Skepticum

According to a National Coalition Against Censorship report a number of Congressional hearings this year confirmed the Bush administration have been systematically censoring and monitoring science information being disseminated from government agencies.

On July 10, Dr. Richard Carmona disclosed that the administration interfered with his work and muzzled him on numerous issues throughout his four-year tenure as Surgeon General. Carmona, who was appointed by President Bush in 2002, alleges that his speeches were censored, and his public statements carefully monitored by political appointees: “Anything that doesn’t fit into [their] ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried.” He cautioned, "The problem with this approach is that in public health, as in a democracy, there is nothing worse than ignoring science, or marginalizing the voice of science for reasons driven by changing political winds.”

The NCAC published a list of 5 other testimonies of government suppression and manipulation of science.

A well known example of how government appointee ideology is attempting to replace science with dogma is the case of the abstinence-only sex-ed programs:

Two reports commissioned by Congress confirmed the ineffectiveness of ’abstinence-only’ sex education, and documented how these programs disseminate scientific misinformation that poses a serious threat to public health. Despite these findings (and ignoring recent polls suggesting that over 75% of Americans support more comprehensive sex education), the House Appropriations Committee recently voted for a 25% increase in federal funding for abstinence-only programs next year.

Let me repeat what Carmona said, because I can’t say it better, "in public health, as in a democracy, there is nothing worse than ignoring science, or marginalizing the voice of science for reasons driven by changing political winds."

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