I found this opinion piece in today's NY Times (online) regarding the bashing science took under the Bush administration. I don't mean to use this forum for political preaching, but I thought this was relevant to the ongoing theme on this site of pursuing knowledge and understanding rather than reinforcing beliefs. The author, Olivia Judson, also reminds us that scientists, being human, continue to be (sometimes blindly) influenced by their own beliefs.
http://judson.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/02/back-to-reality/?th&emc=th
