So Much Baloney
The President and Stem Cell Research
By Daniel Muniz

Come say it with me, George W. Bush did not ban stem cell research. And say that several times every day.

It is amazing to see how irresponsible the media and the scientific community have been in regards to very simple facts. The president is not opposed to stem cell research and has never banned it yet that is what gets circulated out in the public even though it is blatantly false and brazenly inaccurate. Certain media sources have added a few additional facts to the falsehoods but they still have never bothered to correct their stories. Below is one such example from a particular shining beacon of truth:

Now say this with me, George W. Bush did not ban embryonic stem cell research; regardless of what CBS News, the New York Times, and other Liberal publications say. At least some facets of the media are beginning to recognize that stem cell research can be broken up into categories of adult and embryonic cell lines. Sadly, the press has almost entirely ignored the tremendous progress that adult stem cell research has produced, like around twenty treatments while fetal stem cell research has yet to produce a single viable treatment that anyone can benefit from.

But the assertion is still patently false in that the president banned embryonic stem cell research. He did not. So here is the truth. The president vetoed “federal funding” for embryonic stem cell research.

He did not enact any bans whatsoever so private corporations can still spend their own money for embryonic stem cell research. In addition, local and state governments can also spend their tax dollars, as California has done, to support this form of corporate welfare but the federal government is staying out of it. Unfortunately, the falsehood that the president banned stem cell research still persists. The scientific community knows full well what the facts are but they are not going out of their way to present the truth to the public.

In the past, many scientists have tried to stay out of politics, out of religion, and out of many controversies because their work is based on science and knowledge. But as the old saying goes, you don’t ask, you don’t get. And that is precisely the dilemma that many researchers have discovered. Present the facts and nobody is interested. Twist the truth and politicize the issue and then you can open the floodgates of federal money. And then you can also be a part of the process to help bash the president and his political party, as well as many other elected officials.

Not surprisingly, shortly after President Bush did allow for a very small amount federal funding for embryonic stem cell research only for lines already in existence, many sought to take full advantage of this opportunity. Biotech companies geared up for a massive public relations onslaught. They put together a huge lobbying effort in Washington DC, recruited high profile Hollywood celebrities and coordinated with top Democratic officials. They in turn reduced the issue to a few handy but erroneous slogans.

But politics aside, responsible scientists have allowed their political allies to make promises are that are totally unethical and downright unscrupulous. Here are some examples:

Many Democrat’s have a long laundry list of everything that embryonic stem cell research is supposed to cure and the scientific community is doing absolutely nothing to correct any of the exaggerated assumptions. In fact, for the most part embryonic stem cell research has been bust in the recent past, especially as evidenced by fraudulent South Korean scientists whose falsifications have rocked the research community.

And what is most revealing is that biotech companies do not even want to spend their own money on it even though they could supposedly make a fortune by curing Alzheimer’s disease and everything else. The harsh reality is that these companies already know that there is so little promise involved because the potential is more hype than reality. But they have absolutely no problem in spending taxpayer’s money for something that they don’t have to show any results for.

However, I have to give credit to where credit is due. Columnist William Saletan of the Liberal publication, Slate Magazine, has often come down hard on the stem cell hucksters. In one of his articles, he pointedly asked the question: Why don't scientists dispel the myth? His answer from NIH researcher Ronald McKay is:

Perhaps it is that simple. Politicians tell the masses exactly what they want to hear, that is researchers can cure all the terrible diseases of the world including Alzheimer’s and diabetes if and only if; the federal government pours billions of dollars into it. And then check back in about ten or twenty years from now to see how the progress has turned out.

How many similar promises have we heard before in regards to federal spending over the past several decades?

The media also gets exactly what it wants because they love extremes and simplicity. That is, here is the villain banning valuable research to save lives and here are the heroes who want to save mankind. The public loves those kinds of stories even if the truth is grossly distorted.

And perhaps the most revolting is that the researchers can wash their hands clean of any guilt because they are not the ones who are making the bogus assertions to the public.

In summary, many scientists have been dishonest and they have been playing fast and loose with the truth. In essence, certain members of the scientific community have become part of the political process where money, instead facts, have a greater a value.

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