[StemCellInformation] # 383 Saturday, November , 2007 - FIGHTERS IN THE FOXHOLES: “WILLIE AND JOE “

# 383 Saturday, November , 2007 - FIGHTERS IN THE FOXHOLES: "WILLIE AND JOE "  OF NJ STEM CELL BATTLE     Nobody is busier than Bob Klein, volunteer leader of the Prop 71 campaign, chairperson (also unpaid) of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, as well as leader of Klein Financial Corporation. (Yes, he does have a day job!) No one has more earned the right to just kick back and leave the stem cell fight in New Jersey to others.   But Bob Klein is also a private citizen, and in that role he was on the phones all day yesterday, battling for the New Jersey Stem Cell Research Bond Act, (www.njforhope.org)  making call after call, calling in old favors and asking for new ones, working to find that one more dollar, fighting for postage money so 410,000 mailers could be stamped and  sent out, so the Michael J. Fox radio ads could get on the air, workingworkingworking-- to get the message out.   He was not alone. All across the country, patient advocates took notice, and called friends. Everybody pitched in"it seemed like nobody was too busy to lend a hand.   These efforts will continue, till the last possible minute Monday night, to do everything we can to get out the message, and even on Tuesday, November 6th, election day, when Garden State folks will drive friends and neighbors to the polls, and vote to pass the New Jersey Stem Cell Research Bond Act.   Tuesday is the day. We cannot relax until then.   But as we move into the final hours, there are a couple people I would like to thank. (I know, I know, bring out the phone book! Advocates in every corner of the country have been helping New Jersey, not to mention Governor Corzine himself, the champion without whom none of the New Jersey effort would have even begun!)    I remember reading about "Willie and Joe", the two bewhiskered fighters in the foxholes of World War Two, based on real G.I.s, stories from the great war correspondent Bill Mauldin, written from the front.   The " Willie and Joe" of this campaign?   First, Russ Oster.   Russ is a workhorse, the political consultant responsible for the day to day operations of New Jersey for Hope, the political committee formed to advocate passage of the $450 million stem cell initiative on the November 6th ballot.   Russ has been serving in every capacity imaginable on various campaigns since 1994. He has done work across the country with a particular focus on Florida and New Jersey.   The New Jersey for Hope experience, Russ said yesterday, was " something pure and good in the oftentimes muddy world of campaigns and elections". And, he added, he had a personal motivation.   Fourteen months ago, Russ `s mother Lydia received her second diagnosis of breast cancer after a period of 7 years of being cancer-free. But this time it had gone into the bones, lungs and liver. It was a terribly aggressive tumor called Triple Negative.   The family saw the best doctors they could find and afford; all tried their hardest to treat his mom. But the doctors did not have the right tools.   Barely a month ago, September 22nd, just 60 years old, Russ's mother passed away.       She had wanted Russ to take on the challenge of this initiative and to see it through to victory. "She was a selfless individual who always thought about others first," said Russ yesterday, "She wanted others to one day be cured of what she ultimately succumbed to."   Russ Oster's efforts on the New Jersey Stem Cell Research Bond Act are dedicated to his mother's memory.    The second person is Wise Young. With his trusted sidekick Dr. Patricia Morton, Dr. Young has been fighting for the cure of paralysis since a day when there was almost no hope for paralyzed people. The first book I ever read that gave me hope my son Roman might stand up from his wheelchair was "Quest for Cure" by Sam Maddox of the Paralyzed Veterans Society. It talked about Wise Young's efforts to try and cure paralysis, and some of the attacks he had taken for it, as when opponents of the research splashed blood across his photograph, and put it up on the subway he would ride. But he continued on, and the New Jersey effort may finally get some serious funding.   First, a quick glance at the official bio.   Wise Young Founding Director W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience Professor and Chair Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience School of Arts and Sciences Key Topics: Spinal cord injury, collaborative neuroscience, central nervous system injury, cell biology, stem cell research, stem cells Speaker's Biography: Wise Young, M.D., Ph.D., is recognized as one of the world's leading neuroscientists and a pioneer in spinal cord injury research. The center, which he founded at Rutgers, is regarded as a world-class facility for collaborative neuroscience. He is also chair and professor of the Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience. Young was part of the team that discovered and established high-dose methylprednisolone (MP) as the first effective therapy for spinal cord injuries. This 1990 work upended concepts that spinal cord injuries were permanent, refocused research, and opened new vistas of hope for spinal cord injury patients. Young also developed the first standardized rat spinal cord injury model used worldwide for testing therapies, formed the first consortium funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to test promising therapies, and helped establish several widely accepted clinical outcome measures in spinal cord injury research. In addition, Young founded and served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Neurotrauma. He serves or has served on advisory committees for the NIH, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. In August 2001, Time magazine named Young as "America's best" in the field of spinal cord injury research. The recipient of numerous awards and honors, he most recently received the Elizabeth M. Boggs Award for service to the disability community and, in 2005, was the first researcher inducted into the National Spinal Cord Injury Association's Spinal Cord Injury Hall of Fame.   Anyone who visits his and Patricia Morton's CareCure.org website has a hint of his contribution. Not only is CareCure a great place for paralyzed folks, caregivers and friends to share ideas and experiences with each other, but how many websites in the world are there where a lay person can contact a top scientist and ask for an opinion"and get an answer?   And what are Wise Young's thoughts on how the New Jersey Stem Cell Research Bond Act effort is doing? (taken from posts on CareCure).   "The outcome" will depend on who votes. This latest poll shows that the number of voters who support the referendum is 47% versus 38% percent that oppose it.   (51% needed to pass"DR)   " I am frightened by the forces that are arrayed against us. The Catholic Church with their weekly political sermons and " videos shown in the parishes, the Right-to-Life group with their deliberately provocative lies (for example, "baby factories" and "loan to clone"), and conservative groups... (like) Americans for Prosperity (an anti-tax group). They are spending millions of dollars in an all-out media campaign to pass out misleading information" to attack the New Jersey Stem Cell Initiative that will save lives, that will be good for the economy of New Jersey, and with which we can earn the accolades of the world" "The claim that the $450 million bond will break the piggy bank of New Jersey is simply absurd. It will not add significantly to the taxes of the average New Jerseyan. " In contrast, if we don't pass this bill, we will lose the only opportunity that New Jersey has of taking the leadership role in stem cell research and becoming the home for the top cellular therapeutics companies. "The accusation that the research is immoral is sad beyond belief. I find it difficult to believe that people believe that it is better to throw the cells away than to use them to save lives. It is a lie when they say that the research will kill babies. The lack of stem cell research is killing people by the thousands. (emphasis added-dr) How can those who oppose this research look at people with brain and spinal cord injury, cancer, diabetes, and other conditions and tell them that this research is not worthwhile? "This is one of the best economic and financial deals that the state can invest in. It will help build the industry, the academic, and the high-tech infrastructure of the state. It will bring in new business, cure people, and do something that New Jerseyans can be proud of. If the referendum fails, (emphasis added) what will people have? "a failing pharmaceutical industry that is sending all its cellular therapeutics laboratories to other states? Is this what people really want?" Wise.   On Tuesday, America will find out what New Jersey wants.   Is there one more thing you or I could do?      www.njforhope.org   Don Reed www.stemcellbattles.com     On November 6th... VOTE YES for HOPE

 

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