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Politicizing Science
grape jelly writes "A new website has been created by Rep. Harry A. Waxman, of California, by the name of Politics and Science that accuses the current administration of intentionally manipulating scientific data in order to further its ideology. The site was created as a result of a congressional report (pdf) request by Rep. Waxman, available on his site. A NYTimes article is also available about the report with a response from the administration."
I did check out the website. He seems to be among a group of people these days who want to disbelieve any scientific result that is generally accepted. Practically all immune researchers believe HIV causes AIDS? They must be wrong! The establishment didn't accept Velikovsky? He must have been right! This attitude appears to come from an UNcritical distrust of authority. Just being dismissed by the authorities doesn't make an idea worthy of serious consideration. They may well have laughed at Galileo, but they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.
This is nothing new with this administration.
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No, but what is new with this administration is the extent of creation of policy based upon and filtered through pre-determined morality and financial interest. My letter to Sen. Waxman follows:
Regarding your website: Politics and Science. http://www.house.gov/reform/min/politicsandscienc
As a scientist beginning my career, I can certainly applaud your efforts to create such a page. We need more science education for the general public to ensure that people can reach appropriate decisions based upon factual and unbiased information provided by the scientific community.
There will always be spin in politics and science, but the goal should be a search for the truth unencumbered by political ideologies or financial influence. Maintenance of this pure environment for scientific research is untenable, but the approach the Bush administration has taken has skewed scientific efforts in the name of pre-determined scientific results filtered through this administrations morality. Political decisions that guide the course of this country should not be made upon unilateral priorities. Rather, they need to be made through rigorous application of question, study and answer.
Efforts to educate the scientific and lawmaking community through proper scientific procedure and questioning along with public education and critical thinking requires publicly funded peer-reviewed science. Your staff has done an admirable job in preparing this site based upon these principles and I would encourage the dissemination of these efforts to other lawmakers via a more intimate relationship with the scientific community. Ultimately, I would like to see in government fewer scientific cabals and more open discussions of current issues by a rotating group of scientists who advise this countries policy makers.
Best Regards,
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