Religious Right Says Cancer Good Science Bad, Bad Finger, Bush Reviews Iraq, Zarqawi Wanted Alive Then Dead, Taliban and Beer.

The FDA has just announced the approval of a new HPV vaccine, Gardasil. What Gardasil is supposed to do is nothing short of miraculous. It's believed that it will eradicate the STI (sexually transmitted infection) that affects 80% of women by age 50 and is the cause of almost all cervical cancer.

This is great news. Who in their right mind could object to it?

Well, no one has ever accused the Religious Right of ever being in anything close to a right mind.

That's right, the Religious Right is up in arms about their chattel, or as the rest of us call them, our daugthers, receiving the vaccinations.

It seems that in their twisted little fantasy world, a vaccine that would prevent a STD will turn their normally chaste little Christian girls into wanton harlots. Trust me, as someone that grew up in rural eastern Oklahoma, where taking a girl to church was a natural part of dating, they don't need a vaccine. Their repressive upbringing will have them in the back seat and waiting, about five minutes after church is over. Thanks Dad.

Despite the benefits
of the vaccine, conservative organizations began to rally against it last
year. One of the most vocal opponents was the Family Research Council. The
council, according to its mission statement, “promotes the Judeo-Christian
worldview as the basis for a just, free, and stable society.” Last October the
council’s president, Tony Perkins, spoke against the vaccine. “Our concern,” he
said, “is that this vaccine will be marketed to a segment of the population that
should be getting a message about abstinence. It sends the wrong message.” He
went on to say that he would not vaccinate his 13-year-old daughter

.

Thanks to the idiot Bush's attempt to turn the social services part of the government over to the Religious Right, the CDC now has Dr. Reginald Finger on the board. Dr. Finger describes his job as liaison between the CDC and Focus on the Family. This means that those of us who believe our daughters are destined for something other than a lifetime of subservience to their husbands, can just go to hell for all Bush, Finger and the Religious Right cares.

The only member of the 15-member panel to publicly state his opinion about
making the vaccine routinely available is Reginald Finger. Dr. Finger nominated himself to the ACIP after
the ultra-conservative Focus on the
Family was asked to provide a list of scientists to nominate for various
federal boards. Dr. Finger (sorry, I can’t get over that name) describes himself
as a liaison between the CDC and Focus on the Family. He says, “Focus on the
Family wants to have good relationships at CDC - and I can help make those happen.”

He has also said that if “people begin to market the [HPV] vaccine or
tout the vaccine that this makes adolescent sex safer, then that would undermine
the abstinence-only message.” For the record, Finger would also be wary of approving an HIV
vaccine, should one become available.

Thanks, Feministing.com.

Meanwhile, in Fantasyland Bush is having a major review of the situation in Iraq. You know Bush is really on top of things by statements like this,

"I thought your assessment of the situation in Iraq was very realistic,..."

Yeah, like Bush would know reality if he fell face first into it.

There's a lot of speculation going on about Bush's little Camp David getaway/Iraq Summit. Everything from declare victory and leave to just more window dressing. I'll go with the latter.

Could President Bush be getting ready to declare victory in Iraq and get out?

Bush aides have been sending an odd combination of signals these last
several days from the White House and Camp David. On the one hand, they're
officially tamping down expectations of a troop withdrawal announcement. But on
the other hand, there are signs of an unusual amount of commotion within Bush's
inner circle.

One reason I think this review is just more Rove inspired propaganda is that it seems that Bush is looking into plans to have 50,000 troops in Iraq indefinitely.

Mr. Bush on Friday made clear that the American commitment to the country will
be long-term. Officials say the administration has begun to look at the costs of
maintaining a force of roughly 50,000 troops there for years to come, roughly
the size of the American presence maintained in the Philippines and Korea for
decades after those conflicts.

Probably not a good idea considering that we have made enemies of the whole region.

The war in Iraq has generated some of the most startling images in the Middle
East today: a dictator's fall, elections in defiance of insurgent threats and
carnage on a scale rarely witnessed. Less visibly, though, the war is building a
profound legacy across the Arab world: fear and suspicion over Iraq's
repercussions, a generation that casts the Bush administration's policy as an
unquestioned war on Islam, and a subterranean reserve of men who, like Abu
Haritha, declare that the fight against the United States in Iraq is a model for
the future.

The death of Bush's propaganda poster boy Zarqawi is probably going to have unintended consequences.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq will launch "major attacks" to avenge the death of leader Abu
Musab al-Zarqawi, a web statement thought to be from the group has said.

Maybe instead of using Zarqawi for propaganda purposes to start his illegal war. Bush should've eliminated him when he had the chance.

Miklaszewski wrote that "the administration feared destroying the terrorist camp
in Iraq could undercut its case for war against Saddam." That is, the Bush White
House let Zarqawi alone so it would have an easier time selling the war in Iraq.

Things must be going better in Afghanistan? Well, no. The Taliban are starting to pick up where they left off. Things like this happen when you let an idiot and his suck up generals run a war.

KABUL, Afghanistan,
June 10 — A large springtime offensive by Taliban
fighters has turned into the strongest show of force by the insurgents since
American forces chased the Taliban from power in late 2001, and Afghan and
foreign officials and local villagers blame a lack of United States-led
coalition forces on the ground for the resurgence.

But despite all the doom and gloom there is some good news, at least for the dumber sex. There may be an ingredient in beer that helps prevent prostate cancer. It gets better, you have to drink a whole lot of it.

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) -- A main ingredient in beer may help prevent prostate
cancer and enlargement, according to a new study. But researchers say don't rush
out to stock the refrigerator because the ingredient is present in such small
amounts that a person would have to drink more than 17 beers to benefit.