I was reading a Washington Post story Sunday morning about a Bush aide suppressing or blocking or not releasing, take your pick, a report about the causes of global social problems when I came upon this line on the jump page about language in the report linking "public health problems with violence and other social ills."
My interest was peaked given Washington’s current desire to blame some of society’s violence on TV. I read on, and found that the aide was the same guy who had asked for changes in a report on obesity a few years back because the administration, and reportedly sugar manufacturers, didn’t like the conclusions.
So, Washington represses a study that looks at social problems like poverty and sickness and lack of education in relation to societal violence and then very public targets the media for violence. Maybe the government needs to release such reports and let the chips, and the responsibility, fall where they may.
