Image Courtesy of WikiMedia Commons

Weinergate had Americans asking themselves many questions.

Is that really a picture of Anthony Weiner? Why did he take so long to resign? Is a politician’s personal live public property? Why didn’t he know how to use Twitter?

A couple of journalists have been asking another more interesting question:

Why is it always male politicians who get caught up in sex scandals?  What about the women?

The New York Times explains that

“Research points to a substantial gender gap in the way women and men approach running for office…’women run for office to do something, and men run for office to be somebody…’

The article goes on to explain that women run for office less than men, hold themselves to a higher standards, are held to a higher standard by voters, and have to work harder once in office, all deterrents from getting involved in a sex scandal.

Christiane Amanpour of ABC’s This Week looks at the sparse numbers of women in politics and asks

“(would) more women in positions of power change this trend and the public sphere’s culture?”

GOOD explains the phenomenon with one word: sexism.

Female politicians who cheat are just as vulnerable to [being called 'hypocrites' and 'distractions,'], but they’re also liable to get slapped with a whole other set of labels. ‘Slut’ comes to mind… Their ability to be good mothers would also likely be called into question.

What do you think?  Why are women involved in fewer high-profile sex scandals?

And, on a slightly related topic, should Anthony Weiner’s greatly respected and admired wife Huma Abedin consider running for his seat?  Ann Freidman thinks so.  Do you?

Okay… Don’t panic… the end of the world may not happen this weekend.

But…

If you relish a good panic, we’ve found a bunch of unsettling stories that reveal real dangers lurking all around you!

• Do you enjoy a splash of pesticide with your food? Whether you like it or not, you are probably getting some.
• Ladies! If you hate your lives, DON’T WORRY… you’ll misery will be over more sooner than later!.
• Ahhh Summertime! It’s a time of open car windows, flip flops, baseball caps…. and DEATH!!!’
• Worried about sunburn?  HAH! Try this burn on for size!
• And… wait!… could it be? … someone scarier to democrats than SARAH PALIN?

There must be more scary things out there we have omitted. (Remember your mom’s panicked warnings of standing too close to a running microwave

or holding your cell phone too close to your brain?)

Tell us what is bothering you today!

This week’s GOP debate looked a little like Snow White and the 6 dwarfs. The female lead being played by Presidential newcomer Michelle Bachmann.

Who is this Michelle Bachmann? She is the three term Congresswoman from Minnesota with long standing conservative credentials.

She has been the swooning darling of Tea Party movement. Maybe more impressively, She is a mother of 5 and a foster mother to twenty-three!

Although not as famous as Sarah Palin, she is beginning  to steal some of the right wing thunder from her Alaskan sister.

Michelle is a history buff and a huge fan of New Hampshire. She noted the debate took place in the same state as the Battles of Lexington and Concord (her words not ours).

Palin remains the better storyteller, though, as Colbert depicts her take on Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride

But back to Bachmann. The debate was certainly not her first appearance, but she used it to announce her candidacy in the 2012 Presidential race. Some would argue that her performance surpassed that of Palin’s, who famously stumbled in the Couric hot seat. You can be the judge of her debating chops.

She brings high energy, charisma and proven fundraising ability to the race to nominate a Republican challenger to Obama. She also is known for unyielding stances, biting commentary and high-profile gaffes.

While Bachmann is known for her striking statements, she is quite articulate compared to clumsy Ms. Palin, as The New York Times reports:

Ms. Palin’s absence created an opening for Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, who is similarly well liked by grass-roots Tea Party Republicans — and whose supporters have sought to present her as more substantive and better rooted in policy than Ms. Palin is.

According to political blogger Nate Silver, Bachmann not only has advantage over Palin, but candidacy potential:

She has considerably better favor-ability ratings — Americans who are familiar with her split about evenly on whether they like her or not, which is not true for Ms. Palin…it’s possible that [Palin's] missed her moment — whether or not she decides to run. Rather than being a proxy for Ms. Palin, Ms. Bachmann may instead be preferred to her in the eyes of Republican voters.

Bachmann lurched into the nations living room when she provided a surprise Tea Party response to President Obama’s State of the Union in January (see above).

In addition to being a fiscal conservative she is also a social conservative with evangelical roots. Sample: She accused Planned Parenthood of encouraging sex trafficking.

While she has claimed to be bi-partisan, she now expresses regret of reaching across party lines in the case of Libya.

There will, no doubt, be much written about this photogenic candidate. Some of these words will be penned by her… she has a memoir due to be published in the months ahead.

Metabolic Profile in Personalized Medicine

Eddy Karnieli, MD
Director, Institute of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
RAMBAM Health Care Campus
Haifa 31096, ISRAEL

2:00pm Wednesday, 22 june 2011, ITE 325b, UMBC

Personalized Medicine is revolutionizing the medical world. Understanding and integrating genetic and molecular information with traditional clinical knowledge is the hallmark of this transformation. Currently, much of the medical practice is based on standards of care derived from the epidemiologic studies of large cohorts. These studies do not take into account the individual's genetic, proteomic, and metabolic characteristics. Hence, the gap continues to grow between knowledge accumulated from basic scientific and clinical research, newly discovered molecular mechanisms and therapeutic guidelines, and their implementation at the patient’s bedside. Diabetes is the most common metabolic disease, and its complications have a significant economic impact on the health system. Prediction of diabetes in asymptomatic patients as well as its harsh complications in patients already diagnosed is becoming a necessity, with the considerable increase in the cost of the treatment. Thus, in the current presentation I will review some of the clinical, molecular, metabolic and genetic biomarkers that should be integrated in a future bio-informatic platform and decision support system to be used at the point of care and discuss the challenges we face in applying this vision of personalized medicine in diabetes into reality. Metabolic Profile in Personalized Medicine.

Professor Eddy Karnieli is a graduate of the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine at the Technion– Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. He obtained clinical training in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology at the Rambam Medical Center and did his Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Diabetes, Obesity and Endocrinology at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He was a visiting scholar at the University of California at San Diego and at the National Institutes of Health. He is currently the Director of the Institute of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the Rambam Medical Center. Professor Karnieli's main research interests are the molecular mechanisms for regulating cellular glucose uptake and transporters and their implications in diabetes, obesity and insulin resistance; Gene therapy modalities to trans-differentiate human cells toward beta-cells as a potential cure for type 1 diabetes; Medical informatics, telemedicine and personalized medicine. He has published about 70 peer reviewed papers and reviews.Professor Karnieli serves on the editorial board of several scientific journals and review boards. Professor Karnieli is a retired Colonel from the Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps and is a former Deputy Director of the Rambam Medical Center.

Host: Professor Yelena Yesha

Not via Twitter: Anthony Weiner announces his resigination from Congress

Happy 40th birthday to the War on Drugs! Mexico is not celebrating.

Obama drops in on Puerto Rico (the 51st State?)

Curing Cancer? Ecuadorian dwarfs may have a clue

It’s summer, time to lease a Solar panel

1 Peter 2:9-10

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Reflection:

God brought us out from darkness into His wonderful light, showed us His mercy and called us to be His people. We are God’s people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession.  We have been brought in, to do His will, to declare His praises and to tell others of God’s love, mercy and forgiveness.  We have been called to build and expand God’s Kingdom.

Response:

Let’s pray for our churches, missional groups and campus ministries – that we would be His Kingdom builders, declaring who God is, bringing Him much glory.