Seeing Michael J. Fox like that sucks...

[bluepeter]

I always thought he was Canadian.

He is. Got his American citizenship some time ago.

 

[Y_lifter]

Once a Canadian, always a damn Canadian..

 

[HiDnGoD]

I've always had great respect for him since he first appeared on that sitcom.
IMO, going without your meds to show the true face of the disease is worlds apart from deliberately exagerating as "Mister" Limbaugh has suggested.

 

[Longhorn85]

Fox supports Arlen Spector a Republican.

So what? Arlen Specter is a straight up liberal. Michael J. Fox has admitted that he modified his medication prior to that interview. He clearly has an agenda and Rush called him on it. No big deal, we all have agendas.

Ironically, as Alex Keaton, MJ Fox played the model republican on Family Ties. I really like the guy but he is out of his lane (a Canadian campaigning in a US election).

 

[jnevin]

So what? Arlen Specter is a straight up liberal. Michael J. Fox has admitted that he modified his medication prior to that interview. He clearly has an agenda and Rush called him on it. No big deal, we all have agendas.

Ironically, as Alex Keaton, MJ Fox played the model republican on Family Ties. I really like the guy but he is out of his lane (a Canadian campaigning in a US election).

He said he stopped taking his meds so people could see what the disease does. That was a while ago. Specter is a Republican, so I don't know what your issue with him is. Just because he may not blindly follow the cookie cutter conservative handbook doesn't make him liberal. Fox has backed a number of republicans, so I don't understand why you think a fictional character on a sitcom makes real life shit ironic.

BTW, the ads your junkie buddy Limbaugh was talking about, Fox was not off of his meds.

http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=239434&GT1=7703

 

[musclemom]

http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/g/a20e52a5-3fcd-4844-9cca-8e43190f3c11

From Fox's autobiography "Lucky Man" before he went before a senate subcommittee:


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 we as a community were feeling, be seen as well as heard. For people who had never observed me in this kind of shape, the transformation must have been startling.


So the idea of thinking he did that intentionally is not new or anything. Nothing wrong with it, but I don't see why people are so upset about the accusation. He has admitted to doing that before.

Just a comment here, the thing you have to understand about this disease, I've typed reports where these people are taking the drugs 4, 5, 6 or more times a day, and no matter what eventually the meds stop working . What the medication does is artificially modify brain chemistry and that never succeeds for any length of time. And some people just can't take the meds, the side effects are catastrophic.

And it's not just movement if affects, it's every aspect of your health, from swallowing, to autonomic functions like blood pressure, to mental status.

You can take the meds, it takes about an hour to kick in, and maybe they have a few good hours and then the meds start to wear off (the doctors literally call it being "on" or "off") and for whatever reason sometimes things just don't work, or they work too well (resulting in freezing).

I don't blame him for trying to make it look worse, not like politicians have to pass I.Q. tests

 

[Longhorn85]

He said he stopped taking his meds so people could see what the disease does. That was a while ago. Specter is a Republican, so I don't know what your issue with him is. Just because he may not blindly follow the cookie cutter conservative handbook doesn't make him liberal. Fox has backed a number of republicans, so I don't understand why you think a fictional character on a sitcom makes real life shit ironic.

1) Being a republican doesn't keep Specter from being a liberal anymore that being a democrat kept Zell Miller from being a conservative.

2) Name some other republicans Fox has "supported"

3) If you can't see the irony in liberal Fox portraying a classic conservative, you're simply not trying

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

He has admitted to doing it before. A few years ago he admitted that before he went before congress to talk about funding for parkinsons that he quit taking his medications beforehand so he would twitch more. I am trying to find his quote where he said this, but with the latest situation every google search just turns up Rush Limbaugh and him.

I personally don't see a problem with it though, someone who is on HIV meds is going to look alot healthier than someone w/o them for example, and if you are on the meds people may think your disease is minor and not take it as seriously. In fact, there are problems with rising HIV infections now because people figure 'if I get infected, I'll just take the pills. Other people do and they seem healthy.' People get a false sense of how dangerous or curable diseases are if you can temporarily treat them. But I don't know if he exaggerated his symptoms for this situation or not.


Michael J Fox is an inspiration though. He has a serious disease and instead of becoming a shut in who is ashamed of himself and mad at the world he is out in public fighting for tolerance and to make the world a better place. He is raising money, raising awareness, raising scientific funds. His foundation has funded 80 million dollars for parkinsons research so far. He could've just retired to his home and never left, constantly being pissed off and afraid people would laugh at him. He did the opposite though.

This is true, but had he not had fame on his side it would've been tremendously difficult to get his message out. His fame is the driving force behind the voice for all those suffering from the disease. That aside, it's mostly a matter of making the right decision to use it.

 

[Longhorn85]

That's what I've tried to get across to you about guys like jerseyart and longhorn. They ARE hopelessly biased and would NEVER support a candidate or even an idea from the 'other' party. That's sad.

You're simply misinformed. I have supported, and will support conservative dems like Sen Zell Miller, (D, GA) and John Breaux (D, LA) and Joe Lieberman.

 

[bluepeter]

You're simply misinformed. I have supported, and will support conservative dems like Sen Zell Miller, (D, GA) and John Breaux (D, LA) and Joe Lieberman.

You're right and I apologize. That was really meant as a dig at that twit jerseyart and I threw your name in for good measure...........lol