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I just called my Senator Kyl's office (he is a Bush clone) and was told he was undecided on S471. Call him 1-202-224-4521 # 189 Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - THE LITTLE GIRL'S ARM, or: Two Easy Things You Can Do Every writer knows the "what if." principle. What if a boy was raised by gorillas? What if a great white shark took up holiday lodgings off your favorite beach? What if a small friendly alien was found by a family? Successful application of the what-if principle resulted in TARZAN, JAWS, E.T., and other best-selling stories with short titles. My what-if questions are: One, "What if every one of the 20,000 readers of this column picked their favorite swing state and sent a letter to the editor of that paper in support of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act?" and two, what if we all contacted our own Senators again? But first, my favorite part of the day-I get to tell a story. I love telling stories, in case you had not noticed. When I was an 8th grade English teacher, every Monday was vocabulary day, and every week there were ten new words, and I would tell a story for each one, which meant (39 weeks of school times ten vocabulary words) a minimum of 390 stories. (for the eighth grade-I had other stories for the 7th) I loved Mondays, and the kids tolerated them with a minimum of violence. But there was one story I never told them. It is supposedly true, but I don't know. There was a walled village with a gate, and a little girl who wanted to be a warrior. This was of course, impossible, (she was only eight years old) but there was a kindly old soldier, all scars and memories of battles past, a little past it now, but he encouraged her, "The village needs protection, watchful eyes, someone like you, who really cares." And so, every day, the little girl would keep track of the gate. Sometimes she would climb up on the wall and look over, studying the forest, all very serious at her self-appointed task. People would nudge each other, and smile, though of course they were too polite to laugh. And things continued in this way, until one snoozy snoring late Summer day. The men were out hunting. Only the women and children were home. Even the oldest warrior was out wandering somewhere, on paths of his own choosing. The gate was wide open. It was hot, and nobody wanted to be troubled to have to open it again when the men came home. The little girl saw the enemy approaching, silently. She screamed as loud as she could, a long piercing shriek that carried far. The enemy froze for one instant. The little girl ran for the gate, pushing it shut with all the strength of her small body. It closed. But the latch bar-the latch bar was not there! The length of smooth carved wood which blocked the door-there it was, ten feet away, leaning up against the wall. And the enemy was on them, charging the unlocked gate. The little girl thrust her arm into the latch. The small bones broke almost at once. But she clogged that gate long enough for the women and the old men to surge against it, closing it with the strength of the group, and replacing the wooden latch bar. The hunters in the forest heard the ruckus and came running. There was a battle; many died. But the village was saved, by a little girl's arm. Each of us is only one person. But it is amazing what we can do. How about one letter, sent to one swing state newspaper, and that same letter to your own state Senators, who need to be reminded? First, the importance of the swing states. There are about 9 states where the Senators want to support the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, but are maybe not quite sure how important this issue is to their constituents. We need to help them. Now, if I as an out-of-state person write a letter to a Senator who will not be affected by my vote, that means very little. But if I write a letter to a newspaper the Senator reads (and their aides read the letters section diligently!) that can make a difference. Here is an easy way to do both. First, a lovely one-click contact for your individual senators, followed by a clickable listing of America's top newspapers, state by state. Just pick your favorite swing state, click on the address. At the next page, choose the top newspaper (widest circulation) and click on that, then go to their letter section. Easy. I stole the following article and the one-click from Working Assets-hope they do not mind. Check this out, and I will be back in a few inches. Tell the Senate to Support Stem Cell Research Contributed by Working Assets S.471 -- the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 -- was passed by the House of Representatives last year as H.R.810, and then introduced into the Senate by Senator Specter. After a long delay, Majority Leader Frist has agreed to allow a full Senate vote on the bill sometime in the coming week. However, under a special agreement, the bill will require 60 votes to pass -- so your action is needed right away. Embryonic stem cell research holds enormous promise in the search for cures for ailments that afflict millions of Americans, including spinal cord injuries, diabetes, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Regrettably, a small group of religious conservatives and anti-choice extremists have (so far) managed to hold this potentially life-saving scientific research hostage to their narrow views. In 2001, President Bush announced a policy that banned federal funding of research on all embryonic stem cell lines, excepting only a handful that had been created before that announcement. However, scientists have found that most of those cell cultures are unviable or contaminated, making them unusable for research. Last May, the House of Representatives stood up to the White House and passed a bill that will allow for federal support of research on stem cell lines taken from surplus embryos created at fertilization clinics -- embryos that would otherwise be discarded. Now, Majority Leader Bill Frist has finally let this bill out of committee for a full vote in the Senate. Numerous countries around the world are already supporting stem cell research, achieving landmark advances, and getting farther and farther ahead of the United States. If we want to maintain our role as a global leader in scientific progress -- and offer hope to those suffering from debilitating ailments that could benefit from this research -- our policies on funding stem cell research must change. Call to action Urge your senators to vote yes on S.471, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. Deadline: ongoing. I'm writing you to strongly urge your support, without amendments, for S.471, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005, which was passed by the House as H.R.810. This bill deserves your support. Research on embryonic stem cells carries great promise for finding remedies that will help millions of Americans suffering from ailments such as diabetes, spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's and Alzheimers. Unfortunately, for far too long, a vocal minority of religious conservatives has held back progress on stem cell research. It's time for that to change -- and for us as Americans to join the rest of the civilized world in exploring this promising new field of scientific inquiry. Scientists report that the stem cell lines touted by the President in 2001 as those on which he would allow research are mostly unavailable or unviable. Meanwhile, thousands of surplus embryos are discarded every year by fertility clinics. Why do we deny hope to literally millions whose loved ones suffer from debilitating ailments, simply to satisfy the demands of a very narrow group opposed to this type of research? I ask that you vote yes on S.471, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005. I look forward to hearing from you with your views on this issue. Sincerely, Add your name and address below and send this e-mail as is, or personalize it using your own words. When you click Send E-mail, your name and address will automatically be inserted at the bottom of this e-mail letter. The subject of your e-mail will be the title of the action. If you would like to have your name and address automatically filled in to this form whenever you take action, simply register with ActForChange. Prefix* -Select Prefix- Ms. Mrs. Mr. Dr. Secondary Title -Select Title- Br. Fr. Imam Rabbi Rev. Rev. 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