Dean lauds Nancy Reagan in her quest for stem cell research.

[madfloridian]

http://www.caglecartoons.com/previewColumn.asp?columnID={1B1FA8F4-1046-4705-9C6A-50C9DCC9199F}

SNIP..."Let me be clear about this, I am a Democrat and was not a fan of the Reagan administration’s policies. But over the last ten years, no American could fail to admire the exceptional courage of Mrs. Reagan as she lived what must have been a very difficult existence watching her husband inexorably lose all his mental faculties, unable to even recognize his wife.

Mrs. Reagan also seems to understand how exceptionally difficult life must be for the thousands of other American families who do not have the support systems accorded to ex-presidents and how important hope is to all those families. Hope takes the form of a potential cure, which means hope requires medical research, which some religious authorities may not like. Mrs. Reagan has the courage to stand up against the anti-scientific biases of many in the Republican Party and to call for science to be respected and hope to be restored."

SNIP..." Most of the research is now going on in other countries, with a few exceptions in the U.S., such as wealthy universities that can afford to refuse federal funding. This means that Americans who suffer these diseases will be last in line to get the benefits of this potentially extraordinary research. It also means a generation of American scientists and doctors will fall behind their foreign counterparts in using whatever lifesaving technologies come out of this research.

As a physician, I am embarrassed that America would willingly and deliberately choose to set aside science and the hope it offers. As a Democrat, I say to Nancy Reagan, I'll do whatever I can to help you win this one for the Gipper...."END SNIP

Well said, Dr. Dean.

[mzmolly]

1. Well said indeed! Thanks again MF!!!

:hi:

[janx]

2. I hope Nancy Reagan can make some headway with this.

It's crazy that the U.S. is held back from going ahead with stem cell research.

[madfloridian]

4. It is a shame that the Bush ideology holds us back.

This should be front and center as indicative of the right wing influence.

[Cha]

6. It should well, indeed!

And one of the first things kerry sets into motion when bush gets his stupid idealogical butt kicked back to crawford, tx.

[madfloridian]

3. This is great. Kerry is pushing this as well. Newswire release.

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=109-06212004

SNIP..."Assure That Science Not Politics Dictates Government Policy. Again and again the Bush Administration has put politics over science to please their right wing constituency. They have ignored bipartisan consensus on issues like stem cell to please their right wing base and have frequently edited the real facts out of scientific reports. Kerry will embrace empirical science based on facts, not ideology. He will turn to our nation's scientific leaders and listen to their advice to make decisions based on expert advice.

Lift the Ban on Stem Cell Research. Given the enormous promise of stem cells to the development of new treatments for the most devastating diseases, John Kerry believes our medical researchers should be permitted and encouraged to simultaneously pursue embryonic stem cell research. As president, he will overturn the ban on federal funding of research on new stem cell lines, and he will allow doctors and scientists to explore their full potential with the appropriate ethical oversight. Patients and their families should no longer be denied the hope that this new research brings...."

This is good. Also our local news has had talk shows on this today, and some of the right wingers sounded like fools trying to defend Bush's stance on this.

[madfloridian]

5. Michael Reagan: "I'm With My Dad on Stem Cell Research"

This is turning into a big issue. Same Cagle group, different view from Michael. I sort of doubt Dean will apologize to him. You think?

http://www.caglecartoons.com/previewColumn.asp?columnID={0E2A1B9D-5591-4A24-940A-67C3FEDE1A6B}

SNIP..."I’m With My Dad on Stem Cell Research

Making Sense By Michael Reagan

The media continues to report that the Reagan "family" is in favor of stem cell research, when the truth is that two members of the family have been long time foes of this process of manufacturing human beings – my dad, Ronald Reagan during his lifetime, and I.

The media should keep in mind that we are also members of the Reagan "family," and my father, as I do, opposed the creation of human embryos for the sole purpose of using their stem cells as possible medical cures.

Moreover, using the widely promoted and thoroughly discredited argument that stem cell research can lead to a cure of Alzheimer’s disease, the media and proponents of stem cell research have suggested that had the research been done a long time ago, my dad might have avoided the ordeal he endured. This is junk science at its worst....."

Ooh, snippy one.

[Blue_Roses]

7. Micheal Reagan is sucha suck-up

I'm sure "dad" would feel much differently now if he had the option to see his last days in a different light--literally. Micheal needs to shut up. He's a nobody.

[madfloridian]

8. Is he known for being conservative?

Isn't he the one who is estranged from the others? Or are all of them estranged from all the others.

I remember some dysfunction there but forgot the details.

[Cheswick2.0]

10. I don't remmeber Reagan ever talking about this issue

I think his son Michael is making this up.

[madfloridian]

11. When Ron R. was still in clear mind, I doubt the research was far along.

Not sure of the time element, but I only recall it being a big issue more recently.

Michael's op ed had bad attitude....Dean's had good.

I loved the "win one for the gipper." Good bridge.

[kskiska]

14. Michael is making a lot up these days.

I also heard him say lately that RR's last wish was that his son Ron and daughter Patty would come to Jesus. Problem is, RR hasn't even been able to talk for quite a while, much less express a coherent idea.

His book, "On the Outside Looking in," casts doubt on all his wonderful memories of "Dad."

[Cheswick2.0]

9. "win this one for the Gipper"

Leave it to the Gov to find a way to bridge a gap.

[Leilani]

12. Hurray for Dr. Dean!

Are we living in Saudi Arabia where Mullahs rule, or are we in the U.S.A. where science & religious beliefs are separate?

[madfloridian]

13. We don't know yet. Sort of in between.

We are in a battle for the truth of scientific research. I need to find Henry Waxman's website where he shows evidence of how they are changing scientific history.