Monday, February 11, 2008

"Reality has a well-known liberal bias."

"Reality has a well-known liberal bias."
Stephen Colbert
White House Correspondents Dinner
29 April 2006

So... what's an Administration to do when faced with reality's "well-known liberal bias"? What would any of us do: deep-six it!

The most recent headline-making attempt to deny reality:
Army Buried Study Faulting Iraq Planning
By MICHAEL R. GORDON, NYT
Published: February 11, 2008
WASHINGTON — The Army is accustomed to protecting classified information. But when it comes to the planning for the Iraq war, even an unclassified assessment can acquire the status of a state secret.
... but this is just the latest float in a very long parade. From memory - doing no "deep dive" research - here are other examples of this Administration's response to a liberal-biased reality:
U.S. Figures Show Sharp Global Rise In Terrorism
State Dept. Will Not Put Data in Report
By Susan B. Glasser
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
... The State Department announced last week that it was breaking with tradition in withholding the statistics on terrorist attacks from its congressionally mandated annual report. Critics said the move was designed to shield the government from questions about the success of its effort to combat terrorism by eliminating what amounted to the only year-to-year benchmark of progress.
You don't like the numbers? Not a problem: don't publish 'em!

But wait, there's more! And, again - this is just from memory - no systematic research involved!
Great Lakes health report withheld by agency
Document has 'alarming evidence' of toxic pollutants, group says, but fed agency says it needs some fixes.
Gordon Trowbridge / Detroit News Washington Bureau
Friday, February 8, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Federal officials are refusing to release a scientific study that contains "alarming evidence" that toxic pollutants threaten the health of residents in Detroit and other Great Lakes cities, a watchdog group alleged Thursday.
Ah, yes: "it needs some fixes"... I bet it DOES! Next up:
Climate Researchers Feeling Heat From White House
By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 6, 2006; Page A27
Scientists doing climate research for the federal government say the Bush administration has made it hard for them to speak forthrightly to the public about global warming. The result, the researchers say, is a danger that Americans are not getting the full story on how the climate is changing.

Aren't OUR tax-dollars paying for all this research? How come we don't get to see it???

The governing principle is pretty clear:
"We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality."
[unnamed White House aide, quoted by Ron Suskind, NYT Magazine, 17 Oct 2004]
"Reality", it appears, is purely subjective... this from conservatives who, presumably, abhor moral relativism!

Stop the madness!

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