She Hit Me With Technology

My Congressman, Nancy Pelosi, is in town, and engaging in her preferred mode of speaking: lecturing us on matters in which she lacks competence, in this case "science:"Pelosi rebuts critics of stem cell research

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi forcefully responded to conservative critics of government funding for programs like stem cell research Friday, saying that under the Bush administration, "We've had a situation where it's faith or science - take your pick."

First of all, I would like her to name one scientific initiative that did not go forward, at all, during the Bush Administration. Certainly, stem cells were not stopped by Luddite Bush. Research on adult stem cells went forward unimpeded. California voters funded millions of dollars in research. Embryonic stem cell research by private research groups went forward unimpeded. What didn't happen was federal funding. 

Then, there's this bizarre sound-bite:

"We're saying science is an answer to our prayers," the San Francisco Democrat said.

People don't pray to science, lady, no more than they pray to engineering or literature. It's a purely human endeavor that is only as good or as evil as the people engaging in it. To suggest that it is purely benign is to ignore not just human nature, but also human experience. And it certainly isn't foolproof. Would Nancy Pelosi support "climate change" legislation based on the four bodily humors and the four elements? Because that used to be the "settled" science. 

And then she chants the deathless refrain:

"We need science, science, science, science, science," she said

Science all day long!

The Chronicle then does Pelosi the grave disservice of setting down a verbatim transcript of her remarks: 

"The justification, I think, is clear, in terms of the progress that has been made. The need is urgent, in terms of what it translates to in the family life of all Americans," she said. "And at a time when we are going forward with affordable, accessible, quality health care for all Americans, the investment in basic biomedical research is really essential - a fundamental principle of that universal access to quality health care.

"It will take us to a place where we will have personalized, customized care... it will address disparities in health care that exist. And we need science, science, science, science, science in order to do that. So I'm standing my ground."

Forget science. What America needs is an initiative to support the teaching of rhetoric in US schools.  

All of this is in response to Sarah Palin's remarks the night before about the ethics - not the science - behind embryonic stem cell research, a distinction that scientific sophisticates in the political class either elide, ignore or don't understand: 

Palin, calling for supporters to back what she called a "culture of life," spoke in Indiana, where the possible 2012 GOP presidential candidate was greeted wildly by fans. She urged them to oppose Obama's policies on abortion, saying, "Life is ordained, life is precious." She then lambasted the Democratic president for his support of embryonic stemcell research.

She said deciding when babies obtain human rights is not above her "pay grade" - a slam at a response by Obama to a question about abortion from pastor Rick Warren of Southern California's Saddleback mega church during the presidential campaign last year.

The culture of life is not about suppressing science. It's about making sure science reflects our society's ethics and morals. There was a time when people understood this distinction, but not anymore.