Over the last year or so since the launch of UCS’s Center for Science and Democracy, my colleagues and I have been thinking a lot about what science meant to America’s Founding Fathers and why we should care today in 2013. Read More
The American Community Survey: It’s Common Sense!
March 8th, 2013
UPDATE Tuesday March 19 (see below)
We at the Center for Science and Democracy believe that our democracy thrives when debate about public policy is driven by independent data. That makes our public discourse more rational, and more civil. When information guides our public policies they also are more likely to be effective and well-thought-out. Read More
It’s Time to Ask Ourselves: What Would Ben Franklin Do?
February 12th, 2013
Every one of us can think of a recent time when science has been misrepresented by a politician, company spokesperson, or self-appointed expert. The issues are many. Vaccine safety. Global warming. Guns. Fracking. You might begin to think that in America, facts have always been subservient to hype.
But that simply isn’t the case. As we’ve done research to support the new Center for Science and Democracy at UCS, I’ve been surprised at how closely science and American democracy were intertwined from the very beginning of our great republic. From the very beginning, scientific values have been American values. Read More
President Obama’s Second Inaugural Address and Self-Executing Truths
January 22nd, 2013
There was a lot for me to like in President Obama’s second inaugural address yesterday. Many are focusing on the policy signals he sent, most notably related to climate change and renewable energy. The phrase that most piqued my interest, however, related to the truths articulated in the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence. Read More
