Friday, November 7, 2008

Obama Considers Anit-Vax Nut Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for EPA Post

President Elect Obama is considering RFK Jr for the head of the EPA. This would be a horrific start for a presidency supposedly interested in being pro-science, and not falling prey to the politicization of science so endemic to the Bush administration, and scorned on this and many other science blogs. RFK is an anti-science anti-vax crank, and prone to Pr-damaging histrionic misrepresentations of his opponents as Nazis and such. Orac has a detailed summary.

Obama had better make these decisions very carefully. The scientific community which was so excited by his candidacy will turn on him like a pack of rabid wolves if he starts this nonsense. Ours is a very data-driven support.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Now that the anti-science, superstition-based intiative presidency is coming to an end, we need several Manhattan projects to make us great again. First we must provide free advertising-based wireless internet to everyone. Then we must criss-cross the land with high speed rail. These two major public works projects will boost us out of the Grotesque Depression. We must develop microorganisms that may be freely distributed and become commonplace to improve our future. Because bovine flatulence is the major source of greenhouse gases, we must develop microorganisms which can be grow in the home that will provide all of our nutrition. Then we must create microorganisms which turn our sewage and waste into fuel. Since paranoid schizophrenia is the cause of racism, bigotry, homelessness, terrorism, ignorance, exploitation and criminality, we must provide put the appropriate medications, like lithium, in the water supply. We must also allow dangerous individuals who refuse free mental health care to be required to be implanted with drug release devices and microorganisms to improve their mindsets. We should encourage international organizations to do likewise. In order to fund this we must nationalize the entire financial, electrical and transportation system and abolish the silly notion that each industry should be regulated by its peers. Furthermore, as feudalism is the threat to progress everywhere, we must abolish large land holdings by farmers, foresters or religions and instead make all such large landholding part of the forest service so our trees may diminish greenhouse gases. We must abolish executive pay and make sure all employees in a company are all paid equally. We must abolish this exploitative idea of trade and make every home self sufficient through the microorganisms we invent.

Anonymous said...

One of the things I've liked about Obama to this point is that he has done a relatively good job of surrounding himself with smart and capable people--experts in their fields rather than partisan hacks and people looking for sinecure.

I would be very disappointed if he blows that.

Cerus said...

I've already written the campaign about the possible selection of
RFK Jr and why his selection would be problematic.