Monday, July 14, 2003

A few kind words about the French on Bastille Day:   Burgundy, Bordeaux, Chateauneuf du Papes. Steak frites. Moules mariniere. Saving western civilization. “J’accuse.” The Declaration of the Rights of Man. TGV. The Metro. The Marais. The Alps. Place des Vosges. Topless beaches. Croissants. Medecins sans Frontieres The Dordogne. Lafayette. Rousseau. Chateaux. Mont-St-Michel New Orleans. Tour de France. Might someday take Jim Carrey off our hands.   The French aren’t perfect, they just think they are. And it’s not like they were going to be much help on the battlefield anyway. 5:43:39 PM    comment []

I must respectfully dissent with I Respectfully Dissent, a weblog written by a Winston-Salem lawyer. Not with his arguments against the Alabama 10 Commandments judge, Roy Moore, but with this sentence: “How could someone who is not a Christian see that monument as anything other than the court endorsing the Christian religion.” Hmm. Seems like the Jews have some claims there, too, no?   Otherwise the Dissenter is on the mark. I think it would be interesting to display seminal legal codes from many cultures in courthouses -- including the ten rules reportedly obtained by my distant collateral ancestor, Moses -- along with a copy of the Constitution. That would send a powerful message about the universality of the law – it belongs to and binds everyone. But then again things like the Code of Hammurabi give the lie to the old “Christianity is the cornerstone of law” argument, and I can’t imagine Judge Moore would like that too much. 4:01:38 PM    comment []

Blogging 101, by Anton Zuiker. I hope to spend some time in Chapel Hill next fall, working with the Tar Heel Bloggers group to promote weblogs at UNC, including the journalism school. 3:39:19 PM    comment []

A $4 million research project is coming to Guilford County – probably.   The Guilford Genomic Medicine Project was announced this afternoon by two of the three US congressmen serving this gerrymandered county, Republican Howard Coble and Democrat Brad Miller. The House has included the project in a defense appropriations bill, but the Senate has yet to sign off on it. That’s the “probably” part.   A cooperative venture involving Moses Cone Health System, UNC-G, and Duke, the Guilford Genomic Project involves the application of genetic research on the causes of cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s to the prevention and care of those ailments.   If funded, this would be a great thing for Guilford County. UNC-G chancellor Pat Sullivan compared it to the fifty-year Framingham Heart Study – federal and private research money could flow through Greensboro for a generation or more to support it. Private companies could follow.   Meanwhile the template for cooperation between the types of institutions that must help define our next economy is now established – and it dovetails nicely with the North Carolina Biotechnology Center’s local effort.   Cone will handle the project’s administration, UNC-G the educational component, and Duke, under the leadership of Dr. Margaret Pericak-Vance, the genetic research aspect. Most of the money will be spent in Guilford County...if they get the money.   The press conference at Cone Hospital was instigated by Coble and Miller. It felt a tad premature, with Senate approval likely but uncertain, and few details in place. After it was over, Cone CEO Dennis Barry and others headed upstairs to start figuring out those details.   News of the project was first reported in my newspaper column in May. See tomorrow's N&R and Friday's Business Journal for additional details. 2:47:44 PM    comment []