Monday Open Thread [11.18.13]

Delaware politicos may know Alexander Synder Mackler, who worked on Attorney General Biden’s reelection campaign in 2010. Alex’s father, Dr. Scott Mackler, was a pretty amazing person.

Dr. Scott A. Mackler, an accomplished physician and scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, died on Wednesday. His remarkable perseverance and passion allowed him to continue working during his 15-year battle with ALS and also garnered him national acclaim. He was 55.

His work and story was highlighted on CBS’ 60 Minutes:

A producer on 60 Minutes wrote this of Dr. Mackler yesterday:

During my 15 years as a producer at 60 Minutes, I’ve met hundreds of brilliant, courageous, and inspirational people, but none has encompassed all three of those qualities more than Dr. Scott Mackler, pictured above with his family.

When we met Dr. Mackler in 2008, he had already been suffering from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, for nine years. Although he was unable to move anything but his eyes and a few muscles in his face, Dr. Mackler continued to work as a neuroscientist at the University of Pennsylvania. Just how he did that was the focus of our story “Brain Power.”

Dr. Mackler was a pioneer in a field called Brain-Computer Interface (BCI). Because he could not move or speak, he used a device that picked up signals from his neurons, or brain cells. These signals could be translated into letters that Dr. Mackler used to communicate.

Our 2008 story, “Brain Power,” revealed how BCI was quickly moving from the realm of science fiction into a scientific field that had practical applications for disabled people like Dr. Mackler.

Not content with just benefiting from technology himself, Dr. Mackler and his family created the Scott A. Mackler, MD, PhD Assistive Technology Program. In partnership with the ALS Association, the program provides assistive technology devices to those suffering from ALS so that they can lead more independent and fulfilling lives. Over the past 14 years the Scott Mackler Annual 5K run has raised nearly $2 million for the program.

Alex and the entire Mackler family, we are so sorry for your loss. Your father was and is truly an inspiration.

Boy, do I wish I were a fly on the wall at the next Cheney Thanksgiving dinner.

In an appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” Liz Cheney reiterated her opposition to same-sex marriage, telling host Chris Wallace that she disagrees with her younger sister, Mary, a lesbian who married her longtime partner Heather Poe in 2012.

“I love Mary very much. I love her family very much. This is just an issue on which we disagree,” Liz Cheney said.

That prompted a swift rebuke from Mary Cheney and Poe, who took to Facebook to voice their disapproval in strikingly personal terms.

“Liz has been a guest in our home, has spent time and shared holidays with our children, and when Mary and I got married in 2012 — she didn’t hesitate to tell us how happy she was for us,” wrote Poe. “To have her now say she doesn’t support our right to marry is offensive to say the least.” Mary Cheney shared Poe’s message on the social networking Web site, adding, “Liz — this isn’t just an issue on which we disagree — you’re just wrong — and on the wrong side of history.”

I just love that those who stand for equality and love are no longer hiding, avoiding fights, or taking shit from people in their own family. Andrew Sullivan notes that the Republican hypocrisy has existed for years, where the GOP elite all had gay friends and family but were perfectly willing to run against those gay friends and family if it meant getting elected.

What you’re seeing here is the Republican elite’s hypocrisy finally being called out – in the most public way possible. By refusing to stay silent while their sister and sister-in-law acts as if it’s still 1996, Mary Cheney and Heather Poe are standing up for their own integrity. They are therefore now leaders of the gay rights cause[.] Because this cause is not just a public and political one; it is a personal and moral one. And the ability to pretend that you can do one thing in public and another in private is becoming more attenuated by the day.

People like Liz Cheney need to be utterly shamed and humiliated for their endorsement of bigotry. Mary Cheney is right. This is not an issue on which disagreement is possible or allowed. You either believe in equality and love, or you don’t. You are either against discrimination, or you are for it. There is no gray area in the middle. People like Liz Cheney deserve to lose everything they hold dear, including their families. If I were Mary Cheney, I do not think I would ever speak to Liz again in life.