[Sci-all-l] Government Modification of Facts

[G. Scott Johnston]

I found this in an article at "AlterNet," 
http://www.alternet.org/story/19826  It's actually politically based 
with a scientific twist, and not just scientific, but I thought I'd 
share.
-Scott

3. Bush administration manipulates science and censors scientists.

This is one story that actually involves censorship by the Bush 
administration. Still, although they've sought to censor scientists and 
their findings, they've yet to censor the stories of this censorship. 
But with a press corps as compliant and eager as the one we've got, why 
bother?

Robert F. Kennedy, head of the Natural Resources Defense Council, 
exposes one particularly egregious example of Bush's EPA out and out 
lying to the public. Shortly after 9/11 he and a partner experienced 
breathing problems at their office near the WTC. They were able to 
close up shop, but: "Many workers did not have that option; their 
employers relied on the EPA's nine press releases between September and 
December of 2001 reassuring the public about the wholesome air quality 
downtown. We have since learned that the government was lying to us. An 
Inspector General's report released last August revealed that the EPA's 
data did not support those assurances and that its press releases were 
being drafted or doctored by White House officials intent on reopening 
Wall Street."

This from a president whose reelection hinges on the public perception 
that he's a caring father figure eager to deliver us from the horrors 
of terrorism and a dangerous world. It's easy to see why adequate press 
coverage of this issue would undermine that image – and his reelection.

A study by the EPA found that the bipartisan Senate Clear Air bill 
would do more to prevent American deaths than the Bush administration's 
proposed air pollution plan, known as "Clear Skies." This study was 
promptly repressed by the Bush administration. According to Kevin 
Knobloch, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, "This is akin 
to the White House directing the National Weather Service to alter a 
hurricane forecast because they want everyone to think we have clear 
skies ahead...The hurricane is still coming, but without factual 
information no one will be ready for it."

An Environmental News Service report summed it up thusly: "President 
George W. Bush has suppressed and distorted scientific analysis from 
federal agencies, subjected government scientists to 'censorship and 
political oversight,' and taken actions that have undermined the 
quality of scientific advisory panels."

The result, according to a former head of the National Science 
Foundation: "This will have serious consequences for public health."

Finally, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA) complied a 39-page report called 
"Politics and Science in the Bush Administration," detailing the 
administration's abuses of science in 20 separate categories. One 
example of many: "In the summer of 2002, CDC's Advisory Committee on 
Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention was preparing to confront the 
controversial issue of whether to expand the diagnosis of lead 
poisoning to include children with lower levels of blood lead. For more 
than a decade, the committee had advised intervention if levels 
measured 10 micrograms per deciliter or greater. While the lead 
industry has opposed lowering the standard, recent research has 
suggested that the cognitive development of children may be impaired at 
levels of 5 micrograms per deciliter or lower. As the committee 
prepared to consider changing the standard, HHS Secretary Thompson 
removed or rejected several qualified scientists and replaced them with 
lead industry consultants."

THE NATION, March 8, 2004

Title: "The Junk Science of George W. Bush" Author: Robert F. Kennedy 
Jr.

CENSORSHIP NEWS: THE NATIONAL COALITION AGAINST CENSORSHIP NEWSLETTER, 
Fall 2003, #91 Title: "Censoring Scientific Information"

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE and ONEWORLD.NET, February 20, 2004 Title: 
"Ranking Scientists Warn Bush Science Policy Lacks Integrity" Author: 
Sunny Lewis

OFFICE OF U.S. REPRESENTATIVE HENRY A. WAXMAN, August 2003 Title: 
"Politics And Science In The Bush Administration" Prepared by: 
Committee on Government Reform - Minority Staff (Updated November 13, 
2003)