Not even rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic anymore, the administration is just throwing anyone overboard who talks about icebergs
White House edited testimony, CDC official says
WASHINGTON -- The White House heavily edited congressional testimony given Tuesday by the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the impact of climate change on health, removing specific scientific references to potential health risks, according to two officials familiar with the documents.
Dr. Julie Gerberding, CDC director, told a Senate hearing that climate change "is anticipated to have a broad range of impacts on the health of Americans."
But her testimony was devoted almost entirely to the CDC's preparation, with few details on the effects of climate change on the spread of disease. Only during questioning did she describe specific diseases that would probably be affected, again without elaboration.
Her testimony before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee had much less information on health risks than a much longer draft version Gerberding submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review in advance of her appearance.
"It was eviscerated," said a CDC official, familiar with both versions, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the review process...
The deletions directed by the White House included details on how many people might be adversely affected because of increased warming and the scientific basis for some of the CDC's analysis on what kinds of diseases might be spread in a warmer climate and rising sea levels, according to another official who had seen the original version."
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It's not as if the information isn't out there -- the British Medical Journal printed maps nearly 10 years ago indicating the altitude rise (up mountainsides and latitudes) of such drug-resistant lowland tropical diseases as malaria and TB that will accompany warming (and already are).* It's not suppression of the information, per se. it's fingers-in-the-ears yelling singing "naahh-naah-naah" so as not to hear what already been said. (See, in the wonderful world where the Invisible Friend tells you secret instructions, not saying it is just the same as it not existing.)
Here's my question: forget impeachment -- takes too long.
Can a President (and Vice-President) be declared incompetent and just removed from office?
Can we just lead them gently to the air-conditioned rubber room where they can spend the rest of their lives in relative comfort insisting that they were RIGHT, that destabilizing the entire world while letting disasters occur at a rapidly increasing rate was what Mr. Invisible (you know, stronger than a million daddies) told them was so.
In my opinion (and that of many many many millions of other people) these guys are just clinically certifiable, with absolutely no concept of reality.
Kinder to take them gently into a safe place than leave them out in the open to await the return of the incredibly pissed-off American military folk who've been doing special weapons training in iraq the last few years.
So, even if THEY'RE cruel, conscienceless, sociopathic sonsofbitches -- we can try to be kind. It's the Christian thing to do.
*Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., the committee's chairman, produced a CDC chart listing the broad range of health problems that could emerge from a significant temperature increase and sea level rise
They include fatalities from heat stress and heart failure, increased injuries and deaths from severe weather such as hurricanes; more respiratory problems from drought-driven air pollution; an increase in waterborne diseases including cholera, and increases vector-borne diseases including malaria and hantavirus; and mental health problems such as depression and post-traumatic stress.
WASHINGTON -- The White House heavily edited congressional testimony given Tuesday by the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the impact of climate change on health, removing specific scientific references to potential health risks, according to two officials familiar with the documents.
Dr. Julie Gerberding, CDC director, told a Senate hearing that climate change "is anticipated to have a broad range of impacts on the health of Americans."
But her testimony was devoted almost entirely to the CDC's preparation, with few details on the effects of climate change on the spread of disease. Only during questioning did she describe specific diseases that would probably be affected, again without elaboration.
Her testimony before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee had much less information on health risks than a much longer draft version Gerberding submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review in advance of her appearance.
"It was eviscerated," said a CDC official, familiar with both versions, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the review process...
The deletions directed by the White House included details on how many people might be adversely affected because of increased warming and the scientific basis for some of the CDC's analysis on what kinds of diseases might be spread in a warmer climate and rising sea levels, according to another official who had seen the original version."
*****************************
It's not as if the information isn't out there -- the British Medical Journal printed maps nearly 10 years ago indicating the altitude rise (up mountainsides and latitudes) of such drug-resistant lowland tropical diseases as malaria and TB that will accompany warming (and already are).* It's not suppression of the information, per se. it's fingers-in-the-ears yelling singing "naahh-naah-naah" so as not to hear what already been said. (See, in the wonderful world where the Invisible Friend tells you secret instructions, not saying it is just the same as it not existing.)
Here's my question: forget impeachment -- takes too long.
Can a President (and Vice-President) be declared incompetent and just removed from office?
Can we just lead them gently to the air-conditioned rubber room where they can spend the rest of their lives in relative comfort insisting that they were RIGHT, that destabilizing the entire world while letting disasters occur at a rapidly increasing rate was what Mr. Invisible (you know, stronger than a million daddies) told them was so.
In my opinion (and that of many many many millions of other people) these guys are just clinically certifiable, with absolutely no concept of reality.
Kinder to take them gently into a safe place than leave them out in the open to await the return of the incredibly pissed-off American military folk who've been doing special weapons training in iraq the last few years.
So, even if THEY'RE cruel, conscienceless, sociopathic sonsofbitches -- we can try to be kind. It's the Christian thing to do.
*Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., the committee's chairman, produced a CDC chart listing the broad range of health problems that could emerge from a significant temperature increase and sea level rise
They include fatalities from heat stress and heart failure, increased injuries and deaths from severe weather such as hurricanes; more respiratory problems from drought-driven air pollution; an increase in waterborne diseases including cholera, and increases vector-borne diseases including malaria and hantavirus; and mental health problems such as depression and post-traumatic stress.
posted by Saintperle at
7:10 AM
