I'm not sure how you're trying to construe my words, James. Stem-cell research has almost certain (and very significant) gains. For the government to fund (ie, encourage research for) things like better cough medicines, and then not do the same or better for stem-cell research is downright absurd.
It seems obvious to me that the government should want to encourage research with the largest tangible gains. So, it makes sense that their allocative methods would reflect that. Do you subscribe to some other allocative method, that I haven't considered?
I guess the government could try to keep its funding in fields where there isn't commerical viability. That would make some sense to me, and I'd be ok with it. But that's not what our government is doing, so my previous observations stand.
And, to add insult to injury, the fundies presently calling the shots are inhibiting this research. It's horrible.
