In a speech given on March 9, 2009, President Barack Obama said that we should, "Let scientists...do their jobs, free from manipulation or coercion, and listening to what they tell us, even when it's inconvenient--especially when it's inconvenient.  It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda--and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology."

This is a great ideal and one that AITSE supports. But, I have wondered if the President is cognizant of just how broadly the scientific enterprise fails to meet the criteria he describes. The interior department's Inspector General's complaint that the White House made changes to a report on offshore drilling so that it appeared more authoritative than it was may indicate that there is work to do. This is the purpose of AITSE: to raise the profile of scientific integrity so that this principle will work its way through society and even--perhaps--reach the While House. We are working towards another meeting with Congressmen in the new year so, with your help, we are on our way.

Dec 1, 7:00 pm. St James Anglican Church youth group. Evolution and Intelligent Design: What's the Fuss?

Dec 2, 7:00 pm. St Michaels and All Angels Episcopal Church. Integrity in Science and Medicine: Why Does it Matter?

"Why should I care about integrity in science? I'm a businessperson, a gardener, a lawyer, a homemaker, a student. Science is just not relevant to my life." Have you ever said or thought this?

In this enlightening lecture, Dr. Crocker shows how lack of scientific integrity jeopardizes our health, prosperity and even faith as a nation. Cheating is endemic in schools so that students neither learn the facts nor are able to apply what they learn. Censorship is rife in academia so that educators are not allowed to teach both sides of controversial subjects. The financial interests of the funders control research and publication so that healthcare providers are limited in their search for accurate information and patients can end up taking harmful or unnecessary drugs.

A return to scientific integrity is not just necessary; it is vital.

"Darwinists have been known to say that adaptationism is the best idea that anybody has ever had. It would be a good joke if the best idea that anybody has ever had turned out not to be true. A lot of the history of science consists of the world playing that sort of joke on our most cherished theories."

Atheist Dr. Jerry Fodor is a professor of philosophy and cognitive sciences at Rutgers University is on record claiming that there are problems with the mechanism of evolution. He believes that natural selection does not work and is not afraid to say so. There are many who would like him to be quiet and keep his questions to himself. Why?

According to Paul Kurz, editor of Free Enquiry, an atheist magazine, science progresses by "free inquiry, critical thinking, the willingness to question assumptions..." This is what Fodor is doing and I say it is a good thing.