Disclaimers

The use of "disclaimers" is common in various publications, such as newspapers and magazines. An individual writes an article, the publisher includes it in an issue of the paper or magazine, and many times includes a "disclaimer", which is an attempt to disassociate the publisher from the article. I find this practice to be an insult to the intelligence of the reader. If the publication includes an article, it is strongly implied that the publisher is in agreement with the context of the article. If this were not true, the publisher would not have included the article or alternatively would have produced some writing which would actually describe a controversial opinion.

The June 20th issue of C&E News included an article by David Hanson, a C&E News employee. Hanson's article was entitled "NSF Takes a Hit". It described the fact that Sen. Coburn is now taking the National Science Foundation (NSF) to task for inefficiency and a general waste of taxpayer funds. Hanson then goes on to protect the NSF and ridicule Sen. Coburn's attempts to improve NSF operations for the public benefit. Hanson has every right to do this as an individual, and C&E News has every right to publish the article. However, I have a problem with the subsequent disclaimer which says, "Views expressed on this page are those of the author and not necessarily those of ACS". That is a deceptive and ridiculous statement.

David Hanson works for C&E News. To continue obtaining his salary and benefits, he must satisfy his employer, and his direct employer is Rudy Baum, Editor-In-Chief of C&E News. We know from previous editorials by Rudy that he is a supporter of big government with its various science foundations, all of which have grant programs to distribute taxpayer funds to academic institutions. The NSF is one of the largest operating in this giveaway arena. Knowing Rudy's ideology, it behooves Hanson to write a favorable article on the NSF, whether he personally believes this or not.

Carry this one step farther. C&E News is a publication of the American Chemical Society. The American Chemical Society obviously has the same ideology as Rudy Baum. If it did not, it would ask Rudy Baum to take his agenda of big government and agency handouts to some other organization. Since Rudy continues to exist as editor-in-chief, ACS is complicit in everything that Rudy says, and this carries down through Hanson.

Lies and deception by the ACS in disclaiming association with C&E News and Hanson!