Once more, DuBridge showed what it meant to be a science advisor to the White House: sometimes, one must defend the inde

Neal Lane told me it is an unfair metric to measure a science advisor by the federal research budget alone, but for better or for worse that tends to happen. In David’s case, it was for worse: by 1973 the federal support for science had dropped to its lowest point in a decade, and it would drop again the next year. Soon after David’s resignation, Nixon simply abolished the advisor post, dispensing even with the façade of support for a scientifically defensible White House policy apparatus. A number of other scientifically relevant officials — the assistant secretary for health, the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service, even the director of the National Institutes of Health — all either resigned or were ousted around the same time.

“So, you have a situation — “ He stopped, pondering. “There have been a lot of science advisors who have been more influential than they got credit for.” He told me that early in his career, he had been mentored by some of the first presidential advisors, including George Kistiakowsky (Eisenhower) and Jerry Wiesner (Kennedy). “They all told me, you get more done if you don’t care who gets the credit.”

Punishment in the Middle Ages was much harsher than it is now and that stems from a distinct lack of law enforcement ability. People across Medieval Europe lived in small hamlets, on feudal farms, or in larger towns and cities. Out in the countryside, there was no rapid response to crime and wrongdoing which is why they compensated with heavy punishments which were meant to deter any poor behavior. Despite the attempt by monarchs and local lords to keep the people in line via fear of the law, crime was still a big deal across the Medieval world and crime and punishment is a topic that still fascinates us from that era.

Shop Valerio, Brute Impact, and Urban Ice are scams, just like the many accounts like them. They prey on people by selling them a fake dream of having made it. They’re trying to fool people. You shouldn’t feel bad if it happens to you, but if you can, avoid it.

Of course, that’s only true, again, when the president doesn’t care about scientific progress over political expedience. Our sample size is limited, but unfortunately, that order of priorities has dominated more often than one would hope.

Shop Valerio, Brute Impact, and Urban Ice are scams, just like the many accounts like them. They prey on people by selling them a fake dream of having made it. They’re trying to fool people. You shouldn’t feel bad if it happens to you, but if you can, avoid it.

http://elta.actiup.com/mbu/v-ideos-lulea-v-rogle-v-sw-sw-1nit-5.php

http://main.ruicasa.com/tjb/v-ideos-estrellas-orientales-v-gigantes-del-cibao-v-es-es-1qtq-16.php

http://team.vidrio.org/myp/video-Leones-del-Caracas-Cardenales-de-Lara-v-en-gb-1gvk-19.php

http://main.ruicasa.com/tjb/video-estrellas-orientales-v-gigantes-del-cibao-v-es-es-1hps-14.php

http://molos.bodasturias.com/jph/video-Rapperswil-Jona-Lakers-ZSC-Lions-v-en-gb-nyd-.php

http://elta.actiup.com/mbu/v-ideos-lulea-v-rogle-v-sw-sw-1ewk-3.php

http://main.ruicasa.com/tjb/v-ideos-aguilas-del-Zulia-Tiburones-de-La-Guaira-v-en-gb-1tox-.php

http://main.ruicasa.com/tjb/v-ideos-aguilas-del-Zulia-Tiburones-de-La-Guaira-v-en-gb-1urw-9.php

http://elta.actiup.com/mbu/video-lulea-v-rogle-v-sw-sw-1ebm-21.php

http://team.vidrio.org/myp/Video-leones-del-caracas-v-cardenales-de-lara-v-es-vn-1ghh-1.php

rmal person is supposed to grasp this soup of standards, built atop a single port that looks the same, is anyone’s guess. Having a single, universal port on the majority of my devices is a godsend, but it feels like spinning the wheel every time I plug something in: Will it behave the way I expect? If it’s this difficult for me, I’m not sure how the average person will know how to figure out what’s wrong.

In one sense, it worked, as David lasted longer in the role than his predecessor did. He spent his 28 months at the White House again pushing for increases to federal funding for science, helping negotiate international collaborations, and continuing some of DuBridge’s policy fights that smoldered on past his exit. (That suppressed SST report was finally released more than a year after the Congressional complaints, and it did indeed recommend against further government support for the plane.)

Without large numbers of officers patrolling the streets like we have today, some places could get quite rowdy. Whether it was drinking that went too far or feuds and arguments that got out of hand, it could be dangerous for local people and innocent bystanders if things quickly got out of control in the village.

When I asked John Holdren what it really means to “have the president’s ear” in this role, he seemed a bit agitated by the question. I had suggested that certain advisors seemed to be lauded for that influence while others disappeared into the background.

But he too couldn’t penetrate Nixon’s wall, a situation that undoubtedly only got worse as the Watergate scandal began to blow up. In early January, 1973, David as well submitted his resignation. The Times reported, damningly, that while serving as advisor “he had never managed to play an important role in shaping Federal research and development policy.”

Nixon replaced his high priest of science with a virtual unknown, Edward E. David, Jr., described as being “well outside the main channel of the American scientific establishment.” Perhaps the idea was to move that dividing line between presidential policy cheerleader and scientific advocate toward the former and away from the latter — if the scientific community didn’t know the new advisor, they couldn’t expect much of him.

Journalist Daniel Greenberg wrote a long essay at this time regarding Nixon’s pugnacious relationship to the scientific world. “Mr. Nixon, who is demonstrably not above grudgery, does not like the academic world, including its substantial scientific component,” he wrote, “probably for the well established reason that the academic world long ago decided that it did not like Mr. Nixon.” It is fair to say that the disconnect between science and government has never been so clearly on display.

Disturbing the peace was a broad crime that could be applied to brawling, revelry, violent arguing, and other seemingly minor offenses. Anything which disrupted the status quo in the countryside could be seen as disturbing the peace, and punishment was meted out proportional to the crime.

The advisor who is willing, in Holdren’s words, to go on “beavering away in the trenches just getting stuff done,” will have more success than one who needs to be seen and heard as well. Seems reasonable, until we rephrase: furthering scientific progress can only be done effectively at the White House when it is done in the shadows.