Accepting a Proposal

A conservative Colorado blog called for a 20% annual reduction in climate change research, citing waste and abuse. (I’m not going to link to said blog. I have no intention of driving up traffic to those who knowingly bury their heads in the sand.) The premise was based on a hypothetical acceptance that if the ’science is in’, government funds shouldn’t be expended on additional computing resources, etc.

I don’t think conservatives would be well served by investigations into fraud and abuse of taxpayer monies. How many billions have gone completely missing by administration flunkies in Iraq? How many cost-plus contracts (that were no-bid, BTW) were signed by this administration, both in Iraq and in Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina? How many illegal surveillance programs have been continued in secret by this administration, despite having their existence ended by acts of Congress? How many faith-based programs and abstinence programs have been paid for with taxpayer dollars, despite the evidence that they actually don’t improve public health?

To be clear: climate research hasn’t and doesn’t waste taxpayer money, especially not in the quantities described by this over-zealous blogger. I’ll accept this blogger’s call to reduce taxpayer funded climate research if they and other conservatives would likewise propose cutting Iraq funding, contracts with the likes of Halliburton, surveillance programs, faith-based initiatives or abstinence programs. But I know how likely that will be: there is zero chance of it ever occurring. So to all the delayers/denyers who will want to follow suit in calling for such a ridiculous cutback in our science research funding: spare me your fake rage. It’s not the money that bothers you, it’s your hatred of all things scientific.

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Update 4/7/08:

I just read a story that supports my contention that abstinence-only education doesn’t work: Florida Teens Believe Drinking Bleach Will Prevent HIV; Some Teens Also Believe Mountain Dew Will Stop Pregnancy. Further, Florida teens are under the ridiculous impression that smoking marijuana will prevent pregnancy.

Are Republicans serious when they say that these programs aren’t a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars? That climate research should be cut while these programs survive?