Katie, did you see that Thompson and Shalala will be on meet the press tomorrow? Terry ----- Original Message ----- From: <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Saturday, August 11, 2001 6:29 PM Subject: Re: Information on 60 cell lines > Hello, > > Very interesting thread. And I am going to have to go back to > watching former governor of Wisconsin, now Secretary of DHS, Tommy Thompson, > who was obviously very involved in recent events with our favorite issue, and > possible link to future treatment and cure for PD, stem cell research. I did > note in the media in Wisconsin the past week or so that prior non-existent, > lukewarm, or negative, coverage turned into postivie coverage of stem cell > rearch and federal funding of stem cell research. And, then the media was > saying "we," Wisconsin, has 10 patents, and I know now, that that apparently > means 10 stem cell lines. Then the Media was saying "we," Wisconsin, were > going to get many dollars in stem cell research. Ethics, pro-life views, > etc. all disappeared. And, Tommy Thompson was in town, in Madison, really > all over the state prior to this, right up to the time of this very crucial, > public appearance of his nationally on the issues of stem cell research and > funding for stem cell research. > > And, Linda and Terry are right, "we," Wisconsin has the patents, the > patents on the stem cell lines-- it has been reported that "we" have 10 > patents, and no one, not even Tommy Thompson in his meeting with the press > yesterday, could identify the supposedly remaining 50 patents and/or stem > cell lines out there. The researcher at University of Wisconsin-Madison was > purportedly the first to isolate stem cells. The University of > Wisconsin-Madison, probably technically the University of Wisconsin System, > through WARF (the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation) has been reported in > the media in Wisconsin as holding these stem cell patents. WiCell is > involved with WARF somehow, and there is Geron, Geron apparently provided the > bulk of the funding for the UW researcher's stem cell work. > > Another person on this list asked me offline for an overvirew of the > constitutional issues in regard to stem cells, and I was dismissing, I was > not interested in, those constitutional issues, and I postulated that state > law, primarily state contract and property law, would determine the issues in > this area. Here you have it: I forgot all about that lovely, federal patent > law (but I didn't know about stem cell lines either until the President's > speech yesterday).. While the two or three (?) patent law experts in the > state of Wisconsin will be dusting off their patent law books, the rest of > the Wisconsin bar will be dusting off their property and contract law books. > Somebody, that little unknown expert in patent law out there somewhere, who > probaby graduated from law school in Wisconsin and who knows, or who very > quickly remembers, Wisconsin property and contract law, is probably going to > get very, very busy. > > What a tangled web we weave! We, the people on this list, want proper > treatment, a reaonable quality of life, and a cure. We, the lawyers, are > intrigued by these new legal issues, and some of us want money. We, the > people of Wisconsin, want recognition for our researchers and the quality of > our educational system, and some of us want money, for ourselves or for our > general economy. The president wants to slip unscathed politically through > this divisive, turbulent area of embryonic stem cell research, and he > probably wants to be elected for a second term, and for a larger margin than > last time. And, there are others out there, who are pro-life or whatever but > they want the moral and ethical issues to be considered and to prevail. And > Tommy Thompson? I am going to have to find out what he wants, what he gets > out of this. > > I think, hopefully, thankfully, after the President's speech, that > stem cell research has found its legs. The president has decided his > position on the public policy to be in this area, and attention will shift to > Congress. The president's position on stem cells, and his indications, his > preferences, for a veto, a partial veto, or for signing a stem cell bill, > will have an impact upon the legislative process. Apparently the President > read all these huge briefing binders on stem cell research in the early > morning hours and quized everyone from the Pope to Tommy Thompson about stem > cell research. We will see members of Congress, and the media, scramble to > catch up on this issue, and all the political, economic, scientific, and > ethical ramifications. I watched MSNBC, Fox news, SPN, CNN, and other local > and national news programs the day after the President's speech question, and > the "talking heads" kept saying "I don't know," "I don't," in answer to > questions from the commentators, and I saw all these reporters at the > Department of Human Services asking a beaming Tommy Thompson: "Why did the > President do this?" "Why stem cell research?" "Why a national broadcast on > the President's policy decision on stem cells?" > > And that brings us back to this list, and the array of materials which > have been made available to us on this list about all aspects of stem cells, > stem cell research, and stem cell funding. Materials which have been made > available to us for a long time as well as today, and probably tomorrow as > well. I am thankful; for this information, and I thank, and I applaud, the > people on the list who bring that information to me. I have complained about > the volume of information, I have skimmed over some of it or stopped reading > it when frustrated or overwhelmed, BUT always, always I appreciated that > information, and it has proven to be invaluable to me. > > And, and this also brings me back to Tommy Thompson. He was governor > of Wisconsin for a long time and he left "us," Wisconsin, to take the DHS > Secretary position in the Bush administration, and he has had aspirations for > national, elective positions in the past, primarily, in the past, for vice > president. I was an employee of the State of Wisconsin for over nine years, > all nine years under his administration as governor of the state. Thompson > is generally regarded as being smart and politically astute, politically > saavy, although he loves to present himself as a good ole boy, one of the > boys, a fun-loving redneck. I know he excells at strategy; making deals > under the table, but also delivering on his deals, his promises; and he > appears to me to have brought a Huey Long/Louisiana kind of flavor to > Wisconsin politics. > > Tommy Thompson, his DHS, and his NIH will be putting the President's > policy decisions on stem cells into practice, and he will also be involved in > the legislative process. Tommy Thompson is going to be on TV all the time. > Tommy Thompson is supportive of stem cell research. Good for us. He has, > or he has claimed in his press conferences that he has, persuaded the > President to accept his, Tommy Thompson's, compromise as to existant stem > cell lines. Good for us? Probably not? The scientists say no. We will > have to look into that. And we will see what happens, and we will be spread > thin because things are going to be happening, all at once, in many different > places. > > But what really intrigues me is that the Secretary of the Department > of Human Services in our federal, administrative government has said that he > has persuaded the President of the United States to adopt a public policy > decision. That happens all the time in government. That decision will most > likely result in publicity, support, and monies for the owner, the holders of > the patents for existant stem cell lines The ten stem cells lines, the only > publicly identified stem cell lines identified so far, to my knowledge, are > patented, and are patented by WARF, an arm of the University of Wisconsin, of > the University of Wisconsin system, and ultimately of --of the State of > Wisconsin. Tommy Thompson, former governor of the State of Wisconsin, has > just thrown a bone, probably a big bone, to "us," in Wisconsin. And, > arguably that happens all the time in government, but I am intrigued and I > worry and I get angry about what Tommy Thompson has done here, about "his" > alleged compromise, or about what he will do, and the impact of that upon > stem cell research and stem cell funding, and ultimately upon me, upon us, > upon anyone who could possibly benefit in his/her health from stem cell > research. > > I realize, now, that Tommy Thompson, as Secretary of DHS, is not out > of my hair: he is out of the State of Wisconsin, but it is like he has never > left. He still has his fingers in every pie, and, on these issues of stem > cell research and stem cell funding, he may or may not be in my way. I > don't know. I will have to go back to my "Tommy Watching," of old, and see > what he has done here and what he will do now that he is the Secretary of > DHS. > > [To those of you who have asked, I am slowly coming out of this dreadful > cold, and I hope to be out and about next week. And, so far, no secondary > infections. ]And, Tarzan the Cat is very, very happy with his own, human, > petting machine in the house 24/7. I will return e-mails soon]. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > And this brings me back to Tommy Thompson and what he wants and what > he is up to. I guess I will just have to find out. > > > > What a tangled web we weave > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn