He was prevented from giving the public accurate scientific information on issues such as stem-cell research and teen pregnancy prevention, he said.
“Anything that doesn’t fit into the political appointees’ ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried,” Richard Carmona, surgeon general from 2002 to 2006, told a congressional committee. “The job of surgeon general is to be the doctor of the nation, not the doctor of a political party.”
And the tight rein on the Surgeon general has been worse than ever:
Dr. David Satcher, who served under President Bill Clinton, and Dr. C. Everett Koop, who served under President Ronald Reagan and the first President Bush... each faced challenges: Koop fought the Reagan administration over his work on the AIDS epidemic, while Satcher fought the Clinton administration over his support for needle-exchange programs to prevent the spread of HIV.
But all three agreed that none faced the sorts of political challenges that confronted Carmona, who finished his four-year term last year. He testified that the very position of surgeon general is in grave danger.
[snip]
"I remember thinking, 'I know why they want me here, they want me to discuss the science; they don't understand the science.' So I had this scientific discussion for about a half an hour, and I was never invited back to the meeting."
Carmona soon realized what he had gotten himself into, however. When he wanted to launch a public education campaign on the science of stem-cell research, he was told he couldn't.
Or just watch the pinko America-hater for yourself:
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