Surgeon General Sees 4-Year Term as Compromised

[nlm]

Not that news of Bush suppressing science yet again is a shock or anything...

By GARDINER HARRIS
Published: July 11, 2007

Former Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona told a Congressional panel Tuesday that top Bush administration officials repeatedly tried to weaken or suppress important public health reports because of political considerations.

The administration, Dr. Carmona said, would not allow him to speak or issue reports about stem cells, emergency contraception, sex education, or prison, mental and global health issues. Top officials delayed for years and tried to “water down” a landmark report on secondhand smoke, he said. Released last year, the report concluded that even brief exposure to cigarette smoke could cause immediate harm.

Dr. Carmona said he was ordered to mention President Bush three times on every page of his speeches. He also said he was asked to make speeches to support Republican political candidates and to attend political briefings.

And administration officials even discouraged him from attending the Special Olympics because, he said, of that charitable organization’s longtime ties to a “prominent family” that he refused to name.

“I was specifically told by a senior person, ‘Why would you want to help those people?’ ” Dr. Carmona said.

more at
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/washington/11surgeon.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1184152470-2C/daMYprnWckmsC889Znw

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

No surprise at all. With this President, you have to expect the worst, and then sometimes get worse than you were hoping for.

[nlm]

No surprise at all. With this President, you have to expect the worst, and then sometimes get worse than you were hoping for.

I tend to agree. The volume of scientific information this administration has circular filed in order to pander to it's base or score political points is quite remarkable.

[J. J.]

Surprisingly, I kind of of agree with NLM and the post formerly known as Jfern, on this.

[nlm]

Surprisingly, I kind of of agree with NLM and the post formerly known as Jfern, on this.

It's not a question of agreeing with me or not. You either believe the dozens of former Bush adminstration workers that have come forward and stated their scientific work was compromised by the political arm of the White House or you believe there is a mass conspiracy, that has slowly been unfolding for years, to portray the White House as having done so. I guess there is also a 3rd option, and that would be to simply disbelieve in science. Why should it be surprising that you believe in science and do not subscribe to a ridiculous conspiracy theory - don't sell yourself so short JJ.

[??????????]

How dare anyone not worship at the altar of science.

[memphis]

How dare anyone not worship at the altar of science.

Since you don't "worship at the alter of science" I guess you'll be forgoing cars, air conditioning, medical care, telephones, televisions, computers (you shouldn't even be posting), video games, just about everything short of a mud hut and religious material that's either hand written or oral. Have fun.

[??????????]

How dare anyone not worship at the altar of science.

Since you don't "worship at the alter of science" I guess you'll be forgoing cars, air conditioning, medical care, telephones, televisions, computers (you shouldn't even be posting), video games, just about everything short of a mud hut and religious material that's either hand written or oral. Have fun.

Got any other strawmen you'd like to add to that list?

[Gabu]

How dare anyone not worship at the altar of science.

This is not "worshiping at the altar of science"; this is stifling the results of scientific studies for purely political reasons.  Surely you aren't suggesting that it's appropriate to censor the results of legitimate scientific studies?

[Emsworth]

This sort of scandal would be avoided very easily if the government simply did not conduct official scientific investigations in the first place. Certainly, it might be somewhat reasonable for the government to supply funds for private and independent research projects; however, when a government agency conducts research on its own, there is always a danger of politically motivated suppression, selective reporting, and the like. Furthermore, the very idea of placing the government's imprimatur on one particular result is contrary to the best interests of science, because it encourages appeals to authority.

[memphis]

How dare anyone not worship at the altar of science.

Since you don't "worship at the alter of science" I guess you'll be forgoing cars, air conditioning, medical care, telephones, televisions, computers (you shouldn't even be posting), video games, just about everything short of a mud hut and religious material that's either hand written or oral. Have fun.

Got any other strawmen you'd like to add to that list?

If you want to be against science, that's fine. However, it seems hypocritical to bash science on the one hand and enjoy the technology it has produced on the other.

[nlm]

How dare anyone not worship at the altar of science.

This is not "worshiping at the altar of science"; this is stifling the results of scientific studies for purely political reasons.  Surely you aren't suggesting that it's appropriate to censor the results of legitimate scientific studies?

^^^^^^^^