Posted on 01/12/2007 12:29:17 AM PST by djf
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is clamping down on scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey, the latest agency subjected to controls on research that might go against official policy.
New rules require screening of all facts and interpretations by agency scientists who study everything from caribou mating to global warming. The rules apply to all scientific papers and other public documents, even minor reports or prepared talks, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.
Top officials at the Interior Departments scientific arm say the rules only standardize what scientists must do to ensure the quality of their work and give a heads-up to the agencys public relations staff.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
There are some scientists motivated by bias. I think that will only increase with the govt screening publications.
Yup. Unfortunately, the politicians have turned science into a political football. It started with evolution in the schools, I think, and has only gotten worse.
The nature of governmental bodies never changes.
We have professional scientists on the payroll because they're professional scientists and will give us the straight scoop.
Is there any politicians in the White House who are competent enough to review USGS findings?
I don't think so...
Democracy - n, def: The group that gets PAID THE MOST ends up VOTING THE MOST See: TRAGEDY)
If you applied your tag line to the scientific community you would get "The group that gets paid the most comes up with the most dire predictions of destruction and peril." (so they can get paid again to figure out how to avoid it.)
So do you think all scientists are saints, and no one on the gov't payroll has an environmental extremist agenda?
Oh, this must be what Algore is doing, right? That is a very current and ongoing manipulation for political reasons.
...and individual or groups of scientists don't acquire political agendas?
If only there were a truely judicial group of men and women that could never be infected that could be set up as absolutes. Not ever happenin'.
This reminds me so much of the old USSR or even more so, Red China where everything was reviewed to be sure it complied with the Communist Party line.
Then I think about how rangers at the Grand Canyon cannot answer the question of how old is the Grand Canyon and how books are for sale at the Grand Canyon about how it was created by the Great Flood.
Maybe the public affairs staff would like to know what is going out the door in their behalf before it goes. That way they can check it for adherence to department policy and answer questions about it to the press once it's released. You know how scientists and engineers are the most camera-ready, people-friendly group on the Earth?
I worked at a government agency in public affairs and nothing went out the door unless it was reviewed by other scientists, such as the department heads, and the communications manager. If we got calls from the public or press, we could pass the call to the communications manager. There's nothing out of the ordinary going on here. Every organization does it.
I remember years back when one of the greatest objections to government funded health care (Hillary style) was that people didn't want government politicizing medicine.
Man, conservatism has changed.
Well, you're certainly trusting. One would never expect government-funded science to be affected by political or funding-related pressures....
"Oh, this must be what Algore is doing, right? That is a very current and ongoing manipulation for political reasons."
I dont know, I havn't listened to Gore. It is plausable.
"Well, you're certainly trusting. One would never expect government-funded science to be affected by political or funding-related pressures...."
I am not trusting. I would expect government-funded science to be afffected by political or funding related issues. The government filtering findings obtained through these programs exacerbates the effect.
It kind of assumes that some politician knew the right answer before we starded doing the research in question.
This is almost certainly wrong.
Because beancounters with poli sci degrees know how to review scientific papers, AMIRITE?
Now, if the scientist's report was released without review, the MSM would be calling the public affairs office and wanting to know why the agency is putting out suspect information. That alone will damage the reputation of the agency and anything else it publishes.
Oh man, are you in the wrong place. The White House is completely trustworthy. Until recently the Congress was too. And when Hillary is elected, Free Republic will once again be against Big Government.
It's not that conservatism has changed, its that lots of groups with their own pet issues have hijacked conservatism and declared that to be conservative you must subscribe to their ideals or else.
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