Everything you need to know about the religious extreme right, those oh-so-holy, oh-so-moral upholder… (Read more)

It’s fine for Dean to dismiss embryonic stem cell research as useless, because my understanding is that it is useless as far as a cure for Cystic Fibrosis, which is a genetically transmitted disease, is concerned. Most of the research for CF now focusses on genetic therapy, which is, of course not illegal.

I think you may see the attacks on the Fox ad taper off, as Talent has now started attacking McCaskill on other (equally specious) grounds. I think the right wing realized they may have gone a bit too far. I believe even the egregiously smarmy Rush Limbaugh may be backing off on this. It may have been too much even for some dittoheads. Of course, there are many for whom the depths are their natural habitat, and they will continue to happily wallow there.

But the point of stem-cell research is its potential to address afflictions like Parkinson’s: so helping us visualize what that means in the case of a well-known, popular personality is indeed part of the “logic” of the debate.

Real people suffer. Jim Talent has to explain why in principle he wants to prevent research that might alleviate some of that suffering, on behalf of microscopic human cells. There may indeed be an argument to be made, but the reality of the suffering is part of the calculus.

Reminds one of the deliberate ignoring of human suffering that resulted (and still results) from a certain unjust, trumped-up war.