From
Larry King Live:
G. BUSH: I do think it's important for us to promote a culture of life in America. I think it's very important. I think a society which promotes a culture of life is a compassionate society and a decent society.
Bullshit.
A culture of life is important to G.W. Bush? Was it important during his six year stint as Governor of Texas when he presided over
152 state executions? Or while, as Governor, he opposed any legislative modification that would limit the number of death row cases, choosing instead to keep the arcane clemency procedures? Is Bush's idea of promoting a culture of life exhibited in his
mocking of death row inmate Karla Faye Tucker?
How about in the State of the Union Address, when Bush proclaimed
AIDS can be prevented. Anti-retroviral drugs can extend life for many years. And the cost of those drugs has dropped from $12,000 a year to under $300 a year -- which places a tremendous possibility within our grasp. Ladies and gentlemen, seldom has history offered a greater opportunity to do so much for so many.
...
We have confronted, and will continue to confront, HIV/AIDS in our own country. And to meet a severe and urgent crisis abroad, tonight I propose the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief -- a work of mercy beyond all current international efforts to help the people of Africa. This comprehensive plan will prevent 7 million new AIDS infections, treat at least 2 million people with life-extending drugs, and provide humane care for millions of people suffering from AIDS, and for children orphaned by AIDS.
That sounds like a culture of life to me. Unfortunately, they were empty words for George Bush. Not only has the funding not been provided, but the Bush administration named an ex-Ely Lilly CEO, Randall Thomas, to head the Emergeny Plan for AIDS, a move labled a Surreal Choice by Jim Lobe at the Global Policy Forum. Hiring a man with obvious links to Big Pharmacy to head the AIDS initiative has had obvious effects, essentially eliminating the low cost medicine that Bush touted in his speech, ensuring more profits for Big Pharmacy, and more fatalities due to AIDS. Bush is content to watch thousands of people die in order to protect the balance sheet of corporations. Not the culture of life I was thinking of.
What about the War in Iraq? 11,510 - 13,483 Iraqi civilians dead. 936 American deaths, 1061 Coalition deaths, plus thousands more maimed and crippled. Billions spent, billions lost, torture, etc. And the reasons for war, struck down one by one. No WMD, no WMD related activities, no direct link with terrorists, it all comes down to the indisputable fact that Saddam was a bad guy. Extreme death and destruction for 1 bad guy. This represents a culture of life?
No, what it all comes down to is embryonic stem cell research. That is the culture of life G.W. Bush wants to promote. Or, to be exact, the restriction of said research. Bush feels that "because a stem cell is derived from the destruction of a human embryo, that there's an ethical dilemma as well". Which is a valid point. The issue at hand, though, is that these embryos, created for in vitro fertilization, are scheduled to be destroyed anyways. Bush is against the further use of these embryos in order to attempt to cure some of the most debilitating diseases known today. He ponders an ethical dilemma in the choice between throwing away these embryos or using them to cure people. Using them to extend the length and quality of peoples lives. And his choice is to throw them away. To eliminate government funds for beneficial research. A choice against science. A choice against life.
Culture of Life? Bullshit.
