Posted on 02/08/2006 7:55:41 AM PST by orionblamblam
George Deutsch, Up and Coming PAO Politico NASA Chief Backs Agency Openness, NY Times
"In October, for example, George Deutsch, a presidential appointee in NASA headquarters, told a Web designer working for the agency to add the word "theory" after every mention of the Big Bang, according to an e-mail message from Mr. Deutsch that another NASA employee forwarded to The Times."
"... The Big Bang memo came from Mr. Deutsch, a 24-year-old presidential appointee in the press office at NASA headquarters whose résumé says he was an intern in the "war room" of the 2004 Bush-Cheney re-election campaign. A 2003 journalism graduate of Texas A&M, he was also the public-affairs officer who sought more control over Dr. Hansen's public statements."
"... The Big Bang is "not proven fact; it is opinion," Mr. Deutsch wrote, adding, "It is not NASA's place, nor should it be to make a declaration such as this about the existence of the universe that discounts intelligent design by a creator." It continued: "This is more than a science issue, it is a religious issue. And I would hate to think that young people would only be getting one-half of this debate from NASA. That would mean we had failed to properly educate the very people who rely on us for factual information the most."
Editor's note: George Deutsch got his job at NASA was a reward for being a loyal young republican. Otherwise, based on his reported comments in this and other articles - and I'm just guessing folks - but it would seem that he did not take very many science classes in college - political science perhaps. Not exactly the ideal background for someone whose job it is to communicate science. Perhaps we can get George to detail his background for us - and why he thinks that he knows more about the topic than the people who actually do the research.
Personally I think George is in over his head. Based on the quotes in this article he is pursuing his own personal political/religious agenda - at taxpayer expense. What's even more annoying is the fact that George seems to have been operating without any adult supervision by NASA PAO - or has the White House really directed NASA to do the things that George has been doing?.
> Stem cells, the hockey stick phenomenon, the whole alchemical enterprise is squeaky clean.
Unlike theology, when there's error or fraud in science it's self-correcting.
Please, for every criminal you catch, 10 go free.
Just make sure your results aren't too groundbreaking and keep the money train a-rollin' along.
Sorry. It showed Newtonian mechanics doesn't work in all instances. It is, in fact, "off" in the macroscopic world as well. We just don't notice because we can't measure that precisely.
> It showed Newtonian mechanics doesn't work in all instances.
Indeed. Which is a phenomenally different thing from proving it "wrong."
> Please, for every criminal you catch, 10 go free.
And in theology... that one criminal never gets caught at all, thus all eleven go free.
It's amusing that you think the reason why people get into science is for money. Haw! Next you'll say it's for all the hot chicks, too.
Newton is wrong -- even with steel balls being dropped from buildings, he's wrong, there are relativistic effects -- but it's good enough for government work, you just ignore these small-order terms.
It's amazing how few scientists know the limits of science and the sheer hackery of the whole enterprise.
> That means it is incorrect.
No, it doesn't. It is inadequate at higher energy levels. But for anything most of the world is ever likely to to, it is perfectly accurate.
> It's amazing how few scientists know the limits of science and the sheer hackery of the whole enterprise.
Hmm. So... science is "sheer hackery." But superstition... why, that's revealed Truth!
No, it is inadequate at all energy levels. It's just good enough for your cheap, first decimal point approximations. If you want to know what is really going on in the system, you'll have to think a little harder.
Now you can continue in your ignorance, getting results that are good enough, but you will (a) never know what is really going on and (b) be flummoxed when a more complicated system frustrates your model.
Interesting that you put so much faith in "hackery." How do you know the high-energy physicists aren't just lying to you to get more grants?
For now.
"Theory" is optional when argument against providence is made possible through rhetorical application.
Thanks for the info. I'll check it out.
Is this what we're reduced to? Pathetic clowns like this running NASA?
Next we'll get a head of the Department of Health railing against the unproven theory of infection by microorganisms, demanding equal time for the 'evil humors' theory.
> Pathetic clowns like this running NASA?
Fortuantely, this particular clown wasn't running NASA... he was just the public face of NASA. That's *so* much better.
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