It appears that a sudden onset of testicular growth has caused some in our government to finally take the administration to task for ignoring science for political ends. Will this amount to anything? Or are they just highlighting one of the administration's many flaws for political gain…

From the article Global warming disputes heat up Congress (AP via Yahoo News):

The House Government Reform Committee began an inquiry into allegations that White House officials edited reports on global warming to play down the threat it poses…

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group, an advocacy group, predicted that energy companies' plans to build more than 150 new coal-fired power plants will increase U.S. carbon dioxide emissions by 25 percent above 2004 levels.

The House committee chairman, Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., and the committee's top Democrat, Rep. Henry Waxman (news, bio, voting record) of California, said they will request data from the White House and hold hearings into whether the White House Council on Environmental Quality intentionally diluted scientific information on the threat of global warming.

Democrats and Republicans took turns criticizing each other, with President Bush's senior environmental adviser fending off attacks on the administration's go-slow approach…

 Go slow approach my ass.  Last time I heard Bush talking about less dependence on Middle East oil, do you know what he suggested as the alternative to research?  Not wind, not solar, not even nuclear.  COAL.  Dear Bush, grow a brain, thanks.

Anyway, for now I reserve judgement as to whether this inquiry is going to amount to something or if it is just grandstanding for political gain.  I don't hold out much hope.  Way back in 1967 Nigel Kneale, the writer of the outstanding sci-fi flick Quatermass and the Pit, wrote this bit of dialog that has stuck with me my whole life and now is beginning to seem somewhat prophetic:

PROF. QUATERMASS: Roney, suppose we discovered that our Earth was doomed, perhaps by climactic change. What would we do?

DR. RONEY: Nothing. Just go on bickering as usual.

 Cynical?  Perhaps.  For what it's worth, I hope Kneale was wrong…