Presidential memo: Protect scientific decisions from political influence

By GottaLaff

Welcome to the new normal, meaning the real normal as opposed to the old normal which was the BushCo normal:

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

"The president believes that it's particularly important to sign this memorandum so that we can put science and technology back at the heart of pursuing a broad range of national goals," said Melody Barnes, director of Obama's Domestic Policy Council.

No more creating one's own reality? No more politicizing science? On the Makes-Sense-O-Meter scale of 1-10, that's like a... 400.

While officials would not go into details, the memorandum will order the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to "assure a number of effective standards and practices that will help our society feel that we have the highest-quality individuals carrying out scientific jobs and that information is shared with the public," said Harold Varmus, who co-chairs Obama's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

What?! Did I hear them say "share information with the public"? Everyone duck! The Makes-Sense-O-Meter's about to explode!

The memorandum will ensure that "people who are appointed to federal positions in science have strong credentials and that the vetting process for evaluating scientific information doesn't lead to any undermining of the scientific opinion," he said.

Oh puh-leeze. Credentials schmedentials. Allowing cronies to dictate what happens to other people's bodies, which lab procedures to approve, or which religious beliefs to inject into research and development is perfectly sound... if you're an insecure, sadistic little splat of a tyrant named George.