Limbaugh attacks Michael J. Fox

[Mickey Brausch]

[ QUOTE ]
From the hardcover edition (I used the search function on Amazon.com), pg 247:

"I had made a deliberate choice to appear before the subcommittee without medication. It seemed to me that this occasion demanded that my testimony about the effects of the disease, and the urgency as a community were feeling, be seen as well as heard."

[/ QUOTE ]This is quite legitimate, IMO.

It's like an amputee who takes off his prosthetic leg and shows the world how he truly is. Or someone taking off the bandages and letting us see the gaping wound. Not a pretty sight but surely a honest one, and, in the context of medical research, a relevant one.

Some people, the Limbaugh zombies included, are trying to make this as if Michael J. Fox pretends he is debilitated, shaking and all that stuff. Unbelievable.

Mickey Brausch

[tehox]

[ QUOTE ]
Heh, I just talked to somebody that has Parkinson's and is against embryonic research. He thinks Fox was out of line and his commercial was likely to confuse those that don't know the difference between ASC and ESC. I have to agree. So I change my verdict to Fox was a little out of line but Limbaugh was way out of line.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would be interested in details. It is my understanding that the hope of using ASC to treat neurological disease is pretty bleak.

[bdk3clash]

J.C. (no, not Jesus Christ, but Jim Caviezel) starts the ad off with a quote in Aramaic (apparently the same as his first line in "The Passion of the Christ.") Subtle!

[tehox]

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[ QUOTE ]
stem cells don't work [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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Just so people aren't misled these were fetal neural stem cells and not embryonic. The fetal-derived cells bypasses the ethical arguments. So this can't be used to attack people who are against embryonic stem cells.

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Also wondering how fetal-derived cells bypass ethical arguments.

[zimmer879]

Disclaimer : hate Rush, very pro stem cell reasearch.

Hypothetical : If instead of Rush insisting that Fox had acted in the ad, he had simply questioned whether or not Fox was being authentic, what would your reaction be?

[tehox]

[ QUOTE ]
Disclaimer : hate Rush, very pro stem cell reasearch.

Hypothetical : If instead of Rush insisting that Fox had acted in the ad, he had simply questioned whether or not Fox was being authentic, what would your reaction be?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't see there really being a distinction between the two.

The question of if he went off his meds is a valid one, as he has apparently said that he has done this before. But in my mind this would not be that misleading, Parkinson's is only controlled by meds for a short time, so the symptoms he showed in the ad, even if he went off his meds, are those that 1) He probably has on "bad" days 2) He will have in a fews years even with meds 3) Those that thousands that suffer with Parkinson's go through every day.

[tiltaholic]

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[ QUOTE ]
Anatta,

If you read the excerpt that I posted, Fox follows his state
ment with a description of the movements he was making while he was off his meds. It doesnt quite square with what you are saying.

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From what I am learning, its the meds that cause the shaking. If you are off the meds you are stiff and unable to talk.

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Was Fox diplaying the "shaking" behavior when he was off his meds testifying to Congress? It's well documented that Fox has written that he has purposly gone of his meds when testifying.

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I quoted a doctor who is supposedly a Parkinson's expert. What he says about the meds and Parkinson's is pretty straightforward. So we appear to have a contradiction between this doctor and Fox's statements.

I am not sure about any of this. Its possible that Fox goes off the meds in a sacrifice of some auditory proficiency, and in return he doesn't shake as much. This would jibe with his statement regarding wanting to see the true effects of Parkinson's, which, evidently isn't this shaking behaviour, but rather stiffness and inability to talk.

But as you point out, he describes his shaking, and implys its related to the being off the meds. Maybe the actor is being vain, he goes off the meds to lessen the shaking, but wants us to think its the reason he is shaking. Is there a doctor in the house?

And since Fox is quoted as saying he goes off the meds, I can see why Rush made his quote. Perhaps Rush is merely negligent here.

[/ QUOTE ]

this may clear some things up...

when an individual with PD is unmedicated, they can display a resting tremor (shaking) in addition to rigidity in general. see this video for an example of resting tremor

when medicated, an individual with PD can display dyskinesia (shaking), though can also talk and move more effectively in general. see this video for an example of dyskinesia

i don't know what the deal is with the blue paper, i just wanted to find a quick example.

comparing the nature of MJFs behavior in the ad and the videos above, it seems he is experiencing dyskinesia. i haven't seen his testimony to congress or that video or his description of his symptoms. note that both could be considered and described as "shaking".

i do know, however, that for people who suffer with PD their resting tremor bothers them a great deal as it represents a manifestation of their disease which cannot be hidden from the outside world and i am not surprised that someone with PD would minimize it or attribute it to medication.

[CharlieDontSurf]

Rush's diagnosis skills for MJF= Frist's diagnosis skills for Terry S.

[zimmer879]

I suppose the difference between questioning and insisting is the line for me.

I see no problem with anyone questioning whether or not the ad was authentic. Michael J Fox feels very strongly about stem cell research and imo justifiably so. He knows that the more marked his debilitation appears the more effective the ad will be and therefore the more his cause will be helped. So why would he not act a little bit? And further why should he not be questioned about it? This is a political ad and I'm generalizing here, but I don't think the content of any political ad is above questioning.

If the person asking the question wasn't Rush and the question was asked sensitively, would people disagree with it? And if so, would they view it as an attack?

[tehox]

Just thought this video and other commentary would be of interest. I cannot but into words what a worthless POS Rush Limbaugh is.