Rosio Pavoris

I’m sorry, were you under the impression “War on Science” was hyperbole, or at least less of an immediate problem than the War on Civil Liberties Terror or the War on Some Drugs? Memepunks has an interesting post on the subject.
Some highlights:

The Consumer Product Saftey Division has made it a point to outlaw chemicals that can be used to make illegal fireworks. Chemicals like sulfur and potassium perchlorate, that would have been standard issue in any lab experiment of yesteryear are now contraband.

In an attempt to curb the production of crystal meth, more than 30 states have now outlawed or require registration for common lab equipment. In Texas, you need to register the purchase of Erlenmeyer flasks or three-necked beakers. The same state where I do not have to register a handgun, forces me to register a glass beaker.

Forget about model rocketry. Since the beginnings of the war on terror, the government has ridiculously claimed that model rockets could be used to shoot down commercial aircraft. Now all rocket engines above a certain size and thrust limit require fingerprinting, background checks and waving of your search and seizure rights!

Of course, limiting children’s exposure to science, even with the best of intentions (which I don’t believe is the case here), is bound to breed a poorer understanding of science (even poorer, if you can believe it), which will no doubt keep the Republican party from collapsing for another generation, but while technological advancement (and, for that matter, the quality of higher education) in the US has been able to cash in on the intellectual flight from Nazi Germany and Communist Russia (and whatnot), if these intellectuals aren’t being replaced, the American economy, for example, isn’t going to hold up against the abuse it’s been forced to take.
The US is digging its own grave, and while this kind of collapse of the empire isn’t nearly as likely to induce nuclear winter, the people who will be hit the hardest are first going to be the sizeable poor population. They can still flee to Canada, for now, but what happens when they build that wall along their border, eh?

(Via Pharyngula.)