The Top American Science Questions: 2012 Obama-Romney Comparison
Submitted by mdefarge on Fri, 09/07/2012 - 17:28""Whenever the people are well-informed," Thomas Jefferson wrote, "they can be trusted with their own government."
Science now affects every aspect of life and is an increasingly important topic in national policymaking.
ScienceDebate.org invited thousands of scientists, engineers and concerned citizens to submit what they felt were the the most important science questions facing the nation that the candidates for president should be debating on the campaign trail.
ScienceDebate then worked with the leading US science and engineering organizations listed at left to refine the questions and arrive at a universal consensus on what the most important science policy questions facing the United States are in 2012.
Candidates readily debate jobs and the economy even though they are not economists; they debate foreign policy and military intervention even though they are not diplomats or generals; they debate faith and values even though they are not priests or pastors. We call on the candidates for President to also debate these Top American Science Questions that affect all voters' lives."
Innovation | Climate Change | Research and the Future | Pandemics and Biosecurity | Education | Energy | Food | Fresh Water | The Internet | Ocean Health | Science in Public Policy | Space | Critical Natural Resources | Vaccination and Public Health
Candidates' Answers, a Side by Side Comparison
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To be fair all of the
To be fair all of the candidates that will be on the ballot should be profiled, including Gary Johnson.
www.gunowners.org
I agree. Gary Johnson's answers should be included here, too.
It's endemic where the media is concerned, ever reinforcing the idea that third party candidates don't count. If you wish to register your opinion with the people in charge of this venture, I see that there is contact information at the site.
Other than the sad fact that they excluded a candidate, it's actually pretty interesting what this is. (At the top, under "Debate," there's a tab "Our Story.") It was a citizen-initiated venture. In 2007, a mere SIX PEOPLE called for there to be a debate on issues regarding science and technology. They put it out there and got many thousands of scientists involved; millions officially supported the idea. But the candidates refused to participate. Then, they got even further endorsements, and finally the candidates agreed. [Corrected.] They did this for 2008, too, although I wasn't aware of this until now.
Good post
The part however that says "they debate faith and values even though they are not priests or pastors" is not relevant really.
Very obviously, one does not ever have to be a pastor or priest to discuss or debate faith and/or values.
" In Thee O Lord do I put my trust " ~ Psalm 31:1~
Re the Science & Technology - Candidate Comparison
Yes, you're right, and that was exactly the point! You see, this was a citizen-initiative that began in 2007. As I mentioned above, there were six people initially involved (two in the film industry, one philosopher, plus four scientists). They thought the public should be able to hear the candidates debate their views on SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY issues. They got the input of MANY scientists, developed a list of questions, and also got a huge petition that was submitted to Obama and McCain requesting that they submit their answers, which would then be made public. But the offer was DECLINED.
This GROUP argued that Obama and McCain WERE debating other issues even though they weren't, themselves, "professionals" in those fields. They were debating issues on the economy, though not economists themselves, debating issues on faith & values, though not pastors or priests themselves... So why not science & technology?
In any event, this group then got further endorsements, and eventually Obama and McCain relented. This year is the second go-round. (Regrettably, Gary Johnson apparently wasn't included.)
I would love to see Ron Pauls answer to these questions
Did anyone else notice both candidates have an expensive big government solution to whatever problem is presented to them? Also I some how doubt the candidates even answered these question, they were probably given to their stall.
I sure did notice.
And I agree; no doubt those answers were staff-written. Let's see if any of the questions come up in the televised debates and whether they remember the answers. It would be fun to see those two try to make it sound like they actually have different agendas. I did find a couple differences, but most of it just sounded like campaign rhetoric to me.
Good luck getting either Romney or Obama to discuss anything
other than party line rhetoric or distracting propaganda. Or maybe the MSM will start asking relevant question relating to anything of constitutional importance.
That said these are question that every citizen should be asking.
"A vote for the lesser of two evils is a vote to keep things the same", Buckminster Fuller..
A vote for liberty is always a vote for liberty.
The Constitution?
What a novel idea...you mean that contract they pledge to uphold? Hmmm, yes, I think we should go paragraph by paragraph and vet the 2, the red turned blue and the blue turned red.
When did Blue become Red?
It appears to me that Romney has more to say than Obama and I would also like to know when red became blue and blue became red. You know what I am talking about don't you?
Obama/Romney comparison - not lookin' good re vaccines or food
freedom - things such as "raw milk," for one. Re both issues, both candidates appear happy to eschew common sense and/or the will of the people and go with "science-based" solutions and what THEY perceive as the good of the state.
For most of this "side by side" comparison, the difference between the two candidates is the color of the ink: blue for Obama, red for Romney.
P.S. Given his CAMPAIGN PROMISE that got the whole "ORGO MOVEMENT" to VOTE DEMOCRAT last election, I laughed out loud over what Obama said (in couched terms) re food labeling.
Tell me about it.
I want them to keep their healthcare and their vaccinations to themselves. Leave me and my family out of it. As a matter of fact if the government would just get out of the way we would not have to work until July 15 to pay taxes and regulations.
http://www.costofgovernment.org/files/files/COGD2012_hi%20re...
Cost of Government Day = July 15. COGD "is the day of
the calendar year on which the average American worker has earned enough gross income to pay off his or her share of the spending and regulatory burden imposed by government at the federal, state and local levels."
Nice "fun fact," bear! Of course, the COGD is different per state. Thanks to taxes here in New York - second highest in the country - that day is in August. Understandably, NY is among those states losing residents moving to lower-tax states. In fact, sometimes we have to close the windows because of the draft created! That's a great document. Thanks. :)
August ugh. I didn't look up
August ugh. I didn't look up my state. Was NY in that doc? I need to look up Missouri. I ran across that document on a DP post of course :)
Page 6 Lucky you. Looks like "just" until about July 10!
I once looked into moving to Missouri. The St. Louis area. I haven't watched in years, but it was Joyce Meyers who inspired me to start reading the Bible. I also thought about Branson, the area where Billye Brim's ministry is. She's Gloria Copeland's good friend. I haven't watched in a long while, but when they're together, what a dynamic duo! Anyway, I wondered if there was something about Missouri that spawned believers!
My Husband
will be happy to hear that I have been reporting wrong. We are actually 5 days better than what I have been telling him!
We are from Texas and the Lord placed us here at a little church in a poor town. I have a friend in New York that lived in St. Louis a short time. I met her in Texas.
Have you ever heard Beth Moore or Kay Arthur? It has been a long time since I have heard Kay teach, but I did enjoy one of her studies years ago.
Branson is a very pretty area. We are about 2 hours north.
Kay Arthur, yes
I actually thought of her when you said your husband taught the Bible verse by verse. One time I wrote to TBN to see if they had this book I was looking for, and they didn't but were kind enough to send me as a gift a book along the same lines, Kay Arthur's "The Peace & Power of Knowing God's Name." She takes 15 Hebrew names for God - Elohim, El Roi, Adonai, Jehovah-rapha, and others; in explaining them, she not only provides a multi-faceted image of God's nature, but gets you to realize all the ways in which He is there for us. It's a beautiful-looking book as well. I so enjoyed it, I sent for more information about Kay and came to see she's known for her "inductive" Bible studies, "precept on precept," going... verse by verse. I never did pursue that, but reading all the info and seeing samples of workbooks, it nonetheless had an influence on my Bible reading from there. It was Gloria & Billye's doing much the same that gave me a WHOLE different appreciation (!!!) for Ephesians./Funny, but it finally registered: you're "the pastor's wife." I've heard that comes with high expectations and can be a bit draining. As to where you are, did you ever see any of Jim Graff's tv shows on "the significant church?" (He's somehow related to Joel Osteen.) Although he had opportunity to lead a mega-churches, he chose to stay at a small church - what some might consider a less significant position. He knew otherwise. He toured the country and visited all these little churches, many in very out of the way places, including impoverished areas. It was very inspiring to see the differences they were making in people's lives - all across America. I heard him talk about this, plus I saw some of the churches featured. I hoped it would become an ongoing series, but it doesn't appear to have been the case. Ah, I just thought to check it out on line. There's many sites about it! Maybe you already know about it. If not, this looks like the home site. http://www.significantchurch.com/who-we-are/significant-chur... Enjoy this beautiful Sunday!
Looks like you have had some
Looks like you have had some more action on your post! I have tried to answer each person who stops by my post. It is time consuming, but it keeps the name of the post in the active forum topics. I think I have come down sick tho so am not feeling like doing much today. I took a browse on the significant church site. Enjoyed one of the June devotionals. These words were an encouragement:
"God will always give us His grace (His ability) to do what He called us to do. I want to encourage you to know that I don't care what season of life and ministry you are in, God will give you the ability to flourish." ( http://www.significantchurch.com/june-18-2012-devotional/ )
This precepts site is often a resource for me as I teach: http://www.preceptaustin.org/ It is jam-packed full of links and explanation.
Well, I have managed to get way off topic in your topic LOL.
Thanks for that precepts link
I'll definitely check it out. Hope you feel better. I'm emotionally drained right now. I turned on the tv to see what was on Booktv and saw that there were all these 911 specials on, which I ended up watching for hours back-to-back. It just all still seems incomprehensible. :(
Yes, and here we are today.I
Yes, and here we are today.I think many are still trying to understand exactly what happened that day and why. It is troubling to see the families that were devestated and the consequences of lost liberty.
I noticed there is a post on the front page of the DP about 9/11. I haven't looked at it yet. I am way behind. I felt bad for so long I have let a lot of things go. Jeff cautioned me this morning not to do too much.
Glad you like the precepts link. I have found it to be a reliable source so far.