:: Pedantic Platitudes ::

:: Tuesday, July 27, 2004 ::

I finally got a highly coveted Gmail account. I thought for a moment about giving it up on gmailswap.com, where people are offering highly amusing things (ranging from "my friendship" and "a handshake" to "a big box of chocolates" or "a postcard from (an obscure town in) Norway" to "the meaning of life"). I didn't see any offers that were particularly appealing, so I decided to keep it for myself. I don't see myself using Gmail much... until it gets really big, I don't see it as worth my time to learn a new e-mail system, especially when I already have two e-mail accounts with other systems that serve me quite well. I think I might find use for it once the 100 MB in my Yahoo! e-mail account are used up.

Today, I watched day two of the Democratic National Convention. I watched Illinois State Senator Barack Obama's rousing speech, and let me agree with all the political pundits: This guy is gonna be a star. I don't think I've ever seen so many good things said about a person based on one speech that person gave, but Obama certainly deserves all that praise. His speech was hopeful (echoing the entire theme of the evening), and it set a wonderful vision for the future. He delivered his message with such optimism, charisma, enthusiasm, and confidence that I was certainly moved. His personal story is quite inspirational, too. Barack graduated from Harvard Law School, and his father is an immigrant from Kenya. His growing successes highlight the power of the American dream and brings hope to every person who ever dreamed of a better life.

The rest of the speeches were enjoyable, too. I was particularly moved by the speech delivered by Ron Reagan, son of former President Ronald Reagan. Ron talked about the importance of stem cell research, and he pointed out to a national audience some important details about stem cell research that many people are not aware of. Some are opposed to stem cell research because they remain ignorant about the issue; they believe that stem cell research violates the "sanctity of life." This is simply not true. Ron Reagan described a type of procedure that would take cells from the patient suffering from a particular disease to grow new cells specific to that one person to cure him or her. The procedure does not kill a fetus or grow another human being... the cells used would have been thrown away anyways; it merely grows new cells that may be used to cure previously incurable diseases, from Parkinson's disease to juvenile diabetes. The true violation of life is not allowing stem cell research that could save the lives of so many people who suffer from such debilitating diseases. This issue certainly has not been in the media spotlight much, and I'm glad Ron Reagan brought the issue to light to a national audience in a manner that was not partisan (it's true that saving lives should not be a partisan issue) and that could be understood by all, despite the complicated science behind all the new technology. I hope that those who oppose stem cell research based on ideology take a moment to research all the facts before prematurely shutting themselves to the possibility of saving and bettering the lives of so many.

Quote of the Day: "And then the season just ended, so you have to wait for the next season of Jeopardy; it's like Star Wars: The Return of Ken Jennings."

:: SL 12:17 AM [+] ::
...