Sinking to new lows, yesterday Rush Limbaugh ranted about Michael J. Fox's ads for a Democratic candidate who supports stem cell research, claiming that Fox is faking or exaggerating his symptoms in an effort to win sympathy. The ad is here. Audio of Limbaugh's rant is here. A transcript is here.

Fox looks a bit worse than he did in this Good Morning America (ABC News) report or this ad. Could he be exaggerating? Yes. But the disease does not manifest those specific symptoms Fox is showing. Parkinson's "is often characterized by muscle rigidity, tremor, a slowing of physical movement (bradykinesia), and in extreme cases, a loss of physical movement (akinesia)." (from here.)

No, what Michael J. Fox is experiencing is dyskinesia, which is one of the side effects of the most common medication (L-Dopa) prescribed to treat Parkinson's. In other words, Limbaugh not only doesn't know what he's talking about, he's just revealed himself (once again) to be a complete ass.

It appears as if Limbaugh's simply trying desperately to distract us from the issue at hand with shock jock tactics. In the same show, Limbaugh also lied to his listeners about stem cells:

"We do not have anywhere near a cure. We can't regenerate nerves yet, folks, and that's what has to happen to cure paralysis in the spine. And stem cells do not promise any such thing, nor do they for Parkinson's disease."

We do not have a cure yet. This is true. But research on stem cells, Parkinsons, embryonic & adult stem cells and nerve tissue most certainly has been promising. The National Institutes of Health site explains. The MS Society has a nice FAQ on stem cells and what our realistic expectations can be with regard to stem cell treatment and Multiple Sclerosis.

Science has been able to transform stem cells into neurons, (which are nerve cells,) for over six years. Last year, scientists created pure nerve stem cells from embryonic stem cells.

A study whose results were released Sunday said that nerve cells grown from human embryonic stem cells and injected into the brains of rats with a syndrome mimicking Parkinson's disease significantly reduced the animals' symptoms, but the treatment also caused tumors in the rodents' brains. In June, a study was released which showed that scientists at Johns Hopkins were able to use embryonic stem cells to reverse paralysis in rats by growing them into nerve and motor cells.

So, what's the real issue here? Republicans have actively blocked viable research of potential cures for several neurological diseases by imposing their questionable "values" on our entire country. Think of it as part of a greater theme. I'd call it "Moral Darwinism," but that would be far too ironic.

It's not just sad. It's criminal.