The embryonic stem cell could hold the key to cures for diseases such as Parkinson's and diabetes. While politicians in America debate the ethics and funding of stem cell research, scientists overseas are taking the lead. The World examines scientific progress in China, Israel, Britain and here in America in a special four-part series on stem cell research airing April 26-29, 2005.

http://www.theworld.org/technology/stemcell/index.shtml

Just wondering how folks feel that we're spending money in Iraq when we could be advancing our nation and bettering our children.

I guess as long as we have fundamentalist boneheads in the Whitehouse and Congress, we'll be lagging behing in areas like this. Sadly, I voted for Geo. W. Bonehead. I do think we have to tread carefully in some areas where serious ethical concerns come in to play. On the other hand, starting wars for questionable reasons raises another set of ethical concerns.

__________________
" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

Get past the first hurdle before we worry about it. The current government has all but shut it down. Till you get it going, it won't matter how much money you have to spend, the answer is still "NO".

If enough people are against it, the politicians will bend because they want to keep their jobs. However, it seems like a lot of people are concerned about the ethical debates which are mostly religious in nature. So, no matter what money we spend or don't spend in Iraq, Afghansitan, space research, it won't matter because both the legislative and executive arms are against it.

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

You like stem cell research (or any other kind)? Fine, you pay for it.

Please don't obligate me to pay for your hobby.

B

OK. How do you propose that be done? check off a list of causes and items you care about? Well, women might say they don't want to spend a penny on testicular cancer because they don't have testicles but want to spend it on breast cancer. I don't want to pay for welfare so can I not pay for that one? I don't have kids so how about a refund since a lot of my taxes go to fund the schools?

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

I propose that folks with a common interest bind together in private risk in hopes of profit.

How would you do that, administratively? There are so many things out there that we cannot have enough time to get involved in each and every one. Imagine having to go to 20 meetings a week if you have 20 interests.

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

I wouldn't imagine it because frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.

But if you do give a damn and have the entrepreneurial drive and vision, you'll find a way to make it happen. Or not. It's your endeavor and your risk and your reward. You want my money? Tell me how I can turn a profit.

That's what we call, "free-market capitalism."

B

Funny, that's exactly the way I feel about SDI, aka Reagan's White Elephant from Hell. Ditto for about 50 - 60% of other Pentagon fantasy weapons.

__________________
1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Lemme see, wasn't this medium we're using at the moment created in part with "your money?" And now folks are turning a profit?

Not saying this applies to everything but I'm not so quick to throw gubmint on the trash heap.

Kills me whenever Bush trots out one of his favorite lines: "I think YOU can spend your money better than the federal govt. can." I don't think I'm going to do much of job of educating the families of fallen soldiers -- or funding the GI Bill, what's left of it, for soldiers not fallen. About a million other possible avenues to take on this.

__________________
1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Reagan, didn't he die of Agent Orange poisoning in Vietnam?

?? ??

Maybe Siegfried Reagan.

Flippancy: Butt covering.

__________________
1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

It was designed by the evill geniuses at the appropriately configured Pentagon to allow data transmission survival in the event of nuckular war. Guess they wanted to play networked Pong in the bomb shelters. Then DoD researchers in universities got linked on the same network. Then peripherally involved guv agencies. Then any university, etc.

Are you suggesting that a global network would not have been built had it not been for the Pentagon? I doubt that's what you're saying. I would suggest instead that the network of some sort was inevitably developing from the Compuserve and AOL-type models or perhaps the telecoms. Who knows?

The gov opened their system (IMO) so they could direct, control and monitor it. Had the network been developed independently of the gov it would also have developed independently overseas with resultant international competition. It would have been interesting to watch it evolve. But one thing the gov hates is messy capitalism.

Here's a general rule: Because somebody did something stupid once doesn't justify everybody else doing the same stupid thing from then on.

B

Look in the mirror.

I remember much of the hype from the last election in which "stem cells will have cured this and that by this time next year". Here we are 2 years later and we hear that there are all kinds of "difficulties" with stem cell research and the claims that Kerry and crowd made were "premature". It's a tear-jerker issue at this point, at least in the political world.

Having said that, there was an article out, coincidentally around the time of the last election, in which a Catholic research center had had some real success differentiating stem cells into other cells with stem cells obtained from cord blood. How about that, actual success and done ethically. Didn't really make the news, of course.

__________________
-livin' in the terminally flippant zone