Science, Schmience February 23, 2004January 21, 2017 If God had intended man to fly, he would have given him wings. And if he had intended us to enjoy the benefits of stem cell research, he would have put someone other than George Bush in the White House. Imagine if research into antibiotics had been banned the way the Bush administration has already shut down stem cell research here at home (outsourcing an entire leading-edge industry), and the way it is now working to shut it down entirely, worldwide. Vaguely apropos of which, did you see this last week? ‘A group of more than 60 top U.S. scientists, including 20 Nobel laureates and several science advisors to past Republican presidents, on Wednesday accused the Bush administration of manipulating and censoring science for political purposes.’ We have Ralph Nader to thank for this, of course. All he had to do in the final days of the last campaign was urge his followers in swing states to vote for Gore. If you should have a loved one suffering from Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s who might have benefited from the fruits of stem cell research – but now might not – thank Ralph. (Thank, also, Katherine Harris. If you’ve never seen her video, click here.) It’s fine, I guess, that Ralph is running again. He’s a multi-millionaire who can afford to put what he sees as ‘the perfect’ ahead of what most others see as the practical good. (Among the wisest of old saws: ‘The perfect is the enemy of the good.’) One presumes that this time he will ultimately urge his supporters in swing states not to play into Karl Rove’s hands . . . and that even if he again fails to, this time they won’t. Because if anyone thinks it doesn’t matter who wins (‘so you may as well vote for Nader’), it seems to me he need look no further than the issue of stem cell research. America can do better than this, folks. Tomorrow: Trust the CEO?