“Always been this administration’s position that public health policy be rooted in sound science."

[BurtWorm]

:spray:

A Bushist spokesperson on former surgeon general Richard Carmona's testimony today about ways the Bush administration insisted on politicizing Carmona's office.

This is really the Chutzpah Administration--and contrary to what Alan Dershowitz may say, chutzpah (shamelessness, unmitigated gall) is nothing to be proud of:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/washington/11surgeon.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

...

Bill Hall, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said that the administration disagreed with Dr. Carmona’s statements. “It has always been this administration’s position that public health policy should be rooted in sound science,” Mr. Hall said.

Emily Lawrimore, a White House spokeswoman, said the surgeon general “is the leading voice for the health of all Americans.”

“It’s disappointing to us,” Mr. Lawrimore said, “if he failed to use this position to the fullest extent in advocating for polices he thought were in the best interests of the nation.”

Dr. Carmona is one of a growing list of present and former administration officials to charge that politics often trumped science within what had previously been largely nonpartisan government health and scientific agencies.


...

In his testimony, Dr. Carmona said that at first he was so politically naïve that he had little idea how inappropriate the administration’s actions were. He eventually consulted six previous surgeons general, Republican and Democratic, and all agreed, he said, that he faced more political interference than they had.

...

[BurtWorm]

1. kick

[Rosemary2205]

2. I thought it was "The onion" until I saw the link.

Anyone even remotely reality based has already quit. Even career civil servant are opting to run like hell because of Bushco.

[sutz12]

3. They left a word out....

"It has always been this administration’s position that public health policy should be rooted in sound bite science"

:evilgrin:

[aquart]

4. Too right.

[gratuitous]

10. Or the second, unspoken comment

And "sound science" is based, like everything good in life, on free market forces. So whoever can pay the best, like pharmaceutical companies, gets to dictate public health policy.

[BurtWorm]

5. kick

[dazzlerazzle]

6. Any chuckles at this testimony?

When Carmona said that he was instructed to mention the president three times on every page of his speeches?

[BurtWorm]

7. No chuckles, but some present threw up in their mouths

a little.

[kenny blankenship]

8. A word to the White House: Deuteronomy is not a branch of science

sound or otherwise.

[ljm2002]

9. Everyone should look at Lawrimore's statement:

“It’s disappointing to us,” Mr. Lawrimore said, “if he failed to use this position to the fullest extent in advocating for polices he thought were in the best interests of the nation.”

This is exactly the mindset of this bully administration: push people around, make them do your bidding, keep them in line by keeping them in fear for their job. Then, should they later say anything about it, they'll point right back at you and blame you for not pushing back, or not succeeding at it when you do. As always with appeasement, acquiescence just feeds their contempt, and statements like the above are designed to foster that contempt in the listener.

That's the abusive dynamic. We all need to fully understand, we cannot play their game and win. We have to step outside that circle.

This administration has been astonishingly successful at this game, because they did not give any quarter. Their unprecedented lockstep type unity made them a formidable force indeed. Now that the wheels are coming off and the population at large is ready to divorce their asses, we are in the most dangerous time of all. And the fact that they are having a high level meeting this Thursday on the terrorist threat we face this summer, does not bode well in my book.

No I don't trust them one bit. Yes I do think they are evil through and through and will do whatever they think they need to do, to you and me and anyone else who does not play along with their program.

[BurtWorm]

11. They're reminiscent of DB Norton in Meet John Doe

They set stooges up as frauds then, when they're exposed, they try to lead the crowd in booing their creations.

[ljm2002]

12. Yes they are...

...and it would be laughable, except for the fact that they have been *astonishingly* successful at it for nearly 7 years now.