Yesterday I criticized Rush Limbaugh for his comments about Michael J. Fox. The commentator accused the actor of exaggerating Parkinson’s for a Democratic campaign commercial, possibly by not taking his medicine. I argued that (A) some sources say the medication, not the disease, causes the awkward movements and (B) it’s fine to take issue with what Fox said, but bringing the symptoms into the discussion won’t score you any points.

Well, Limbaugh has actually produced evidence that Fox has exaggerated his illness in the past. From his Web site:

This would be Michael J. Fox, an excerpt from his book “Lucky Man” June 1, 2002. Here is what he writes regarding his appearance before a Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing in Washington on September 28th, 1999: “I had made a deliberate choice to appear before the subcommittee without medication. It seemed to me that this occasion demanded that my testimony about the effects of the disease and the urgency we as a community were feeling be seen as well as heard. For people who had never observed me in this kind of shape, the transformation must have been startling.”

This still doesn’t answer the question of whether the exaggeration was due to Fox intentionally forgetting his medicine (sources I’ve come across indicate that awkward movements are not a symptom of the disease itself; Parkinson’s impairs movement), but regardless, it shows that the actor is known to exploit his illness. It’s likely the commercial was put together for maximum impact, even at the expense of accurately portraying Fox’s Parkinson’s symptoms.
Limbaugh’s site also has a worthwhile case against embryonic stem cell research. While I support the practice, I do think there are incredibly important distinctions betweem embryonic and adult stem cells, and between criminalizing the work and simply ending government funding for it.
Robert VerBruggen blogs at http://robertsrationale.blogspot.com.