Do We Need a Science White House?

Drs. David Baltimore and Ahmed Zewail, both Nobel Lauriates, have an editorial in the Wall Street Journal suggesting that we need a science White House.

Protecting that future starts with understanding that much of the wealth in this country comes from scientific research and technological innovation. Translating science into commerce has opened up vast new fields of endeavor and has raised the standard of living in America. The country that is on the cutting edge of developing new technology is the country best positioned to benefit from that new technology.

A clear example is biotechnology. The U.S. is a leader here, and is able to capitalize on its pre-eminence with disease-resistant crops, anticancer drugs and much more. By developing a strong understanding of the basic science that underlies advances in biotechnology, we are also creating a good training ground for a future generation of scientists and innovators.

They go on to point out that becoming a scientist in the USA getting less and less attractive primarily because basic reseach depends upon government grant money. They point out that todays basic research scientist spends far too much time attempting to wrangle grant money out of the government....time that could be spent researching.

We need a president who moves science back into the White House. Today we do not have a presidential science adviser and there is no office of science in the White House.

But more importantly, these two scientists point out that understanding science today is not a luxury but a neccessity.

bin Laden - Dead or Alive

Just how hard has G.W. Bush tried to capture Osama bin Laden? According to the US Government Accountability Office, not so hard.

The Bush administration doesn't have a comprehensive strategy for eliminating Osama bin Laden's sanctuary in Pakistan's tribal region and preventing the region from being used for launching terrorist attacks on the United States, the investigative arm of Congress said Thursday.

This isn't surprising based on Bush's past history. He has never been held accountable for anything in his life.

They're Coming to Your Town

Damn! First we have to worry about the terrorists following us home from Iraq and now we have to worry about fighting the gay homosexual agenda. Did you know that gays are coming to take over your town? Lucky for us, there is a neat video available that explains how you can keep dangerous gays from taking over your town. It even comes in a 5 pack so you can share with your friends or bible study group.

Robert Reich on "Bitterness"

Robert Reich has a blog? I did not know that. Here is what he has to say about "Bittergate".

Are Americans who have been left behind frustrated? Of course. And their frustrations, their anger and, yes, sometimes their bitterness, have been used since then -- by demagogues, by nationalists and xenophobes, by radical conservatives, by political nuts and fanatical fruitcakes – to blame immigrants and foreign traders, to blame blacks and the poor, to blame "liberal elites," to blame anyone and anything.

Yes, people do not vote their economic interests because they know nothing has/was/will be done to help them. So they vote on their "values".

Then this:

We’re heading into the worst economic crisis in a half century or more. Many of the Americans who have been getting nowhere for decades are in even deeper trouble. Large numbers of people in Pennsylvania and across the nation are losing their homes and losing their jobs, and the situation is likely to grow worse. Consumers are at the end of their ropes, fuel and food costs are skyrocketing, they can’t go deeper into debt, they can’t pay their bills. They aren’t buying, which means every business from the auto industry to housing to even giant GE is hurting. Which means they’ll begin laying off more people, and as they do, we will experience an even more dangerous downward spiral.

I see this every day at our credit union. But as Reich goes on to say: "Bitter? You ain't seen nothing yet."

The Faith Forum vs Science Debate

The Democratic candidates for President of the USA have no problem attending a "faith" forum but refuse to attend a proposed science debate. I guess it's easier to share your views about some deity than to discuss your views on the environment, health and medicine and technology. This is the year that Democratic candidates are attempting to show that they can be as anti-intellectual as conservatives.