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# 412 Tuesday, January 29, 2007 - A FRIEND IN THE WHITE HOUSE? I tuned in late for President George Bush's State of the Union Address. It is really difficult for me to listen to him any more: the man is so out of touch with America's reality, and the needs of our people. It has been so long since I felt we had a friend in the White House. But he is the President, and so I turned the television on. As usual when Mr. Bush speaks, I mostly just sat there shaking my head. He was bragging about his alleged wonderful successes in Iraq, which he did for about half an hour. About every third sentence he would say something about supporting our troops, (as if anyone does not) and then pause and look at the audience, which would obediently rise to their feet and clap some more, giving the impression of everyone supporting war. I endured it. Oh, well, I thought, at least he had the modesty not to mention his disastrous stem cell research policies. I went to bad with a bad feeling in my stomach, feeling I had overlooked something important. In the morning I found out what I had missed. Here is Mr. Bush on stem cells: "On matters of life and science, we must trust in the innovative spirit of medical researchers and empower them to discover new treatments while respecting moral boundaries. In November, we witnessed a landmark achievement when scientists discovered a way to reprogram adult skin cells to act like embryonic stem cells. This breakthrough has the potential to move us beyond the divisive debates of the past by extending the frontiers of medicine without the destruction of human life. (Applause.) So we're expanding funding for this type of ethical medical research. And as we explore promising avenues of research, we must also ensure that all life is treated with the dignity it deserves. And so I call on Congress to pass legislation that bans unethical practices such as the buying, selling, patenting, or cloning of human life." (emphasis added) I should have known. In two paragraphs, Mr. Bush does three disservices to the American people: 1. essentially calls stem cell scientists murderers, referring to the field of embryonic stem cell research as "destruction of human life"; 2. once again calls for legislation to jail scientists, doctors, patients and parents for their involvement in advanced stem cell research: the Weldon/Brownback Cloning Prohibition Act (which he has been pushing since 2001) contains ten year jail sentences, million dollar fines, and destruction of laboratory equipment for anyone involved with Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer, (SCNT, therapeutic cloning); 3. attempts to permanently stack the deck against federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, with the staggeringly mis-named Patients First Act. * Fortunately, California was ready to respond. Here is a news-release from CIRM (the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine) Important: the CIRM has of course absolutely no connection with my politics. This is a press release, from the CIRM's website, their response to the President's remarks. For release: IMMEDIATE Contact: Ellen Rose 415-396-9117 CIRM DISAGREES WITH PRESIDENT BUSH'S MISLEADING POSITION ON STEM CELL RESEARCH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., January 28, 2008 - The California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) issued the following statement in response to President Bush's State of the Union address: Tonight, in his State of the Union address, President Bush distorted the scientific facts on stem cell research and did a disservice to the millions of patients suffering from chronic disease and injury for whom stem cell research holds great promise for future therapies and cures. The stem cell research community is united in the position that human embryonic stem cells clearly remain the gold standard for research into pluripotent cells - cells that have the capacity to form all tissues of the body. Human embryonic stem cells are also the model against which all other potentially pluripotent cells need to be compared. The President's proposals to further limit medical research in this area fail to take into account the intricate realities of the state of stem cell research. Indeed, the recent advances in which skin cells were induced to become pluripotent would not have been possible without research involving human embryonic stem cells. Furthermore, induced pluripotency is a technology still in its infancy. Though this technology offers great hope and promise, it will not, for the foreseeable future, be suitable for clinical studies in humans because of safety concerns. Therefore it is critical that all avenues of stem cell research be aggressively advanced. To do otherwise would increase the already devastating restrictions that have burdened Federal support of stem cell research and patients who are depending upon it. This Administration's position on stem cell research has already cost years in lost research productivity. Further restrictions would result in more lost time in developing stem cell based therapies and cures that hold great promise to alleviate suffering for the most destructive and costly diseases such as spinal injury, loss of sight, heart muscle injury, Parkinson's Disease, ALS and diabetes. CIRM supports and applauds any programs the White House advances that accelerate NIH funding for research on induced pluripotency. There is much work to be done on all cell types, including this highly promising but early stage technology. CIRM looks forward to engaging with NIH and other state and federal organizations in accelerating the progress of stem cell therapies to the clinic. CIRM also strongly opposes reproductive cloning. About CIRM: CIRM was established in 2004 with the passage of Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act. The statewide ballot measure, which provided $3 billion in funding for stem cell research at California universities and research institutions, was overwhelmingly approved by voters, and called for the establishment of an entity to make grants and provide loans for stem cell research, research facilities, and other vital research opportunities. To date, the CIRM governing board has approved 156 research grants totaling almost $260 million, making CIRM the largest source of funding for human embryonic stem cell research in the world. For more information, please visit www.cirm.ca.gov." *The staggeringly mis-named "Patients First Act" was written with the cooperation of the Bush White House, the Family Research Council (a right-wing religious organization), the anti-science wing of the Republican party, which unfortunately still rules the GOP and one Democrat-in-name-only, Daniel Lipinski of Illinois. Lipinski is opposed in the primary, February 5th, just a few days away, by Mark Pera, a genuine Democrat, and strong supporter of stem cell research. Any stem cell research supporter in Illinois, (or anywhere else, for that matter) please support Mark Pera for Congress. (http://www.markperaforcongress.com/); it is vital we elect strong supporters of stem cell research. P.S. at the website, check out the picture where Mark Pera stands beside his California relative, (his cousin, I think) Representative Anna Eshoo, also someone who stands up for stem cell research. If you look closely at one side of the picture, you might recognize somebody-no? Look closer, see that sleeve of a man's gray suit-that's my sleeve! Ahh, fame, it's glorious. Don Reed www.stemcellbattles.com Don C. Reed is co-chair of Californians for Cures, and writes for their web blog, www.stemcellbattles.com. Reed was citizen-sponsor for California's Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act of 1999, named after his paralyzed son; he worked as a grassroots advocate for California's Senator Deborah Ortiz's three stem cell regulatory laws, served as an executive board member for Proposition 71, the California Stem Cells for Research and Cures Act, and is director of policy outreach for Americans for Cures. The retired schoolteacher is the author of five books and thirty magazine articles, and has received the National Press Award. Rayilyn Brown Board Member AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson's Foundation [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn