Pinhead Science

Bush and his cabal have committed many egregious acts of neglect, criminality, and immorality to harm our nation. Their reign of stupidity and insolence will wane – but not fast enough for the people being directly impacted now in Iraq and the Middle East. While the Chimp's actions for the immediate future are unspeakable enough, it is his acts which help degrade the lives of future generations that will surely reserve his seat in the Underworld.

More evidence is coming to light that shows conclusively how the frat boy and his corporate owners have deliberately muzzled and impeded the honest, factual investigations of climatologists into the causes of global warming:

More than 120 scientists across seven federal agencies say they have been pressured to remove references to "climate change" and "global warming" from a range of documents, including press releases and communications with Congress. Roughly the same number say appointees altered the meaning of scientific findings on climate contained in communications related to their research.

"We are beyond the anecdotal," says Francesca Grifo, director of the scientific integrity program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), ............"We now have evidence to support the view that this problem goes deeper than just these few high-profile cases."

Global-warming science must be accurately represented to enable lawmakers to craft adequate policies to control the problem and adapt to climate change, Dr. Grifo says. Scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other agencies working on climate-related issues are doing excellent work. "But it's under threat, and they are struggling to get their results out" to the general public, she says.........

Sometimes scientists and career public-affairs officers would send press releases related to global warming up the ladder for review, then never hear back. Or appointees changed the wording in ways that scientists felt distorted the results or their implications, and the researchers weren't given a chance to argue their case........

During Tuesday's hearing, additional evidence came from Rick Piltz, who resigned from his position as senior associate with the administration's Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) in 2005 over what he saw as repeated instances of interference in the program's reporting process - often with pressure coming from two conservative think tanks that have spearheaded efforts to debunk global warming. One of their key contacts in the White House, he says, was the chief of staff of the president's Council on Environmental Quality, Philip Cooney, who served as an attorney and lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute prior to joining the council.

Yet even Dr. Pielke says that "the Bush administration has engaged in hypercontrolling strategies for controlling information" on global warming.

Adds Grifo, "It's time for the public to stand up and be angry, too. It's their knowledge, their scientists, just like Washington is their capital."

One could make a convincing argument that Bush is an intellectually lazy man, incurious about the world around him and disdainful of those he believes to be his mental superiors. One could also argue that Bush believes strongly in class divisions and consequently cares little about the future for others – as long as he keeps his class happy. I tend to believe both arguments, adding that Bush and his cronies are empty, amoral beings helping to degrade the environment for future generations so that someone can make a higher percentage. They need to see a jail cell.
Posted on The Human Stain