Creationism and our Political Leaders
George Bush Misrepresents Science and Knowledge
By Bill Butler
Is George W. Bush one of
the ignorant Young Earth Creationists?
What might happen if you combined Ignorance and Power?
If the Ignorant Armies gained control, what steps might these Creationists take to throw us back into the Dark Ages of Religious Theocracy?
(“Ignorance is Strength” graphic courtesy of http://www.internetweekly.org/2005/05/cartoon_bush_anti_science.html)
A recent “Restoring Scientific Integrity” statement authored by the Union of Concerned Scientists indicates the above questions may already be done deals. As of April 19, 2005 the statement has been signed by: “Signers include 48 Nobel laureates, 63 National Medal of Science recipients, and 136 members of the National Academy of Sciences.”
If you wish to disagree with their support for the following statements, please explain why you are right and the 48 Nobel winners are wrong.
A summary of the UCS Restoring Scientific Integrity Statement can be read at:
http://www.ucsusa.org/documents/RSI_final_exsum.pdf
The full document can be seen at:
http://www.ucsusa.org/documents/RSI_final_fullreport.pdf
The title of the paper is:
(Most of the following statements are direct quotes from the RSI report - the report that has been endorsed by 48 Nobel Prize Laureates.)
1. There is a well-established pattern of suppression and distortion of scientific findings by high-ranking Bush administration political appointees across numerous federal agencies. These actions have consequences for human health, public safety, and community well-being.
2. There is strong documentation of a wide ranging effort to manipulate the government's scientific advisory system to prevent the appearance of advice that might run counter to the administration's political agenda.
3. There is evidence that the administration often imposes restrictions on what government scientists can say or write about "sensitive" topics.
4. There is significant evidence that the scope and scale of the manipulation, suppression, and misrepresentation of science by the Bush administration is unprecedented.
This report has, however, provided substantial evidence that objective scientific knowledge is being distorted for political ends by the Bush administration, and misrepresented or even withheld from Congress and the public at large.
These individuals express a deep concern about the many actions by the Bush administration that have distorted or undermined the analysis and reporting of scientific information.
Tinkering with scientific information, either striking it from reports or altering it, is becoming a pattern of behavior. It represents the politicizing of a scientific process, which at once manifests a disdain for professional scientists working for our government and a willingness to be less than candid with the American people.
The following section details the results of a UCS investigation into numerous allegations that the current administration has undermined the quality of the science that informs policy making by suppressing, distorting, or manipulating the work done by scientists at federal agencies.
Since taking office, the Bush administration has consistently sought to undermine the public's understanding of the view held by the vast majority of climate scientists that human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases are making a discernible contribution to global warming.
Were the case an isolated incident, it could perhaps be dismissed as an anomaly. On the contrary, the Bush administration has repeatedly intervened to distort or suppress climate change research findings.
"It is not just a case of micromanagement, but really of censorship of government information," a current government official familiar with the case noted.
…published accounts to date have documented that senior Bush officials suppressed and sought to manipulate government information about mercury contained in an EPA report on children's health and the environment.
The suppression of research on air pollution is of serious concern because of its enormous impact on public health.
Distorting Scientific Knowledge on Reproductive Health Issues (Section Heading)
The fact that the Bush administration ignores the scientific evidence, troubling though that is, is not the primary concern of this report. Rather, it is the fact that the Bush administration went further by distorting the U.S. Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) science-based performance measures…
In addition to distorting performance measures, the Bush administration has suppressed other information at the CDC at odds with its preferred policies.
One particularly dramatic and well-documented case involves Dr. James Zahn, a research microbiologist at the USDA who asserts that he was prohibited on no fewer than 11 occasions from publicizing his research on the potential hazards to human health posed by airborne bacteria resulting from farm wastes.
Misrepresenting Evidence on Iraq's Aluminum Tubes (Section Heading)
One particular case shows that the administration knowingly disregarded scientific analysis of intelligence data that contradicted its case.
Manipulation of Science Regarding the Endangered Species Act (Section Heading)
Perhaps most troubling, however, has been the way in which the Bush administration has suppressed or even attempted to distort the scientific findings of its own agencies to further its political agenda.
It's hard not to think that because our findings don't match up with what they want to hear, they are putting a new team on the job who will give them what they want.
Manipulating the Scientific Process on Forest Management (Section Heading)
The real issue here is that we are allowing scientific advisory committees to be contaminated by people who have clear bias, clear financial conflicts that will not allow them to make unbiased scientific decisions.
… the current administration has repeatedly allowed political considerations to trump scientific qualifications in the appointment process.
As one medical researcher explains it, Banner's position either ignores or willfully misreads some four decades' worth of accumulating data on lead exposure in children.
In this case, however, the Bush administration effectively denied the public an informed policy recommendation by tampering with the integrity of the advisory panel nominating process.
We've seen a consistent pattern of putting people in who will ensure that the administration hears what it wants to hear.
I think it conveys very powerfully that part of the goal is to intimidate researchers and limit what research questions are asked.
I don't know for sure why these respected scientists were kicked out, but it sure smelled foul.
In several cases, the Bush administration's candidates for advisory positions have so lacked qualifications or held such extreme views that they have caused a public outcry.
His nomination represents a dramatic departure from any past appointments to this committee. He is best known for co-authoring a book that recommends particular scripture readings as a treatment for premenstrual syndrome.
However, a considerable number of individuals who have served in positions directly involved in the federal government's use of scientific knowledge and expertise have asserted that the Bush administration is, to an unprecedented degree, distorting and manipulating the science meant to assist the formation and implementation of policy.
We're seeing a clear substitution of ideology for science and it is causing many committed scientists to leave the agency.
Withholding of vital environmental information is getting to be a bad habit with the Bush administration.
What's going on now is in many ways more insidious. It happens behind the curtain. I don't think we've had this kind of cynicism with respect to objective scientific advice since I've been watching government, which is quite a long time.
Also please see:
New Orleans Underwater
Creationism = Willful Ignorance
“Dr” Jason Gastrich, “Ph.D.” - A Typically Fraudulent Young Earth Creationist
Return to Durango Bill's Home Page
Web page generated via KompoZer
What might happen if you combined Ignorance and Power?
If the Ignorant Armies gained control, what steps might these Creationists take to throw us back into the Dark Ages of Religious Theocracy?
Answer: George C. Deutsch, a 24-year
old presidential appointee (by Bush) to NASA tried to force NASA
scientists to call Global Warming and the Big Bang “just
theories”. It turns out his qualifications for his job consisted
of working for the elect Bush campaign. Deutsch had also claimed that
he had a degree from Texas A&M University. Similar to other claims
by the current administration, this educational claim was fraudulent.
New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/08/politics/08nasa.html
New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/08/politics/08nasa.html
(“Ignorance is Strength” graphic courtesy of http://www.internetweekly.org/2005/05/cartoon_bush_anti_science.html)
A recent “Restoring Scientific Integrity” statement authored by the Union of Concerned Scientists indicates the above questions may already be done deals. As of April 19, 2005 the statement has been signed by: “Signers include 48 Nobel laureates, 63 National Medal of Science recipients, and 136 members of the National Academy of Sciences.”
If you wish to disagree with their support for the following statements, please explain why you are right and the 48 Nobel winners are wrong.
A summary of the UCS Restoring Scientific Integrity Statement can be read at:
http://www.ucsusa.org/documents/RSI_final_exsum.pdf
The full document can be seen at:
http://www.ucsusa.org/documents/RSI_final_fullreport.pdf
The title of the paper is:
Scientific Integrity
in Policymaking
An Investigation into the Bush Administration's Misuse of Science
By
Union of Concerned Scientists
February 2004
An Investigation into the Bush Administration's Misuse of Science
By
Union of Concerned Scientists
February 2004
(Most of the following statements are direct quotes from the RSI report - the report that has been endorsed by 48 Nobel Prize Laureates.)
The Findings of
the Investigation fall into 4 categories.
1. There is a well-established pattern of suppression and distortion of scientific findings by high-ranking Bush administration political appointees across numerous federal agencies. These actions have consequences for human health, public safety, and community well-being.
2. There is strong documentation of a wide ranging effort to manipulate the government's scientific advisory system to prevent the appearance of advice that might run counter to the administration's political agenda.
3. There is evidence that the administration often imposes restrictions on what government scientists can say or write about "sensitive" topics.
4. There is significant evidence that the scope and scale of the manipulation, suppression, and misrepresentation of science by the Bush administration is unprecedented.
Conclusions and
Recommendations:
What's at Stake
What's at Stake
This report has, however, provided substantial evidence that objective scientific knowledge is being distorted for political ends by the Bush administration, and misrepresented or even withheld from Congress and the public at large.
These individuals express a deep concern about the many actions by the Bush administration that have distorted or undermined the analysis and reporting of scientific information.
Part 1
Suppression and Distortion of Research Findings at Federal Agencies
Suppression and Distortion of Research Findings at Federal Agencies
Tinkering with scientific information, either striking it from reports or altering it, is becoming a pattern of behavior. It represents the politicizing of a scientific process, which at once manifests a disdain for professional scientists working for our government and a willingness to be less than candid with the American people.
The following section details the results of a UCS investigation into numerous allegations that the current administration has undermined the quality of the science that informs policy making by suppressing, distorting, or manipulating the work done by scientists at federal agencies.
Since taking office, the Bush administration has consistently sought to undermine the public's understanding of the view held by the vast majority of climate scientists that human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases are making a discernible contribution to global warming.
Were the case an isolated incident, it could perhaps be dismissed as an anomaly. On the contrary, the Bush administration has repeatedly intervened to distort or suppress climate change research findings.
"It is not just a case of micromanagement, but really of censorship of government information," a current government official familiar with the case noted.
…published accounts to date have documented that senior Bush officials suppressed and sought to manipulate government information about mercury contained in an EPA report on children's health and the environment.
The suppression of research on air pollution is of serious concern because of its enormous impact on public health.
Distorting Scientific Knowledge on Reproductive Health Issues (Section Heading)
The fact that the Bush administration ignores the scientific evidence, troubling though that is, is not the primary concern of this report. Rather, it is the fact that the Bush administration went further by distorting the U.S. Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) science-based performance measures…
In addition to distorting performance measures, the Bush administration has suppressed other information at the CDC at odds with its preferred policies.
One particularly dramatic and well-documented case involves Dr. James Zahn, a research microbiologist at the USDA who asserts that he was prohibited on no fewer than 11 occasions from publicizing his research on the potential hazards to human health posed by airborne bacteria resulting from farm wastes.
Misrepresenting Evidence on Iraq's Aluminum Tubes (Section Heading)
One particular case shows that the administration knowingly disregarded scientific analysis of intelligence data that contradicted its case.
Manipulation of Science Regarding the Endangered Species Act (Section Heading)
Perhaps most troubling, however, has been the way in which the Bush administration has suppressed or even attempted to distort the scientific findings of its own agencies to further its political agenda.
It's hard not to think that because our findings don't match up with what they want to hear, they are putting a new team on the job who will give them what they want.
Manipulating the Scientific Process on Forest Management (Section Heading)
Part 2
Suppression and Distortion of Research Findings at Federal Agencies
Suppression and Distortion of Research Findings at Federal Agencies
The real issue here is that we are allowing scientific advisory committees to be contaminated by people who have clear bias, clear financial conflicts that will not allow them to make unbiased scientific decisions.
… the current administration has repeatedly allowed political considerations to trump scientific qualifications in the appointment process.
As one medical researcher explains it, Banner's position either ignores or willfully misreads some four decades' worth of accumulating data on lead exposure in children.
In this case, however, the Bush administration effectively denied the public an informed policy recommendation by tampering with the integrity of the advisory panel nominating process.
We've seen a consistent pattern of putting people in who will ensure that the administration hears what it wants to hear.
I think it conveys very powerfully that part of the goal is to intimidate researchers and limit what research questions are asked.
I don't know for sure why these respected scientists were kicked out, but it sure smelled foul.
In several cases, the Bush administration's candidates for advisory positions have so lacked qualifications or held such extreme views that they have caused a public outcry.
His nomination represents a dramatic departure from any past appointments to this committee. He is best known for co-authoring a book that recommends particular scripture readings as a treatment for premenstrual syndrome.
Part 3
An Unprecedented Pattern of Behavior
An Unprecedented Pattern of Behavior
However, a considerable number of individuals who have served in positions directly involved in the federal government's use of scientific knowledge and expertise have asserted that the Bush administration is, to an unprecedented degree, distorting and manipulating the science meant to assist the formation and implementation of policy.
We're seeing a clear substitution of ideology for science and it is causing many committed scientists to leave the agency.
Withholding of vital environmental information is getting to be a bad habit with the Bush administration.
What's going on now is in many ways more insidious. It happens behind the curtain. I don't think we've had this kind of cynicism with respect to objective scientific advice since I've been watching government, which is quite a long time.
Also please see:
New Orleans Underwater
Creationism = Willful Ignorance
“Dr” Jason Gastrich, “Ph.D.” - A Typically Fraudulent Young Earth Creationist
Return to Durango Bill's Home Page
Web page generated via KompoZer