Cheat Seeking Missiles

Posted by: Laer at 06:36 am

As PrezO moves to reverse George Bush’s restrictions on stem cell research, his happy hoot owls in the media are all gush and glorification:

When President Obama lifts restrictions on funding for human embryonic stem cell research today, he will also issue a presidential memorandum aimed at insulating scientific decisions across the federal government from political influence, officials said yesterday. (WaPo)

Science? Political influence? Please explain.

The decision by President George W. Bush to restrict funding for stem cell research has been seen by critics as part of a pattern of allowing political ideology to influence scientific decisions across an array of issues, including climate change and whether to approve the morning-after pill Plan B for over-the-counter sales.

Oh, I see. If science supports liberal politics, it’s science. If it supports conservative politics, it’s politics. A couple cases in point:

Liberal foes of abortion continue to ignore the incontrovertable scientific evidence that life begins at conception. To supress this science, they have tried to keep high quality ultrasound equipment out of clinics, so women won’t see the incredible beauty of their pre-borns before deciding whether to go forward with an abortion.

Then there’s climate “science,” where any scientist who toes the liberal Democratic line, which would support political goals of greater government control over business and individuals, can get a grant, but skeptical scientists are mocked by those great scientists in the Senate and House environment committees. What’s that? They’re not scientists? They’re politicians? Knock me over with a feather!

Or as NewsBusters put it:

The Post shouldn’t be so attached to the liberal movement that it can’t consider the possibility that some liberal social and medical policies are driven by liberal ideology as well as scientific concerns. It ought to at least let conservatives make that case. What if embryo-killing research does not provide cures? Then won’t it look like the fervent hope for a cure was driven by ideologues who “knew” anything conservatives opposed must be a scientific breakthrough in the making?

Meanwhile, while Obama is so busy “depoliticizing” science, he is just as committed to politicizing faith - calling Planned Parenthood just another faith-based group, removing protections for believers so they will be forced to perform abortions in government-funded programs, even if it is against their religious beliefs.

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