More Than Rove Could Go Down
The hot topic currently is Plame Gate: who burned Valerie Plame's cover as a CIA agent. The most likely candidate at present is Karl Rove, the Presiden't closest advisor. Even the media has gotten frisky, challenging White House Press Secretary on the issue three days running at the Press Gaggle and running frequent stories in both the print and television forums.
Now, I'm the first to admit that I really am enjoying the circus. Very little would make me happier than to see a man who makes the Nixon Administration's version of 'dirty tricks' look like school yard pranks get busted hard by a Federal Grand Jury, but I think we need a little perspective here. While many of us are devoting a lot of time and energy speculating on whether Rove will finally get his come-uppance, Congress is back in session with a huge 'to-do' list. I would hate for some really bad legislation to slip through and for some really good legislation to fail because the progressive community is too busy reveling in the circus to yank on the leashes of members of Congress.
The Patriot Act is still under review, and merits some priority because parts of it sunset this year. The last time I checked, the Count Every Vote Act of 2005 is still stuck in committee. And, right now, the various stem cell research bills are currently being debated in the Senate.
The Specter-Harkin bill on stem cell research, which mirrors (to a great extent) the recently passed House bill, is facing some problems because 'parallel' bills have been introduced which suggests there are less 'immoral' ways to do the needed research. An editorial in today's Washington Post points to the strategy some conservatives are employing: the use of these parallel bills to peel off conservatives currently on record as favoring the Specter-Harkin bill.
Mr. Bush's policy on stem cell research was not as bankrupt an idea as his fiercer critics sometimes make out. It allowed federal money to begin flowing to a field that might promise dramatic breakthroughs in the treatment of devastating diseases. At this point, however, the policy has outlived its value and is impeding research. Consequently, the public now faces the question of whether to let moral anxiety about the use of human embryos frustrate science that could save and improve many lives.
...But these small clusters of cells, which are not yet even fetuses, are routinely generated in fertilization clinics in quantities that exceed the number of embryos that will actually be implanted in women. They will never grow into babies; the only question is whether they will be discarded or used in a fashion that benefits humanity.
Alternative strategies for creating stem cell lines -- an idea discussed yesterday in an op-ed column by Leon R. Kass, chairman of the President's Council on Bioethics -- should certainly be explored, and it makes sense for Congress to support such research. But these techniques are, at this stage, nascent and uncertain and have not yet successfully yielded cell lines.
One of the things I have noticed about intelligent adults is that they can handle several tasks at one time, never losing sight of the bigger picture because some shiny distraction looks fun. I would hate for another bankruptcy bill or national identification card bill to slip through because we were transfixed by bringing Karl Rove down.
We need to make sure that our senators pass the Specter-Harkin bill and we need to urge all of our congress critters to get busy on voting reform and on repealing the more egregious parts of the Patriot Act. That done, we can grab the popcorn, sit back, and watch Plame Gate unfold without feeling guilty.
Now, I'm the first to admit that I really am enjoying the circus. Very little would make me happier than to see a man who makes the Nixon Administration's version of 'dirty tricks' look like school yard pranks get busted hard by a Federal Grand Jury, but I think we need a little perspective here. While many of us are devoting a lot of time and energy speculating on whether Rove will finally get his come-uppance, Congress is back in session with a huge 'to-do' list. I would hate for some really bad legislation to slip through and for some really good legislation to fail because the progressive community is too busy reveling in the circus to yank on the leashes of members of Congress.
The Patriot Act is still under review, and merits some priority because parts of it sunset this year. The last time I checked, the Count Every Vote Act of 2005 is still stuck in committee. And, right now, the various stem cell research bills are currently being debated in the Senate.
The Specter-Harkin bill on stem cell research, which mirrors (to a great extent) the recently passed House bill, is facing some problems because 'parallel' bills have been introduced which suggests there are less 'immoral' ways to do the needed research. An editorial in today's Washington Post points to the strategy some conservatives are employing: the use of these parallel bills to peel off conservatives currently on record as favoring the Specter-Harkin bill.
Mr. Bush's policy on stem cell research was not as bankrupt an idea as his fiercer critics sometimes make out. It allowed federal money to begin flowing to a field that might promise dramatic breakthroughs in the treatment of devastating diseases. At this point, however, the policy has outlived its value and is impeding research. Consequently, the public now faces the question of whether to let moral anxiety about the use of human embryos frustrate science that could save and improve many lives.
...But these small clusters of cells, which are not yet even fetuses, are routinely generated in fertilization clinics in quantities that exceed the number of embryos that will actually be implanted in women. They will never grow into babies; the only question is whether they will be discarded or used in a fashion that benefits humanity.
Alternative strategies for creating stem cell lines -- an idea discussed yesterday in an op-ed column by Leon R. Kass, chairman of the President's Council on Bioethics -- should certainly be explored, and it makes sense for Congress to support such research. But these techniques are, at this stage, nascent and uncertain and have not yet successfully yielded cell lines.
One of the things I have noticed about intelligent adults is that they can handle several tasks at one time, never losing sight of the bigger picture because some shiny distraction looks fun. I would hate for another bankruptcy bill or national identification card bill to slip through because we were transfixed by bringing Karl Rove down.
We need to make sure that our senators pass the Specter-Harkin bill and we need to urge all of our congress critters to get busy on voting reform and on repealing the more egregious parts of the Patriot Act. That done, we can grab the popcorn, sit back, and watch Plame Gate unfold without feeling guilty.
posted by Diane at 5:12 PM
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