What's New [Am.Physical Soc vs Bush,SDI,Delay]

American Physical Society ^ | 12/19/03 | Robert Park (Scientific Taliban, American Physical Society)

[Diogenesis]

What's New [Am.Physical Soc.rant vs. Bush,SDI,Delay]

In this week's American Physical Society (APS) political tax-free rant, Robert Park
again uses the APS to attack his and the APS' enemies
as he again ignores another opportunity to actually use science or physics.
Many of his rants seem likely fantasized, and ths week he does not disappoint with his
diatribe against President Bush, missile defense, US security,
Tom Delay, and Park's [stated but unproven] belief that that human activity influenced the solar output.
See for yourself, FReepers and observe how low "science" at APS has fallen.

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Friday, December 19, 2003
1. CLIMATE CHANGE: AGU STATEMENT REFLECTS THE GROWING CONSENSUS.
It is now "scientifically inconceivable that human activity has not altered climate systems," explained John Christy, Director of the Earth
Systems Science Center at the University of Alabama, Huntsville. He spoke this week at an American Geophysical Union press briefing in
Washington to announce a new position statement on Human Impact on Climate. An AGU statement three years ago was far more tentative
(WN 29 Jan 99). Even the Bush administration now accepts the reality of anthropogenic warming (WN 7 Jun 02).

2. MISSILE DEFENSE: DEPLOYMENT IS STILL SCHEDULED FOR LATE 2004.
It was just one year ago that President Bush ordered deployment of a limited system of interceptor missiles in California and Alaska by the
end of 2004 (WN 20 Dec 02). But in the meantime, according to a story this week in Space News, the test schedule has fallen behind by about
six months. "Tough break," I said to my friend General Persiflage at the Missile Defense Agency, "how much will postponing the tests delay
deployment?" He was clearly amused: "Not one day; it's all part of the plan. The Commander- in-Chief ordered us to deploy in 2004, and
deploy we will. The only thing that could get in our way is to blow a test. So why ask for trouble?" He chuckled, "You scientists always think
you have to do experiments. This is a faith-based initiative."

3. NUCLEAR WEAPONS: THE OVERTURNING OF US NUCLEAR WEAPONS POLICY.
For more than half a century, the sole use for US nuclear weapons had been to deter a nuclear attack. Two years ago, however, the Bush
Administration completed its Nuclear Posture Review (WN 15 Mar 02). It led to the repeal of a 1994 ban on research and development of
new, low-yield nuclear weapons (WN 28 Nov 03). National Nuclear Security Administration head, Linton Brooks, has been dancing in the end
zone. He sent a letter to lab directors proding them to "take advantage of this opportunity to close any gaps in understanding of the possible
military applications of atomic energy."

4. ENVIRONMENT: MtBE CAUSES CANCER, AND A BIG STINK IN CONGRESS.
The Bush Administration had expected to enact legislation this year setting a new energy policy. The bill struggled under the weight of
special-interest deals, but what finally sank it was a provision immunizing makers of a gasoline additive, MtBE,, from lawsuits (WN 28 Nov 03).
MtBE has a way of getting into groundwater, where even in trace amounts it smells and tastes terrible so terrible no one can stand to drink it.
That turns out to be a very good thing, because MtBE also causes cancer in laboratory animals and the International Agency for Research on
Cancer treats it as a carcinogen. Most of the makers seems (sic) to be in the Houston district of House Majority Leader Tom Delay.

[Diogenesis]

Do "(m)ost of the makers seems (sic) to be in the Houston district of House Majority Leader Tom Delay"?, FReepers?

Do you see any scientific evidence that "anthropogenic warming"
is causing the present increases in solar sunspot activity or the heating seen on Mars and Earth?

CONCLUSION: Nothing new at the American Physical Society's "What's New" where politics trumps science.

[expatpat]

Park used to be a pretty good physicist -- but then APS used to be pretty good physics organization. Why do the leftists f*k every decent thing up with their slime?

[Right Wing Professor]

Goddamn physicists! You won't find stuff like that on the American Chemical Society's webpage

[Right Wing Professor]

Come answer for your professional organization ping!

[donmeaker]

I figure that global warming would be a good thing. The land masses of the Sahara, Arabia, the Canadian Shield and Siberia opened to cultivation. Greater populations of fish, and potential colonization of Antarctica and Greenland: this would far outweigh the downside of less skiing at Vail, and hotter summers in France.

[Wonder Warthog]

"Goddamn physicists! You won't find stuff like that on the American Chemical Society's webpage."

Nah! They don't put it on the webpage, but you can sure as heck find stuff just as "politically correct" in the ACS's "house organ" Chemical and Engineering News

Madeline Jacobs (C&E News Editor) is just as big an eco-fanatic lefty as Parks, just not as noisy about it.

[LiteKeeper]

read later

[Eala]

Why do the leftists f*k every decent thing up with their slime?

It's the nature of the beast.

[Physicist]

I'm not a member of the APS, and in a few days, it won't be my profession.

[RightWingAtheist]

:-( Well, you warned us this was likely. Good luck on whatever the future brings you. And hopefully, a new opportunity will open up to let you come back to research (just keep thinking to your self: "Bob Wilson was in my shoes once.")