Obama announces that Bush’s attack on knowledge and understanding is coming to an end

Barack Obama continues to dedicate his administration to science and the quest for knowledge and understanding.  I often compare George W. Bush’s administration to the Roman Catholic’s denial of factual evidence of a heliocentric solar system in the time of Copernicus, Giordano Bruno, and Galileo.  It was not until 1993 that the Catholic church finally officially recognized the validity of Galileo’s work.

Obama’s organization of his science team is akin to freeing Galileo from the isolation forced upon him by the Roman Catholic Inquisition.

I think scientist Brian Greene best explained the relationship of science and religion when he said, “There is room for both.  Science explains the how, but can never explain the why.”

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - Obama names science and technology team « - Blogs from CNN.com

(CNN) — President-elect Barack Obama named his science and technology team Saturday with a pledge to ensure that “facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology.”

“It’s time we once again put science at the top of our agenda and worked to restore America’s place as the world leader in science and technology,” he said in his Saturday radio address, in an offhand swipe at President Bush.

“It’s about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it’s inconvenient – especially when it’s inconvenient,” Obama said, adding that government support had been essential for the greatest scientific breakthroughs of recent history, like the development of the Internet. “Because the highest purpose of science is the search for knowledge, truth and a greater understanding of the world around us.”

Here is the video of the announcement: