Michael J. Fox looks bad....

[Dr Mordrid]

There is a problem with his ad;

in it there is a disingenuous implication that the other candidate opposes epanding stem cell research in general when in fact he only opposes expanding embryonic stem cell research.

More than a little misleading.

[Gurm]

To a point there is a problem with his ad, mainly in the misrepresentation that the Republican opposes stem cell research in general when in fact he only opposes embryonic stem cell research. More than a little misleading.

The idea that Republican politicians know the difference between the two is laughable.

[Jessterw]

There is a problem with his ad;

in it there is a disingenuous misrepresentation that the other candidate opposes stem cell research in general when in fact he only opposes embryonic stem cell research.

More than a little misleading.

That's still no excuse for attacking someone's character and disability. He could have simply cut out all the BS and went straight for the fact that he has a problem with the politics of the ad. Simple as that.

[Dr Mordrid]

I didn't say that it was an excuse. I said nothing other than the ad was disingenuous, which it was

To the contrary Senator Talent has supported expansions of cord blood, adult and transformational stem cell research (Science Daily article....).

Stem cell transformation is yet another tech that would render embryonic research and the controversy moot.

That it can be done using a patients own fat tissues, thereby avoiding embryonics rejection & tumor risk, is IMO a major advance.

[Jessterw]

Sorry, wasn't trying to imply any fault on your part, and I may have been a bit too hasty to quote your reply to begin with. I did because it initially seemed like a response to the Limbaugh bit as opposed to the argument taking place prior.

You're right though that, if one wasn't aware of the politics of the matter, the ad could be misleading. To those who are aware of the two politicians stances on the matter, I don't think the lack of specificity would cause any confusion. However, as we all know, a large majority of voters are ignorant of the topics being presented. In the end, that does matter.

[Wombat]

For one embryonic has been unproductive and in the case of the one of the major labs in the field, massively fraudulent (S. Korea - huge scandal).

Lots of research is initially unproductive - that's what makes it research, and not development or production. As for the fraud, what does that have to do with the nature of this research in particular?

For another until they can get some working embryonic results with private money the Feds would be failing their fiduciary duty by throwing good money after bad.

Some people think federal funds should be allocated, some disagree. However, there's no reason that an institute that does ESS research should have all federal funds REVOKED, for all of their research, no matter how totally unrelated it is. That's the current situation, and it's preposterous.

Just having more stem cell lines means nothing if rejection and tumor growth can't be managed in the existing ones or animal studies, and there's little if any sign of that.

This is true of stem cell research; it doesn't matter if you're talking about adult or embryonic cells.

[Dr Mordrid]

Funding is revoked for two reasons: embryonic and human cloning, though they are related. Before Mr. Fox complains about how bad the US is in this regard he should remember that his homeland, Canada, has similar policies.

Solution: get private funding. Let those pro-embryonic foundations etc. put their money where their mouths are for a change. The money they spend in one election cycle would fund years of embryonic research. The govt. can fund the rest.

[Wombat]

That was a complete non-answer. Why revoke the funding of every research lab in a university if one NON-government-funded lab looks into ESS research?

Your solution, "get private funding," is disingenuous. These labs could already get private funding - they just couldn't fund all the research (ESS or not) of an entire university.

[Jessterw]

Before Mr. Fox complains about how bad the US is in this regard he should remember that his homeland, Canada, has similar policies.

Well given he has dual citizenship and currently resides in the US and has done so for many years, nevermind that he is married to a US citizen. I think that gives him just as much as any other American to complain about their country.


Update: Just as a follow-up of sorts to my original post on Limbaugh, here's a video of his comments and Fox's response, as well as some other commentary on the issue. Of course, this is heavily liberal/Democrat-leaning commentary, but the fact is pretty clear, Limbaugh is a Jacka-s-s and people who continue to listen to him are morons.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/10/25/olbermann-gives-us-the-visual-to-limbaughs-attack-on-michael-j-fox/

[ALBPM]

There isn't a "research ban on ANY stem cells", just on embryonic cells and it only applies to Federal funding sources.

If private money wants to do embryonic research they're more than welcome to do so. Same with State funding.

All the hub-bub on this subject in the political world is nothing but a red herring.

The Repubilcans are against it because they don't want the Democrats to finally grow a backbone....LOL!!!!!

[cjolley]

The funniest part of all this is that when Fox did the same thing for republican Arlen Spector there was not a peep out of the people complaining now.
Certainly not Limbaugh.

Why? Because for the republican party it's all about winning and nothing else.

http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=26480

...

Currently, half of Specter's television campaign ads focus on stem cell research, according to the Inquirer. One ad running throughout Pennsylvania features stem cell research advocate and actor Michael J. Fox praising Specter for his support of stem cell research and his role in doubling NIH funding for biomedical research. A second ad, which is being broadcast in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia regions, features a child whose illness was treated using stem cells obtained from umbilical cord blood, according to the Inquirer. However, neither ad discusses embryonic stem cell research -- the "most controversial" form of stem cell research -- even though Specter publicly has urged Bush to expand his policy, according to the Inquirer. Specter, when asked why he is "pushing" the issue, said, "Believe it or not, every now and then, decisions are made on principle, not on counting votes."
...

[Technoid]

Do you remember what it said? Must have been something for two posts.

Instead of his full name in the beginning iof the article it said something along the line of:

"Michael J. Fox is a better person than me"

[KvHagedorn]

The idea that Republican politicians know the difference between the two is laughable.

You're really clueless as to why you dems lose elections, aren't you? This smarmy, superior attitude is the reason.

[Gurm]

You're really clueless as to why you dems lose elections, aren't you? This smarmy, superior attitude is the reason.

This would imply that I'm a democrat, when in fact I find them to simply be the LESS horrifyingly reprehensible group THIS TERM.

[Sasq]

You're really clueless as to why you dems lose elections, aren't you? This smarmy, superior attitude is the reason.

pot kettle black