CELL BLOCKS
Re: George Neumayr’s New
Stem Cell Lies:
I may be admitting my ignorance and the fact that I am not as
well read as I would like; however, I don’t understand the uproar,
in general, and the hostile approach Mr. Neumayr takes in his
August 12th article titled “New Stem Cell Lies.”
Is stem cell research completed on embryos that have been
aborted specifically for research purposes? Are the embryos
extracted from healthy mothers wishing to deliver healthy children?
Or, are the embryos taken in some other form of immoral
trickery?
I must believe not. So what is the controversy about
exactly?
— Gary Gates
You said the following: “What does ‘creating new stem cell lines’
mean? It means killing 2-week-old embryos”…
Why do you try to make that better use of an embryo a bad
thing?
— Russ Harris
Overland, MO
George Neumayr replies: To Gary
Gates’s letter, I would say that the injustice of killing a human
embryo derives not primarily from the circumstances of the embryo’s
origin, but from the nature of that act: to destroy an innocent
human life is intrinsically unjust. It is “immoral trickery” for
society to kill human embryos on the grounds that their creation
conforms to modern medical ethics and no one appears to want
them.
Russ Harris’s letter assumes that human embryos at Stem Cell
labs are useless unless scientists use them as raw material for
research. Whatever society gains in this research it loses in
dignity. To place human embryos on the same level as lab rats is
not “better” than treating them with the dignity due man.
SAUDI PARTNER
Re: Lawrence Henry’s The
Saudi Paradox:
Mr. Lawrence Henry writes that the joint military exercises and
other military ties between Saudi Arabia and the United States are
a counter to the image of a double-dealing Saudi Arabia. He attacks
journalists and other civilians for not understanding what good
friends the Saudis are. Has Mr. Henry trained his keen military
mind on the Khobar towers attack and the complete lack of
cooperation from the Saudis there? Has the fine warrior camaraderie
impelled the Saudis to give us full access to those in their
custody who have killed or tried to kill our military men and
civilians? Has that wonderful cooperation, which saved that country
from invasion from Iraq, convinced the Saudis to allow us “their”
bases to attack Iraq? No, rather it has compelled us to move our
bases and abandon long planned routes into that tyrant’s land on
Saudi whim. Further, could the disconnect between journalists and
ex-military men have anything to do with the fact that so few
journalists end up on the Saudi payroll when they retire?
Even on his own terms Mr. Henry’s defense of the Saudis is that
once we are seen as winning the Saudis will side with us. I wonder
what West Point teaches about the value of “friends” who only back
you when you win and incite your enemies to violence when you are
weak? Mr. Henry’s ability to identify friends seems about as good
as Custer’s ability to count Sioux.
— John J. Vecchione
Washington, D.C.
Lawrence Henry replies:: Mr.
Vecchione: You accuse me of that which I do not do. I merely made
the point that a long-standing, high-level military brotherhood
exists between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, and that it inevitably
has some influence on policy. And I hazarded a guess what those
high-ranking military people are probably thinking.
OPEN DOOR CLASS
Re: Wlady Pleszczynski’s Chickie
Babe:
I saw Chick Hearn up close only once. That was maybe 30 years
ago following a Lakers game with the nondescript San Diego (now
Houston) Rockets. Chick was in the parking lot about to go on his
way. He had time to talk to passersby but also the grace to open
the car door for his wife of many years. A classy guy and one of a
kind.
— Bob Lantz
WILD BILL
Re: Bill Croke’s An
Open Letter to Californians:
Thanx for all the laughs from your “An Open Letter to
Californians” article. My officemates may be concerned for state of
my mental health but you told so many truths about Californians
(and the people of the Mountain West) in such funny way that I
repeatedly laughed out loud. All right, I confess as a very
reluctant neighbor of the Land of Fruits and Nuts that I am rather
anti-Californian but even they must have recognized themselves all
over your article. We have a hard time keeping the Californians [in
line] down here in Arizona too but we’ve found the most effective
method of controlling them is to regularly elect Republicans who
aren’t afraid of calling silly ideas “California-born.”
Respectfully,
— SFC Jon Schweitzer
Hang on to Wild Bill Croke. His columns are pure gems!
— Kitty Myers
Painted Post, NY
NO ABSOLUTION
Re: Bob Johnson’s “Not Even Clothes” letter in Reader Mail’s
Ms.
Mischief in Michigan:
Bob Johnson of Bedford, Texas, seeks to absolve Dave Shiflett
from faulty referencing, blaming Shiflett’s chaplain for a
conversational lapse. OK, blame the chaplain.
BUT, Mr. Johnson should himself be more attentive to his
reading. I opened my original letter by making plain that Mr.
Shiflett accused Nazis of wearing coats and ties. If that’s so, why
quote a notorious Nazi when making an argument against said
articles of clothing. Not very sensible, is it? No, not really.
Sincerely,
— Paul Kellogg
New York, NY
LOTT, YOU THE MAN!
Re: The Prowler’s Regarding
Trent:
War Room Scenario:
RNC chairman (Marc Racicot), Karl Rove, President Bush
discussing opportunities to retake the Senate in light of the
Torricelli debacle, Lieberman’s Enron/Citibank connection and
refusal to call Robert Rubin, McAuliffe’s Global Crossing
affiliation, and Daschle’s sinking poll numbers in South
Dakota.
Bush: “Karl, who do you and Marc have in mind to lead this
very
important campaign to retake the Senate?”
Rove: “Well sir, he’s a proven commodity, a name player.”
Bush: “What’s his background, college, etc.?”
Rove: “Well sir, he was a cheerleader in college.”
Bush: “Cheerleader? Is it Kay Bailey Hutchison?
RNC Chair: “No, sir.”
Bush: “What are his hobbies? Hunting, fishing, skiing,
football.”
RNC Chair: “Well sir, he sings in a bi-partisan barber shop
quartet.”
Bush: “Quartets, my God, is it Harry Reid, he’s a Democrat. What
are
his accomplishments, then?”
Rove: “No sir, it’s not Reid. Well, if you remember, right after
you were elected and the Senate was split 50-50, it was his idea to
effect a ‘power sharing’ in the Senate, and since then, he has
become very
popular with both sides of the aisle. In fact he can talk for hours
and say nothing”
Bush: “Sounds like we are still left with Trent Lott. Surely,
this is not the only dog we have in this fight? Where’s Newt
Gingrich when you need him?”
RNC Chair: “Well, in 2004……………….”
— Sam Haynes
Elk, CA
