Like Nailing Jello to the Wall

This story will not die. The higher ups at NASA are finally responding to the public flogging in the NY Times over the growing number of reports by NASA scientists that they have been told to delay or keep quiet reports about global warming by politically appointed NASA public relations officials. The demands have gone so far as to require scientists to replace all mentions of "global warming" with simply "climate change." James Hansen's courage in coming forward to the NY Times reportedly has emboldened other scientists at NASA labs throughout the country to come forward as well. NASA administrator Michael D. Griffin (pictured) called for "scientific openness" two weeks ago and has demanded a review of NASA communications policies. This might lead some to breathe a sigh of relief, except that rather than emphasizing NASA scientists' credentials to make expert conclusions from scientific data, Griffin appears to be distancing himself when he says, "as long as people speak as private citizens, my attitude is, let me hold your coat for you. You can get into that fray and get beat up. You just can't label it as an agency position." The problem is that NASA scientists are considered to be speaking as "private citizens" only when politically appointed NASA officials don't like what they're saying.