Common Dreams reports
The Trump administration's anti-science bent has reached the Department of Justice (DOJ), with Attorney General Jeff Sessions saying [April 10] that the department is ending the National Commission on Forensic Science.
The 30-member panel was described by ThinkProgress as "a group of scientists, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and other experts tasked by the Obama administration in 2013 with raising standards for the use of forensic evidence in criminal proceedings".
In its place, a senior forensic advisor will be appointed "to interface with forensic science stakeholders and advise department leadership", Sessions' statement said.
[...] "The reliance of law enforcement on questionable science and the overstatement of the reliability of that science has been a leading cause of the wrongful conviction of innocent people", said National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) president Barry Pollack on Monday. "The reason the National Commission on Forensic Science has been so important is that it includes leading independent scientists, allowing an unbiased expert evaluation of which techniques are scientifically valid and which are not. NACDL is terribly disappointed that even while acknowledging the crucial role played by the National Commission on Forensic Science, the Attorney General has chosen to disband it."
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(Score: 2, Insightful) by Chrontius on Sunday April 16 2017, @07:15AM (2 children)
I, for one, took this as satire until I read the grandson, then read your post, and realized that you weren't trying to be funny.
Much like the best puns being unintentional, so to was your brilliant satire.
Doesn't make it any less brilliant or satirical, though.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 16 2017, @07:26PM (1 child)
I, for one, took this as satire until I read the grandson, then read your post, and realized that you weren't trying to be funny.
Much like the best puns being unintentional, so to was your brilliant satire.
Doesn't make it any less brilliant or satirical, though.
Original AC here. Thank you for heaping compliments (albeit left-handed ones -- I hate that phrase as I'm left-handed, but the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands -- left or right -- shall not disturb it, or the country's done for).
I was mostly channeling Jeff Sessions and every other racist scumbag in my original troll.
I suppose that those who modded me up considered it to be satire. Then again, it could be, as Azuma suggested [soylentnews.org], racist jerks "mod-gasming" all over it.
My response was because I was a surprised at the "insightful" mods, as I expected "troll", "funny" or "flamebait".
I sincerely hope you're right. Although that's not going to make much difference as the federal government doubles down on bad science.
Perhaps Poe's law took the night off, but I'm not entirely convinced.
(Score: 1) by Chrontius on Monday April 17 2017, @08:36AM
Honestly? The performance was comparable to a Stephen Colbert satire. Spot on, but just a little over the top and just smarmy enough to be really funny.