New Stem Cell Source

Call it the libertarian in me, or maybe the cynic, or the realist, but politicians have a gift for irritating me. I've spent more Sunday mornings glaring at someone on one of the talking head roundtables, and more State of the Union addresses with an angry crinkle furrowing my brow than I care to remember. Much of the garbage I can take, but the willful propagation of easily disprovable myth really gets my Irish up.

There is a laundry list of things that this administration does and has done that irks me. There are also many things W gets misplaced crap for. Like what? Like the stem cell debate. If one were to listen to the pundits, one would conclude that embryonic stem cell research was legal, encouraged, and the beneficiary of generous federal monies before the evil Bush/Cheney regime.

Well, the research was legal, and still is. The funding was modest, and still is. The best thing the government can do with scientific research is stay the hell out of the way. Bush decided, essentially, to continue Clinton's policy. There have not been any restrictions on stem cell research, embryonic or otherwise. There was a stipulation on what could be done with federal money.

Now we have a payoff. After seven years of research (wow, things happen absent Washington's influence?!) there is another plentiful, promising supply of stem cells. Yeah, that is in addition to the amazing work that has been done with stem cells in cord blood.

Washington will be Washington. I will continue to be irritated by those who are elected to go there. I can live with that. I can live with that because this country is still capable of, and does amazing things not because of the actions of our representatives, but despite them.