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Thursday, September 21, 2006
Stem cells, and where the passion lies
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Savannah — Possibly you read the piece about the statewide poll on embryonic stem cell research.
The sponsor of the poll, Georgia Biomedical Partnership, is in the midst of a full-court press to fend off any effort by state lawmakers next year to restrict scientific inquiries at research universities and elsewhere.
Which is why the group brought a raft of stem cell specialists — experts in business, science and ethics — to speak to the Georgia Economic Development Association on Thursday morning. Early Thursday morning.
For most, it was a chance to relive their heavy-lidded experience with Biology 101.
The scientists were tentative, as was the crowd — which was overwhelmingly white and conservative, perhaps numbering 300. A spokesman for GEDA made clear that the topic under discussion was controversial, and that the organization would take no position in the fight.
One of the most intriguing aspects of this stem cell poll is that it captures an underlying dynamic of this confrontation between science and some — though not all — theologies.
In American politics over the last 20 years, you’d be hard put to find a case where religious conservatives didn’t dominate every arena they entered. This time, the passion — measured by those who express strong sentiments — is on the other side.
Thursday provided a perfect example.
The last speaker for the stem cell session took the stage slowly, about 9 a.m. He was Ron Grabb, a leader of the Georgia chapter of the Parkinson’s Action Network.
He has the same disease as Michael J. Fox, the actor, but is not as pretty. Grabb, 59, was a Cobb County school teacher who had to quit when his students couldn’t read what he wrote on the blackboard. He was diagnosed five years ago.
Parkinson’s is a neural degenerative disease. Its victims often shake uncontrollably. Other times, the muscles seize up. Silent gaps appear in their speech.
Grabb wore a blue blazer, rumpled khaki pants, and tennis shoes with Velcro fasteners. A stranger had knotted his tie. Grabb is a quiet man. Imagine a steady, matter-of-fact voice, with many pauses while its owner struggles for control.
Here’s a verbatim excerpt of his remarks:
“I have trouble sleeping. Most Parkinson people have trouble sleeping. I got to bed at 10 o ‘clock after a brief work-out — walking down the stairs from where we ate last night.
“I woke up at midnight. I’ve been up since midnight. My body is such that it aches all over. My toes cramp on me. Every time I try to lay down, they wake me up, and I have to get up and move.
“It got to be about 4 o’clock, and I went down to get a newspaper. I made it about halfway down the hall, and at this point was frozen. What was I to do? I had my cell phone with me, but I didn’t want to call anybody.
“So I leaned up against the wall, waited about five minutes. It came back. And I was able to walk to the elevator and get my newspaper.
“And then I get here, and I get where everything’s going smooth. And I see I’m starting to get nervous. When I get nervous, I start shaking. So I decide I’ll use a lapel microphone, so I don’t bother this microphone [on the podium].
“As soon as I’m introduced, my hand starts shaking, so I can’t turn it on. That’s what we have to live with, these kind of things.
“But the best thing is we’ve got vision, we’ve got hope. And we don’t want anybody to deny that hope, that there’s going to be a cure for Parkinson’s.
“The other day I was watching TV, and one of the political ads came on. It was Sonny Perdue’s wife speaking. And she said, “Well, I’ll put that on my Sonny-Do list.� I don’t know, maybe you’ve seen that commercial.
“But what I’d like to do is make a Sonny-Do list, and ask him for a bold new look in the future for the biotech industry in Georgia, and to get behind the people that really need the help. The ones that have been here, the ones that have been living.�
Grabb brought the crowd to its feet, the only speaker to do so.
Gov. avoids pressing issue: Which tag design?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Savannah - Gov. Sonny Perdue had just finished telling the Georgia Economic Development Association what a fine job he’d done bring jobs and business to Georgia.
Four reporters waited in a side room for a few questions. Only one of us had a TV camera, so she got to ask the only question. Never mind what it was.
Of course, this meant no one could ask Perdue the most pressing question today in Georgia politics. Of the dozens of license plate designs on ajc.com, which one does he like?
Years ago, Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes hauled down the ’56 state flag with its Confederate battle emblem. A blue one, which many though looked like a Denny’s place mat, was hauled up.
In the aftermath, Bobby Kahn, chief of staff for Barnes, who became a one-term governor, was asked how the issue reached such a furor.
The Confederate issue aside, Kahn replied, flag design is easily grasped. People understand what looks good and what doesn’t.
And because people can have an opinion, they do. Many, many different ones. The same thing goes for license tags.
Take a look at the submissions. We like the one that features both Ray Charles and the Confederate generals on the side of Stone Mountain. It didn’t make the final 10 selected by a group of ajc.com editors for you to vote on.
Perhaps history will repeat itself and they will find their tenure short too.
What do you think of the final 10? And what caused you to vote for the one you picked? [
The scoop on schools
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A consortium of about 20 education groups, representing everything from school boards to PTAs, has put together a questionaire with answers from the candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and superintendent of education.
It’s a handy one-stop for those interested education issues. You can read it here.
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