Stem cell veto's, comparing embryonic stem cell research to murder, anti global warming "science", creationism... it seems that the only war Bush is winning is the war on science:
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) released survey results that demonstrate pervasive and dangerous political influence of science at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Of the 997 FDA scientists who responded to the survey, nearly one-fifth (18.4 percent) said that they "have been asked, for non-scientific reasons, to inappropriately exclude or alter technical information or their conclusions in a FDA scientific document."
The New York Times reports:
From 2002 until this year, NASA’s
mission statement, prominently featured in its budget and planning
documents, read: “To understand and protect our home planet; to explore
the universe and search for life; to inspire the next generation of
explorers ... as only NASA can.”
In early February, the statement was quietly altered, with the phrase
“to understand and protect our home planet” deleted. In this year’s
budget and planning documents, the agency’s mission is “to pioneer the
future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics
The Scientist reports on continueing conflict of interest problems:
Nearly one in five scientists appointed to expert panels of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) had direct financial ties to companies that stood to benefit from the deliberations, according to a sampling released by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). NAS was created by President Lincoln in 1863, to "investigate, examine, experiment, and report upon any subject of science or art" when requested by any department of the government.
"I believe there are scientists out there without conflicts of interest who can serve on these committees and do a comparable job" to experts with ties to the affected companies, said Merrill Goozner, CSPI's director of Integrity in Science program. CSPI cites the example of a NAS panel evaluating the risk of mercury in fish that included a scientist whose research was funded by pro-industry lobbying groups such as the United States Tuna Foundation. Another panel studying pollution emissions included 10 out of 11 scientists with ties to carbon-emitting industries.
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