Why does it not surprise me to learn that the mouthy 24 year old punk, George Deutsch, appears to have never graduated from Texas A&M at all, despite claims to the contrary? According to Scientific Activist, who made this little discovery;
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.
If this is true, can any rational person out there possibly doubt that Bush and his cronies truly have declared war on science? How can the Bushies justify placing this video-game playing tool in such an important position? They can justify this using the same rationale that they used to justify making Michael Brown the director of FEMA.
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It really doesn't matter whether this is true (and I'm not even sure the author of that post claims that is is necessarily true). That this Deutsch fellow, right out of college with no science training (but rather with Bush-Cheney Campaign 2004 experience), was acting as he was is an utter embarrassment.
Whether he had those last few credits to get a degree or not does not have much bearning on his lack of qualifications. And it especially has no bearing on the quality of his message.
The big question is, Has George Deutsch been fired yet?
Once again, it confirms my (self-loathing, considering my old career) assessment of journalists: far too many went into journalism because they were too inept for medicine, too inarticulate for law, and too lazy and arrogant for food service. Offer government grants paying journalism majors to drink themselves to death, and the field would improve immeasurably within a generation.
If George Deutsch is fired, there will be another flunky waiting in line behind him to take his place.
Deutsch resigned.
I dislike Bush and his total disregard for science as much as anyone. But that's such an easy thing to focus on...most established scientists privately express the same feelings, while at the same time benefitting from the horrific labor conditions of the US scientific workplace. Has anyone seen the cover story in Time about how the US is 'falling behind' other nations in science? Totally disregarding the real problems -- exploited transient laborers without long-term futures in the field, international migrant postdoc labor, etc. Hypocrites!!
NYT reports today (february 8) that the little punk resigned today. I sort of disagree with Anon, though - conditions are bad, but doesn't that suggest an oversupply of labor in fields that have pyramid structures and lifetime job security for the lucky few? There are few jobs, and those that hold them, hold them regardless of performance. I am not arguing against tenure. There are pros and cons. I am just saying that if you define your scientific world as academia, then the problem is too many people chasing too few jobs.
well, after searching for a job, any job, ranging from part-time barista to a tenure-track biology professorship, for the past 2 years, 6 months and 1 week, i can tell you that if i had lied on my application for a government job, i would suffer far greater consequences than simply being allowed to walk away, as deutsch is apparently doing (legal recourse, anyone? that's the rumor i hear!). of course, since i cannot even find a job, any job, at all, while a lying sack of shit like deutsch obviously can, tells me more about the state of this nation and the value it places on hard work and sacrifice, talent, intellectual achievements and dedication than anything else ever could.
in the end, lying and brown-nosing are the only ways to succeed in this nation.
and on a slight tangent (this event IS about education and intellectual (dis)honesty) .. don't forget that bush began the "no child left behind" program, and he also loudly trumpets his wish to increase the number of science and math teachers to stop this nation's appalling lack of education in these important areas, yet at the SAME TIME HE CUTS FUNDING TO EDUCATION by something like 3.2%. how the hell does bush propose to pay all these new teachers? how can teachers train kids in science when they lack the resources to do so???
for example, on those rare occasions when i am employed, i work as a poorly-paid throw-away professor. when i am employed, i am DAILY confronted with trying to teach my students important subjects such as anatomy and physiology so they can go to nursing school. but tell me, how can i teach my students ANYTHING when i do not have any materials to do so? when i have to fight with 80 people for transparancies to use in my lectures? when i am denied my own set of transparancies after nearly two months of begging the publisher and my department for them? when i have NO MATERIALS FOR DISSECTIONS? do YOU, dear readers, want a nurse who has never dissected anything attending you or your loved ones when they are desperately ill or injured? well, that's what you ALL are getting every day, especially from the vast majority of students graduating from the CUNY system. while it is true that college/university are not solely federally funded, this situation is an accurate reflection of what "higher education" and scholarship have degraded to.
and that is why i think this deutsch debacle, stupid and laughable as it is, serves as a warning of the great intellectual malaise that is gripping this nation today, that threatens to destroy us and our way of life.
There is nothing new under the sun. For at least 6 decades, there has been an steady thrum of fear that the U.S. will fall behind some other country in terms of R&D, or S&T (research and development; science and technology). Even before the Sputnik years...suggest that any who are interested in the past that we are doomed to repeat, even if wew do remember it, read, for instance, Daniel Greenberg's books. In reality, we have always cranked out scientists, primarily with federal dollars, regardless of need. This has nothing to do with the Bush administration. I dislike virtually everything about this Administration, but they didn't invent this particular game. And I find it hard to believe that anyone goes into science - and particularly any facet of biology other than biomed - without knowing how tough it is to get a job in academia. When I breathed even one word about wanting to go for a Ph.D, I was beseiged by prophets of doom - there are no jobs, and academia sucks, so even if you grab the brass ring, you won't want to hold on to it for very long.
It happens in other professions, too. I spent a full year as an unemployed lawyer, and when I was finally hired, I made less than the secretaries. Academia is much like pro sports in terms of career potential. Only a very few make it. The thing is that everyone shoots hoops all day thinking that he is the one who will beat the odds.
The federal government does not pay public school teachers, or fund public schools. The states, counties, and municipalities do that, mostly with property taxes. The federal dollars go to special, supplemental programs. For instance, the science sections of the NCLB go to things like teacher training.
Yes, contacts are important. For every journalism major, there area few jobs, and Deutsch did a very, very smart thing being (a) a Texan (b) working for the Bush campaign and (c) probably being born to a friend of Shrub. Do contacts matter? Of course they do - when too many people chase too few jobs...well, I am back at the beginning. My point was that Anon seemed to blame the job situation on this Administration, when in fact, the job situation for Ph.Ds in most fields is nearly always dismal.
highly educated people are unemployable, professors are poorly paid and widely disrespected, and ass-kissing pays off handsomely. indeed, there is nothing new under the sun. it makes a person (not naming any names) wonder why they bother to get out of bed in the morning.