Don Reed

The best part of being an advocate is the incredible people you get to hang out with!

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's FAX number
916 558 3160

The BEST advocacy tool is a one-sentence political letter. Here's one you could send to the governor.

Please veto SB 1565 because it threatens California's Stem Cell program.

This bill is on the CA floor right now. If the gov. signs it and it becomes law, the gains of Prop 71 will be lost. The people on the ICOC are the best -- all of them there because they are fearless and dedicated. The guy you just heard is one. We have champions, leaders, and people who have given their hearts and souls to this cause.

The bill would add bureaucrats to the ICOC to overtake the decision-making process, and they're pretending the reason for this change would be to make sure the uninsured would have access to future cures.

When my son was paralyzed and I wanted to get a law passed, I imitated a NY police officer who was shot. His name was Paul Richter, and Governor Pataki told him that if he could get every congressmember in NY to sign on, he would get $15 added to every traffic ticket. (Pataki later reneged on this promise and put the money into the general fund.)

We did a letter campaign that consisted of one and two-sentence letters and fought our heads off to get $1.5 million/year. One of our scientists was funded and invented a petrie dish, the first new design in a century. We funded Hans Keirstead's research that goes on to this day. We had to add this sentence into CA law:

Research involving human embryonic stem cells from any source . . . shall be legal.

Bob Klein put $3.1million--his life savings--into the campaign for Prop 71. We learned not to ever, ever debate. Use the same words . . . over and over, never waste your time arguing. Example:

Do you support stem cell research? (If yes, sign here. If no, move on.)

George Lakoff gave us this sentence. American families deserve access to the best medical care science can provide.

Catholics support stem cell research by a 72% majority embryonic stem cell research.

When you see an article in the paper that you like, call that person and thank them. Offer to be a resource, and you've made a friend.

Don speaks in a crotchety-old-man voice: If God had decreed that a certain person should die of chicken pox it would be a sin to subvert that by a vaccination. Rev. Timothy Wright, Yale, 250 years ago.

Don lives on words form Chris Reeve: One day Roman and I will stand up from our chairs and walk away from them forever.

Mark Noble gets up to ask: What do you want us to do? (Mark is collaborating with Stephen Davies on his terrific work with astrocytes)

Don says do your work; I don't presume to know what you should do. Danny says, lock arms with us. Come with us to where we have to go and be ready to explain this research in layman's terms.

Jackie from the national association of biology teachers: Students turn into advocates when they learn what's at stake . . . what can we teachers do to help eliminate the controversy so they stop debating and lose their fear of it? Danny says, right now we're going to the high schools to help them learn about this research. I think that there needs to be more of an effort . . . we're a little late in the game, to be honest, but we'll be in touch with you as we gear up. Don says go to CAMR Advocacy and Americans for Cures, both of which have clear and lucid explanations -- like this one:
embryonic stem cells are like cash, they can be spent anywhere and buy anything. Adult stem cells are like gift certificates--you can only use them in certain stores.

Question: (Actually a suggestion for the biology teachers) follow the stories and make sure everything you read can be found in multiple publications and is well-sourced.