George Bush breaks the 9th commandment to better serve god. - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Nad Adam · 08-22-2003, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Bush Misuses Science, Report Says
Democrats Say Data Are Distorted to Boost Conservative Policies

By Rick Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 8, 2003; Page A15

The Bush administration has repeatedly mischaracterized scientific facts to bolster its political agenda in areas ranging from abstinence education and condom use to missile defense, according to a detailed report released yesterday by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.).

The White House quickly dismissed the report as partisan sniping.

The 40-page document, "Politics and Science in the Bush Administration," was compiled by the minority staff of the House Government Reform Committee's special investigations division. It marks the launch of a new effort by Waxman and others in Congress to highlight simmering anger among scientists and others who believe that President Bush -- much more than his predecessors -- has been spiking science with politics to justify conservative policies in areas such as reproductive rights, embryo research, energy policy and environmental health.

"The Administration's political interference with science has led to misleading statements by the President, inaccurate responses to Congress, altered web sites, suppressed agency reports, erroneous international communications, and the gagging of scientists," according to the report, posted yesterday at www.politicsandscience.org. "The subjects involved span a broad range, but they share a common attribute: the beneficiaries of the scientific distortions are important supporters of the President, including social conservatives and powerful industry groups."

White House spokesman Adam Levine said it would take time for the administration to address the specifics of the report. However, he said, "I'm hard-pressed to believe anyone would consider Congressman Waxman an objective arbiter of scientific fact."

Several prestigious scientific journals have editorialized about the Bush administration's dealings in science in recent months, including Science, Nature and the New England Journal of Medicine.

An editor at Science, for example, recently said in print that the administration was injecting politics into arenas of science "once immune to this kind of manipulation."

And the editors of the Lancet noted "growing evidence of explicit vetting of appointees to influential [scientific] panels on the basis of their political or religious opinions" and warned against "any further right-wing incursions" on those panels.

The General Accounting Office has been investigating such allegations since some in Congress asked the agency to do so in September, but it has not released any findings.

Among the purported abuses documented in the report:

• "Performance measures" used to determine the effectiveness of federally funded "abstinence only" sex education programs were altered by the administration in ways that made it easier to say the programs were effective. And information about how to use a condom -- along with scientific data showing that sex education does not lead to earlier or increased sexual activity in young people -- was removed from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site.

• In testimony before Congress, Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton omitted -- and in at least one case misstated -- federal scientists' findings that Arctic oil drilling could harm wildlife.

• The administration altered a National Cancer Institute Web site in a way that wrongly implied there was good evidence linking abortions to breast cancer.

• The Education Department circulated a memo instructing employees to remove materials from the department's Web site not "consistent with the Administration's philosophy," prompting complaints about censorship from national educational organizations.

• Bush has appointed to key scientific advisory committees numerous people with political, rather than scientific, credentials. For example, his appointee to a presidential AIDS advisory committee, marketing consultant Jerry Thacker, has described homosexuality as a "deathstyle" and referred to AIDS as the "gay plague."

A spokesman for Waxman said the report will be updated on the Web as new examples arise.

© 2003 The Washington Post Company

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...-2003Aug7.html

Is anybody surprised?
Does anybody think it's wrong?
Does anybody care anymore?
Is this actually legal?

Darkblack · 08-22-2003, 08:56 AM

Is anybody surprised?

NO

Does anybody think it's wrong?

YES

Does anybody care anymore?

Well, I do.

Is this actually legal?

No it isn't but then again, who is going to stop it?

The_Dude · 08-22-2003, 09:04 AM

oooo! somebody's goin to hell!

JumpinJesus · 08-22-2003, 09:17 AM

I heard a commentary on this, though I don't remember where. It was on talk-radio I believe. Anyways, the commentary equated this article to another case of political interference with science. In this case, they were referring to the Catholic Church's torture of Galileo Galilei for purporting that we lived in a heliocentric solar system. Since this belief did not agree with the Roman Catholic doctrine of an earth-centered universe, he was ordered to recant his beliefs in order to serve the ruling body.

As history has proven, the Roman Catholic Church <b>was</b> able to change the universe into a geocentric one by forcing Galileo to go along with them (sarcasm). So yeah, I can believe the administration does this. But then again, I'm pretty sure every administration has done it, though probably not quite to the extent of the current adminstration.

Worse than mixing politics and religion is mixing politics and science, in my opinion. When scientific findings don't jibe with the current political atmosphere, we get instances where presidents claim that trees cause more air pollution than automobiles.

What baffles me is the arrogance it takes to alter science to fit a political ideology.

BigGov · 08-22-2003, 09:44 AM

Quote:

according to a detailed report released yesterday by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.).

After that I stopped reading. I'll waste my time on something more productive, thank you very much.

Fallon · 08-22-2003, 11:16 AM

Gotta love it, I bet we'll have all the republicans coming in here and just read the first line and say, oooo, he's a democrat, we aren't listening.

If you are getting independant science journals writing about the administration doing something, I think that's a bit of a different, but meh, I don't understand politics anymore.

I suppose any Republican news that is out there, I'll ignore even though it may make me more informed because that's the democratic way to be...
/sarcasm

edit: taking out a part that didn't make sense

debaser · 08-22-2003, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jimmy4
After that I stopped reading. I'll waste my time on something more productive, thank you very much.

Yes, he is an asshole, but you never got to the backup:

Quote:

Several prestigious scientific journals have editorialized about the Bush administration's dealings in science in recent months, including Science, Nature and the New England Journal of Medicine.

The study has merit.

vermin · 08-23-2003, 04:43 PM

THE NINTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not covet your neighbor's house.

Copied from here

What does the science thing have to do with this?

JamesS · 08-23-2003, 06:33 PM

Vermin, that is the tenth commandment. The site you linked to seems to be incorrect. The ninth is 'Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.'

In other words, don't lie.

smooth · 08-23-2003, 06:45 PM

The Catholic church took out the second (prohibition against graven images, LOL, wonder why

) and split the tenth into two seperate ones so there would still be 10. I'm surprised Wisconsin Synod is using those for their defintions (my wife was WELS)--I'll have to bring it up to her dad (WELS pastor, hmm).

chavos · 08-24-2003, 07:34 PM

The ordering of the commands differs in the two places it is told in the old testement, and from tradition to tradtion. They are NOT numbered in the original Hebrew...

Anyhow, i hate to see that kind of distortion...i think i'm smart enough and educated enough to understand the basics of science in a policy making context, if not the latest research journals...but my neighbors and friends...not so much. Joe Schmoe often has very little grasp of the issue beyond the simple sound bytes. you have to be smart, and involved to govern oneself...and a lot of people just don't have the tools to see beyond the propaganda anymore, and it's a tragedy.

guthmund · 08-24-2003, 08:15 PM

He's obviously a democrat and must be a philandering stinking liar

right? guys????

And since the study, though legitimate, is connected to a lying stinking philandering democrat it is invalid.

I think the democrat's time would be better spent killing babies, handing our hard earned money to the lazy and shiftless, and taking God out of the schools.

/sarcasm

I've been reading a lot posts like this lately. I remember a time when one could express his/her own opinion without being blanket labeled as a conservative/liberal, tossed aside and their opinions (sometimes valid sometimes not) being labeled as garbage. It seems that most of the folks who post here are incredibly intelligent people. People who, at least it seems to me, aren't capable of being labled and stuffed into box to be put away and dismissed. And yet, we do it anyway by invalidating their ideas based on what party they vote.

I've read some real interesting stuff on the board. I've been informed, enlightened and led to information. And sometimes, I've even changed my mind and re-evaluated my opinion.

I know this is a little disjointed. It just seems sad that this place, which has the potential to be an enormous repository of information, has dilapidated to a flame war of partisan politicking.

*sigh....here let me get you started again....

liberals are always trying to take my hard earned dollar to feed the lazy....

conservatives are using the War on Terror to hold a constiency in check through fear mongering.....

RoadRage · 08-25-2003, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JamesS
Vermin, that is the tenth commandment. The site you linked to seems to be incorrect. The ninth is 'Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.'

In other words, don't lie.

Well, specifically it's "don't tell lies that could get someone else in trouble".

Untruths are sometimes necessary in day-to-day life, like telling a woman with an ugly baby "Oh, what a cute little baby". Tell her the truth, and you're begging for one nasty fight, even if you are Sixate; no animal is more vicious than a wounded (physically or emotionally) mother defending her baby.

And actually, the Tenth Commandment can be figured in here too. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house … nor anything that is thy neighbor's." This includes his oilfields.

Conservatives are being as willfully blind to Junior's foibles as liberals are to the "indiscretions" of their own people. When you put on blinders like that, you've surrendered you freedom to the form of Fascism that the extreme ends of the political spectrum represent, Bureaucratic or Theocratic.

08-22-2003, 09:04 AM	#3 (permalink)
The_Dude The GrandDaddy of them all! Location: Austin, TX	oooo! somebody's goin to hell! __________________ "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." - Darrel K Royal

08-22-2003, 09:17 AM	#4 (permalink)
JumpinJesus Junkie Location: Chicago	I heard a commentary on this, though I don't remember where. It was on talk-radio I believe. Anyways, the commentary equated this article to another case of political interference with science. In this case, they were referring to the Catholic Church's torture of Galileo Galilei for purporting that we lived in a heliocentric solar system. Since this belief did not agree with the Roman Catholic doctrine of an earth-centered universe, he was ordered to recant his beliefs in order to serve the ruling body. As history has proven, the Roman Catholic Church <b>was</b> able to change the universe into a geocentric one by forcing Galileo to go along with them (sarcasm). So yeah, I can believe the administration does this. But then again, I'm pretty sure every administration has done it, though probably not quite to the extent of the current adminstration. Worse than mixing politics and religion is mixing politics and science, in my opinion. When scientific findings don't jibe with the current political atmosphere, we get instances where presidents claim that trees cause more air pollution than automobiles. What baffles me is the arrogance it takes to alter science to fit a political ideology. __________________ "I can normally tell how intelligent a man is by how stupid he thinks I am" - Cormac McCarthy, All The Pretty Horses

08-22-2003, 11:16 AM	#6 (permalink)
Fallon Junkie Location: RI	Gotta love it, I bet we'll have all the republicans coming in here and just read the first line and say, oooo, he's a democrat, we aren't listening. If you are getting independant science journals writing about the administration doing something, I think that's a bit of a different, but meh, I don't understand politics anymore. I suppose any Republican news that is out there, I'll ignore even though it may make me more informed because that's the democratic way to be... /sarcasm edit: taking out a part that didn't make sense Last edited by Fallon; 08-22-2003 at 11:33 AM..

08-23-2003, 04:43 PM	#8 (permalink)
vermin Indifferent to anti-matter Location: Tucson, AZ	THE NINTH COMMANDMENT You shall not covet your neighbor's house. Copied from here What does the science thing have to do with this? __________________ If puns were sausages, this would be the wurst.

08-23-2003, 06:33 PM	#9 (permalink)
JamesS Crazy Location: Land of the Hanging Chad	Vermin, that is the tenth commandment. The site you linked to seems to be incorrect. The ninth is 'Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.' In other words, don't lie. __________________ The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives. -- Albert Schweitzer

08-22-2003, 08:56 AM	#2 (permalink)
Darkblack Banned Location: Pennsytuckia	Is anybody surprised? NO Does anybody think it's wrong? YES Does anybody care anymore? Well, I do. Is this actually legal? No it isn't but then again, who is going to stop it?

08-23-2003, 06:45 PM	#10 (permalink)
smooth Junkie Location: Right here	The Catholic church took out the second (prohibition against graven images, LOL, wonder why ) and split the tenth into two seperate ones so there would still be 10. I'm surprised Wisconsin Synod is using those for their defintions (my wife was WELS)--I'll have to bring it up to her dad (WELS pastor, hmm). __________________ "The theory of a free press is that truth will emerge from free discussion, not that it will be presented perfectly and instantly in any one account." -- Walter Lippmann "You measure democracy by the freedom it gives its dissidents, not the freedom it gives its assimilated conformists." -- Abbie Hoffman

08-24-2003, 07:34 PM	#11 (permalink)
chavos Banned Location: St. Paul, MN	The ordering of the commands differs in the two places it is told in the old testement, and from tradition to tradtion. They are NOT numbered in the original Hebrew... Anyhow, i hate to see that kind of distortion...i think i'm smart enough and educated enough to understand the basics of science in a policy making context, if not the latest research journals...but my neighbors and friends...not so much. Joe Schmoe often has very little grasp of the issue beyond the simple sound bytes. you have to be smart, and involved to govern oneself...and a lot of people just don't have the tools to see beyond the propaganda anymore, and it's a tragedy.

08-24-2003, 08:15 PM	#12 (permalink)
guthmund big damn hero	He's obviously a democrat and must be a philandering stinking liar right? guys???? And since the study, though legitimate, is connected to a lying stinking philandering democrat it is invalid. I think the democrat's time would be better spent killing babies, handing our hard earned money to the lazy and shiftless, and taking God out of the schools. /sarcasm I've been reading a lot posts like this lately. I remember a time when one could express his/her own opinion without being blanket labeled as a conservative/liberal, tossed aside and their opinions (sometimes valid sometimes not) being labeled as garbage. It seems that most of the folks who post here are incredibly intelligent people. People who, at least it seems to me, aren't capable of being labled and stuffed into box to be put away and dismissed. And yet, we do it anyway by invalidating their ideas based on what party they vote. I've read some real interesting stuff on the board. I've been informed, enlightened and led to information. And sometimes, I've even changed my mind and re-evaluated my opinion. I know this is a little disjointed. It just seems sad that this place, which has the potential to be an enormous repository of information, has dilapidated to a flame war of partisan politicking. sigh....here let me get you started again.... liberals are always trying to take my hard earned dollar to feed the lazy.... conservatives are using the War on Terror to hold a constiency in check through fear mongering..... __________________ No signature. None. Seriously. Last edited by guthmund; 08-24-2003 at 08:18 PM..*