Science and Politics
Got myself angry this morning. Followed a link from my tree-hugger email page.
http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/business/bush-administration-manipulating-epa-data/1106
Now, I wasn't particularly enraged by the content of the article. If anyone is surprised by this news, that the Bush administration is comprised of lying liars who lie, then they haven't been paying attention. Frankly, information like this just doesn't touch me anymore. Bush's lies are manifest as far as I'm concerned.
No, what upset me was one single line in the article:
"Politics and science do not mix - this is one of the few lessons Bush has managed to teach us."
Huh? Excuse me, but this is a lesson driven home long before our village idiot was even a gleam in his grandfather's eye. Powerful governments always turn science into their bitch. For them, it is a tool to exploit in order to achieve their own goals.
Lysenkoism is the best example of this that I know of, but it also is not the first.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysenkoism
There are examples in both British and American history of science being bent over the desk and fucked raw. I'm sure there are other nations and other times as well. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised to find that ancient Egypt misused science to further political ends. The fact that the person who wrote this article doesn't realize this, makes me weep for our future. If we can not learn from the mistakes recorded in history, what hope do we have?
http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/business/bush-administration-manipulating-epa-data/1106
Now, I wasn't particularly enraged by the content of the article. If anyone is surprised by this news, that the Bush administration is comprised of lying liars who lie, then they haven't been paying attention. Frankly, information like this just doesn't touch me anymore. Bush's lies are manifest as far as I'm concerned.
No, what upset me was one single line in the article:
"Politics and science do not mix - this is one of the few lessons Bush has managed to teach us."
Huh? Excuse me, but this is a lesson driven home long before our village idiot was even a gleam in his grandfather's eye. Powerful governments always turn science into their bitch. For them, it is a tool to exploit in order to achieve their own goals.
Lysenkoism is the best example of this that I know of, but it also is not the first.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysenkoism
There are examples in both British and American history of science being bent over the desk and fucked raw. I'm sure there are other nations and other times as well. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised to find that ancient Egypt misused science to further political ends. The fact that the person who wrote this article doesn't realize this, makes me weep for our future. If we can not learn from the mistakes recorded in history, what hope do we have?