Swiftboats in Space!

posted by The Vidiot @ 11:14 PM Permalink

While the Bush administration has always been a supporter, nee a bastion, of free speech^*1, the most forthcoming^*2 and honest^*3 administration in history, and has always defended the right of the professionals in any agency to overrule crass, incompetent political appointees^*4, apparently some rogue in the admin has decided that the people on our planet needs to be killed all at once and not just one country at a time.

According to James E. Hansen, director of the NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, he now is supposed to submit all of his lectures and papers and even postings to the Goddard Web site to the PR department of NASA.

Dr. Hansen has refused and went public. According to the NYT, (another bastion of free speech^*5):

The top climate scientist at NASA says the Bush administration has tried to stop him from speaking out since he gave a lecture last month calling for prompt reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases linked to global warming.
[...]
Dr. Hansen said he would ignore the restrictions. "They feel their job is to be this censor of information going out to the public," he said.

While NASA PR denies the charge^*6, I can't see any other explanation for having a flack 'peer' review a scientist's paper.

All of our thoughts and sympathies go out to Dr. Hansen, he is about to experience a storm of defecation the likes of which have never been seen, even on Jupiter.

Imagine if the red spot became a brown spot and encompassed you, your family, your friends and your colleagues. Every statement, allegation or even just plain lies from folks you have never met will soon be fodder for an uncaring echo chamber.

e.g. 'Facts be damned! I once heard someone say that someone said he rescued poor defenseless kittens from the pound only to perform horrible medical experiments on them!'^*7

Dr. Hansen is my hero of the week. While I admire the doctor for his many accomplishments, he is awarded hero of the week for doing his job, which means in this bizarro world, that he is risking his job.


1) See 'free speech zones.' [back]

2) See 'WH scrubbing of photos with Jack Abramoff." [back]

3) Oddly enough, I was able to write that with a straight face ... if you consider the post-retching grimace a straight face. [back]

4) Ya gotta admit, I'm doing a heckava job. Especially considering I have absolutely no experience or aptitude. [back]

5) Judy, Judy, Judy. (If you didn't get it, just ask for an explanation in comments.) [back]

6) I'm shocked, shocked to find there is gambling going on here! [back]

7) Oops, that one's true ... except it was Bill Frist. [back]