Sailing on a Raft of Reasonables

Ah, Massachussets, home of Patriots' blood,
Where revolutionary paths
tear down the folk to mud.

If you could hear your loudest son
call crying from the grave,
If you could hear John Adams' roar
would you then let him save?

Or turn from tempests past
to face a future unadorned,
with trite traditions once so loved
now left behind and scorned!

The Reasonable say:

Supporters of embryonic stem cell experiments hope to transform Massachusetts into a center for cutting-edge research into the cure and treatment of spinal cord injuries and diseases like diabetes and Parkinson's.

The bill does not include any funding for the research, but Senate President Robert Travaglini, a Boston Democrat, said the Senate may consider devoting taxpayer money to the research in the future.

The nearly-Foolish says:

he Republican governor vetoed the bill last week because it allows the cloning of human embryos for use in stem cell experiments - a practice Romney said amounts to creating life in order to destroy it.

Romney has said he supports research using either adult stem cells or cells extracted from leftover frozen embryos from fertility clinics.

So Massachussets seeks to follow New Jersey in becoming the next Moloch-R-Us franchise. Wonder what that's done for the Garden State? Nothing much, since embryonic stem-cell research hasn't lead to any medical breakthroughs, or even promising research:

Republican Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, a possible 2008 presidential contender, told ABC's "This Week" the Senate should instead move forward on approving a bill passed almost unanimously in the House.

That measure would provide funds for collecting adult stem cells from umbilical cord blood.


"I've been taught a lot of lessons from the Democrats lately, so I've got some ideas on how one can get this done," Brownback said. "And I think it's important that we move forward."

Brownback indicated he would use every procedural option available to him to prevent making taxpayer pay for research that destroys human life and hasn't yielded results in 20 years.

"I have conveyed to Senate leadership that we must do everything we can procedurally to stop unethical embryonic stem cell research in the Senate," he said.

Now, there's a Fool for you. Senator Bromback demonstrates principled leadership here. Considering Representative Chris Smith's (R-NJ) bill may make its way through the House, other Republican senators should stand with him and not pander for the seemingly easy but ultimately fruitless pro-em/stem vote.