I don't know enough about Leon Kass to be able to dispute Michael Lind's assertion that the man is a right-winger whose "published work reveals him as an individual with extreme views…" However, Lind manages to locate exactly one sentence from Kass' "published work", and it is fairly ambiguous:

"Even the perfectly voluntary use of powers to prolong life, to initiate it in the laboratory, or to make it more colorful and less troublesome through chemistry carries dangers of degradation, depersonalization, and general enfeeblement of soul," Kass writes.

Since I don't know exactly what Kass means by "enfeeblement of soul," it's hard for me to agree or disagree his assertion that such a danger exists, much less to label it as an example of "extreme views that place him far from the mainstream of both American medicine and American public opinion."

In any case, it doesn't seem so extreme to me to suggest that such technologies carry moral risks, possibly tending toward dehumanization, and that these issues should be considered in deciding what to do and not to do. Merely to suggest that such a danger exists does not seem at all extreme to me; rather, the extreme vigor of Lind's denunciations, based on what seems a single very mild suggestion, makes me suspect that it may not be Leon Kass who is harboring an extremist agenda.

Would it be so bad if the some other democratic country takes the lead in biotech (and perhaps the lead in AI or nano.)?

Sure, this other country's cultural values wouldn't be our cultural values but who can really claim that the United States' values are the best? Sure it would hurt us economically but would it be so bad in the long run for the planet and species as a whole?

As long as these technologies are researched in the open in a democratic and economically stable country, I think we're pretty safe as a species. If our leaders suffer from lack of vision, so what?

Anyone with half a brain cell knows that President Bush is an idiot with very little marbles; not only that, he's a religious freak who also wishes to keep mankind in the dark ages (most likely since he has a midievil mentality and would function better in such an environment)

The sad thing is, these 'scientists' who critisize the moron are no better than he is; they are absolute fools to rely on the government and politics to fund and govern their research. Cloning, Stem Cell Research, Nanotechnology and other breakthrough technologies need to funded by anonymous sources and controlled by neutral parties, instead of by biased, shortsided idiots.

If these scientists were smart, they would pack their bags and head to Sri Lanka and do their research there – Sri Lanka has no agreements with the U.S., and therefore, the scientists could perform whatever they so desire WITHOUT permission from society. Currently, that is where many scientists are located – and it wouldn't surprise me if true Nanotech is born there first.

People need to realize that even the most cruelest research can have the greatest of benefits on mankind. Morality and Fear have enslaved mankind into thinking that they are the center of the universe and that human life, (even the unborn), should be protected at all costs; but at the same time, they disregard every other form of life on the planet. Little do they realize that in order to understand the universe, you must first take it apart, understand how the pieces work, and then try and put it back together again. Most people are not willing to do this, however; instead, they would rather continue the cycle of being born, growing up, getting married, having chldren, growing old and then dying. This is how most people's current mindsets are; little do they realize that if they do not choose to evolve beyond this, they will destroy themselves.

Rules were made to be broken; if you're a scientist and follow the 'rules' made by someone else who doesn't even have a clue, then you have no right to call yourself a scientist. Pure and simple.