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Ted Cruz To Oversee NASA and US Science Programs

romanval sends word that U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) will become the new chairman of the subcommittee that oversees NASA and government scientific research. Cruz has both spoken in favor of NASA and attempted to cut its budget, but he's most notable for his opposition to the science supporting climate change. From the article: His vociferous opposition to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and his support of extreme budget cuts could spell trouble for NASA's less prominent programs, such as its own climate research and sophisticated supercomputers. His role on the front lines of the 2013 government shutdown, which critics say had lasting negative effects on public safety, NASA research and EPA scientists' ability to visit contaminated sites, also suggests at best a narrow focus on NASA's largest projects and at worst a disregard for agencies that require science funding.

13 of 496 comments (clear)

  1. What's next? by bytethese · · Score: 5, Funny

    Joel Osteen to head committee on Evolution?

    1. Re:What's next? by WayToGoPhil · · Score: 5, Funny

      Michele Bachmann on House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.. Oh wait. Seriously though what could possibly go wrong.

    2. Re:What's next? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The only reason I voted for President Obama twice is because as a moderate conservative I couldn't vote for either John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012 because they both pandered to the right wing extremists and made bad VP picks. Surprisingly, President Obama was the best moderate conservative that the Democrats ever nominated.

  2. We deserve this guy by linuxguy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is what democracy is all about.

    1. Re:We deserve this guy by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 5, Informative

      The lowest voter turnout in 72 years chose the Republican Party to be in charge of the Senate. The last time the Republcians had the large majority in the House was before the 1929 stock market crash. Something to think about.

    2. Re:We deserve this guy by turkeyfish · · Score: 5, Informative

      Actually, Dems received nearly 20,000,000 more votes national than the GOP, which goes to show just how badly the GOP has gerrymandered the Congress.

    3. Re:We deserve this guy by k6mfw · · Score: 5, Informative

      Decline and fall of the United States will be from causes within.

      --
      mfwright@batnet.com
  3. LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If this wasn't so sad, it'd be funny. NASA's new prime directive: find evidence that God created the Earth 6,000 years ago. :(

  4. WTF by Viros · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why do we keep putting people who have a history of being enemies of the scientific community to the scientific subcommittees in Congress? This does nothing productive except give people like Jon Stewart more material.

    1. Re:WTF by CohibaVancouver · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Why do we keep putting people who have a history of being enemies of the scientific community to the scientific subcommittees in Congress?

      "We" don't, the Republican Party does. They don't like pesky science - It keeps contradicting the bible.

    2. Re:WTF by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      They don't like pesky Bible - It keeps contradicting their worship of the rich.

      FTFY

  5. Inhofe in charge of the EPA is scarier by barlevg · · Score: 5, Insightful
  6. Re:Wonderful by Feral+Nerd · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As most people don't realize that Muslims have contributed extensively to the sciences during the medieval age.

    And so did the Catholic church. Between the two of them Muslim scholars and Catholic monks are pretty much single handedly responsible for salvaging much of the collective knowledge of the classical world.