[djf]

I guess that means if we get a couple 5.0+ quakes on Mt. Rainier we have to wait for White House approval before we get official warning.

[kinoxi]

The results need to be screened because taxpayers desire accountability. MSNBC is still on the air?

[CHUCKfromCAL]

Oh No! Does this mean I can't publish my leftist junk science in hopes of embarrassing the Bush Administration. Peer Review just sucks. Signed "USGS Junk Scientist"

[kinoxi]

New rules require screening of all facts and interpretations by agency scientists who study everything from caribou mating to global warming.

You don't think results should be reviewed? This doesn't affect seismological information as you implied. It creates a reviewal process in the government which IMHO is sorely needed and should be explored.

[preacher]

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009338

Excerpt from above article:

Global Warming Gag Order
Senators to Exxon: Shut up, and pay up.
Monday, December 4, 2006 12:01 a.m. EST

Washington has no shortage of bullies, but even we can't quite believe an October 27 letter that Senators Jay Rockefeller and Olympia Snowe sent to ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson. Its message: Start toeing the Senators' line on climate change, or else.

[WorkerbeeCitizen]

It isn't a good thing when tax dollar funded research is controlled by the Government.
The first step in controlling the people, is to quiet the scientists and thinkers.

[caver]

We'll probably have some leaks from the USGS just like every other branch of the Bush administration.

[Blue_Ridge_Mtn_Geek]

Note to all federal employees:

"He who pays the piper calls the tune".

Those who are unhappy with this arrangement are free to seek employment elsewhere.

Reason #337 for minimizing the scope of government activities: "government funded science" is an oxymoron.

[Brilliant]

The problem is that these scientists dabble in politics as much or more than scientific matters.

[Rb ver. 2.0]

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am sure Dr Dalton was doing what he thought was in your town's best interests. However, I have learned through bitter experience that these decisions are not to be made lightly.

Back years ago I would have bet you a million bucks that Mammoth Mountain was about to go up. We began to talk about the possibility of putting that town on alert. Thank God the mountain didn't go up, but the damage had already been done. The word leaked out that the U.S.G.S. Had expressed concern. So the tourists panicked and stayed away. The real estate values plummeted, and the town nearly went bankrupt.

Consequently, I'm now a lot more cautious when it comes to even talking about putting a town on alert."

[DaGman]

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.

[longtermmemmory]

there is a HUGE problem with left wingers who have found job security in government jobs.

They are the ones whos junk science needs to be screened and prevented from infecting the political discussion.

too many leftists supppor research which is fake in data but accurate to political agendas.

[lainie]

I understand your position and agree with you. Righteous indignation about 'tax money being wasted' makes me chuckle, given the state of the entire USG and the wastefulness that abounds endlessly. It's all about control.