Speak No Evil, Dr. Hansen subject of censorship? Options

[Guest_AlexBlackwell_*]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/04/science/04climate.html

Excerpt:

<<The Big Bang memo came from Mr. Deutsch, a 24-year-old presidential appointee in the press office at NASA headquarters whose résumé says he was an intern in the "war room" of the 2004 Bush-Cheney re-election campaign. A 2003 journalism graduate of Texas A&M, he was also the public-affairs officer who sought more control over Dr. Hansen's public statements.

In October 2005, Mr. Deutsch sent an e-mail message to Flint Wild, a NASA contractor working on a set of Web presentations about Einstein for middle-school students. The message said the word "theory" needed to be added after every mention of the Big Bang.

The Big Bang is "not proven fact; it is opinion," Mr. Deutsch wrote, adding, "It is not NASA's place, nor should it be to make a declaration such as this about the existence of the universe that discounts intelligent design by a creator."

It continued: "This is more than a science issue, it is a religious issue. And I would hate to think that young people would only be getting one-half of this debate from NASA. That would mean we had failed to properly educate the very people who rely on us for factual information the most."

The memo also noted that The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual specified the phrasing "Big Bang theory." Mr. Acosta, Mr. Deutsch's boss, said in an interview yesterday that for that reason, it should be used in all NASA documents.

The Deutsch memo was provided by an official at NASA headquarters who said he was upset with the effort to justify changes to descriptions of science by referring to politically charged issues like intelligent design. Senior NASA officials did not dispute the message's authenticity.>>

Here's Kevin Drum's take on it.

[Tom Tamlyn]

The New York Times reports that George Deutsch has resigned amid reports that his resume claims a BA degree that he has not received.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/08/politics/08nasa.html [This link will only work for a week unless you're a premium subscriber on the NYT site.)

More info about the degree flap here.

However, the degree flap is a sideshow. The NYT article concludes:

>Yesterday, Dr. Hansen said that the questions about
>Mr. Deutsch's credentials were important, but were a
>distraction from the broader issue of political control of
>scientific information.

>"He's only a bit player," Dr. Hansen said of Mr. Deutsch.
>"He's amusing because he goes to these extremes,
>but the problem is much broader and much deeper and
>it goes across agencies. That's what I'm really concerned about."

>"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."

TTT

This post has been edited by Tom Tamlyn: Feb 8 2006, 03:35 AM

[Guest_BruceMoomaw_*]

I figured it was a serious mistake for the Bushites to try to stifle Hansen. He's the 800-pound gorilla of climate science. (Or, as the Waco Kid said about Mongo in "Blazing Saddles": "Don't shoot him. You'll only make him mad.")

[ljk4-1]

The New York Times reports that George Deutsch has resigned amid reports that his resume claims a BA degree that he has not received.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/08/politics/08nasa.html [This link will only work for a week unless you're a premium subscriber on the NYT site.)

More info about the degree flap here.

However, the degree flap is a sideshow.  The NYT article concludes:

>Yesterday, Dr. Hansen said that the questions about
>Mr. Deutsch's credentials were important, but were a
>distraction from the broader issue of political control of
>scientific information.

>"He's only a bit player," Dr. Hansen said of Mr. Deutsch.
>"He's amusing because he goes to these extremes,
>but the problem is much broader and much deeper and
>it goes across agencies. That's what I'm really concerned about."

>"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."

TTT

Bush obviously has yet to learn about what happens when appointing cronies and flunkies in various political positions. And as I said before in this topic, the kid made a good scapegoat when the big boys' agenda pushing got snagged.

http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.p...indpost&p=40184

How many other "appointees" like Deutsch are out there, just waiting to go off like those Soviet sleeper agents in Telefon?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076804/

At least we can be assured they won't be at any Robert Frost poetry recitals.

[dvandorn]

I just got a phone call from my roommate -- it seems that, after a review of the situation by NASA Administrator Mike Griffin, George Deutsch (the 24-year-old political appointee we've been discussing here) has been fired from his post at NASA.

HA!

-the other Doug

[tty]

Congratulations!

Here in Sweden it is an accepted fact of life that only members of the ruling Social Democrats and their allied parties can get appointments to leading public positions.
Recently the Prime Minister appointed one of his cousins with absolutely no scientific qualifications (but a party member) as head of a research institute. The opposition groused a bit, but of course nothing came of it.

tty

[Guest_BruceMoomaw_*]

The Washington Post and the NY Times have both done editorials tonight on this little affair and its implications:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/09/opinion/09thu2.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...6020801991.html

When a minority of scientists accuse the Administration of deliberate distortion of what scientists are telling it, you might put it down to political bias. When a landslide majority of them in virtually every field say so -- and when Bush's own NASA Administrator says so -- you can no longer do so.

[Jeff7]

"The problem is much broader and much deeper and it goes across agencies."
Quote by George C. Deutsch.

I just wonder exactly how many other organizations have been infiltrated by agents of the administration. I only hope that the next administration declassifies a LOT of documents, and puts the appropriate individuals behind bars. The abuses of power are just insane.

[Guest_BruceMoomaw_*]

Actually, it was Hansen who said that -- not Deutsch. Deutsch, however, has been heard from tonight, complaining aggrievedly that he is the victim of a Vast Conspiracy of Democratic Party Scientists led by Hansen, and that he holds in his hand a list of 208 scientists in the State Department who... oh, wait, that was last time:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/10/science/...artner=homepage

Some rude researcher has also dug up the fact that, during Deutsch's days on the Texas A&M newspaper (before he quit without graduating), he was also a big fan of the idea that Lacey Peterson was killed by a gang of Satanists.

[ljk4-1]

Former NASA Public Affairs Official Says He's Under Attack

http://www.space.com/news/ap_060210_deutsch_response.html

A staffer who resigned from NASA after he was accused of restricting access to a
noted climate scientist said Thursday he was targeted because of his political
ties.

[ljk4-1]

WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 10 Feb 06 Washington, DC

1. GLOBAL WARMING: MAYBE SCIENTIFIC OPENNESS IS "ONLY A THEORY."
Last week, WN reported that top NASA climate scientist James
Hansen was under pressure to cool it on global warming. The
pressure, we have since learned, was coming from 24-year old
White House appointee George Deutsch, who had been an intern in
the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign. Earlier, Deutsch had
informed a NASA contractor that the word "theory" had to be added
to every mention of the Big Bang. "This is more than a science
issue," he declared, "it is a religious issue." On Friday, NASA
chief Michael Griffin made it clear to all NASA employees that
it's not the job of public affairs to "alter, filter or adjust"
material from the technical staff. Wednesday, Deutsch resigned.
What was he doing in a sensitive position in the first place?
Although his job at NASA was a reward for work in the re-election
campaign, he did have a journalism degree from Texas A&M, didn't
he? Well, actually no. He lied about that. Deutsch was right
about one thing: science issues can also be religious issues.

2. EVANGELISTS: MAYBE GOD DIDN'T MAKE HIMSELF PERFECTLY CLEAR.
There is a rare split among evangelical Christians. A group of
86 evangelical leaders formed the Evangelical Climate Initiative
to combat global warming www.christiansandclimate.org , even
taking out a full-page ad in the NY Times. However, a number of
evangelical heavy weights, including Jerry Falwell and James
Dobson, oppose the initiative, and the National Association of
Evangelicals has decided not to take a position. But what does
God say? "Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth and
subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over
the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon
the earth," Genesis 1:28. Well, we've done it. We've subdued
just about everything. Consider the plight of the polar bear.

3. POLAR BEARS: MAYBE THEY'LL GROW FLIPPERS WHEN THE OCEAN MELTS.
Environmental groups sued the government in December to add polar
bears to the endangered species list; their habitat is fast being
destroyed by global warming. According to the Wash Post, the
Bush administration has agreed to study whether polar bears
should be on the list. Coming just as the Evangelical Climate
Initiative is announced, the reality of global warming now seems
to be accepted by almost everyone except petroleum geologists.

4. JOURNALISM? PETROLEUM GEOLOGISTS MOVE TO THE ALTERNATE WORLD.
The American Association of Petroleum Geologists is presenting
its annual journalism award to novelist Michael Crichton for
"State of Fear," a fictional story in which global warming is not
for real. AAPG was presumably unable to find a journalist
sufficiently divorced from reality to meet oil company standards.

5. BLASPHEMY: ITALIAN JUDGE DISMISSES CASE AGAINST PARISH PRIEST.
The priest had been accused of "abuse of popular credulity."

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
---
Archives of What's New can be found at http://www.bobpark.org

[ljk4-1]

The Bad Astronomer's detailed take on this latest round, from his blog:

http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2006/02...sigh-of-relief/

[Jeff7]

The Bad Astronomer's detailed take on this latest round, from his blog:

http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2006/02...sigh-of-relief/

It's simple: his cover was blown, his usefulness gone = time for him to leave of "his own choice." Disposable underlings. Willing disposable underlings. Convenient.

[Guest_BruceMoomaw_*]

Hansen today publicly compared Bush's attitude toward scientists to that of the Soviet Union: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...1001766_pf.html . I knew it was a mistake for them to jump that guy.

The same article confirms that Deutsch is now saying Hansen is out to get him because he's a Christian. Maybe we should sic the Moslems on him.

[ljk4-1]

Hansen today publicly compared Bush's attitude toward scientists to that of the Soviet Union: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...1001766_pf.html .  I knew it was a mistake for them to jump that guy. 

The same article confirms that Deutsch is now saying Hansen is out to get him because he's a Christian.  Maybe we should sic the Moslems on him.

Just like anyone who criticizes the government is now branded unpatriotic by the Bush Regime.

Twisting reality for their own purposes, rather than serving the public as they were elected to do. Of course in certain cases even that much is questioned.

It would be nice to just focus on science and keep above mundane worldly issues and transient politics. But what is happening now threatens science and society.


'But the world itself is only a speck of dust. And man is tiny helpless! How long has he been in existence? For millions of years the earth was uninhabited.'

'Nonsense. The earth is as old as we are, no older. How could it be older? Nothing exists except through human consciousness.'

'But the rocks are full of the bones of extinct animals -- mammoths and mastodons and enormous reptiles which lived here long before man was ever heard of.'

'Have you ever seen those bones, Winston? Of course not. Nineteenth-century biologists invented them. Before man there was nothing. After man, if he could come to an end, there would be nothing. Outside man there is nothing.'

'But the whole universe is outside us. Look at the stars! Some of them are a million light-years away. They are out of our reach for ever.'

'What are the stars?' said O'Brien indifferently. 'They are bits of fire a few kilometres away. We could reach them if we wanted to. Or we could blot them out. The earth is the centre of the universe. The sun and the stars go round it.'

Winston made another convulsive movement. This time he did not say anything. O'Brien continued as though answering a spoken objection:

'For certain purposes, of course, that is not true. When we navigate the ocean, or when we predict an eclipse, we often find it convenient to assume that the earth goes round the sun and that the stars are millions upon millions of kilometres away. But what of it? Do you suppose it is beyond us to produce a dual system of astronomy? The stars can be near or distant, according as we need them. Do you suppose our mathematicians are unequal to that? Have you forgotten doublethink?'

http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/1984/