MSNBC - Opinion: The Life He Left Behind. I've tried to be as apolitical as possible in this blog when it came to national politics (not politics in science), but in this case, I cannot be quiet. What's wrong with this picture: both of Ronald Reagan's children are vocal against the current Republican President? As a scientist, I firmly believe that the shortest answer is the right answer and certainly it means that Bush is doing something wrong.
In reply to the Bush administration saying that stem cell research gives "false hope" to those suffering from neurological diseases or other diseases, Patty Davis, Reagan's daughter says this in the article linked above: I speak for many others when I say that none of us believe a cure is just around the corner. We believe it's around a very wide bend, which we can't get around because your husband has put up a barrier to further research. And as far as false hope, there is no such thing. There is only hope or the absence of hope--nothing else. Patty Davis is replying to Laura Bush's speech.
Those of you who supported Reagan during the '80s, you must read what Patty says here. Those of you who are scientists and are going to vote, you must analyze the costs and benefits of having Bush win a second term. It's true that Bush has increased NIH funding, but at what cost? Dozens of scientists have signed a petition accusing the Bush administration of gross negligence and ignoring sound science when it came to the environment and a number of other issues. In light of the stem cell issue, scientists must look to the future and establish the technology now so that the US takes the lead.
For years, other countries have experienced a known phenomenon of "brain drain" where the professionals of that country leave to establish careers here in the US. Bush's actions will undoubtedly lead to the "brain drain" of professionals in stem cell research. Moreover, the economic benefit of new technologies developed in this field will be forever lost. The loss leading to Bush's error is immeasurable. Imagine if there was a moratorium on gene sequencing during the Clinton administration? Or if there was a halt to DARPA research during the early years of the internet because there was a "false hope" of easing communication via email? There is no sense to Bush's logic, we have to be sure he loses again, this time for good.
Posted by johnvu at October 12, 2004 05:00 PM