[balrog666]

I don't see what the problem is with taxpayers deciding how the government spends their money. Do you?

Let's just survey the trailer park to see what they want our research money spent on, shall we?

Sure others will do the research, but presumably with less money, without Uncle Sam writing checks. The underground comment is silly.

Not at all. Do you really think the 50 billion spent on AIDS research in the last 20 years was really spent on studying one little retrovirus?

Even assuming the issue were one of funding rather than prohibition, the idea the research would be done illegally in some basement is ludicrous.

The issue is only funding. If you outlaw something specific, all you do is change the title on the research grants.

It would just be done in countries where it is legal.

It's already being done there as fast as possible and they are hoping we keep shooting ourselves in the foot instead of competing.

[Torie]

Well now you are disparaging the right of citizens to have a say via the public square as to how their money is spent, with a condescending remark that folks with views different than yours have a trailor trash mentality, posit fraud that cannot be checked so let's just make it all nice and legal, and suggest that the US needs to do it just to compete, or somebody else will get the brass ring (no doubt we should fund cloning, and a host of other things to facilitate and expedite unbottling assorted and sundry genies for the same reason, in a race to the lowest common denominator).

In short, your post is quite a mouthful in my view.