Obama at the Academy

April 28, 2009

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As our sister news site reported, US President Barack Obama spoke before the National Academy of Sciences yesterday and called for an increase in funding for basic science. Science Insider posted the full text of the speech here in which Obama said that "scientific discovery takes far more than the occasional flash of brilliance – as important as that can be. Usually, it takes time, hard work, patience; it takes training; often, it requires the support of a nation." In a separate post, Science Insider says that Obama's call for the US to spend 3 percent or more of its gross domestic product on research and development is "as ambiguous as it is ambitious." At the Intersection, Chris Mooney applauds Obama's speech and goals but wonders how "the gap between science and society" can be addressed. The White House also announced the creation of an Office of Science and Technology blog, found here.

The fact that Obama finished

Submitted by uetz on Tue, 04/28/2009 - 13:28.

The fact that Obama finished with "God bless America" is telltale. First, church and state (i.e. publicly funded research) should stay separate. Second, "God" has nothing to do with science - quite to the contrary. People who believe in God, an entity for which there is not the slightest evidence, should stay out of science, and so should any references to it.

Re:uetz Your proposal that

Submitted by paula.phillips1 on Tue, 04/28/2009 - 14:16.

Re:uetz
Your proposal that ""God" has nothing to do with science" is an opinion not shared by the majority of scientists. Most of us scientists are quite appreciative of divine intervention. And as for evidence of an entity?? just check out the perfect order of the universe for starts.

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