Romney 2012?

It’s a good thing I don’t earn a living through political punditry or prognostication, I’d be penniless and homeless. But then again those that do specialize in punditry didn’t see Tuesday’s results coming in the way that they came.

My man didn’t do as well as he needed on Super Tuesday and the Republican primaries are only slightly more clear. John McCain is firmly entrenched as the frontrunner by proving he can win in left leaning blue states where the conservatives are moderates. Mike Huckabee has surprised most by showing he’s not dead and is still strong with faith-based conservatives and in the South. Mitt Romney remains strong among the very conservative outside the South.

RealClearPolitics has the delegate count at McCain 604, Romney 244, Huckabee 187.

What’s it mean? Barring anything unforeseen McCain will take the Republican nomination. Huckabee and Romney by themselves cannot mount an opposition and their support does not flow to the other. What they can do is push John McCain to the right. Each from their areas of strength; Huckabee on social issues of life and marriage and Romney on fiscal issues of taxation and trade.

It will be up to McCain to heed the conservative base and assure and reassure that he will govern as he has promised in a Regan conservativism. And it’s up to the conservative base to hold McCain to those positions. Hold him to border enforcement first, making permanent the Bush tax cuts, nominating constructionist judges, cutting spending, preserving free speech (no Fairness doctrine), support for traditional marriage, market-based solutions for health-care and supporting life on embryonic stem cells and abortion.

I’ve never voted in a primary before and if Romney is still in the race I will cast my vote for him. But if the inevitable happens (and I think it will) then John McCain is my choice for president. Not my first, second or third choice but my choice none-the-less.

Super Tuesday

And so it begins. Who will win the Republican nomination? I don't know.

Regardless of who comes out on top today, tomorrow or late in March. That candidate will need to heal the fractures and repair the conservative coalition. In my opinion that candidate is Mitt Romney.

Governor Romney has demonstrated time and again his ability to connect with voters and persuade them to his side. Contrast this with John McCain. Senator McCain has ridden a sort of natural constituency that needed little persuasion. Sen. McCain’s following is made up of Americans of his age and older that look favorably on his experience as a contemporary, no persuasion necessary. Sen. McCain is also very strong among current and retired military and military families. This is natural considering Sen. McCain’s military experience and support of the military, again no persuasion necessary. Finally Sen. McCain is strong among those for whom the war is the single overriding issue of the day. Which again is natural given his full-throated support of the war on terror and the surge in Iraq and again no persuasion necessary.

On the other hand Gov. Romney has done nothing but persuade voters to his camp. Starting with questions of his Mormon religion all the way through questions of his recent conversions on some core conservative issues Gov. Romney has persuaded voters to support him. In a Republican field with many other options Gov. Romney has reached out to a substantial block of conservatives. It is this ability of persuasion that makes Gov. Romney more capable to mend the divisions in the Republican Party and repair the Reagan coalition.

And it is this ability of persuasion that will serve him well in the general election when both parties vie for the centrist, independent and undecided voters.

Redbleed endorses...

Celebrities, pundits of the airwaves and the political heavyweights are all lining up behind one candidate or another. Oprah Winfrey and Ted Kennedy have endorsed Senator Barack Obama. Chuck Norris is backing Governor Mike Huckabee. Senator John McCain has the support of Rudy Giuliani and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Governor Mitt Romney has almost all of conservative talk radio and National Review. Bill Clinton has endorsed himself. Senator Hillary Clinton has the backing of her husband and the whole Clinton political machine.

But there are still a number of undecided voters out there. So I’m here to help. I know thousands hundreds tens ones people have been waiting to see where redbleed will throw its support.

So here it is:

Redbleed endorses Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination for President of the United States.

Governor Romney is frankly an impressive guy. In a Republican field full of flawed candidates the upsides of Mitt Romney outweigh the negatives. That is more than I can say about Senator McCain, Governor Huckabee and Representative Paul.

Gov. Romney’s record of success in private business, not-for-profit and the government sector demonstrates the potential of the man. If we were selecting a Commander-in-Chief only then Sen. McCain would be the guy. But we’re not. The president has to be the Chief Executive as well as the Commander-in-Chief. It is those skills as an executive that make Gov. Romney the most attractive candidate.

As the markets of the world continue to globalize we’ll need someone with Gov. Romney’s immense talents to guide this nation in the atmosphere of emerging markets of Southeast Asia and India, a rising China, a strengthened European Union and the challenge of connecting to the potential of Africa and South America.

We’ll need someone with Gov. Romney’s background to tackle a bloated and ineffective bureaucracy and to make the hard business decisions from a conservative viewpoint on how best to scale back the worst excesses of government.

After 7 years of constant wailing about George W. Bush and ‘competence’ that is one knock that cannot be pinned on Gov. Romney. The man oozes competence. If he makes it to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. he may be the smartest man to hold the office. This is a man who can get a briefing on a subject one week and the next week give a better brief back to the briefer.

The ability to take in the information, process the data and produce executive decisions is exactly what is needed in these times of exponential change.

Gov. Romney is a supporter of the war in Iraq and the broader Global War on Terror and radical Islamic extremists. I also think Gov. Romney would perform wonderfully in terms of foreign diplomacy and statesmanship.

Gov. Romney stands head and shoulders above the rest on economic issues. He has a full understanding of market forces and pressures from both private and governmental sector viewpoints.

Gov. Romney falls on the side of life on abortion and stem cell research and the side to traditional values on same-sex marriage. Although a recent convert some social and life issues his views were tempered by the fire of direct contact with them as governor of Massachusetts. Much the same way Ronald Reagan formed his views as governor of California.

There are many laudable aspects of Sen. McCain, his military service and sacrifice for his country foremost among them. And if Sen. McCain wins the Republican presidential nomination he will have my full support. But until that time Mitt Romney is my choice for President of the United States.

Columbia Anniversary

The fact that the two Shuttle tragedies happened so close to each other on the calendar never really sunk in before.

It's interesting that the Columbia tragedy didn't affect me the same way as the Challenger. Was it the sad fact that it wasn't new, that it had happened before? Perhaps because I was older and busier with less time to dwell on the sad event.

I do remember the day vividly of course. We were busy getting ready for Jack's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. At the party the three year-olds were blissfully ignorant of the tragic happenings but the parents murmered "sad," "terrible," and "again."

Five years later missions continue but those we lost are not forgotten. It is our prayer that we never have a third Shuttle disaster.

Challenger Anniversary

Twenty-two years ago today the nation suffered a tragic loss. One of those moments that sticks in the collective memory of a generation. Millions watched live on that bright blue January day to see a school teacher, Christa McAuliffe, journey into space on the Space Shuttle Challenger.

I was a junior in high school then. I didn't see it live. I was attending the funeral for a teammates' father. I suppose it made it more surreal to come out of a funeral to immediately hear on the radio of the Challenger disaster.

But the nation healed, persevered and forged ahead like it had before, like it has since and like it will again.

The video is of President Reagan's address to the nation that night.

Uh-oh.

Baxter recalls 9 lots of heparin sodium injection.

I note this as significant for the bleeding disorders community because heparin sodium is used to flush IV or port lines or to prevent unwanted clots in those same line.

We used a low-dose heparin sodium solution (just enough to fill the port reservoir and catheter) as part of our port infusion routine in the year and a half Jack had a port.

A list of the batches and lots are here.

Focus on Health Insurance Lifetime Caps

This Washington Post article does a nice job putting some flesh on the lifetime cap issue. Some key graphs:

Statistics on how many people exceed the lifetime caps are hard to come by, but advocates note that the amount of many caps hasn't changed in decades, or at least has not kept up with health-care inflation and the sky-high cost of lifesaving new therapies, making it more likely that people will reach the limit.

and,

Three of Kerry and Chuck Fatula's four boys have hemophilia, a rare inherited bleeding disorder that prevents their blood from clotting normally. All three punched through the $1 million lifetime cap in the Pittsburgh area family's private insurance policy within a few months of one another in 2004, their mother said.

The clotting factor they take to prevent and control bleeding costs about $150,000 a month, and at various times each has been hospitalized for internal bleeding or to treat infections of the ports that allow them to take medication intravenously, Kerry Fatula said. For now, Medicaid pays medical bills for all three. But the eldest, Paul, a senior in high school who physically can do "90 percent" of what his healthy peers can, recently turned 18 and must qualify as a disabled adult to retain federal assistance, she said.

I had some personal reflections on the lifetime cap issue in a previous post here.

Mom, can I get a pair of Hematomas?

The Adidas Hematoma $79.98 - $129.99

I first saw these on Laurie Kelley's blog. Can you imagine the conversation:


Mom, can I get a pair of Hematoma's.

What?!

Shoes, Mom. Hematoma Shoes.

Shoes? How much are they?

$129.00

$129.00?!?! No way! You never took care of the Abrasions I got you last year.

Come on Mom! It's not like they're Compound Fractures. Those are wayyy more expensive.


Apparently the Hematoma's are off-road/downhill mountain bike shoes. A little sub-culture where saucer-sized bruises and road rash are badges of honor. So the Adidas marketers may just know their market. But probably not the best pursuits for our boys with hemophilia.

Update: Can't find the Hematoma on the Adidas web site. So maybe it wasn't the best marketing campaign.

Two cool videos of amazing precision

Found the USMC Silent Drill Platoon by way of the gang at the corner on NRO.





After watching the Jarheads, I had to find some video of the best damn marching band in the world. The Fightin' Texas Aggie Band.






Although few years old,(from 2002 - OU game) this was a nice one from the Former Students side of the stadium that didn't have any silly student commentary

A sad anniversary

Today is the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. On the matter of abortion I can’t help but look at these guys…and the “choice” is clear.

A very belated happy New Year

Demands of home and work have hindered regular (or not so regular) posting to the blog. Plus, I've been downright lazy. I don't expect to do much better in the near future, but best wishes in this still-young 2008.

A Very Merry Christmas to All

I bet she doesn't have a Che t-shirt

Elsa Murano will become Texas A&M's new president in January. It's an amazing and inspiring story of a woman who as a girl with her family, fled Castro's Cuba in 1961 and later came to the United States at the age of 14 not knowing any English. Murano pursued microbiology, food science and technology studies earning a masters and doctorate degrees. In 2001 she was appointed undersecretary for food safety at the Department of Agriculture and is now poised to fill the chief executive slot of a major university.

Dr. Murano is profiled in the Houston Chronicle here, the Dallas Morning News here, the Austin American Statesman here.

Study shows extended half-life of recombinant FVIIa feasible

A study by CSL Behring shows that the half life of rFVIIa can be prolonged by fusing it with human albumin.

CSL Behring today announced the results of a pre-clinical study that show for the first time it is feasible to genetically fuse Factor VIIa (FVIIa) to human albumin, prolonging the half- life of this therapeutic protein while retaining its biologic activity. In the study, which was presented at the American Society of Hematology 49th Annual Meeting and Exposition, the half-life of recombinant VIIa-albumin fusion protein (rVIIa-FP) was shown to be extended 6-to-9 fold (emphasis mine) compared to wild type rFVIIa.

Greater half life of rFVIIa would be welcome news indeed. Bottom-line, NovoSeven is expensive. We're glad to have it don't get me wrong. When dealing with inhibitors being able to treat bleeds with a recombinant product is extremely valuable. But it is costly.

When Jack was around 13 months he developed an inhibitor. This was in the middle of the factor shortage for recombinant FVIII (rFVIII) products. Because of the shortage immune tolerance (IT) was delayed for over a year. During which time we treated bleeds on-demand with NovoSeven. We used Novo to treat bleeds for an additional year during IT until it was successful and rFVIII once again had some meaningful efficacy.

For 2 1/2 years we used NovoSeven to treat bleeds from when Jack was around 13 months to 3 1/2 years-old. By the time Jack was four we came very close to the $2 million lifetime cap on the PPO insurance option through my work (and this was with a 5-month period before IT started during which Jack did not have a bleeding episode). Not all of that expense could be attributed to rFVIIa but certainly the lion's share.

Had we had a longer lasting rFVIIa that hit toward the lifetime cap would have been much less. Treating some bleeds every 2-3 hours for 24-36 hours to keep on top of the bleed just ate up a huge amount of insurance. (We've been very fortunate to have a HMO option with no lifetime cap, less choice - but no cap)

So I think there's definitely room for optimism. Noted in some of my previous posts here, here, here, here and here there's a lot of activity in the anti-hemophilic industry. And this is good. Market forces at work. Competition fueling innovation which produces better products and therapies for our community.

Surge success causes MRAP slowdown

There's been a whole rash of articles basically saying the same thing. Things are better in theater in Iraq so maybe we don't need all those MRAP's after all.

Like this quote from an MRAP article on Weekly Standard's online site.

But since arguments against the surge are harder to come by these days, the services are taking the first steps in slowing the MRAP freight train. Late last month, the Marine Corps announced it would cut 1,300 vehicles from its order, saving the Pentagon $1.7 billion and removing the logistical headache of moving the weighty vehicles to the field and trying to find something to do with them.

Reading through these articles I notice we get to hear from the big brass now. Before it was the one or two star general run out to take the fire from the press and congress. Both of which were eager to criticize the administration and the war effort but still wanting to appear pro-military by calling for immediate and miraculous production to MRAP's to protect our war fighters. Not exactly a very friendly environment. As with any organization when the news is bad or you expect to take some heat, send out the spokesperson or lower level management. But now that there are reasons for optimism in Iraq we hear from Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway and Army Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the number two commander in Iraq.

In the end fewer MRAP's will be produced but for now the manufacturers are still going full-tilt to field as many of these life-saving vehicles as they can. The front-line folks want them because they save lives.

Here's a recent article from USA Today about the positive effect the MRAP's are having in Iraq.

Mice cured of sickle cell anemia with stem cells

More stem cell breakthroughs without the need for embryonic stem cells. Life preserved. Win - win.

The strategy should work to treat hemophilia, thalassemia and severe combined
immunodeficiency disease, the "bubble boy" disease, according to researchers, and might also apply to disorders linked a single gene, such as muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis.

and

The study is the latest in a string of significant experiments published in the past five months involving a new approach of reprogramming adult cells so they are capable of growing into any type of tissue in the body. (emphasis mine)

December 7, 1941

Never forget.

Masterful

Former Massachusetts Governor and Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney addressed the issue of his Mormon religion and his bid for the Presidency today from College Station, Texas. Speaking from the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library on the West Campus of Texas A&M University Gov. Romney affirmed his Mormon religion but pledged that his church would not define his candidacy or his presidency

Romney didn’t wade into the tall grass of particulars of his religion nor should he have to. But rather, he engaged the nation in a discussion of religious liberty and tolerance that is embedded in the American tradition by the founding fathers.

Excerpts from the speech:

"Let me assure you that no authorities of my church, or of any other church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions. Their authority is theirs, within the province of church affairs, and it ends where the affairs of the nation begin.”

and

"There are some who would have a presidential candidate describe and explain his
church's distinctive doctrines. To do so would enable the very religious test the founders prohibited in the Constitution. No candidate should become the spokesman for his faith. For if he becomes President he will need the prayers of the people of all faiths.”

"I believe that every faith I have encountered draws its adherents closer to God. And in every faith I have come to know, there are features I wish were in my own: I love the profound ceremony of the Catholic Mass, the approachability of God in the prayers of the Evangelicals, the tenderness of spirit among the Pentecostals, the confident independence of the Lutherans, the ancient traditions of the Jews, unchanged through the ages, and the commitment to frequent prayer of the Muslims. As I travel across the country and see our towns and cities, I am always moved by the many houses of worship with their steeples, all pointing to heaven, reminding us of the source of life's blessings.”

and

"Americans acknowledge that liberty is a gift of God, not an indulgence of government. No people in the history of the world have sacrificed as much for liberty. The lives of hundreds of thousands of America's sons and daughters were laid down during the last century to preserve freedom, for us and for freedom loving people throughout the world. America took nothing from that Century's terrible wars - no land from Germany or Japan or Korea; no treasure; no oath of fealty. America's resolve in the defense of liberty has been tested time and again. It has not been found wanting, nor must it ever be. America must never falter in holding high the banner of freedom.”

It was well crafted, well delivered and completely unnecessary. Romney succumbed to the rantings and ravings of his detractors calling for an explanation of his faith. Now that he has addressed the issue on very much his own terms, and done so quite masterfully, they will only use it to further bludgeon him with their vicious and bigoted attacks.

Those people will never be swayed by any one speech (however eloquent it may be). But for those many who were unsure what to think of Romney and his faith this speech should quell their fears and comfort their apprehensions. For here is a man of faith, conviction and integrity who will hold true to the founding principles of this nation’s forefathers and the Constitution they crafted which guides it.

The whole text of the speech can be found here.

Video of the speech here.

Hemophilia in the News

Massachusetts Company looks to jump into the Antihemophilic Factor game

GTC Biotherapeutics Inc., of Framingham, say it's acquired an exclusive license to develop three recombinant human proteins from ProGenetics LLC of Blacksburg, Va.

GTC has been pioneering the production of therapeutic human proteins from the milk of animals.

From the GTC website:

The key enabling science for GTC Biotherapeutics (GTC) is the development of human therapeutic proteins in the milk of transgenic animals. Transgenic animals carry genetic information allowing them to express these human therapeutic proteins in their milk. Once they are produced, these recombinant proteins can be efficiently purified from milk for use as therapeutics.

The company press release is here.

A quick aside: A short blurb in from bizjournals is here. The sentence that caught my eye is this:

With 143 workers, GTC reported a 2006 net loss of $35.3 million on revenue of $6.1 million.

Ain't capitalism grand. The sheer optimism necessary to make ventures like this work. And in the end it make not work.



Non-injectable Factor?...

Not yet, but some initial steps.

Nastech Pharmaceutical Company Inc. of Bothell, Wa has entered into a feasibility study with an undisclosed global leader in the production of plasma products to develop a non-injectable Factor IX product.

Who is the "undisclosed global leader in the production of plasma products"? We could certainly make some well-informed guesses. But really, don't know, don't care. Do it and get it done.

What I no longer pray for

I wrote some thoughts down a few days ago, but as real life occupies one’s time it’s taken a while to get them on the blog.

Thanksgiving is past and we move into the Christmas season. It’s a time of reflection for many. A time to take stock of the year past and prepare for the year to come. A time to take account of just what one has, and yes, even what one wants.

I have been truly blessed. I was raised in love by two inspiring parents whose example of life, marriage and parenting is the standard to which I aspire.

I am surrounded by the love of my fantastic wife whose smarts and wit keep me grounded and on my toes.

We have two beautiful boys who amaze us constantly with what they know, learn and do.

I am thankful for modern medical science and safe and effective factor concentrates. Thankful for the hemophilia doctors, nurses and social workers who provide Jack with the care and treatment that allows him to do (most) everything he wants.

I am thankful for the healing gift of time. The time to learn, cope, adjust and accept. The time to come to grips with the challenges of life with a boy with hemophilia. The time to take on that monster of fear and beat it down until that monster is a routine that is managed day in and day out.

And so it is that I pray and give thanks for all that I have. But one thing has left my prayers. I no longer pray for a cure for hemophilia. I want it. I want it desperately. More than I want longer lasting factor, easier delivery methods and cheaper factor. And I want those a lot.

But it is through the grace of God and wonders of time and experience that hemophilia is but one of the many challenges of a busy life. One that we address, manage and overcome.

God knows we want a cure and in time it will come. But there’s something to the old adage that God only gives you what you can handle. Until there is a cure hemophilia we can handle and I will pray for other things.