'Rollback' in the Wild

From the Washington Post, more evidence of the Bush administration's intolerance of inconvenient research: cantankerous climatologist James Hansen recently accused NOAA bigwigs of restricting the flow of scientific results from the agency to the public. According to Hansen, scientists' conversations with the media are monitored by 'minders' for the ostensible purpose of protecting the former, though he doesn't buy that rationale. Administration loyalists deny the charge, and recently-terminated spokesman George Deutsch had some harsh words for Hansen:

"There is no pressure or mandate, from the Bush administration or elsewhere, to alter or water down scientific data at NASA, period," Deutsch said, adding that after being tasked to work with Hansen, "I quickly learned one thing: Dr. Hansen and his supporters have a very partisan agenda and ties reaching to the top of the Democratic Party."

Which is a real knee-slapper in light of the current White House's track record on scientific spin. Give me a break already.