Clearly, poor Michael J. Fox appears heavily afflicted by the ravages of Parkinson’s disease in this political ad that has recently gotten a lot of press. Rush Limbaugh‘s saying that Fox, whose body jerks back and forth as he speaks, “either didn’t take his medication or was acting,” was asinine (although he later apologized for accusing Fox of overdoing it).
About two weeks ago I ran a Fox item and a link to a YouTube video of Fox talking, and it’s also quite obvious what Parkinson’s is doing to him but he’s not jerking back and forth in this one.
I don’t know what this disease is like or whether your spasms are different each day or what, but it’s obviously a ghastly thing to live with. The fundamentalist ignorance and arrogance of President Bush and the religious right’s opposition to federal funding for embryonic stem cell research is rancid and despicable. Anything that might lead to medical developments that could alleviate the plight of Parkinson’s sufferers should obviously be funded up the wazoo.