What's New by Bob Park - Friday, July 21, 2006

Bob Park had a few choice comments in this Week's What's New.

On Stem Cells. "On Wednesday, Mr. Bush vetoed the 'Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act.' The first veto of his presidency was exercised to protect surplus embryonic stem cells in fertility clinics from research, thus preserving their 'dignity' so they can be put out with the garbage."

On an Anit-Balistic Missile System. "In 1984, President Reagan called on the scientific community to render nuclear missiles "impotent and obsolete" with the Star Wars missile defense system. Nine years and $30B later SDI was terminated. There was nothing to show for it. George W. Bush, who knows as much science as Reagan did, declared we would have a missile defense by 2004. When North Korea announced last month it would test a missile capable of reaching San Francisco, the Pentagon revealed our missile defense had never been turned on. Why bother? The reason ballistic missile are such a powerful threat is that they are virtually unstoppable, but if we learned anything from 9/11 it is that terrorists can strike us without ballistic missiles. We have only the threat of preemptive strikes or retaliation. The Wall Street Journal today called for an ABM system to deter terror regimes, "they won't invest their money in weapons that won't work." No, only we do that."

On Penance."Last week I agreed to any penance readers thought appropriate for allowing myself to be used on the (bleep) ABC Primetime program about Adam Dreamhealer. By consensus—I mean two—readers called for the same punishment. I am to obtain a DVD of "What the Bleep Do We Know" and watch it all the way through - twice."