Like a child afraid of the shapes outside his or her window, the Bush administration is once again acting as if a problem can be solved by ignoring it altogether. This time, the issue is global warming, and their position -- while not as ridgid as it once was -- is that the jury is still out. Of course, the jury have long ago rendered their verdict, collected their $5, and gotten book deals.
Now, faced with a problem that won't go away, and a scientific consensus that mocks their longstanding environmental policies, the administration has decided that the best course of action is to pretend that there is no issue at all, evidenced by recent memos sent to several government employees who may travel to the areas most currently affected by the warming phenomenon.
"The sample memorandums, described as to be used in writing travel requests, indicate that the employee seeking permission to travel “understands the administration’s position on climate change, polar bears, and sea ice and will not be speaking on or responding to these issues."
- The New York Times, March 8, 2007
This means that if a government official travels to an Arctic nation, and is asked about global warming, his or her response must be "no comment." For the automatons in the Bush administration, "does not compute" would be a more accurate reflection of this hairbrained policy and the ostriches who thought it up.
