19 January 2009

Epitaph: Bush's greatest crime

The list of failures, embarrassments, and evils wrought by the Bush Presidency is long: Katrina, head-in-the-sand neglect of global warming, official kowtowing to creationism, ignoring pre-9/11 intelligence warnings, stupid political appointments, the grotesque bungling of occupation policy after the Iraq invasion, an explosion of spending that turned the Clinton surplus into a huge deficit, and lately the financial meltdown. (Don't try to tell me that was Clinton's fault. It happened after eight years of Bush's watch, during six of which he had Republican majorities in both Houses. Making sure this kind of thing doesn't happen is part of his job.) And on and on.

But there is one abomination that stands out beyond all the rest.

There are many medical innovations still several years away which would already be in use right now had it not been for the Bush administration's criminal obstruction of stem-cell research. For eight years, the country with the world's largest and best-funded research establishment has had its work in the most promising field of medical technology held hostage to taboos derived from a befuddled collection of bronze-age myths. In that field, nowadays, eight years is an eternity.

Embryonic stem cells have, in the laboratory, already succeeded in curing animal models of such conditions as juvenile diabetes, spinal-cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, stroke, Parkinson's disease, and macular degeneration. Within a few years, adaptation of the same techniques using human stem cells should enable us to cure these conditions in humans. Had it not been for Bush's obstructionism, these cures would be either already here or at least much closer.

How many people with these conditions have had their suffering extended for years by the delay of research? How many have died, or will die, who might have lived?

Bush's stand on stem-cell research has caused, and continues to cause, far more misery and death than the Iraq war. It is, to me, his most terrible and unforgivable crime.

1 Comments:

Blogger Ranch Chimp said...

Well...I dont know what fall's into the criminal categories here...but we shouldnt even have law's that protect politician's when it comes to making decision's on life and death issue's such as that.And the stem cell thing was an issue that I strongly disagreed with Fuzzy(Bush)on too. Now I know the arguement from his side...that the private sector will do the financing..etc,but that's bunk too! We dont live in the goddamn 1950's or other crap..and with a growth in population like we have...you dont rely on this public sector crap..any more than you cut social services and rely like he wanted on these goddamn faith based group's...I'll give these SOB's "faithbased"..I would have told everyone of them freeloading bastard's on Wall St to go ask a faith based group for help..or pray!What Bush done on this stem cell crap was just one sided and selfish. Now if his goddamn dick was falling off from something that needed stem cell research to solve...he would have been singing a different tune.This is all about religious crap! And let's be realistic here...whether you believe in god or not...we are alway's the ones that decide what to do and what will work...god doesnt do a goddamn thing. It is our bloody job to protect ourselves...the species..and Bush failed to do so on this as well. I listened to a couple of his addresses the other day...nothing but pretty boy talk and no substance..tomorrow..his ass is history! Thank you.

19 January, 2009 20:18  

Post a Comment

<< Home