To read the tribute to SFC Marcus Muralles, please click here
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Why Am I Going Here?
I wasn't going to post about the Michael J. Fox political ad or the Rush Limbaugh bruhaha or the intense comment thread at the Rott about it or... or... but, here I am...
First, the facts.
Now that those peky facts are out of the way... I'm against ESC, not only because they have to kill babies to get the stem cells (no, I don't really give a rat's rump if it's "just a blastocyst"- I believe it's a person as soon as Mr. Sperm meets Miss Egg, and the two become one... one baby), but because there are other, more ethical AND more beneficial avenues to explore (Adult stem cells and cord blood stem cells). That being said, I'm in favor of using the current stem cell lines in research (damage been done already.) I'm against using Federal money for research of any kind that isn't related to national security because it's not the government's job. I'm against cloning because I'm pretty sure that God knew what He was doing when He decided to make us all different, or else I'd look like (insert your version of the most beautiful woman in the world here). I'm also against cloning for harvest because you can't really get around that whole baby thing.
There- now on to the bruhaha.
Michael J. Fox was wrong on several levels. He used his disease to promote a series of lies and halftruths. He manipulated his symptoms (several times) to garner sympathy. He misled the viewing public about candidates' stands, vote, and plans. He has a right to voice his opinion, but he does not have the right to a free pass and avoid scrutiny just because he's ravaged by a horrible disease.
Some people claim that "Rush should have known better" than to "pick on MJF." That's just wrong. HE knew what would happen, and he did it anyway because it was the right thing to do. MJF misled people, and he deserved to be given the once-over. (By the way, Rush wasn't the only one to give MJF's commercials the once over. Here is the opinion of a medical doctor.)
It's no surprise that the MSM jumped on this. They have a long-standing dislike of Rush, and they'll jump at any chance to make conservatives look like mean ogres. They (the pundits in the MSM, the LLL, and, yeah, the so-called objective journalists) can't debate on the merits of their argument... there are no merits. So let's just smear the other side, ok?
Will all of this sway the elections? Maybe, maybe not. Or maybe not in the way the DNC had planned. That's my particular hope.
First, the facts.
- MJF made commercials in favor of several Democratic candidates- Claire McCaskill (Missouri), Ben Cardin (Maryland)and someone from New Jersey. In it, he asserts that the Republican candidates (Jim Talent and Michael Steele) oppose stem cell research and/or want to criminalize it. (Side note- the only one of those candidates to vote against stem cell research wasn't it Talent or Steele- it was Ben Cardin of Maryland.)
- Rush Limbaugh comments on the text of the commercials (pointing out the factual errors) and then commented that, having seen MJF on television recently, MJF's symptoms seemed much worse, as if he was off of his medication or acting. He did not mock or make fun of MJF at any time.
- The MSM latched onto Limbaugh's one comment like a hungry pit bull mauling a roast.
- MJF has admitted (in interviews and in his book) that he would go off of his meds when speaking to certain groups in order to bring the horrors of the disease to the forefront. (In all honesty, I do not know if MJF was exhibiting symptoms brought on by acute dyskinesia brought on my a dosage change in his medication or by Tardive dyskinesia, which is caused by long-term exposure to certain meds. He may or may not have manipulated his symptoms in this case.)
- There is an ammendment on the Missouri ballot that would legalize cloning (but is called "somatic cell nuclear transfer" and would only outlaw cloning that "allowed a child produced to live"). It is titled "The Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative" because it would actually legalize cloning in order to harvest the embryonic stem cells.
- Adult stem cell research has been going on for several decades, and has developed over 70 medical treatments. Embryonic stem cells have only been researched for a short time (I've seen 1998 as a start date, but I've also heard researchers talk about "researching ESCs for over 20 years, so I'm not sure on that), and has had no significant breakthroughs so far (oh... except for the fact that they can lead to tumors).
- As of right now, the only hope for ESC research is through federal funding, because private funding won't touch it (because [private funders want results, and they view ESC as a wrong path, from a monetary standpoint).
Now that those peky facts are out of the way... I'm against ESC, not only because they have to kill babies to get the stem cells (no, I don't really give a rat's rump if it's "just a blastocyst"- I believe it's a person as soon as Mr. Sperm meets Miss Egg, and the two become one... one baby), but because there are other, more ethical AND more beneficial avenues to explore (Adult stem cells and cord blood stem cells). That being said, I'm in favor of using the current stem cell lines in research (damage been done already.) I'm against using Federal money for research of any kind that isn't related to national security because it's not the government's job. I'm against cloning because I'm pretty sure that God knew what He was doing when He decided to make us all different, or else I'd look like (insert your version of the most beautiful woman in the world here). I'm also against cloning for harvest because you can't really get around that whole baby thing.
There- now on to the bruhaha.
Michael J. Fox was wrong on several levels. He used his disease to promote a series of lies and halftruths. He manipulated his symptoms (several times) to garner sympathy. He misled the viewing public about candidates' stands, vote, and plans. He has a right to voice his opinion, but he does not have the right to a free pass and avoid scrutiny just because he's ravaged by a horrible disease.
Some people claim that "Rush should have known better" than to "pick on MJF." That's just wrong. HE knew what would happen, and he did it anyway because it was the right thing to do. MJF misled people, and he deserved to be given the once-over. (By the way, Rush wasn't the only one to give MJF's commercials the once over. Here is the opinion of a medical doctor.)
It's no surprise that the MSM jumped on this. They have a long-standing dislike of Rush, and they'll jump at any chance to make conservatives look like mean ogres. They (the pundits in the MSM, the LLL, and, yeah, the so-called objective journalists) can't debate on the merits of their argument... there are no merits. So let's just smear the other side, ok?
Will all of this sway the elections? Maybe, maybe not. Or maybe not in the way the DNC had planned. That's my particular hope.
