Follow-up to my recent posting on this issue
I was (and remain) furious about the whole issue of the Bush administration "gagging" scientists, so this was sort of satisfying:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/08/politics/08nasa.html?ex=1297054800&en=dc3c509e1620f5af&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss
Granted, this stupid punk was just "doing what he was told" by the people who put him in the office...but he was arrogant, arbitrary, acted as if he had a mandate from God, and then was idiotic enough to LIE ON HIS RESUME!! I hope this scars him for life, and turns him into something resembling a decent human being.
You know...I am OK with the fact that people have differing opinions from one another. I am pretty staunchly liberal, but I've been recently reminded that I have several friends ranging from mildly to extremely conservative, and that's OK - we're still friends, even if we differ on deeply emotional topics. That divide represents our entire country right now, and it's a difficult place for all of us, because we have so few choices in our political world. Certainly the last two presidential elections, if not the last four, have been VERY close in the popular vote - asking one person to stand for the wildly divergent beliefs of this country is moderately absurd these days.
What I *DO* object to, however, in the STRONGEST POSSIBLE TERMS, is the kind of back-room manipulation, bullying, and control that has become endemic in this administration. I realize protesting about that seems silly and naive, as that is the way that all politics have been done from time immemorial, but I still hate it. I hate it no matter who's doing it, this just happens to be an egregious (and thanks to the New York Times, very public) instance. I will continue to respect conservatives who state what they believe and live up to it, and who can and will conduct themselves with integrity and dignity and respect for others. I will, in fact, respect *anyone* who lives life in that fashion. I have no tolerance for those who don't.
OK, done ranting for the moment. The job is preventing me from posting very much, as should be clear to all, but this one just required a quick note surreptitiously posted at the end of my lunch hour.
EDIT: I forgot to add this quote, the closing graf in the story I linked above, from Dr. Hansen - the climate scientist whose work has been specifically targeted for suppression.
"On climate, the public has been misinformed and not informed," he said. "The foundation of a democracy is an informed public, which obviously means an honestly informed public. That's the big issue here."
Whatever your opinion on global warming and climate change, you just can't argue with his last two sentences. Let's let the information be out there and allow each of us to make up our own minds.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/08/politics/08nasa.html?ex=1297054800&en=dc3c509e1620f5af&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss
Granted, this stupid punk was just "doing what he was told" by the people who put him in the office...but he was arrogant, arbitrary, acted as if he had a mandate from God, and then was idiotic enough to LIE ON HIS RESUME!! I hope this scars him for life, and turns him into something resembling a decent human being.
You know...I am OK with the fact that people have differing opinions from one another. I am pretty staunchly liberal, but I've been recently reminded that I have several friends ranging from mildly to extremely conservative, and that's OK - we're still friends, even if we differ on deeply emotional topics. That divide represents our entire country right now, and it's a difficult place for all of us, because we have so few choices in our political world. Certainly the last two presidential elections, if not the last four, have been VERY close in the popular vote - asking one person to stand for the wildly divergent beliefs of this country is moderately absurd these days.
What I *DO* object to, however, in the STRONGEST POSSIBLE TERMS, is the kind of back-room manipulation, bullying, and control that has become endemic in this administration. I realize protesting about that seems silly and naive, as that is the way that all politics have been done from time immemorial, but I still hate it. I hate it no matter who's doing it, this just happens to be an egregious (and thanks to the New York Times, very public) instance. I will continue to respect conservatives who state what they believe and live up to it, and who can and will conduct themselves with integrity and dignity and respect for others. I will, in fact, respect *anyone* who lives life in that fashion. I have no tolerance for those who don't.
OK, done ranting for the moment. The job is preventing me from posting very much, as should be clear to all, but this one just required a quick note surreptitiously posted at the end of my lunch hour.
EDIT: I forgot to add this quote, the closing graf in the story I linked above, from Dr. Hansen - the climate scientist whose work has been specifically targeted for suppression.
"On climate, the public has been misinformed and not informed," he said. "The foundation of a democracy is an informed public, which obviously means an honestly informed public. That's the big issue here."
Whatever your opinion on global warming and climate change, you just can't argue with his last two sentences. Let's let the information be out there and allow each of us to make up our own minds.