Thank God for Federalism! The Power of the "Laboratory of the States" is often underrated in an increasingly DC-centric nation. Thus I was delighted to see the following headline in yesterday's Boston Globe: "Stem Cell Bill Tops Agenda As Legislature Convenes." Massachusetts is heavily life sciences dependent ... and has no intention of passively slipping behind California, which passed (with the Republican Governator's strong support) a $3 billion stem cell research initiative in November. So while Washington kowtows to Jerry Falwell, the States, in direct competition with one another, experiment & legislate their 50 individual ways forward. California, which claims one out of every four public biotech companies within 35 miles of a UC (public!) campus, is back (!) and has been piling it on lately ... with leadership in tort reform, environmental protection, a minimum wage boost, etc.
BTW, the CA-MA initiatives are overdue if you subscribe to the recent BusinessWeek headline: "ASIA IS STEM CELL CENTRAL." Remember: This is the Life Sciences Century!