Tales from the Darkside

Well, the political news here in Iowa is dominated by two stories.

The first is the decision of Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack- the only Democratic presidential candidate to come right out and advocate cutting off funding for the war in Iraq (and thus cutting the ground out from under our troops)- has dropped out of the race because of money problems and an insurmountable lack of name recognition. Good. He deserved to lose for his irresponsible position on Iraq alone.

The second is that a bill is headed to Gov. Culver's desk authorizing cloning for the purpose of creating human embryos for the express purpose of cannibalizing these living members of our species for spare parts to be used in the probably fruitless pursuit of viable theraputic treatments. Their use almost always result in malignant tumors- unlike less controversial sources of plurapotent stem cells which are already being used to treat various illinesses with success- and the cynical exploitation of the suffering of people who are mislead into thinking of them as a cure for their various illnesses is an especially odious tactic of those who are endeavoring to further undermine the status of the unborn as what they, in fact, undeniably are: living embryos of the species Homo sapiens, biologically in every sense our fellow members of the human race.

The question boils down to whether or not all human lives are sacred, or merely some. Once that line is crossed, there really is no line left protecting any of us which cannot be rationalized away if society sees fit.

Iowa appears to be about to join Missouri in legalizing this travesty- which will be a a major issue in 2008, not only here in Iowa but nationally. It's one more reason why John McCain is not the answer- and I predict that the passage of the Mengele Bill here in Iowa will further damage him among Iowa caucus growers.

Comments

rcb said…
That's very disappointing, Bob. I remember the Missouri initiative being pretty underhanded in that one pharma company put up the bulk of the money and stood to make a bundle with passage, and that the media coverage was pretty skewed locally. You used the phrase "cynical exploitation" - was the Iowa press pushing for passage? Did Micheal Fox make an appearance?
Indiana is trying very hard to attract business in the (so-called) "Life Sciences" industry... I wonder if we'll be seeing this kind of bill soon.
Always good to see your posts, my friend! You're a bit more "regular" these days - computer troubles over? Good to have you back!
rob
Actually, it will be quite a while before our computer problems are solved. But in the meantime I'm making it a point to get to the library as often as I can- every weekday if possible, and occasional Saturdays. It's truly amazing honw much of one's life assumes internet access!

Anyway, thanks; it's good to be sort of back.

No Fox. Not necessary. The Democrats simply gained control of both houses of the legislature and are using the rhetoric we all know and love so well to try to make sure that only one side of the debate is heard. The media, for the most part, are cooperating- though not entirely; the Des Moines Register, of all papers, actually ran a story the other day in which a priest pointed out just what a long shot embryonic stem cell therapy is. Still haven't seen much about the alternatives, though.
Actually, it will be quite a while before our computer problems are solved. But in the meantime I'm making it a point to get to the library as often as I can- every weekday if possible, and occasional Saturdays. It's truly amazing honw much of one's life assumes internet access!

Anyway, thanks; it's good to be sort of back.

No Fox. Not necessary. The Democrats simply gained control of both houses of the legislature and are using the rhetoric we all know and love so well to try to make sure that only one side of the debate is heard. The media, for the most part, are cooperating- though not entirely; the Des Moines Register, of all papers, actually ran a story the other day in which a priest pointed out just what a long shot embryonic stem cell therapy is. Still haven't seen much about the alternatives, though.
Actually, it will be quite a while before our computer problems are solved. But in the meantime I'm making it a point to get to the library as often as I can- every weekday if possible, and occasional Saturdays. It's truly amazing honw much of one's life assumes internet access!

Anyway, thanks; it's good to be sort of back.

No Fox. Not necessary. The Democrats simply gained control of both houses of the legislature and are using the rhetoric we all know and love so well to try to make sure that only one side of the debate is heard. The media, for the most part, are cooperating- though not entirely; the Des Moines Register, of all papers, actually ran a story the other day in which a priest pointed out just what a long shot embryonic stem cell therapy is. Still haven't seen much about the alternatives, though.