Monday, October 11, 2004

Death and marriage


Christopher Reeves has died aged 52, a day from lapsing into a coma
Reeve broke his neck in May 1995 when he was thrown from his horse during an equestrian competition. He lobbied Congress for better insurance protection against catastrophic injury and to move an Academy Award audience to tears with a call for more films about social issues.

Its ironic that John Kerry mentioned him during the weekends debate. He said he was a a friend of Reeve, adding he was in favor of further stem cell research because Reeve could walk again one day thanks to such science.

What's his excuse going to be now?

John Kerry (who mentioned during the debate he was a former altar boy) told the New York Times that "The president and I have the same position, fundamentally, on gay marriage. We do. Same position. But they're out there misleading people and exploiting it." (requires registration). Of course he neglected to mention that he opposes the Federal Marriage Amendment while Bush supports it.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't see where Dave is being ungenerous. There is nothing particularly nasty in what he says?

Stem cell research does hold promise. But not the type everyone is promoting. There are at least a dozen studies out (in JACC, The Lancet, Circulation) showing the promise for adult stem cell therapy. Alzheimers is a particularly clear example. Embryonic stem cell research, aside from any moral argument, doesn't have the data to currently back it up. The situation is so complex, embryonic stem cells need to be "coached" to form the organ of interest - adult ones don't. There is much hype about embryonic cells because a media that doesn't understand this is being misled by commercially interested scientists. Reeve was clearly misled by many people about this; this was a shame, because the strength of character he displayed was formidable.

Swimming said...

I did not score a cheap political shot - nor was I atempting to. I blogged the death of Christopher Reeves ( quite quickly) to highlight that death and his lobbying. My link to Kerry was the he was trying to say that his friendship with Reeves was one of the motivating factors behind his support for stem cell research. It was Kerry who was scoring a cheap poitical shot by naming a celebrity who is obviously for stem cell research, as if to add weight to his view that it is a good idea. Stem cell research is a good (or not so good) idea no matter whose life may be changed - celebrity or street kid, and Kerry needs to state his case without referring to celebrities. He doesnt want to do that. Celebrity attachment doesnt change its value, and Kerry was, IMHO, attempting to give celebrity status to stem cell research to further his cause.

It was a fickle move as now that celebrity is dead.

Anonymous said...

So he's dead.
shame.
I feel for his family, no doubt to them he was a great husband father son uncle cousin nephew.
I hope they find solace in all the good that came out of his life and are able to celebrate the life of a man they loved.

He wanted stem cell research of course and maybe not for just for himself.
I see that he tried to encourage everyone everywhere he could even here.
I do know he didn't have a lot of dosh, apparently with much donated by hollywood types.
That was hidden and I think that is wonderful.

Kerry's a dick but then so is every person who votes for the dems and for our own labour.
what can I say its a fact, they say they 're for the little man but screw him right down.
there are no excuses, enslavement is enslavement.

as for stem cell research.
fantastic lets do it.
BUT

No dead "embryos" Children.
Its bad enough that we murder 14 000 children a year mostly for late contraception or lifestyle choices.
thats 11 classrooms a week.

superman is dead, long live superman.
Mike