I'll give it a rest for a while after this post, I promise. Negativity just isn't as good as getting out there and getting things done.

One of the wonderful things about the distributed journalism that arises from blogs is that stories can no longer be buried. The memory hole doesn't really exist in this new world of shared information, and people will continue to comment on matters of significance for as long as they remain significant.

So on with the application of distributed journalism to the bioethics council. Glenn Reynolds provides a roundup of responses, discussions and commentary, as do the folks at the Speculist. A lot of people are - justifiably - unhappy with the way in which the current US administration is trying to block vital medical research.

I am hopeful that this widespread attitude, coupled with an upswing in funding initiatives for regenerative medicine, marks the beginning of end for efforts to block medical progress. The cost is already high, and there is far too much to gain from regenerative medicine to allow small groups to stand in the way of better medicine and longer, healthier lives.

As I've always said: if they want to refuse the new medicine, that is up to them. The freedom to make and debate personal choices is vital, but opponents of progress have no right to force their choice (of suffering, death and shorter lives) on everyone else. There's already far too much of that in modern society.