Bush Ejects Two From Bioethics Council (washingtonpost.com): "President Bush yesterday dismissed two members of his handpicked Council on Bioethics -- a scientist and a moral philosopher who had been among the more outspoken advocates for research on human embryo cells.
In their places he appointed three new members, including a doctor who has called for more religion in public life, a political scientist who has spoken out precisely against the research that the dismissed members supported, and another who has written about the immorality of abortion and the 'threats of biotechnology.'
The turnover immediately renewed a recent string of accusations by scientists and others that Bush is increasingly allowing politics to trump science as he seeks advice on ethically contentious issues. "

He's pretty crass, isn't he? Just doesn't care, does he? Shameless, I'd say. Dangerous. Even with a supposed separation of powers, the guy does what he likes.

The only good news is that the press are starting to investigate and report on his lies. Take the NPR piece yesterday morning on Mark Racicot's--his campaign manager's--claim that he had "volunteered" for duty in Vietnam.

Well, they found that Bush's records show that he chose "not to serve". And that Racicot's source was an opinion piece in a right wing magazine.

What this means is that the Bush campaign is presenting unsubstantiated opinion as fact.

We shouldn't be surprised. They don't care about facts. They care about their agenda. And they make the facts fit their case.

We've seen it over and over. With the arguments for attacking Iraq. With the air quality reports in NY after 9/11. With the stacking of the "advisory boards" that are meant to give policy makers independent scientific input. Over and over again. That's why I don't believe anything they say at face value. Because it's been proven false, even when there's a kernal of truth, it's spun to be something it's not. And now they are claiming we should re-elect this man. Have they no integrity?

Don't answer that. Vote. It's your only hope of getting rid of him. And bring a friend. We need everyone to vote this time.

But don't stop with Bush. He's part of a system. The GOP leadership and their support organizations all need to be removed from power. To remove Bush without doing so would be like removing an unsightly tumor that's causing pain, but not removing the rest of the cancer that's part of it. You can expect the same tumor to come back, maybe in a different place. But just as deadly.

We have to remove all influences of those who are taking over our government for their own selfish gain, and return it to serving all of us. Most of all we need to get corporate power out of elections. Then remove it from dominance in our government institutions. We need to replace it. How this should be done is a matter for debate. I don't have the answers.
- posted by geoff @ #