http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/03/31/the-push-for-restarting-the-congressional-office-of-technology-assessment/ Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:28:30 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/03/31/the-push-for-restarting-the-congressional-office-of-technology-assessment/#comment-15689 C. Alexander Brown Mon, 24 Aug 2009 01:18:59 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/03/31/the-push-for-restarting-the-congressional-office-of-technology-assessment/#comment-15689 Trevor, Post # 2, on the basis of the OTA's brief history, please be assured that your fears are unfounded. The OTA had a sterling history of providing objective and elegant reports. Indeed, it is this absence of concessions to politics that contributed to the political hostility from certain quarters that contributed to its demise. A restored OTA could reasonably be expected to be as objective and as thrical as it was during its first incarnation. Trevor, Post # 2, on the basis of the OTA’s brief history, please be assured that your fears are unfounded. The OTA had a sterling history of providing objective and elegant reports. Indeed, it is this absence of concessions to politics that contributed to the political hostility from certain quarters that contributed to its demise. A restored OTA could reasonably be expected to be as objective and as thrical as it was during its first incarnation.

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/03/31/the-push-for-restarting-the-congressional-office-of-technology-assessment/#comment-15688 Help restore science to its rightful place « Skepfeeds-The Best Skeptical blogs of the day Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:57:40 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/03/31/the-push-for-restarting-the-congressional-office-of-technology-assessment/#comment-15688 [...] don’t ask you BABloggees for much, but I’m asking you for this. Join me, Darlene, Chris Mooney, and others. Read those links, and then if you feel you can, sign the petition. Let’s get science [...] [...] don’t ask you BABloggees for much, but I’m asking you for this. Join me, Darlene, Chris Mooney, and others. Read those links, and then if you feel you can, sign the petition. Let’s get science [...]

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/03/31/the-push-for-restarting-the-congressional-office-of-technology-assessment/#comment-15687 Help restore science to its rightful place | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:00:51 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/03/31/the-push-for-restarting-the-congressional-office-of-technology-assessment/#comment-15687 [...] don’t ask you BABloggees for much, but I’m asking you for this. Join me, Darlene, Chris Mooney, and others. Read those links, and then if you feel you can, sign the petition. Let’s get [...] [...] don’t ask you BABloggees for much, but I’m asking you for this. Join me, Darlene, Chris Mooney, and others. Read those links, and then if you feel you can, sign the petition. Let’s get [...]

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/03/31/the-push-for-restarting-the-congressional-office-of-technology-assessment/#comment-15686 The Push for Restarting the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment at OTA Archive Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:15:19 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/03/31/the-push-for-restarting-the-congressional-office-of-technology-assessment/#comment-15686 [...] blog entry points to several articles that are calling for OTA to be restarted, and says that OTA should be [...] [...] blog entry points to several articles that are calling for OTA to be restarted, and says that OTA should be [...]

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/03/31/the-push-for-restarting-the-congressional-office-of-technology-assessment/#comment-15685 The OTA No-Brainer | The Intersection | Discover Magazine Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:06:22 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/03/31/the-push-for-restarting-the-congressional-office-of-technology-assessment/#comment-15685 [...] Anthis basically cinches the case for why we should bring back the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment–namely, it costs virtually nothing: …before being defunded, the annual budget of the [...] [...] Anthis basically cinches the case for why we should bring back the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment–namely, it costs virtually nothing: …before being defunded, the annual budget of the [...]

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/03/31/the-push-for-restarting-the-congressional-office-of-technology-assessment/#comment-15684 Ashutosh Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:50:58 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/03/31/the-push-for-restarting-the-congressional-office-of-technology-assessment/#comment-15684 I remember Carl Sagan bristling at the dismantling of OTA in 95. He would have felt gratified. I remember Carl Sagan bristling at the dismantling of OTA in 95. He would have felt gratified.

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/03/31/the-push-for-restarting-the-congressional-office-of-technology-assessment/#comment-15683 JT Lewis Tue, 31 Mar 2009 23:08:01 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/03/31/the-push-for-restarting-the-congressional-office-of-technology-assessment/#comment-15683 Thanks to all the science policy advocates who have kept this issue alive. Just as an informed electorate is key to democracy, an informed congress is essential to sound science legislation and policy. Was the OTA perfect? No. But it fulfilled a critical gap. We need to resurrect the OTA, or something akin to it. To further our national science profile and competitive edge) , not to dictate politically-driven outcomes. Thanks to all the science policy advocates who have kept this issue alive. Just as an informed electorate is key to democracy, an informed congress is essential to sound science legislation and policy. Was the OTA perfect? No. But it fulfilled a critical gap. We need to resurrect the OTA, or something akin to it. To further our national science profile and competitive edge) , not to dictate politically-driven outcomes.

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/03/31/the-push-for-restarting-the-congressional-office-of-technology-assessment/#comment-15682 Paul Shin Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:18:04 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/03/31/the-push-for-restarting-the-congressional-office-of-technology-assessment/#comment-15682 This bodes well toward helping to increase scientific literacy of the citizens of this country and- dare I say it- scientific competitiveness we've been lacking for too long! Let's hope some ethics is also employed as this has also caused too many problems! This bodes well toward helping to increase scientific literacy of the citizens of this country and- dare I say it- scientific competitiveness we’ve been lacking for too long! Let’s hope some ethics is also employed as this has also caused too many problems!

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/03/31/the-push-for-restarting-the-congressional-office-of-technology-assessment/#comment-15681 TomJoe Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:49:21 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/03/31/the-push-for-restarting-the-congressional-office-of-technology-assessment/#comment-15681 Congress should take every chance to get well-informed positions on everything they come up to vote for. Sadly, it appears that they prefer to fly blind most times. <i>A 1,100+ page document? Lets bring it up to vote in 2 hours, forget about setting aside time to read it!</i> Congress should take every chance to get well-informed positions on everything they come up to vote for. Sadly, it appears that they prefer to fly blind most times. A 1,100+ page document? Lets bring it up to vote in 2 hours, forget about setting aside time to read it!

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/03/31/the-push-for-restarting-the-congressional-office-of-technology-assessment/#comment-15680 Trevor Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:45:20 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/03/31/the-push-for-restarting-the-congressional-office-of-technology-assessment/#comment-15680 Given the ability of government to stifle and warp (for political ends, of course) scientific research, shouldn't we push for *less* not more government involvement? A congressional OTA could just as easily be hijacked by political parties to advance completely *un*scientific goals. Look at how the Bush administration appointed political hacks at the FDA to block Plan-B (among other things). A more important question is not whether the OTA is resurrected or not, but how government can best encourage science without directing its course. Am I missing something? Given the ability of government to stifle and warp (for political ends, of course) scientific research, shouldn’t we push for *less* not more government involvement? A congressional OTA could just as easily be hijacked by political parties to advance completely *un*scientific goals. Look at how the Bush administration appointed political hacks at the FDA to block Plan-B (among other things). A more important question is not whether the OTA is resurrected or not, but how government can best encourage science without directing its course. Am I missing something?

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