[Tribune7]

We will inevitably recede into the backwater of civilization . . .

You mean compared to stridently secular states like -- France? Actually, since the late Asimov was writing that in 1984, he probably was thinking of the Soviet Union. :-)

Something to think about: a child born in 1984 is likely not to have ever heard of the Soviet Union considering the state of our public schools.

[AntiGuv]

In truth, one of my greatest concerns for some while now is that the uniquely American hostility to stem-cell research and therapeutic cloning methods will lead much of our bioengineering establishment to move off-shore. Indeed, there are indications that this 'brain drain' migration is already underway...