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24year old Bush appointee to censor NASA scientists didn't even graduate from college
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| occrider |
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BREAKING NEWS: George Deutsch Did Not Graduate From Texas A & M University
Through my own investigations I have just discovered that George Deutsch, the Bush political appointee at the heart of administration efforts to censor NASA scientists (most notably to prevent James Hansen from speaking out about global warming), did not actually graduate from Texas A&M University. This should come as a surprise, since the media has implied otherwise, with even The New York Times describing the 24-year-old NASA public affairs officer, as “a 2003 journalism graduate of Texas A&M.” Although Deutsch did attend Texas A&M University, where he majored in journalism and was scheduled to graduate in 2003, he left in 2004 without a degree, a revelation that I was tipped off to by one of his former coworkers at A&M's student newspaper The Battalion. I later confirmed this discovery through the records department of the Texas A&M University Association of Former Students.
Deutsch’s former coworker informed me that in the summer of 2004, when Deutsch was the Opinion Editor for The Battalion, he was offered a position in George W. Bush’s presidential reelection campaign. The position was apparently too good to turn down, so Deutsch not only left his editorial post, but he also left A&M completely. Deutsch's coworker was not aware of him returning to A&M to complete his education. I investigating this further, and through the Association of Former Students, I learned that George Deutsch never graduated from Texas A&M, and the last record of him was from June 9, 2004, when he withdrew.
At this point, while I am unaware of whether Deutsch graduated from college at all, it is clear that he did not graduate from A&M, and he may have intentionally misled people to believe that he did. The idea that NASA let a 24-year-old journalism major, with no experience in science or technology, other than writing a few articles about video games, determine what scientists were able to communicate to the public was pretty bad. The fact that he was censoring scientific information on global warming and the big bang made things more interesting, especially since he was a political appointee doing this to prevent challenges to the Bush administration’s policies. But now, finding out that he did not even graduate from Texas A&M, and may not have graduated from college at all, is absolutely outrageous. George Deutsch, as I wrote before, needs to be removed from this post immediately.
The Bush administration and the Republican Party can give lip service to science all they like, but when they show such a flagrant disregard for scientific integrity by placing someone, whose only qualification is having worked on the Bush campaign, in such an important position, everything else they say is meaningless.
http://scientificactivist.blogspot....ch-did-not.html
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Keep that cronyism coming. The little probably makes more money than me too. |
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| josh4 |
| quote: | Originally posted by occrider
Keep that cronyism coming. The little probably makes more money than me too. |
wow theres even a word for it. hes 24 years old? wtf |
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| occrider |
The little resigns. I anxiously await the next underqualified Bush apointee ... :rolleyes:
Hopefully he won't be another Paris Hilton wanaabee who's daddy sunk a couple million into the bush reelection campaign. Unfortunately there appears to be plenty of opportunities for those candidates in this administration. I don't know what's sad, the fact that this is happening or the fact that this isn't so sickening compared to the rest of the that's happening.
Lol this is the government you're payng for with your tax dollars??? So that privilidged little s can earn a decent pay while mucking about with Washington elites? Conservatism wooooo!
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A Young Bush Appointee Resigns His Post at NASA
Article Tools Sponsored By
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
Published: February 8, 2006
George C. Deutsch, the young presidential appointee at NASA who told public affairs workers to limit reporters' access to a top climate scientist and told a Web designer to add the word "theory" at every mention of the Big Bang, resigned yesterday, agency officials said.
Mr. Deutsch's resignation came on the same day that officials at Texas A&M University confirmed that he did not graduate from there, as his résumé on file at the agency asserted.
Officials at NASA headquarters declined to discuss the reason for the resignation.
"Under NASA policy, it is inappropriate to discuss personnel matters," said Dean Acosta, the deputy assistant administrator for public affairs and Mr. Deutsch's boss.
The resignation came as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was preparing to review its policies for communicating science to the public. The review was ordered Friday by Michael D. Griffin, the NASA administrator, after a week in which many agency scientists and midlevel public affairs officials described to The New York Times instances in which they said political pressure was applied to limit or flavor discussions of topics uncomfortable to the Bush administration, particularly global warming.
"As we have stated in the past, NASA is in the process of revising our public affairs policies across the agency to ensure our commitment to open and full communications," the statement from Mr. Acosta said.
The statement said the resignation of Mr. Deutsch was "a separate matter."
Mr. Deutsch, 24, was offered a job as a writer and editor in NASA's public affairs office in Washington last year after working on President Bush's re-election campaign and inaugural committee, according to his résumé. No one has disputed those parts of the document.
According to his résumé, Mr. Deutsch received a "Bachelor of Arts in journalism, Class of 2003."
Yesterday, officials at Texas A&M said that was not the case.
"George Carlton Deutsch III did attend Texas A&M University but has not completed the requirements for a degree," said an e-mail message from Rita Presley, assistant to the registrar at the university, responding to a query from The Times.
Repeated calls and e-mail messages to Mr. Deutsch on Tuesday were not answered.
Mr. Deutsch's educational record was first challenged on Monday by Nick Anthis, who graduated from Texas A&M last year with a biochemistry degree and has been writing a Web log on science policy, scientificactivist.blogspot.com.
After Mr. Anthis read about the problems at NASA, he said in an interview: "It seemed like political figures had really overstepped the line. I was just going to write some commentary on this when somebody tipped me off that George Deutsch might not have graduated."
He posted a blog entry asserting this after he checked with the university's association of former students. He reported that the association said Mr. Deutsch received no degree.
A copy of Mr. Deutsch's résumé was provided to The Times by someone working in NASA headquarters who, along with many other NASA employees, said Mr. Deutsch played a small but significant role in an intensifying effort at the agency to exert political control over the flow of information to the public.
Such complaints came to the fore starting in late January, when James E. Hansen, the climate scientist, and several midlevel public affairs officers told The Times that political appointees, including Mr. Deutsch, were pressing to limit Dr. Hansen's speaking and interviews on the threats posed by global warming.
Yesterday, Dr. Hansen said that the questions about Mr. Deutsch's credentials were important, but were a distraction from the broader issue of political control of scientific information.
"He's only a bit player," Dr. Hansen said of Mr. Deutsch. " The problem is much broader and much deeper and it goes across agencies. That's what I'm really concerned about."
"On climate, the public has been misinformed and not informed," he said. "The foundation of a democracy is an informed public, which obviously means an honestly informed public. That's the big issue here."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/08/p...ogin&oref=login
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| skot_e |
Shows how f@#ked up Washington is.
What a laugh. He nearly got away with it too!
I wouldn't mind that job, where do I send my resume? |
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| Marc Summers |
So, he didn't go to college?
College doesn't do anything but give you a nice framed piece of paper. I bet this guy is smarter than any of us. |
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| DrUg_Tit0 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Marc Summers
So, he didn't go to college?
College doesn't do anything but give you a nice framed piece of paper. I bet this guy is smarter than any of us. |
Yeah, right. That's something only people without college would say. |
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| HardTranceProd |
| haha.... hi-f*cking-larious.... |
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| occrider |
| quote: | Originally posted by Marc Summers
So, he didn't go to college?
College doesn't do anything but give you a nice framed piece of paper. I bet this guy is smarter than any of us. |
Ok here come the apologists … I have no doubt in my mind that he’s smarter than you, but don’t try to place him in the same bucket with others in this forum. Right let’s take a look at this guys record:
A) [Deutsch] rejected a request from a producer at National Public Radio to interview Dr. [James E.] Hansen, said Leslie McCarthy, a public affairs officer responsible for the Goddard Institute. Citing handwritten notes taken during the conversation, Ms. McCarthy said Mr. Deutsch called N.P.R. "the most liberal" media outlet in the country. She said that in that call and others, Mr. Deutsch said his job was "to make the president look good" and that as a White House appointee that might be Mr. Deutsch's priority.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/29/s...int&oref=slogin
B) In October [Deutsch] told a Web designer working for the agency to add the word "theory" after every mention of the Big Bang, according to an e-mail message from Mr. Deutsch that another NASA employee forwarded to The [New York] Times.
The Big Bang is "not proven fact; it is opinion," Mr. Deutsch wrote, adding, "It is not NASA's place, nor should it be to make a declaration such as this about the existence of the universe that discounts intelligent design by a creator."
It continued: "This is more than a science issue, it is a religious issue. And I would hate to think that young people would only be getting one-half of this debate from NASA. That would mean we had failed to properly educate the very people who rely on us for factual information the most."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/04/s...agewanted=print
C) HE LIED ON HIS RESUME
Yup, real genius this guy. I don’t know what’s funnier, how retarded this beurocratic nitwit is or the fact that you’re trying to defend him. |
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| josh4 |
| Score one for the bloggers (again). Shows what a little power in the hands of individuals can do. |
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| trancaholic |
| quote: | Originally posted by DrUg_Tit0
Yeah, right. That's something only people without college would say. |
LOL |
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| Fir3start3r |
| One word: Doh! :stongue: |
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| Dervish |
| quote: | Originally posted by Marc Summers
So, he didn't go to college?
College doesn't do anything but give you a nice framed piece of paper. I bet this guy is smarter than any of us. |
I'd semi-agree with that. It does teach you some skills though. And in general if you can't be arsed to seek the advantage it brings, or motivate yourself enough to finnish one, then perhaps thats is not such a good sign.
BUT I would say that some dump as people I know got decent degrees (tho they had to work like bitches for them which I supose is a good sign).
EDIT: "dump as people" <<< like me lol |
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