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[Phys-L] Re: The Republican War On Science



I haven't read the book yet, but I would not call the author Chris C.
Mooney an extremist. He definitely has a point of view, but he backs it
up with plenty of evidence.

Here is a review:

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Does the Bush administration ignore or deny mainstream
research to please its conservative base? Have business groups and
certain religious lobbies helped it do so? Does Bush-era treatment of
scientists differ from that of Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Reagan? Has
a Republican Congress passed laws designed to disable clean air and
water efforts, and has it dismantled safeguards, such as the
Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, meant to give legislators
unbiased advice? Mooney's passionate, thoroughly researched volume
answers these questions with an urgent "yes." A former American Prospect
writer who is making his book debut, Mooney uses interviews and
old-fashioned document-digging to explain how, over two decades,
right-wing politicians built institutions designed to discredit working
scientists; how some energy companies have allied themselves with
powerful Republicans (such as Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma) to block or
reverse U.S. steps to curb global warming; and how the present
administration defies expert consensus on climate change, on mercury
pollution, even on how to read statistics. Mooney tracks Bush White
House efforts to spread misinformation about stem cells; the work of
religious right regulators like Dr. David Hager (formerly on the FDA's
Reproductive Health Drugs advisory committee) in restricting access to
birth control; and the attempts of the Discovery Institute (and other
think tanks linked to the Bush base) to fight the teaching of evolution.
In the past five years, Mooney documents, many formerly apolitical
physicists, biologists and doctors have come to believe there is a
"pattern" of science abuse under Bush, a push back against the methods
of science itself. Conservatives may react with indignation; liberals,
moderates and working scientists will find few surprises, but Mooney's
very readable, and understandably partisan, volume is the first to put
the whole story, thoroughly documented, in one place.
Copyright (c) Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier
Inc. All rights reserved.

Clearly Mooney raises some serious issues about government science
policy

Dr. Mark H. Shapiro
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
California State University, Fullerton
Phone: 714 278-3884
FAX: 714 278-5810
email: mshapiro@fullerton.edu
web: http://chaos.fullerton.edu/Shapiro.html
travel and family pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/mhshapiro



-----Original Message-----
From: Forum for Physics Educators [mailto:PHYS-L@list1.ucc.nau.edu] On
Behalf Of rlamont
Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 9:04 AM
To: PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU
Subject: Re: The Republican War On Science

The subject line is absurd. The is no more a Republican "War" on
science then there is a Democratic "war" to turn the country
socialist. These are positions taken by extremists on both sides
and we must guard against ALL of this nonsense.

I was amused that your link led to a radio station from the
People's Republic of Berkely :-)

Bob at PC

-----Original Message-----
From: Forum for Physics Educators [mailto:PHYS-
L@list1.ucc.nau.edu] On Behalf Of Bernard Cleyet
Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 10:17 AM
To: PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU
Subject: The Republican War On Science

The author interviewed on KPFA.org


7:30 PDT today (15 minutes)

This may work:

http://www.kpfa.org/cgi-bin/gen-mpegurl.m3u?server=aud-
one.kpfa.org&port=8000&mount=icy_0&file=dummy.m3u


bc
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