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After a daily drumbeat of negative publicity from radio personality Don Imus that lasted for weeks, a Texas congressman has worked out a compromise on a $945 million bill to fight autism.
What is hard to forgive or forget is that it took enormous amounts of pressure to get this guy to do the right thing. But I guess when the choices are help children or protect your corporate masters, for Joe the choice is obvious and easy.
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If you make yourself a sheep, the wolves will eat you - B. Franklin and Democracy for Houston - Join Us
Crossposted at Texas Kaos.
It took Imus, the whole autism activist community, celebrity Actress Patricia Heaton, even Rick Santorum lining up against him to make this bill happen. Why? Well , maybe this is why:
LINK Big Energy and Big Pharma are two of the GOP's most reliable cash cows. They also happen to be responsible for most of the mercury that ends up in our kids. And though the autism-mercury link has yet to be proven, Republican leaders really, really want the issue to just go away.
But again, maybe not. I mean Barton insists that:
LINK [He] was resistant to moving a "disease-specific" bill while he was working on legislation that affects the National Institutes of Health. The NIH bill passed the House in September, but Barton still had problems with the autism bill's focus on the NIH and the stipulation that researchers study environmental factors that autism activists maintain trigger the disease.
So, it was a serious policy concern that forced Barton to act as he did. And as for all that pressure, well Barton spokesman had this to say:
LINK Barton staffers don't think Imus, whose New York-based radio program, "Imus in the Morning," is seen nationally on MSNBC and heard across the country, helped the cause by calling the Texan "another congressional dirtbag" and worse.
For, you see, Representative Barton, in spite of the fact that he seems to have the moral sensitivity of a public toilet seat, really, really is concerned about the integrity of the public policy process.
LINK Mr. Barton has expressed concerns about funding disease research based on the lobbying strength of advocacy groups instead of decisions from experts.
The changes in the latest version are "consistent with Chairman Barton's view that scientists should determine research priorities, not politicians," his spokesman said."
Yeah, Joe is in favor of scientists being allowed to call the science shots, except when they shouldn't , like on the issue of global warming....
LINKFor six years, Congress has done nothing to address the climate crisis, thanks in no small part to
the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, "Smoky" Joe Barton (R-TX).
[snip]
Barton says his action is justified because global warming science is "pretty weak stuff." Barton added, "But for us to try to step in and say we have got to do all these global things to prevent the Earth from getting any warmer in my opinion is absolute nonsense. It's not going to happen."
Oh, in case you are still inclined to give Smoky Joe, hypocrite that he is, the benefit of the doubt , please check out these videos over at annatopia's. The third one, where Barton has a constituent , father of an autistic child, escorted out by the police is my personal favorite.
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The bill finally passed yesterday by an overwhelming margain. See here.
If anyone asks you if it matters who controls Congress, tell them about Smoky Joe. Trust me, it matters!