Woodstock CT Café

A recent discovery by David Haussler and colleagues (Nature, “The Chimpanzee Genome” August 16, 2006) appears to be a rare example of a profoundly interesting difference that exists in the brain between humans and chimpanzees, the closest evolutionary species to humans. We all know that chimps are less evolved than humans so, beyond this factoid, why should we care about this research? We should care about any research that reveals clues to our evolutionary development. By uncovering our genetic dissimilarities to the chimpanzee, we may learn a lot about human intelligence and how it came about.

Since the mid-1970s, when nucleic acid hybridization and protein profiling were first developed, Molecular Biologists have uncovered many mutations of genes that cause or contribute to disease. At the same time, astounding similarities in the structure of genes and their function have been found between closely related species, making it difficult to determine the traits that govern our differences.

To put their discovery in perspective I can cite my own research. In the early 1980s my colleagues and I, a consortium of scientists from Stanford, the Pauling Institute, and the Max-Plank Institute in Germany, sequenced a human actin protein, and cloned and sequenced its gene, one of the first human genes that was sequenced. One simple finding was that this protein, beta-actin, a fundamental structural protein of all living eukaryotic cells, was remarkably conserved in its sequence from the lowest multi-cellular organism, slime mold, all the way up the evolutional tree to humans. In other words, this fundamental protein (and its gene) hardly changed from the beginning of multi-cellular life to present day humans during over 600 million years of evolution (the beginning of the fossil record).

Haussler’s group also involved a consortium of collaborators at the University of California (UC Santa Cruz and UC Davis campuses), the University of Brussels, and the Universite Claude Bernard in France. The collaborators each contributed specialized expertise in the field of molecular genetics to identify 49 discrete functional genes (expressed genes) in the brain that exhibited no significant differences in sequence and structure between chimpanzees and other lower mammals like rats and mice. In other words, this set of genes did not differ between divergent species that separated from each other in over 80 million years of evolution, and this was further extended to the chicken (over 310 million years of evolution). But when they examined the sequences of these genes in humans, there were striking and significant differences in their sequences and structures between humans and chimps suggesting a dramatic evolutionary change that took place only 6 million years ago in the evolution of humans. Read the rest of this entry »

This discussion is worth repeating. Thanks to all for this high level and informative discussion. TINH (‘This Is Not Here’) has the first and last word. Admin

“…there is strong synergism between the Villager and the Café that could be all positive.�

TINH : “While I can find plenty wrong in the pages of the Villager (and the Bulletin, Courant, Reminder and any other newspaper out there), I’m a little befuddled by the comments made by ‘paladin’ and ‘Just asking,’ criticizing the Villager for being “greased� by the anti-school funds folk and for being a “biased and sensational trash piece.� The author of the original post, who I have seen criticize the paper (often with very valid points), seemed to agree with the news article on page one about the teachers but disagreed with the comments by the ‘Sound Off’ writer that he has dubbed “stupid.� The story on page one was written by a Villager staffer while the ‘Sound Off’ was written by someone from the area that is not on the paper’s payroll. Maybe I’m missing the point here, or maybe it’s just some of this site’s posters upset with the paper in general, but how is it the newspaper’s fault for being opposed to the school system when they send a reporter to write about the work put in by the teachers well before the first day of school? They’re not the ones writing the ‘Sound Offs’ about how the schools are evil and whatnot.�

Café: Commenters have criticized the Villager for the naiveté of the reporters and poked fun at one of the reporters (namely ‘Jennica Heifer’ :-)) for wanting to be played by Scarlet Johannson in “Hollywood Comes to Woodstock.â€? But in many articles the Café has also acknowledged significant improvement in the coverage by these reporters.

ReNews Writer: “Unfortunately people believe what they read and do not question the validity. It seems to me that the paper has some responsibility to screen and question what should go in print. They’re not obligated to publish any statements that clearly are simply untrue.�

TINH: “I agree that a newspaper’s duty is to be a responsible source for reliable and accurate information, but at the same time, having an opinion page where locals can write in is also a community paper’s duty. I have not followed the discussions and problems of Woodstock all that closely (I have no kids in the school system and am fairly new to town), but often those on one side of the argument disagree with everything the other side says, whether it’s a valid point or not. Democrats say Bush is a crazy war monger and will disagree with everything he says, and the Republicans will claim anyone opposing the war is “Un-American� and aiding the terrorists’ cause. It’s silly to me. I think the opinion pages of the newspaper should allow for those on either side of an argument to plead their case. If the editor knows a piece of information is wrong, they should attach an editor’s note correcting or clarifying. I have no idea if Mr. Bird does such a thing, but I would hope he would in the event of a blatant lie. Additionally, if a fellow reader catches a writer in a lie — call them on it. Send in a letter and correct them. Just don’t do it in a libelous or slanderous way that will prevent the paper from running the comments. I’ve seen towns where there have been bitter battles between the town and school departments and it is really silly. Granted, they’re all pulling from the same wallet, they need to realize what is good for a school is often good for the town and vice versa.

Café: Excellent points. We would like what you have described to be the case here at the Café as well – especially “if a fellow reader catches a writer in a lie (or a mistake), call them on it.�

Steve: To “anyone else who thinks the Villager is the spawn of Satan: If the information in the Sound Off is wrong, why not write a Letter to the Editor or a Sound Off with your information? If the Villager is hurting for submissions, as you claim, they’ll need something to print. Instead of using lines like “It’s unfortunate that the Villager will publish anything to just to fill space� and “The incompetence of this paper in spreading mis-information galls me,� why don’t you help them see the error of their ways? Maybe your thoughts will help them improve and become less of the “steaming cow pie� that others on this site believe it is.

ReNews Writer: “Thanks for the invite, Steve. In another case, one of us did respond to the Villager, and two weeks later this response showed up in the Villager. I think I would rather respond here at the Cafe where opinions, as diverse as they may be, can be expressed in a timely manner and are equally valid.�

Citizen Cain: “…if this criticism is viewed as constructive, perhaps the paper will improve because of it. If, instead, the Villager wishes to criticize the Cafe, they are welcome to do so in their own venue or here at the Cafe.�

TINH: “As Steve said, though, to bring up the quality of “Sound Offs� and letters to the editor, your opinions and comments need to be made to them. They’re not going to lift your thoughts off woodstockctcafe.com. It’s a weekly newspaper so obviously it won’t be as expedient as posting on a Web site that can be accessed and modified 24/7. The way I look at it, if you think something in your community is a problem and are only willing to complain about it on a Web site then what is that going to solve? Tackle the problem head on. Write a letter to the paper’s opinion page expressing your concerns. The paper comes out on Friday so they must have a Wednesday or Thursday deadline — so get your letter in on Monday or Tuesday and that may help get it in that week’s edition. It’s hard to put stock into your complaints here when you are unwilling to shoot a quick e-mail or letter to the newspaper’s opinion page to be part of the solution. Also, I don’t think the newspaper will be making mention of the Web site at any time soon. I don’t see them broadcasting the address for a site that often criticizes them to the general public that may not know about the site.

Café: We do not expect the Villager to use our site as a source of primary information for articles. Instead, we hope they will gain some insight about what lies beneath the information they are mining from the people they interview. As ReNews Writer said, if it takes two weeks for a retort, it seems pointless to even bother. I believe the Villager has a Tuesday deadline, but I’m not sure. Why not put our opinions here? Furthermore, we are not asking the Villager to advertise the Café. Visiting the Café is a completely voluntary act for 400-500 people now. We have no pictures except for silly links and we do not sell our space to advertisers. If any Woodstock official, Republican, Democrat, or other wants to present their case, they are more than welcome. However, unlike the Villager that insulates itself from the past on a weekly basis, people that express their views will get instant gratification or the opposite. And, we applaud ALL who have been willing to express their views.

Bowman: “I think ‘TINH’ and Steve have this spot on. The Villager, like just about any newspaper, has an editorial section where people are allowed to spout off all kinds of opinions; many of them incorrect. Just open the Globe and you will see what I mean. The above piece by ReNews was an effective (though somewhat verbose for an editorial) refutation of that view. I’ve seen complaints about the citizens of Woodstock being clueless yet many of you only sit here and complain about incorrect opinion pieces in the Villager. Maybe the staff of that paper does read this site, but that’s not the point. The point is how many who read the original editorial also read this site. I’m guessing a mere fraction. I’m not disparaging this site, but I’m trying to point out the reality of the situation. You are trying to win a battle on the political arena and that involves informing the voters of your views. The best way to refute an opinion piece in The Villager is to reach the same audience and this site for all its advantages cannot do that for you. The Villager can. It is a tool, use it. Thanks.”

Café: What makes you think that we just sit here and “complainâ€?. I admit, we are in a very small box and sometimes this makes us cranky. We are at meetings, we are in and at parties, we are on Boards, we are on and in Town Committees. We care. And, we express our views in support, as well as in non-support. I know some octo- and nonogenarians that don’t visit the Café… and they get all of their info about goings on in Woodstock from the Villager. Read the rest of this entry »

“Don’t underestimate the level of readership at the Cafe, and don’t over-estimate the readership of the Villager.�

In the Villager last Friday, August 25th, there were two articles about teachers. One a feature article was about the ongoing summer activities of teachers as they prepare for the opening of our local school systems. In a second, on page 11, under the heading “Sound Offâ€?, someone who starts the article with “We’re upset…â€? goes on to talk about “throwing money (away) at the school systemsâ€? and how ‘overpaid’ teachers are.

I’ve commented in a previous article here at the Café on the importance of teachers and the indelible impact they have on children’s lives (see “It’s On You�). ‘Cysan’ has also written a memorable article on our school system and its immeasurable impact on our children.

I believe that teachers play a dominant role in the development of our children. Overall, they are a dedicated bunch. Even though the school year starts in late August and ends in late June for the kids, teachers, along with school system leaders, continue to work on their own professional development and visit the schools often during the two-month intersession. This was the main theme of the front page Villager article. I chose my own career knowing that it was not going to make me rich and, likewise, teachers in the Woodstock school system have done the same.

So when I stumbled over the offensive “Sound Offâ€? article, I had to say something about it here at the Café. The statement by ‘We’re upset’ says that “It may come as a surprise to most that teachers make more per hour than architects, civil engineers, mechanical engineers, and a whole host of other professions.â€? My reaction to this ridiculous statement was that whoever wrote this “Sound Offâ€? must be very STUPID. Read the rest of this entry »

“About 3300 Woodstock adults would experience …a 64% reduction in town taxes…�

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the unfair nature of our property tax structure. Woodstock’s operating budget (including education costs) is almost $20 million and the education part of this budget is almost $14.5 million. For education, Woodstock receives approximately 33% of the cost of our education system from the state or approximately $4.8 million. So Woodstock has to raise approximately $15 million this year to pay for all of the services that the town provides.

Woodstock’s population is about 7000 with approximately 2800 tax-paying residences. So if we divide 2800 into $15 million, the average tax burden per resident is about $5300 per tax-paying residence or couple. My wife and I pay about $3000 per year for our modest property but my relatives in town pay about $8500 for their much larger property. So within our two families the average is $5750/year per property.

But this level of taxation is grossly unfair because about two-thirds of what we pay in property taxes goes to education - in my case (and my wife’s) this amounts to $2000/year. But my child is finished with the Woodstock school system and I am faced with paying 10’s of thousands of dollars or up to $100,000 over the next four years.

And, what about the automobile tax that Govenor Rell disingenuously proposed to eliminate so that we could all get some relief (and get her elected)? This automobile tax seems appropriate to me, and should be maintained. I suggest that money raised by this tax should be restricted to maintaining the roads, and that renters in town who own cars should also pay this tax. Read the rest of this entry »

Last August the Café republished this article from October 2005. We thought that it was worth publishing again to remind all of the humble beginnings of the Football program. The first scrimmage takes place on Tuesday Sept 4th against Morgan and the first game against Windham High is on Saturday Sept 22nd at 10:30 a.m. Go team! .

‘All the players were stars on this day…’

On Monday evening, September 26th, 2005, Woodstock Academy Centaurs launched its first football team in 80 years kicking off the season against football stronghold, Fitch Falcons of Robert E. Fitch Senior High School from Groton CT. This was a junior varsity game composed of Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior student players. The inauguration of our football program was made possible, in part, by the fundraising activities of the WA Booster Club. Through their tireless efforts, $30,000 was raised to purchase the necessary equipment for the football team.

My wife and I, both avid college football fans, attended the game uncertain of what kind of football we would see. For the last three years we have attended nearly all of the UConn home football games at Rentschler Field to watch UConn quickly emerge as a top-notch college football team. Over the years we have also attended many football games at other high-powered colleges like Stanford, Air Force, and Pittsburgh to name a few. So we braced ourselves primarily out of concern for our untested players.

Our team kicked off to Fitch to start the game. Within a few minutes Fitch had moved the ball 70-yards down the field by completing three long passes to score the first touchdown. Then Fitch kicked off to Woodstock. We then proceeded to move the ball back up the field grinding out yardage in a long sustained drive that reached the Fitch 30-yardline before stalling. This pattern more or less set the tone for the night in a game that ended with Fitch winning by 45-13.

This score did not reflect the quality of the game played by the Centaurs. Fitch was obviously a solid, seasoned team with a top-notch quarterback who could pass like a varsity starter. But Woodstock matched up well in grit against Fitch for most of the game. My impression throughout the game was that we were seeing high quality play. Our quarterback John Norman (#4) and tailback Adam Gumula (#20) impressed all with a solid ground game through the center of a much larger opposing line. Adam also punted and kicked field goals/extra points. The sound of players colliding on each play was impressive yet no player on our team struggled to get off the ground play after play. Defensive high points came when Zach Berquist (#56) single-handedly downed the larger fullback at the line; then Ernie Wetzel (#57) sacked the quarterback in similar fashion and intercepted a pass; and then Zack Wetzel (#30) wrapped himself around the legs of the Fitch halfback in a flying tackle to force a fumble right in front of us. Martha Wetzel jumped up and down in sheer joy as the Wetzel boys impressed us all with their outstanding play. Many other parents were also watching their sons intently as they performed on the field. In spite of the fact that we were losing throughout the game, the prevailing attitude along the sidelines by the team and the 50 or so fans was that this was a win for Woodstock. All the players were stars on this day and their satisfaction and joy in their accomplishments was obvious to all.

Hats off to Head Coach, Jemal Davis and his coaching staff, Bernie Norman, Jonathan Knowles, and Greg Smith, for putting together a solid team that will grow into a strong varsity program in its second year.

John Leavitt

Addendum by Ed Higgins, August 22, 2006

All involved with the new football program at Woodstock Academy are most encouraged by the continued development and growing interest since the inaugural game played in October of 2005. In June of this year, the Football Committee met the second benchmark and delivered a check for $ 20,000 to the Academy Trustees in fulfillment of the 2006 pledge of support towards start-up expenses. To date $50,000 has been raised and delivered, and approximately $9,000 has been raised that is earmarked for the $20,000 commitment for 2007. None of this would have been possible without the past and ongoing strong support by area businesses and residents who have contributed to the ongoing fundraising efforts. Most notable among these has been the weekly returnables redemption project at the Woodstock Transfer Station that has accounted for nearly $29,000 of the $50,000 raised to date.

While all those involved in the efforts that commenced in late 2003 to encourage the initiation of a football program at Woodstock Academy held strong convictions regarding the merits of adding this extracurricular activity for Academy students - the lingering question has always been whether all the hard work and efforts required of both supporters and the WA staff and administration would be justified by the number of students who would commit to participating. The 2006 season finished with some 58 students (Grades 9-11) on the field. At the first practice yesterday we witnessed some 80 students, grades 9-12, register and participate in preseason conditioning drills. Thus, it seems the answer is evident - indeed the inauguration of the football program has been well-worth the effort.

School Matters First:

You are invited to attend a Community Workshop Regarding the Woodstock Public Schools’ Facility Feasibility Study

Wednesday, September 27th at 7 PM, Woodstock Middle School Cafeteria

Woodstock Public Schools is conducting an assessment of our school buildings and grounds with an eye toward addressing the needs of our growing student population and the need for Long Term Planning. Drummey Rosane Anderson, Inc. (DRA) has completed the building, and engineering evaluations and has explored a series of options for Woodstock to consider. Citizen comments from the previous workshop indicated that many residents have an interest in community use of schools as well as building options for these important town resources. Please join your fellow town’s folk in sharing your thoughts and ideas concerning updates to our school facilities and thoughts on community access to these important facilities. The recommendations developed and published in the study will address security, safety, energy efficiency, flexibility of educational space and appropriate uses for the buildings. Several options will be presented ranging from do nothing, minor renovations, expansions and/or construction.

We want to hear your ideas and concerns. Childcare and refreshments will be provided.
For more information, call 928-7453 or www.woodstockschools.net.

posted by Admin at the request of Christine Lessig and Becki Leavitt

“…the town has gone 11 years without any significant infrastructure improvements to roads and bridges, necessitating the bond.� (Killingly/Brooklyn, in the Bull Mon. Aug 21)

“…the district will be raising its school meal prices to cover increasing expenses in the food-services program.…a 38-year-old freezer/refrigerator in the middle-school kitchen is problematic and may need replacing.� (Brooklyn, also in the Bull)

Thanks ‘WRTC Member’ for the Woodstock Republican Town Committee’s website. One can view the platform of the WRTC here. If anyone can show us the Democratic Town Committee’s official platform, we will post it here also. Admin

“I would like to suggest a clear benefit of Prop 46 that I haven’t heard stated in the past.�

I read with interest Dr. Jeff Gordon’s Letter to the Editor in the Villager published on Friday, August 18th. This letter conjured up odd scenarios for Woodstock’s political future in the next year and three months leading up to the upcoming Town elections. Jeff titled his article with the truism “Community Must Work Together On All Issues� without an exclamation mark. Who would disagree with this truism? This statement reminded me of Condi Rice recently speaking to the news media on the Lebanese-Israeli conflict and stating that she “hoped� that Hezbollah would put down their weapons and cease to exist as a military force.

There can be no mistake about the Letter from the Democratic Town Committee being ill conceived. This is not to say that the intent of the Letter was wrong, though. It should have already become apparent to the DTC by April 26 (the date of the Letter) that the two recent referendums attempting to repeal or modify Prop 46 had settled the issue about the feelings of the electorate…and to bring it up again would be politically inflammatory. It should also have been obvious that Marge Wholean was drumming to a different dancer. Putting aside the intent of the Letter, what is the downside of sending this Letter to Ms. Wholean. Perhaps the seemingly obvious downside was not perceived by the DTC at the time – that is, that Ms. Wholean would choose to publish it and that the Republican Town Committee would seize the opportunity to use this Letter politically to enhance their own position. In doing so, Ms. Wholean seems to have undermined her future as a Democratic candidate and at the same time has given the RTC a political whip to thrash the DTC candidates and neutralize the CPS candidate as well.

You can see that this is what has now happened under the pretense of “Community must work together…� Jeff says at the beginning “the letter took her (Ms. Wholean) to task for not…maneuvering to undo Proposition 46.� This is not what the Letter actually says as I read it, but obviously one can choose to interpret the Letter this way. While discussion of Prop 46 was a significant aspect of the Letter, the Letter by no means requested ‘legal maneuvering’ but obviously, for political reasons, Jeff chose these words to make the DTC look bad four months after the Letter was authored and two months after Ms. Wholean published it.

Instead, with regard to Prop 46, the Letter criticized the way in which Ms. Wholean ‘tinkered’ with the process without seeking a “formal opinionâ€? on the extent to which Prop 46 limits the budget development process. This certainly seems to me to be a legitimate question to ask given the divisiveness around Prop 46. We must not forget that the first ‘anti-46′ referendum, supported by Ms. Wholean, was petitioned with 25 signatures by Independent Ernie Wetzel who openly spoke in favor of repeal of Prop 46. Then Republican Steve Adams drafted a petition to modify Prop 46 together with a group of supporting Democrats. Then Republican Everett Shephard spoke up in an interview of WINY as to why he supported the modification of Prop 46 and openly confessed that ‘he can now take this position because he is not running for office.’ The discussion around these referendums and the ensuing debate was interesting and informative, and we all ended up with a better understanding of Prop 46. But everything I have said here is really much ado about nothing because any party that now develops a platform to repeal or modify Prop 46 IS GOING TO LOSE.

I would like to suggest a clear benefit of Prop 46 that I haven’t heard stated in the past. While politics in Woodstock seemed nasty and chaotic over the last six months, with multiple referendums, and considerable discussion with angry disagreement, this was an orderly process that ended on schedule with the ratification of the Town budget by the electorate. Look around eastern Connecticut and you will see much more rancor in town meetings (chronicled weekly by the Norwich Bull). This rancor has led to repeated defeat of budget proposals in Putnam, Thompson, Brooklyn, Preston, and in many other towns. I believe that Prop 46 solves two problems, not just one. The solution that everyone recognizes is that Prop 46 limits growth in Town spending in a way that satisfies a vast majority of the taxpaying citizens of Woodstock, whether one agrees with it or not. The other less recognized benefit is that compliance with Prop 46 seems to end further destructive and costly extension of the budget ratification process (like that which occurred in Putnam, for example). From my point of view, budgetary debate cannot be focused on the legitimacy of Prop 46 but rather the efficacy of the budget - both the Town operating budget and the education budget.

So what are the “odd scenariosâ€? that came to mind in reading Jeff’s Letter to the Editor? Here we have the DTC clearly not supporting Ms. Wholean. Could it be that Ms. Wholean will be the Republican candidate for First Selectman? This seems possible because of Jeff Gordon’s defense of Ms. Wholean’s actions. I think it was a disingenuous defense and Ms. Wholean probably will not become the RTC’s candidate. I think that one strong possibility is that the RTC candidate will be Jeff Gordon for First Selectman, and he has kicked off his campaign at the expense of the faux pas of the DTC. It’s hard to imagine the DTC recovering from their mistake, because the RTC is going to flog the DTC candidates over their perceived “maneuvering to undo Proposition 46.â€? There is one other scenario - Ernie Wetzel is clearly interested in running Woodstock whether it be as an Independent or as a Republican. Let’s imagine four candidates all running for First Selectman - Jeff Gordon (Republican nominee), #%@&^! (Democratic nominee), Ernie Wetzel (Independent nominee), and Marge Wholean as the ‘Grass Roots’ candidate. If the DTC cannot pull a rabbit out of a hat, it’s going to be Jeff or Ernie (or Jeff and Ernie’s stand ins) and Jeff will probably win. Read the rest of this entry »

“Considering the fact that Woodstock ranks in the lowest 3% of all of the towns in the state in terms of spending per pupil…the Woodstock school system deserves an A”

Today, August 11th, the Norwich Bull published numerous articles on reactions in eastern Connecticut to the publication of 2006 CMT scores for all of the towns in the state. The CT Department of Education has published this information on the Internet on an elegant website www.cmtreports.com that allows one to parse the CMT results by town, groups of towns (for comparison), by grade level, and by various demographic categories. A tremendous amount of data is presented. Thus, it is difficult to do justice to this information at the Café. Nevertheless, I thought I would start with some preliminary observations. It will be up to the citizens of Woodstock who care about education to examine this information first hand to evaluate how students and the school system are performing, at the taxpayers expense.

We have heard much supportive commentary and vitriol about our public school system here at the Café, in the Villager, in numerous town meetings, and causal conversation among friends. Some people don’t like standard tests because these tests contain cultural, demographic, social, and cognitive biases. And I wish to refer all readers to the elegant statement by ‘Cyssan’ regarding the value of our school system that cannot be measured by standardized testing. Nevertheless, the results of such standard tests may provide certain insights into the efficacy of education systems. Furthermore, the federal government has mandated goals in education with achievement measured by standard testing. So the results of these statewide standardized tests are recognized both as a measure of performance of students and school systems. Read the rest of this entry »

Symptoms: delusions of grandeur; inappropriate emotional responses; aggression, disordered thinking; loss of motivation; incorrect and irrational beliefs that are deeply held and genuinely believed to be correct; abusive or venomous language used to express blame or censure or bitter deep-seated ill will; social withdrawl.

“Woodstock politics are brutal and unnecessaryâ€? says…(guess who)

At the risk of boring a dead horse to tears, I thought that I would say something about Mr. Wetzel’s comments at the Café. His most recent comment has been placed under this article as a reference.

The world according to Wetzel is none too humorous. Mr. Wetzel accuses ‘Stranded’ of wanting to raise taxes. Typically anyone who disagrees with W is a ‘tax and spender’. In effect, W was blaming ‘Stranded’ for the budgetary concerns of the Woodstock education system. This accusation is, of course, ludicrous in view of the unwillingness of the State of Connecticut to pay for state-mandated educational programs and standards. Also, there is the lack of activity of our current State Representative in this area. It is also a ludicrous accusation given the trillion-dollar deficit built up by the Bush administration that also mandated educational ‘improvements’ while investing up to a trillion for war rather than providing adequate funding for education. Read the rest of this entry »

We really know nothing about the “quality of life� of a clone.

‘t’, I believe that you are asking the following question in referring to “developing embryosâ€?. You appear to be asking ‘What would happen if the gamete nucleus of the egg was removed and the ‘hollow egg’ was fertilized by a mature nucleus taken from any individual (for example, from a skin cell)? If this ‘fertilized egg’ was allowed to grow in a petri dish, you would end up with a culture of embryonic stem cells which could then be used to develop specific cell types for cell replacement therapy for the person that donated the skin cell nucleus. The other alternative fate could be that the egg, fertilized by this unnatural “nuclear transferâ€? process, could be implanted into a willing female’s uterus to allow natural embryo development. This, in theory, could lead to the development of a live fetus that would be the clone of the person who donated the skin cell nucleus. This would be the cloning of a human being and, of course, this has been accomplished with many animal species … but not yet with humans. This was also done four or five decades ago with amphibians. Read the rest of this entry »

One has to question just about anything one reads in the Villager. On Page A7 of today’s issue (Aug. 11, 2006) the Villager reported the Democratic primary voting outcome in a large bold table for each of the races on Tuesday in Woodstock, Eastford and Pomfret with a + sign to indicate who the Villager endorsed. The Villager endorsed Lieberman, and reported that Lieberman beat Lamont by 322 votes to 219 in Woodstock, a 60 to 40 landslide.

The only problem with this reporting is that it was Lamont that got the 322 votes, not Lieberman. Read the rest of this entry »