This year, 48 Nobel laureates dropped all pretense of nonpartisanship
as they signed a letter endorsing Senator John Kerry.
"Unlike previous administrations, Republican and Democratic alike, the
Bush administration has ignored unbiased scientific advice in the
policy making that is so important to our collective welfare," they
wrote.
The critics include members of past Republican administrations.
And battles continue to erupt in government agencies over how to
communicate research findings that might clash with administration
policies.
This month, three NASA scientists and several officials at NASA
headquarters and at two agency research centers described how news
releases on new global warming studies had been revised by
administrators to play down definitiveness or risks.
The scientists and officials said other releases had been delayed.
"You have to be evenhanded in reporting science results, and it's
apparent that there is a tendency for that not to be occurring now,"
said Dr. James E. Hansen, a climate expert who is director of the NASA
Goddard Institute for Space Studies in Manhattan.
Glenn Mahone, the assistant administrator of NASA for public affairs,
yesterday denied that any releases on climate had been held up or
modified by anything other than normal reviews.
"There has been a slowdown," he said.
But he insisted, "There is nothing in terms of any kind of approval
process with the White House."
Earlier this year, after continuing complaints that the White House
was asking litmus-test questions of nominees for scientific advisory
panels, the first question asked of a candidate for a panel on Arctic
issues, the candidate said, was:
"Do you support the president?"
When asked about such incidents, officials with the Bush campaign call
attention to Mr. Bush's frequent queries to the National Academy of
Sciences as evidence of his desire for good advice on technical
issues.
"This president believes in pursuing the best, most objective science,
and his record proves that," said Brian Jones, a campaign spokesman.
Yet complaints about the administration's approach to scientific
information are coming even from within the government.
Many career scientists and officials have expressed frustration and
anger privately but were unwilling to be identified for fear of losing
their jobs.
But a few have stepped forward, including Dr. Hansen at NASA, who has
been researching global warming and conveying its implications to
Congress and the White House for two decades.
From The New York Times, 10/19/04:
http://nytimes.com/2004/10/19/science/19poli.html
Bush vs. the Laureates: How Science Became a Partisan Issue
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
Why is science seemingly at war with President Bush?
For nearly four years, and with rising intensity, scientists in and
out of government have criticized the Bush administration, saying it
has selected or suppressed research findings to suit preset policies,
skewed advisory panels or ignored unwelcome advice, and quashed
discussion within federal research agencies.
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Any legitimate group is a threat to the The Bush Crime Family.
Harry
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