Johnson, who as First Lady would launch huge, wonderful Keep America Beautiful, anti-litter, anti-billboard campaigns, and DDT, the main insecticide used then, so damaging to birds, other plant and animals, was banned--first one State, then another, until finally it was totally banned and new chemicals developed. Then study of "ecology," pollution, environmentalism had begun.

The Robins, thanks to the work of Rachel Carson and all who followed, actually did return and are heard again. She was a hero to my Mom, and a hero to me. I don't even know what country I am living in sometimes anymore.

[Annces]

12. Talk about wanting to hold back progress. What a fool. n/t

[burythehatchet]

19. sadly, its what his constituents want.

[memory]

30. Not all his constituents!

The majority of the people in Oklahoma that vote are registered as Democrats. Unfortunately, a large number of them are religious fundamentalists that pay attention to what their preacher tells them and the media that might as well all be faux news. Oil and Jesus are the important deciding factors here, even if goes against most people's own well being.

There are still many progressives here that are making ground. Andrew Rice >>>>http://www.andrewforoklahoma.com/<<< is going to challenge Inhofe in 08. I honestly don't know if he can win, because all you have to do is call someone a liberal and it is the same in some people's mind as working for the devil.

There are good people here in Oklahoma. I think the Red/Blue split is probably now at about 60/40. I truly think if there were someway to educate people as to what the Bush Evil Empire has done, they would demand change. Many are trying and more and more people are fed up with Bush, Coburn and Inhofe.

[Tesha]

34. Thank you for your efforts!

I'm pessimistic that you can overcome the ignorance,
but I'm very glad you're trying!

Tesha

[dorkulon]

21. Coburn's "Torture All-Stars" trading card (pic)

The rest here:
http://www.buffalobeast.com/88/torturecards.htm

[LordJFT]

27. HE FAVORS THE DP FOR ABORTIONISTS + THINKS HOMOSEXUALITY IS THE BIGGEST THREAT TO OUR FREEDOM

in case anyone missed this. It scares me that someone like this can still be democraticly elected. And he represents the whole state of Oklahoma, not just one crazy district.

[Tesha]

33. This shows you how insane portions of our electorate are!

Religious insanity and the roadblocks that it sets to
human progress and the ability to address our problems
is quite possibly the greatest threat facing the planet
today.

Nuts with nukes. People who, for theological reasons,
can't address global warming or any of the other harms
we're doing to the planet. People who think their tribe
should trump all other tribes. Etc. Etc. Etc...

Tesha

[Warren DeMontague]

23. This is the guy who thinks any woman who uses the pill should be put on Death Row.

Right, but god forbid you should stigmatize DDT.

[CoffeeCat]

24. I'm convinced that it doesn't matter if we...

...had a Super Majority.

IF there was one Republican in the House and one Republican in the Senate---90 percent
of the Democrats would still kow tow to that one Republican and quiver in fear as that sole Rep
threatened to "not like you any more!" if a specific bill is brought to the floor.

Once again, the Dems got their lunch money stolen.

[CoffeeCat]

25. The real reason Coburn wanted to block...

...is that Bush has mandated that this country must not glorify or celebrate
truth tellers or whistleblowers.

In a world according to Bush---he must try to keep the masses fearful and
believing that they are powerless.

Such tales about a courageous woman who fought the US government, would only
remind the catatonic public that they are powerful and that they can incite
change.

We wouldn't want that to happen, now would we?

[Tesha]

28. Truth-telling can be very dangerous to liars. (NT)

[Blue_Tires]

29. can't say i'm surprised by this

but disgusted nonetheless

[brentspeak]

32. You're blaming Cardin because of Coburn The Republican's idiocy?

Cardin is no wimp; there's likely a legitimate reason why he's not going ahead right now, but it doesn't involve his being a "wuss".

[Tesha]

35. Yeah, there's always "a reason" why the Democrats don't just do the right thing.

> You're blaming Cardin because of Coburn The Republican's
> idiocy? Cardin is no wimp; there's likely a legitimate
> reason why he's not going ahead right now, but it doesn't
> involve his being a "wuss".

Yeah, there's always "a reason" why the Democrats don't
just do the right thing when the right thing is obvious
to everyone.

And I'venoticed you're often here to explain it to us.

Tesha

[Vinca]

37. Stigmatized pesticides. Wouldn't that be a GOOD thing??? nt