A group of leading scientists and academic leaders is calling for at least one presidential debate next year focusing on issues of science, technology, medicine and the environment.
It’s a great idea. Mike Huckabee, for instance, has said he doesn’t believe in Darwinian evolution. How would that stand be reflected in public policy or research funding?
With a revolution under way in everything from renewable energy to stem cell research — and with some accusing the Bush administration of waging a “war on science†— it’s important for the candidates to let voters know where they stand on the complex scientific and ethical issues facing the nation.
See the group’s Web site at sciencedebate2008.com.
America isn’t the only country dealing with immigration concerns. The World Bank recently discovered a trend of developing countries seeing higher rates of immigrants from even poorer countries.
The bank found that some 74 million migrants move from countries of extreme poverty to countries just slightly better off economically in hopes of providing for their families, sending back a collective $18 billion to $55 billion a year.
“South-to-south migration is not only huge, it reaches a different class of people,†said Patricia Weiss Fagen, a Georgetown University researcher. “These are very, very poor people sending money to even poorer people, and they often reach very rural areas where most remittances don’t go.â€
Per an Associated Press report: “U.S. House members spent $20.3 million in tax money last year to send constituents what’s often the government equivalent of junk mail — meeting announcements, tips on car care and job interviews, surveys on public policy and just plain bragging.â€
