Surgeon General Describes Censorship From Bush Administration 805
UniversalVM writes "The NY Times is reporting that the former Surgeon General in damaging testimony given to the senate describes how he was repeatedly censored by the Bush administration while speaking out about topics such as global warming, Stem cell research and so on. The effort was to 'water down' or weaken reports on important issues to suit Republican Agenda. He describes how he attended one meeting where Global Warming was being described as a 'Liberal Agenda' and being dismissed. He tried to intervene thinking that the people there did not understand the science so he set about explaining it to them, the result? He was never invited back."
Hmmm... (Score:4, Funny)
Bush at work again, I see....
Well It's About Time! (Score:5, Funny)
I can't wait until Bush has to get a tattoo on his back that reads: "SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING! Election of this individual may result in death and will increase the risk of the rest of the world hating you."
That happened to me.... (Score:4, Funny)
Story of my life (Score:5, Funny)
(+5, Funny) (Score:5, Funny)
You forgot to mention Bush three times... (Score:5, Funny)
(If only that wasn't **actually true**!!!)
He just didn't understand "humor" (Score:1, Funny)
Random staffer: Global warming? You mean "liberal agenda".
Rest of room: Ha ha ha. (random laughter)
Surgeon General: No, no. You don't understand. Global warming is real. It's scientific!
Me: Calm down. We're just fooling around.
Surgeon General: No! It's because of carbon dioxide emissions. Don't forgot how smart I am. Listen to me. I'm a surgeon and a general. Anybody else a surgeon here? No? Anyone else a general here? No? Then all of you just better listen.
Me: (whispering to guy next to me) Let's not invite him back.
Guy sitting hext to me: What an ass.
Re:That happened to me.... (Score:5, Funny)
Sounds unpleasant.
Re:That happened to me.... (Score:4, Funny)
Sounds unpleasant.
Bush v Reality (Score:4, Funny)
Re:That happened to me.... (Score:5, Funny)
Sounds unpleasant.
Re:Ugh... (Score:3, Funny)
I PITY THE FOOL who wants to elect somebody based on their performances as fictional characters!
So, to summarize... (Score:4, Funny)
From TFA:
- The administration, Dr. Carmona said, would not allow him to speak or issue reports about stem cells, emergency contraception, sex education, or prison, mental and global health issues. (because, yanno, those have nothing to do with the guy in charge of health for the country...)
- Top officials delayed for years and tried to "water down" a landmark report on secondhand smoke, he said (Ve must toe ze party line, mein Heir)
- Dr. Carmona said he was ordered to mention President Bush three times on every page of his speeches. (Umm... Godwins Law warning!)
- He also said he was asked to make speeches to support Republican political candidates and to attend political briefings. (You work for us, not for those namby-pamby girly men)
- And administration officials even discouraged him from attending the Special Olympics (because we in the Republican party hate those damn cripples. They're just sponging off social welfare anyways.)
- The officials concluded that global warming was a liberal cause and dismissed it, he said. (It's true, actually. If we could instantly kill every liberal, global warming would be solved. Mostly because of the >50% loss in population, but still, technically, true...)
- Dr. Carmona described being invited to testify at the government's nine-month racketeering trial of the tobacco industry that ended in 2005. He said top administration officials discouraged him from testifying while simultaneously telling the lead government lawyer in the case that he was not competent to testify. (pfft! What would a DOCTOR know about TOBACCO?)
- When stem cells became a focus of debate, Dr. Carmona said he proposed that his office offer guidance "so that we can have, if you will, informed consent." "I was told to stand down and not speak about it," he said. "It was removed from my speeches." (pfft! What would a DOCTOR know about STEM CELLS?)
- The global health report was never approved, Dr. Carmona said, because he refused to sprinkle the report with glowing references to the efforts of the Bush administration. (truthfully, he did mention the Bush administration, but only in the context of "World health is suffering because Bush makes everyone sick to their stomachs...)
- Because the administration does not want to spend more money on prisoners' health care, the report has been delayed, Dr. Carmona said. (this must be why Libby never went to jail)
And the administrations response?
"It's disappointing to us," Ms. Lawrimore said, "if he failed to use this position to the fullest extent in advocating for policies he thought were in the best interests of the nation."
The only good side of all of this is that we only have ~1.3 years left.
I just fear it's ~1 year too much.
Big Brother (Score:5, Funny)
Re:You forgot to mention Bush three times... (Score:4, Funny)
To post on Slashdot as "operagost", evidently.
Indeed. (Score:5, Funny)
I was concerned at first by the fact that they never seem to have any questions. But I learned to ask, "I'm not boring you, am I?" They never are. Clearly I have enlightened them in such a lucid manner that questions are superfluous.
Re:Indeed. (Score:1, Funny)
Surgin' General (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Indeed. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Well It's About Time! (Score:2, Funny)
They're probably just bitter the president's 4x8 relay team was crushed.
emergency contraception? (Score:3, Funny)
We are slowly losing our freedoms in this nation. (Score:4, Funny)
The Surgeon General has released statements that use fear to control people's eating habits, buying habits, behavior and actions. He uses fear to control people in the same way that a terrorist uses fear. He takes money from companies that want him to make statements that use fear to control people to buy their products. In this case the Surgeon General took money from the pro-global warming lobbyists so that he can release statements that force people to buy carbon credits and use products that the pro-global warming companies and organizations sell. In this way global warming is a scam. Global warming is a new religion spawned from liberals in order to control people with it and eventually control the world. Releasing CO2 into the atmosphere is a sin, but can be forgiven by buying carbon credits.
Soon, people won't be able to have the freedom to decide for themselves anymore, and will have organizations run by liberals telling them what to do. Everyone should have the freedom to choose how to live their lives and what they should do. Let us end this tyranny that the Surgeon General, PETA, etc have on the lives of many people that force them how to decide using scare tactics. Let us give back the freedom to decide for themselves to the people again once more!
Re:We were the bully when we pushed the British ou (Score:3, Funny)
Re:You forgot to mention Bush three times... (Score:2, Funny)
I thought for a moment that was John _McClane_ (Score:3, Funny)