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A Doctor of Divinity or a Surgeon General? Dr. Richard H. Carmona, President Bush's first surgeon general, says the administration "did not want to hear the science," and instead "wanted to preach." Testifying before a House panel, Carmona said White House appointees cut references to stem cell research from his speeches and silenced him on sex education and other topics. The hearing, puts the focus on the surgeon general's post two days before the confirmation hearing of cardiologist James Holsinger, a member of the board of trustees and a graduate of Asbury Seminary and president of the United Methodist Church's judicial council. Carmona's severely rebuked the White House, an LA Times article suggests: "'The reality is that the 'nation's doctor' has been marginalized and relegated to a position with no independent budget and with supervisors who are political appointees with partisan agendas,' Dr. Richard H. Carmona told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. 'Anything that doesn't fit into the political appointees' ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried. 'The problem with this approach is that in public health, as in a democracy, there is nothing worse than ignoring science or marginalizing the voice of science for reasons driven by changing political winds,' said Carmona, who served from 2002 to 2006. 'The job of surgeon general is to be the doctor of the nation -- not the doctor of a political party.'" July 10, 2007 | Permalink http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/903871/19948552 Rayilyn Brown Board Member AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson's Foundation [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn