S2Focus

Scroll down to the bottom third of <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20021112_1755.html" target="_blank">this article</a> to read about religious fundamentalist and Republican heavy-hitter Tom DeLay.

Furthermore, according to an email I received not long ago, DeLay recently had a big stack of one of Chuck Colson's anti-evolution tomes in his office. Obviously these books were not for DeLay's personal consumption, but were meant to be distributed to others. And this is not the office of some small-time rural politician; Tom DeLay is now the #2 man in the U.S. House of Representatives.

With the takeover of both Congress and the Executive branch by a political party dominated by extreme religious fundamentalists, there will likely be unsettling implications not only for science education in the USA, but for scientific research itself! I would not be terribly surprised if, under Republican pressure, the NSF and NIH are eventually compelled to fund "research proposals" submitted by the likes of the Discovery Institute, Answers in Genesis, and the Institute for Creation Research.

RufusAtticus

S2Focus,

I think you underestimate the political power scientists and their universities have when the government starts steping on their toes. Sure we might like to live in our ivory towers, but when the governement plans to build a road threw them look out.

Remember what happened when Bush tried to cut Smithsonian funding last year.

~~RvFvS~~

[ November 13, 2002: Message edited by: RufusAtticus ]</p>

crownboy

I have to agree with RufusAtticus here (unlike on our last thread ).

The science community has a pretty powerful voice when it needs to be heard. Yes, we got a raw deal with the stem cell thing, but when push comes to shove, even a fundie like Bush knows that science has saved more lives than Jesus as of late, and I think he knows where to draw the line. The Supreme Court has made it perfectly clear that you cannot teach "creationism" in schools, so I doubt they could get any funding for it. The ID folks are a little different, I know, but I predict that eventually the ID's will get onto the US Supreme Court's docket just like the creationist did, and I'm sure cooler heads will prevail there (Thomas and Scalia are only two people ).

In the mean time, there are still moderate Republicans who roam the aisles of Capitol Hill. Combined with the Democrats, I don't see this being a big issue. But yes, it is still scary that a person with the science education of a farm animal has this much power over the greatest nation in the world.

Albion

I don't think they'll be quite so bold as to demand funding of creationist research. But I do see the possibility of stealth attempts to direct limited research money (and between the military buildup and the tax cuts, it's certainly going to be limited) to research deemed "relevant" - which will obviously not include things like cosmology and abiogenesis research, which will be defined as luxuries for a time when we can afford more funding (in other words, when the religious right is no longer in charge). And I think we've probably seen the death knell of any really significant stem cell research in this country for many years. Good thing there are other countries.

I'm more concerned about schools at this point. Two more conservative Justices, and teaching creationism will become legal.

Camaban

You can't fund creationist research

there's no such thing.

Only time that gets funding will when they want some funds the public doesn't know about. (No more 40k toilet seats. Now there's simply funding creationist research )

[ November 13, 2002: Message edited by: Camaban ]</p>

Albion

There is if the President says there is. Even so, I still don't think they'd be stupid enough to be overt about it.

Butters

What a country. I remember Tom Delay when he was an exterminator! God help us all.

RufusAtticus

Don't be so sure about that. Bush didn't ban government funding of stem cell research, which would be a Fundy thing to do. No he instead used the outcry of the "moral majority" to quietly give a select group of biotech firms (one in my town) a monopoly on stem cells. In four years when their lines finally become exhausted, congress will change the regulations back, allowing new lines to be used.

It's classic republican politics, pretend to be doing the "Xian" thing when instead you do the "buisness" thing.

~~RvFvS~~