Bush-Cheney administration/anti-science

Overview

The Bush-Cheney administration clamed to be pro-science, and often made gestures to that effect, but generally acted on a deeply anti-scientific agenda – of which their support of evangelism was just a facet. (Even their outward support of evangelism was more of a tool towards political ends than a reflection of actual beliefs by anyone in the administration.)

Bush himself went on record in support of intelligent design, an anti-scientific theory thinly clothed in scientific terminology.

This contradictory stance is also part of a consistent pattern of hypocrisy within the administration.

Related Pages

• The administration often appeared to oppose reality-based thinking, a concept which is vital for good science
• The forces of anti-science in general enjoyed a dramatic resurgence during this administration.

Links

Filed Links

1. redirect template:links/smw

News & Views

• 2007-07-10 2007-07-10 White House Is Accused of Putting Politics Over Science: "Former Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona told a Congressional committee today that top officials in the Bush administration repeatedly tried to weaken or suppress important public health reports because of political considerations."
• 2007-03-23 Faking science? Bush team must think we're stupid by Leonard Pitts, Jr.: names several examples of prior offenses
• 2006-11-28 How Old Is the Grand Canyon? Park Service Won't Say: "Orders to Cater to Creationists Makes National Park Agnostic on Geology"
• 2006-02-16 Statement of The Planetary Society to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, February 16, 2006: "The Bush Administration's proposed 5-year budget for NASA, just submitted to Congress, is an attack on science. The proposed budget directs three billion dollars (over five years) away from robotic exploration of the solar system to continue to operate the shuttle. Last year the Administrator said, "not one thin dime" would be so directed. Now we learn it is 30 billion dimes."
• 2005-09-11 'War' dispatches: review by David Brin of The Republican War on Science by Chris Mooney: "It is unambiguous that the GOP Congress cuts funding for the National Science Foundation and NOAA even while calling for "more research" on global climate change." ... "Evidence overwhelmingly points to orchestrated manipulation of both science and public opinion by groups ranging from the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute all the way to elements now running both Congress and the executive branch."
• 2005-06-21 The Assault on Scientific Freedom
• 2004-02-18 Restoring Scientific Integrity in Policymaking (cache at archive.org), a statement signed by "over 60 leading scientists–Nobel laureates, leading medical experts, former federal agency directors, and university chairs and presidents" (Original link is 404 as of 2008-05-02; links below seem to be related)
  • Wikipedia: Scientific Integrity in Policymaking (article about the original statement)
  • restoring scientific integrity
  • Scientific Freedom and the Public Good
• James Hansen:
  • 2006-03-19 Rewriting the Science (from the 60 Minutes TV show) (slashdot)
  • 2006-01-30 Top climatologist accuses US of trying to gag him