The March of Anti-Science

I've railed against BushCo's opposition of science. I've complained bitterly of the Boy King's desperate need to have some quixotic endeavor that will stand as his glorious legacy. I've groused about the money being wasted on pointless manned expeditions back to the moon and to Mars, which combines the previous two issues. Add them all up, throw in some more human suffering courtesy of the neo-fascist agenda, and you get this article, from today's WaPo.

The government's ability to understand and predict hurricanes, drought and climate changes of all kinds is in danger because of deep cuts facing many Earth satellite programs and major delays in launching some of its most important new instruments, a panel of experts has concluded.

The two-year study by the National Academy of Sciences, released yesterday, determined that NASA's earth science budget has declined 30 percent since 2000. It stands to fall further as funding shifts to plans for a manned mission to the moon and Mars. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, meanwhile, has experienced enormous cost overruns and schedule delays with its premier weather and climate mission.

Maybe it's this sort of thing that will puzzle historians some day-- that it was self-styled conservatives who squandered the nation's wealth constructing moai, while convincing the public that utopian liberals were the real danger.