Bronco Bob
10-04-2007, 05:01 PM
Bush's war on science, that it. :~ohyah!:
October 4, 2007, 1:01 pm
Clinton Blasts Bush’s ‘War on Science’
By Cornelia Dean and Patrick Healy
In a speech in Washington this morning, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said that as president she would act to reverse what she called the Bush administration’s “war on science,” and pledged among other things to rescind restrictions on federal funding for research using human embryonic stem cells.
Senator Clinton also said she would also reduce the influence of political appointees over scientific reports by government agencies and restore the office of White House science adviser to the status it had in the administrations of her husband and President Bush’s father.
And she said she would encourage Congress to revive its Office of Technology Assessment, an advisory agency that closed its doors in 1995 after Republicans in Congress withdrew its funding.
Mrs. Clinton timed her address to mark the 50th anniversary of the launching of Sputnik, though she did not delve into space policy; aides said she would flesh out her ideas about the future of the space program in another speech.
The Clinton attack on White House science policy is not especially new; Mrs. Clinton has used the phrase “war on science” frequently on the campaign trail, and it has reliably drawn applause from her Democratic audiences. She has also indicated before that she would reverse the funding restriction on stem cells and, more broadly, stand against politicizing science.
But her speech sought to lay out her agenda more formally today as she wages “a contest of ideas,” as one adviser put it, with her chief rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama and John Edwards. All three have been delivering more policy speeches recently in hopes that voters are starting to pay more attention to the nomination fight and are eager for fresh or big ideas that aim to counter nearly seven years of policy from the Bush administration.
The White House has been dogged by complaints from scientists in and out of government, including some of its own appointees, that it has ignored, contorted or suppressed work by government scientists if they contradict its views. They cite issues ranging from global warming to AIDS prevention.
Others complain that the administration has made science policy decisions on other than science grounds. In particular, critics cite the president’s decision, in August, 2001, to limit federal funding for research involving human embryonic stems cells to cell lines already in existence at the time.
Advocates of the research, including many patient groups, criticized the ban but opponents of abortion rights support it, because the stem cells are obtained in a process that involves the destruction of human embryos.
Senator Clinton said her administration would return to what she called “evidence-based decision-making,” a favorite phrase of hers on the campaign trail.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/clinton-blasts-bushs-war-on-science/
October 4, 2007, 1:01 pm
Clinton Blasts Bush’s ‘War on Science’
By Cornelia Dean and Patrick Healy
In a speech in Washington this morning, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said that as president she would act to reverse what she called the Bush administration’s “war on science,” and pledged among other things to rescind restrictions on federal funding for research using human embryonic stem cells.
Senator Clinton also said she would also reduce the influence of political appointees over scientific reports by government agencies and restore the office of White House science adviser to the status it had in the administrations of her husband and President Bush’s father.
And she said she would encourage Congress to revive its Office of Technology Assessment, an advisory agency that closed its doors in 1995 after Republicans in Congress withdrew its funding.
Mrs. Clinton timed her address to mark the 50th anniversary of the launching of Sputnik, though she did not delve into space policy; aides said she would flesh out her ideas about the future of the space program in another speech.
The Clinton attack on White House science policy is not especially new; Mrs. Clinton has used the phrase “war on science” frequently on the campaign trail, and it has reliably drawn applause from her Democratic audiences. She has also indicated before that she would reverse the funding restriction on stem cells and, more broadly, stand against politicizing science.
But her speech sought to lay out her agenda more formally today as she wages “a contest of ideas,” as one adviser put it, with her chief rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama and John Edwards. All three have been delivering more policy speeches recently in hopes that voters are starting to pay more attention to the nomination fight and are eager for fresh or big ideas that aim to counter nearly seven years of policy from the Bush administration.
The White House has been dogged by complaints from scientists in and out of government, including some of its own appointees, that it has ignored, contorted or suppressed work by government scientists if they contradict its views. They cite issues ranging from global warming to AIDS prevention.
Others complain that the administration has made science policy decisions on other than science grounds. In particular, critics cite the president’s decision, in August, 2001, to limit federal funding for research involving human embryonic stems cells to cell lines already in existence at the time.
Advocates of the research, including many patient groups, criticized the ban but opponents of abortion rights support it, because the stem cells are obtained in a process that involves the destruction of human embryos.
Senator Clinton said her administration would return to what she called “evidence-based decision-making,” a favorite phrase of hers on the campaign trail.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/clinton-blasts-bushs-war-on-science/