This entry was posted on Saturday, November 25th, 2006 at 3:07 pm and is filed under News, Control, Information. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Government vs. Science
I think it’s safe to say that we can’t rely on the federal government (especially any part of the government administered by the executive branch) for accurate science.
Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt choose a physician with experience in Christian pregnancy counseling (no contraceptives and discouragement of abortion) to oversee federal reproductive health programs. That’s just the kind of horrible irony they are so good at.
We face a serious environmental situation, both from peak oil and from global warming. You know that, and I know that. Yet, in August the Environmental Protection Agency closed their libraries in order to be fiscally responsible. They didn’t just close the libraries to the public but to their own employees. Now that is selective fiscal responsibility. The whole situation is difficult to fathom. The EPA even claims that they that they have no authority to regulate emissions. Fortunately, twelve states, several cities and more than a dozen environmental groups are challenging the decision. This case will be heard by the Supreme Court. That may not fill you with hope, but it’s better than no hearing at all.
I know, the war between the Bush Administration and science is not new. These have just been a few stories in the news over the past couple of weeks. Here are a few more from the past few years.
- August 2003, Committee on Government Reform Minority Office
Investigating the State of Science under the Bush Administration - February 18, 2004, Wired News
Bush Distorts Science, Kristen Philipkoski - February 19, 2004, The Nation
The Junk Science of George W. Bush, Robert F. Kennedy Jr - March 15, 2004, CSICOP
The New Science Wars, Chris Mooney - March 22, 2005, The Guardian UK
For Bush, science is a dirty work, Tristram Hunt - June 30, 2005, US News & World Report
Scientists and Bush Administration at Odds, Thomas Hayden - June 30, 2006, CBS, 60 Minutes
Rewriting the Science
Update 12/2: A BuzzFlash alert notes that the new House Democratic leaders are already addressing the EPA’s library closings, at this point through a relatively strongly worded letter to cease destruction and disposition of library holdings.
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