News & Notes from Deanland

Tell Your Dean Story

This message came into Blog for Iowa recently from a fellow who is compiling the stories of Deaniacs everywhere.

Hey, this is Scott Goldstein. I now work up in Burlington as an intern at Democracy for America. Over the past year and a half or so I have been a part of the greatest grassroots campaign ever. Starting in late winter 2002, I began to volunteer for the Howard Dean campaign. The journey since then has been incredible. I began volunteering with NJ for Dean, and then came down to start college at American University in D.C. I met some incredible people here, like the founder of Generation Dean, Michael Whitney. I got involved in Gen Dean and began to work on projects with both people in Burlington and across the country. Locally we spread the Dean message, and over 400 people signed up for our email list. I got to help coordinate the Dean birthday bash, and other rallies and events. Ths summer, I will be working for Democracy for America. The journey and the campaign were incredible. It is time to tell those stories.

When I was 15 I wrote and published a book on the election of 2000 and how it impacted young people. My new book, to be titled, "A Campaign Based on Hope," will help to explain something we all want to explain. One of the most frustrating things for us Deaniacs was that some people just "didn't get it." They didn't understand what it was about Howard Dean, what it was about this campaign that made us do some amazing things. There are endless stories of people who gave up their normal life, were thrust into amazing opportunities and given awesome responsibilities.

This is essentially what the book is about.

If you would like to contribute your story to the book, contact Scott Goldstein here.

Dean: Most Americans Now Oppose Iraq War
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

WASHINGTON -- Howard Dean sounded like he had been vindicated on Sunday when he noted that most Americans now agree that the United States should not have invaded Iraq. It was a position that fueled his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, and earned Dean much criticism in the process.

"After being castigated by both Democrats and Republicans for a while, now the majority of Americans agree with me this was a mistake," the one-time Democratic front-runner said on CNN's "Late Edition."

More than half, or 52 percent, of Americans said the war was not worth fighting, according to an ABC News-Washington Post poll taken June 17-20. That number is up from 50 percent in May.

(more)

Howard Dean on Stem Cell Research
CagleCartoons.com

. . . There is no guarantee that stem cell research can produce a cure for Alzheimer's disease. But stemcells show promise by helping to prevent or cure chronic and life-shortening diseases such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's and various cardiac diseases.

Many Republicans continue to link stem cell research to the abortion debate. Nothing could be further from the truth. Embryonic stem cells come from embryos which have been created for the purpose of helping infertile couples have children. In this process, a few embryos may be implanted in a woman's uterus, to be born nine months later. A much larger number of embryos will be frozen for future use. The vast majority of these will ultimately be discarded. But, these discarded embryos can produce something good, they can potentially save the life or health of a stranger. Stem cells, the basis of all the cells in our body, can be saved from these embryos, and can become tissue which can potentially replace diseased tissue in human beings who are suffering greatly, as President Reagan did. Or these embryos can be discarded, as they usually are now.

(more)

Howard Dean on Bush's War on Science
CagleCartoons.com

I write this week’s column as a physician.

The Bush administration has declared war on science. In the Orwellian world of 21st century America, two plus two no longer equals four where public policy is concerned, and science is no exception. When a right-wing theory is contradicted by an inconvenient scientific fact, the science is not refuted; it is simply discarded or ignored.

Egregious examples abound. Over-the-counter morning-after contraceptive sales are banned, despite the recommendation for approval by an independent panel of the Food and Drug Administration review board. The health risks of mercury were discounted by a White House staffer who simply crossed out the word "confirmed" from a phrase describing mercury as a "confirmed public health risk." A National Cancer Institute fact sheet is doctored to suggest that abortion increases breast cancer risk, even though the American Cancer Society concluded that the best study discounts that. Reports on the status of minority health and the importance of breast feeding are similarly watered down to appease right-wing ideologies.

(more)