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Obama vows return to U.S. science prominence

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President Barack Obama pledged Monday to return the United States to a "high water mark" of scientific achievement, announcing a goal to commit 3% of GDP to research and development.

Obama laid out a deck of initiatives in a speech at the National Academy of Sciences, where he vowed to implement what he described as the largest-ever U.S. investment in scientific research and a dramatic reversal of the ideology-driven policies of his predecessor George W Bush.

The clarion call for the country to regain its position as the world leader in scientific research and innovation came as the Obama administration faced its first major global health crisis with a deadly swine flu outbreak in Mexico and the United States that threatens to burst into a pandemic.

"At such a difficult moment, there are those who say we cannot afford to invest in science, that support for research is somehow a luxury at moments defined by necessities," Obama told hundreds of scientists, researchers and educators.

"I fundamentally disagree. Science is more essential for our prosperity, our security, our health, our environment and our quality of life than it has ever been."

Citing a plunge in federal funding of physical sciences over the past 25 years, Obama warned that U.S. achievement, particularly science and math study, dramatically lagged in the late 20th century -- and threatened to fall even further behind other rapidly advancing nations.

"I believe it is not in our American character to follow, but to lead. And it is time for us to lead once again," he said.

Obama also declared a need to end the politicization of scientific research, a charge he has leveled at the Bush administration.

"We are restoring science to its rightful place," he said. "Under my administration, the days of science taking a back seat to ideology are over."

Obama pointed to the U.S. goal set in the 1950s to reach space and its commitment to leading scientific innovation after the Soviet Union shocked the world by launching its Sputnik 1 satellite into space in 1957.

"That was the high water mark of America's investment in research and development. Since then, our investments have steadily declined as a share of our national income," he said.

But Obama set a goal of devoting more than 3% of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) to research and development.

"We will not just meet, but we will exceed the level achieved at the height of the space race through policies that invest in basic and applied research, create new incentives for private innovation, promote breakthroughs in energy and medicine, and improve education in math and science," he said.

As part of his massive $787 billion stimulus bill, Obama has committed $21.5 billion for research and development, and his 2010 budget includes another $75 billion to make research and experimentation tax credits permanent.

In his first months in office, Obama began peeling back some key Bush science policies, including the decision to limit federal funding for embryonic stem cell research despite pleas by many scientists who believe it offers promise in fighting degenerative diseases.

Obama has also expressed deep concern over Bush's position on global warming, including his failure to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, and the president pulled no punches Monday.

"We have watched as scientific integrity has been undermined and scientific research politicized in an effort to advance predetermined ideological agendas," Obama said.

"We know that our country is better than this."

Among Obama's commitments are doubling the budget of the National Science Foundation, which funds academic research, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Department of Energy's Office of Science.

He also outlined a $5 billion "Race To The Top" fund to encourage states to improve the quality and quantity of math and science teachers.

Obama announced the launch of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy, or ARPA-E, a $400 million initiative dedicated to "high-risk, high-reward research."

Obama touched on his recovery plan that includes investing $150 billion over the next decade on renewable energy sources.

He also put forward his President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology, a group of 20 scientists and engineers Obama said would advise him on "national strategies to nurture and sustain a culture of scientific innovation."

© Wire reports

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

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“Under my administration, the days of science taking a back seat to ideology are over.”

Thank God.

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“We have watched as scientific integrity has been undermined and scientific research politicized in an effort to advance predetermined ideological agendas,”

Wise words. So many good scientists were forgotten in their prime, just because of political differences.

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It's going to be hard for the bitter bush fans to be angry at Obama on this one. Good job, Obama.

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Does this mean he's getting rid of Gore? Will Gore go missing in the near future? We can only hope. Thank You Obama. This could be your first accomplishment.

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Another unnecessary, grandstanding vow to "reverse" the supposedly tragic course that American life had taken until the media's chosen one was elected.

He can make all the vows he wants but it takes education to remain competitive.

Obama's party is why our public schools are so pathetic and most of our universities have "speech codes" that silence heterodoxy as effectively as anything that the Soviets had.

You just have to laugh at the media's slobbering puppy love for this empty suit.

I read of how Obama gave a short speech last month where he three times pronounced Orion, name of a company whose product he was plugging, as "Oar-ee-yon." I wasn't surprised. Without coaching and the teleprompter you see a very mediocre mind at work.

[http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/business/41689067.html]

Another example:Larry Summers is an Obama appointee - Director of the White House's National Economic Council.

He was forced to resign as president of Harvard after basically wondering aloud (and with concern) about a universally-recognized fact: women statistically have lesser aptitude for work in the highest levels of math and science.

Censorship (like in the Summers case)and affirmative action (elevating mediocre minds - like Obama - to unwarranted prominence and responsibilities beyond capacity) are what's really hurting "our prosperity, our security, our health, our environment and our quality of life."

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Nuclear chief says Obama shuns science

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/23/nuclear-chief-sees-politics-in-yucca/

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smithinjapan they will always find something to Bitch about.

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what science projects did the Bush admin block? I understand that funding wasn't given, but were there any research that were blocked?

I praise the heck out of science and would be happy if the US led, but there are a lot of cases where the so called research was given funding and the research didn't come up with anything. Even look at the lethal weapons issue on cnn.com They never worked.

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Go Obama and Go Science!

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skipthesong: stem-cell research, for one, and bush PERSONALLY vetoed that due to his religious beliefs. That's just one.

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stem-cell research, for one, and bush PERSONALLY vetoed that due to his religious beliefs.

George Bush could not personally 'veto' stem cell research. No president can.

Bush could deny federal funding for any new research in the area.

If the demand and promise were as great as people say and the issue as dire as the media portrayed it why is it you never heard of the private sector picking up the slack? Corporations - Big Pharma! - as the Left still remind us when the topic is socialized medicine, were awash in obscene profits all throughout the Bush era, on account of that mean-spirited free market philosophy that prevailed in the eight long and dark years before the media's chosen one came along.

That's just one.

Yeah. It's the only one you have, and you got it wrong.

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smitty: He didn't ban it. I mean, you and others are making it out to be something like the Roman Catholic church's position on science which it wasn't. NASA got a lot of funding under Bush (actually, something I'm against as I thought it'd be better to let private companies get involved), of course military medicine was high (I know that because I follow it)...

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This looks like it’s mostly directed at the alternative energy market, not a bad thing mind you. However, I would like to see blanket R&D going on everything from bio-chemistry and physics to more questionable topics like eugenics and stem cell research. Science, industry, and a strive for excellence made the U.S great while sloth and regulation drove it down.

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teleprompter science includes:

It is a scientific fact that the earth, no the universe, came to be in just six days.

It is a scientific fact that the earth is between 5,000 and 6,000 years old.

It is a scientific fact that no matter what man does he cannot effect the environment because god will fix it before anything bad happens.

It is a scientific fact that Aids is a biological result of god's will to punish homosexuals.

It is a scientific fact that it took god just one day to create all the stars and objects in the "hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe"* just so we could have pretty stars to look at, at night in the "heavens."

*The number could be as low as 125 billion galaxies, that 'b' as in billion and 'g' as in galaxies; not just stars!

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/021127a.html

It is a scientific fact that stem cell research will cause more abortions and the government will eventually set a quota on the minimum amount of abortions allowed in this country. If the minimum is not achieved the government will force teenagers to get pregnant and then have abortions to support stem cell research.

It is a scientific fact that all species on the earth were created on the same day except man who was put on earth later that same week.

It is a scientific fact that men have one less rib than women do.

It will be censorship when Obama and his followers do not allow teleprompter and his ilk to present all these facts as science.

Thank you, Obama for taking the steps to end the fact that "scientific integrity has been undermined and scientific research politicized in an effort to advance predetermined ideological agendas[.]"

I have been preaching from my soapbox over and over about the billions of dollars that will be used for research and development in the stimulus package. $21.5 billion is a great start when added to the $75 billion in tax incentives.

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NASA Satellite Glimpses Universe's First Trillionth of a Second; http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2006/mar/HQ_06097_first_trillionth_WMAP_prt.htm. Yeh there wasn't a beginning! Ethics must be part of science. Especially now. Even Einstein was concerned with a science in love with what it could do with no constraints. I can do it so I will! I side with the church that defends our common humanity. We are not allowed to just do anything because we can. Why? Ask that guy at the first trillionth of a second of the beginning of the Universe. Love this Nasa observation.

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teleprompter: "George Bush could not personally 'veto' stem cell research. No president can."

Irregardless, he was still against the science and denied any funds to make progress in the area. Thus countries like South Korea and Canada are vastly ahead of the US in the field, and with Obama taking charge and reversing bush's 'this is immoral!' crap the US can finally start to be proud of itself again. That means you, too. Well, not so much yourself, but you can be proud of your country again and stop being ashamed like for the past eight years.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/19/stemcells.veto/index.html

I wasn't wrong at all -- bush effectively barred the science, and no it is open again. Try not to choke on your words as you eat them.

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Well, as a student of chemistry, I welcome this news with open arms.

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OneForAll said:

Ask that guy at the first trillionth of a second of the beginning of the Universe.

"that guy at the first trillionth of a second of ..." Oh you are hilarious. But hilarity has no place in science. Obama statement is also meant to make sure we are not forced to teach our kids the nonsense you are now presenting under the guise of ethics and your ilk has more often tried to pass off as science. I am not opposed to teaching kids what you guys believe; just not in science class. It can even be taught that you are in opposition to what is being taught in science class; again just as long as it is not done in science class. I have no problem letting kids get to hear your alternate theories as long as they are not presented as science in or out of the science class.

I will never convince you there was no "guy at the first trillionth ...." I don't even attempt to; however I want it to be clear to others what your agenda actually is.

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Smith: Right on. Thus defeated, teleprompter disappears from this thread, to slink in despair into his anti-Obama bunker waiting for his next chance to express his venom against his nemesis. I swear man, everything Obama does according to teleprompter is evil. Makes it difficult to take him seriously. Obama is moving in the right direction on the science front. If you want to moralize it, where in the Bible does it say that obtaining of knowledge is wrong? I've never seen that verse myself.

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the ideology-driven policies of his predecessor George W Bush

For the last 8 years our country's science went away from facts and sound science theories and jump into the mad mad world of Christin beliefs. Our last President had a faith based support of science that hurt our nation. His beliefs forced scientist out and moved political religious wingnutz in.....

Links to Bush's un-intelligent anti-science...

His push for more un-Intelligent design

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/02/AR2005080201686.html

Bush administration's anti-global warming stance

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/29/science/earth/29climate.html?_r=1

Bush policy to distort scientific finding to push his beliefs against the world.....

http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2004/02/62339

Warning in January of 2008 by scientist about this same subject

http://www.livescience.com/technology/080130-bush-legacy.html

These links talks of how the Bush administration was censoring science that went against his beliefs and political aims..

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20040308/kennedy

http://oversight.house.gov/features/politics_and_science/index.htm

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/07/12/bush_bad_science/

The Bush administration not only hurt us through bad economics they also hurt us with their bad science.

The Bush administration believed in higher learning through prayer and to hell with scientific findings. It was either his way or the highway. We have taken a hit these last 8 years. It is time to become the world leader in science again.

It is refreshing to see our current President supporting sound science and not voodoo science.

Time to get Christian beliefs out of the classroom and back in church!

Bravo Zulu President Obama!

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BO has decided to spend more of the money that the government - and the people - do not have. Wow - what a surprise. I can't wait for the next item on his agenda - solving world hunger with the US buying food for everyone on the planet. It's just so simple really - now I know why the Left believes that he is the messiah...

Moderator: The word BO is unacceptable.

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good donkey forgot to place a comma between the person he was addressing and the message that followed.

teleprompter, science includes:

It is a scientific fact that the earth, no the universe, came to be in just six days.

[...]

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JoeBigs

But Joe, they said you could only provide one.

You called their bluff.

Now all I hear is crickets.

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It is refreshing to see our current President supporting sound science and not voodoo science.

Science is one half of it. You need free markets to bring American ingenuity to realization.

Cap and trade is anti-science.

Obama's statist, anti-capitalist stance means our competitors are going to pass us by.

Obama's supposedly deep respect for science?

I'd settle for an armchair historian's respect for what epidemics like the emerging swine flu are capable of.

100 days into the most over-hyped presidency in modern times and America, under Obama, still has no Secretary of Health and Human Services or appointees in any of the department’s 19 key posts.

We have no Surgeon General.

We have no head at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Obama vows return to U.S. science prominence

Just who were we replaced by?

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teleprompter at 07:28 PM JST - 29th April Obama vows return to U.S. science prominence Just who were we replaced by?

Religious nutz and their 6 day claims their intelligent design joke and more of their religious based beliefs.

Bush tossed out science and tried to replace it with faith.

Religion is based on faith, it has no place in science.

How far ahead would we be today if religion had not tried to destroy true scientific advancement.

How long did man believe that the world was flat because of religion?

To this day people still have these beliefs and I suspect some are right here posting on JT.......

President Obama will lead us away from the darkages of the Bush bible science and into a new dawn.

You really do not believe in reading what people provide you do you? So you can either look for yourself at sites that are not religious wing nut sites. Or you can stay in your far right bunker and hunker down as President Obama gets us back to where we need to be.

By the way, the earth is round........

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What country replaced the US? To whom did we lose the prominence Obama, the intellectual fraud, speaks of?

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teleprompter at 09:36 AM JST - 30th April What country replaced the US? To whom did we lose the prominence Obama, the intellectual fraud, speaks of?

I am going to post some sites (non-bias) and let you come to your own conclusions.....

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_country_is_most_technologically_advanced

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nobel_laureates_in_Physics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nobel_laureates_in_Chemistry

http://en.wikipedia.org wiki/List_of_Nobel_Laureates_in_Physiology_or_Medicine

http://www.nsf.gov/about/budget/

Last link is budget for the National Science Foundation.....Take a look at if you will be surprised to the changes to the foundation once Bush came into office in 2001.

Many new departments were added....But that is all I am going to say about it.......Look for yourself, research yourself and never allow anyone else to plant their own opinions.......

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