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Top Scientist Rails Against Hirings, Bush Appointees Land Career Jobs Without Technical Backgrounds
Democratic Underground Latest Breaking News — ... example, Todd Harding -- a 30-year-old political appointee at the Energy Department -- applied for and won a post this month at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There, he told colleagues in a Nov. 12 e-mail, he will work on "space-based science using satellites for geostationary and meteorological data." Harding earned a bachelor's degree in government from Kentucky's Centre College, where he also chaired the Kentucky Federation of College Republicans. Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

The consequences of Bush burrowing
Political Animal — ... , "The Bush administration will leave us with another legacy: unqualified Republican ideologues receiving appointments in various institutions, including scientific organizations, as their ship of state sinks. The rats are scuttling overboard, and are being rewarded with captaincies on any available vessel." He's referring to this . The president of the nation's largest general science organization yesterday sharply criticized recent cases of Bush administration political appointees gaining permanent federal jobs with responsibility for making or administering scientific ...

Meritocracy
Suburban Guerrilla — If you’re a Republican, you have merit: The president of the nation’s largest general science organization yesterday sharply criticized recent cases of Bush administration political appointees gaining permanent federal jobs with responsibility for making or administering scientific policies, saying the result would be “to leave wreckage behind.” “It’s ludicrous to have people who do not have a scientific background, who are not trained and skilled in the ways of science, make decisions that involve resources, that ...

States Flirting With Higher Gas Taxes
The Huffington Post | Full News Feed — ... proposing gas-tax holidays for the summer driving season. As it stands, the current federal gas tax is at 18.4 cents per gallon -- and it has not budged for essentially 15 years. Each state except Alaska slaps its own tax on gasoline, and these, too, rarely get raised. The average state tax is 30 cents and the high is California with 48.7 cents. (See the American Petroleum Institute's state-by-state breakdown for more.) Read the full story here. -OR- Top Scientist: Bush's Appointees Will "Leave Wreckage Behind" Sen. Boxer To Propose ...