Republicans voted to repeal a scientific finding!

[Quixote1818]

Earlier this year, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced legislation “repealing the... scientific finding that carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases are endangering human health and the environment.” That’s right, politicians voted to repeal a scientific finding. It failed in the Senate. But if Republicans were to take control of the White House and Senate, the bill would undoubtedly become law.

“Politicians overruling scientists on a scientific question,” cautioned EPA Secretary Lisa Jackson on February 8, “would become part of this Committee's legacy.”

More: http://www.alternet.org/story/150854/gop_assault_on_truth:_why_do_conservatives_pretend_they_know_more_about_science_than_scientists?page=entire

[Drale]

1. These are the last desperate acts of a group of dieing politicians

They know they are not getting reelected in 2012, so they are trying to shove as much of their crap down our throats as possible before then.

[flakey_foont]

2. crazy!

They should at least get Bill Nye's opinion

[sarge43]

3. Yeah that'll work.

Next up, the earth can't orbit the sun anymore.

[mopinko]

24. nah, it'll just go back to being flat.

and the rest of the planets will orbit around us.

[sarge43]

29. Well yeah, the good old days of an earth centered cosmos,

feudalism and droit du seigneur.

[TygrBright]

4. Great! Let's make pi equal to 3.14, too. Who needs all those extra decimal places? n/t

[hobbit709]

7. Go for 3 even like in the Bible.

[jeff47]

9. They already tried that in Indiana

(it was back in the 1800's, IIRC)

[laconicsax]

32. 3.14 is 99.95% accurate.

I get your point, but for all practical purposes, 3.14 is plenty accurate. Remember, that level of accuracy got us to the moon. (Slide rules are only good to 3 significant figures.)

[Erose999]

40. Maybe in calculating flight trajectories, but in machining and such it is important to have

tolerances accurate to thousandths of an inch. .005 out of round on a bearing, or some other part of a rocket motor and our Astronauts might have been crispy critters.

And imagine if the seal on a space suit was made to only .005 tolerance...

I guess there are plenty of other areas where the adage "close enough for government work" does apply though, lol.

[The Wielding Truth]

5. If corporates needed us to think the world was flat a spherical world would be illegal.

[hobbit709]

6. Wait until they repeal the Law of Gravity.

[localroger]

15. Undoubtably the next step in NASA funding.

[Ninjaneer]

27. You mean Intelligent Falling, right?

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E4TgELcJEuU/S8rdxSYYopI/AAAAAAAAAyg/TbVWEjeyk1A/s1600/R.+Dawkins,+Oklahoma+-+Inteligent+Falling.jpg

Yes, the projection says dx/dt = 1 Cor 1:10

You can't make this shit up folks.

[Lucky Luciano]

31. What in the world does "1 cor 1:10" mean?! nt

[laconicsax]

34. First book of Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 10.

Intelligent falling is a parody of intelligent design, not a real thing.

[laconicsax]

37. Umm, yes you can...

Both pictures you have there are mocking Intelligent Design rather than making an actual proposal.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/evangelical-scientists-refute-gravity-with-new-int,1778/

You knew that right?

[Ninjaneer]

39. Yeah

I'm just gonna stick to sarcasm signs from now on.

[laconicsax]

47. It's the safe way to go. n/t

[Javaman]

28. fine, maybe then they will all just float away.

:rofl:

[matt819]

45. Is it a law or just a theory?

Because if it's a theory, I'm sure they'll scrap it as they have the theory of evolution. Of course, they're certainly welcome to test that pesky theory of gravity. Might I recommend Burj al-Khalifa in Dubai?

[Jackpine Radical]

8. I like that approach.

I'm trying to get them to act on legislation to round pi off to an even 3, and to lighen up the Gravitational Constant to cut long-distance shipping costs.

[progressoid]

10. It's like the Vatican and Galileo.

Jeebus H Tripe. We're going backwards.

[Motown_Johnny]

12. that was my first thought also

Trying to dictate what the truth is simply doesn't work. Eventually the truth will win out.

[Cirque du So-What]

11. While we're at it

let's repeal the deadly effect of gamma rays on the cells of living organisms - hell, just repeal that whole region of the electromagnetic spectrum! We can have unlimited nuclear power without having to pay for any safeguards. We can also repeal the toxicity of spent nuclear material, allowing us to mix it in with school lunches. Bonus!

[marmar]

13. The rest of the world must be laughing their collective ass off at this country.

nt

[themadstork]

14. The reactionaries are so cute.

Look at them, repealing science. . .

[Permanut]

16. This could work out great...

- If we make it illegal for the Moon to be so far away, we could get there quicker.
- If we repeal the finding that cigarettes contain carcinogens, I can start smoking again.
- If we make it illegal for the Mississippi to rise, we won't need levees any longer.
- If we make it a crime to question Pat Robertson, John Hagee or Benny Hinn, we'll get authoritative and expert interpretations of how we got here - instead of those "scientific theory" things.
- If we make it illegal to question the Bible, we'll have an answer to why there are fish fossils in the Himalayas (the Flood); why there are camel teeth in eastern Oregon (the Flood); and why there is a really deep canyon in Arizona (guess what caused it).

Dang, that's just the beginning; this could simplify everything! Think of the money we could save by not doing that sciency stuff!

[lame54]

17. they are legislating ignorance

[madokie]

18. Inhofe is crazy as a loon

simple as that. Don't know the other guy but my guess he is as loonie.

[Scuba]

19. I recommend we vote to lower the boiling point of water. We can all save on electricity. n/t

[Enthusiast]

33. Now there's an idea I could embrace. nt

[Zebedeo]

20. To be fair . . .

The supposed "scientific finding" was made by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, who is a bureaucrat with a background in chemical engineering, and not a scientist.

So her spin on this as "politicians overruling scientists on a scientific question" could be spun the other way as "the people's representatives overruling an unelected, unaccountable bureaucrat on an important issue of public policy."

Besides, the proposed legislation does not "repeal a scientific finding." There is nothing in the text of the legislation that would "repeal" any scientific finding. The pertinent passage of the legislation states:

"(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may not, under this Act, promulgate any regulation concerning, take action relating to, or take into consideration the emission of a greenhouse gas to address climate change."

It also includes a provision repealing certain specified Agency actions. Repealing Agency actions is not the same as repealing scientific findings.

It is more fun to say that Republicans are passing laws repealing scientific findings, but, at the risk of being called a wet blanket, I think that in the interests of intellectual honesty, the news should be more accurately reported.

[Enthusiast]

35. Wet blanket!

[Zebedeo]

49. lol

:rofl:

[texshelters]

21. We can put Congressional Republicans in

a room and fill it with Carbon dioxide. The ones that repent and swear under oath that it can kill will be let out. The ones that don't well, they will be evidence that it is harmful.

Okay, that's harsh and I'm not serious. But what does it take to get these ignorant humans to admit the obvious?

Peace,
Tex Shelters

[upi402]

22. taliban not so very different. n/t

[ehrnst]

23. Can they repeal entropy next? I always hated that. (nt)

[mopinko]

25. they might pass it, but it won't become law.

it's be vetoed.

[JoePhilly]

26. When do they vote to declare that the earth is flat? nt

[Quantess]

38. There really are Flat Earthers who point to isolated phrases in the bible

as proof that the earth is flat.

[jpak]

30. Fucking dumbasses

yup

[NeedleCast]

36. Planet Venus Replies..

Dear Republican legislators, please come visit me here on lovely Venus. You'll find an atmosphere more than hospitable to your biological life form. I promise.

[EC]

41. Well, if carbon dioxide is not harmful to human health

then I suppose all these guys who voted for this wouldn't mind being put into an air-tight room and have carbon dioxide pumped in for them to breath. I'm sure they'll be alright since it's not harmful to human health....

[RainDog]

42. This is one of the most important articles I've read lately

the continued manipulation of the stupid by the craven is harming our nation.

this is the core of our problem.

[AsahinaKimi]

43. Well thats because

Senators know MORE then Scientists... I mean, come on...Who do these elitist academia think they are, claiming they know more then GOD? A Senator gets to vote, Scientists don't, and just need to go back to their little laboratories and play with their pet mice...

:sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm:

[Rex]

44. Well that is what happens when you elect stupid idiots to lead the country.

[matt819]

46. That's the larger problem

Thanks to these people, we have become a laughingstock.

[RainDog]

48. kick n/t