Quote of the (last) week:
This was a simple quote. very understated in its meaning, but when we heard it here in my living room, WE could feel the bite. this may be one of the harshest comments made by Kerry against Bush:
"What if we had a President that Believed in Science?"
Monday, August 02, 2004
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4 comments:
Shana, I get what you're saying a la Mengele and his ilk, but I think you give Bush waaay too much credit. Look at his dismantling of our already feeble environmental protections. Regardless of one's stance on global warning, we can all agree that pollution in the atmosphere is a bad thing. But you wouldn't know it from the Bush administration's policies towards "clean air" and mercury in the atmosphere. Sure, Bush wants to go to Mars, but, stem cell research aside for the moment, his environmental record is abysmal and flies in the face of even the most common sense science. I'd say he believes in business over science.
oh, i disagree completely.
Bush has turned his back on science for the sake of a pander to the religious right and business interests in numerous ways. it isn't just that he has disregarded what i think is good environmental policy, there's been an overt effort to RE-WRITE reports where the science doesn't match the political goals. His policies are very often at odds with overwhelming scientific evidence in order to please religious fundamentalist views. his devotion to the fundamentalist dogma is nearly complete, yet not plain to everyone. particularly if you have not had yourself steeped in the language that these folks use.
the quote is open to let you apply it where you like. stem cells, aids prevention, the environment, etc. does he not BELIEVE in science? is that what you are asking if i really believe? sure he does. he just doesn't give a damn and he feeds the fears and desires of those who choose fancy over fact. he exploits that for political gain and it is harming our country.
Hmm...interesting points, both of ya. I would argue that any legal (and ethical) scientific pursuit, in a sense, makes society better insofar as it adds the public discourse, etc. etc. more knowledge is better etc. etc. I'd say the president is only a true conservative in this area, as he seems fundamentally opposed to new ways of thinking and research and has the hubris to alter reports on global warming and other issues to suit his needs, leaving out vital research information that runs contrary to his goals. And the laws where he rolls back pollution standards and then calls it something like "Clean Air Act II" or something (sorry, I've got to find the actual name--it's hilarious--well, that's just wrong. There are companies out there that have developed new mercury filters for smokestacks, and the Bushies claim they don't even exist when they do. God, there are a million examples of this crap. Sure, I'm mad at the policies, but at some point the argument has to turn to the fact that the Bush administration obviously seems to think that breathing in particulates is okay. Or at least not that bad. And that flies in the face of...everything!
and the examples keep coming. Last week, the Bush Administration created a new rule allowing the EPA to approve pesticides without consulting wildlife agencies as to whether the chemicals will harm plants and animals protected by the Endangered Species Act.
yay!
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