Comments on: Excellent Book on Think Tanks http://cstpr.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=3600 Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:36:51 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Dylan Otto Krider http://cstpr.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=3600&cpage=1#comment-1797 Dylan Otto Krider Fri, 16 Sep 2005 21:12:18 +0000 http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/prometheusreborn/?p=3600#comment-1797 Iraq reconstruction, part II: "Bush sought to appease fiscal hawks in his own party worried about Katrina's budget-busting effects by embracing some of the free-market initiatives touted by Republicans on the Hill and Washington think tanks that have been lobbying the White House to use the Gulf Coast as a veritable laboratory for conservative ideals." http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-usbush164427986sep16,0,5174051.story?coll=ny-nationalnews-headlines Iraq reconstruction, part II:

“Bush sought to appease fiscal hawks in his own party worried about Katrina’s budget-busting effects by embracing some of the free-market initiatives touted by Republicans on the Hill and Washington think tanks that have been lobbying the White House to use the Gulf Coast as a veritable laboratory for conservative ideals.”

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-usbush164427986sep16,0,5174051.story?coll=ny-nationalnews-headlines

]]> By: Crumb Trail http://cstpr.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=3600&cpage=1#comment-1798 Crumb Trail Fri, 16 Sep 2005 17:56:41 +0000 http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/prometheusreborn/?p=3600#comment-1798 <strong>Polemical Commentary</strong> I'm hard on "experts". It isn't that I don't recognize the value and utility of true expertise, it's that "experts" are often merely advocates. Journalists aren't the only ones who seem to confuse evidence and hypotheses, or who mistake... Polemical Commentary

I’m hard on “experts”. It isn’t that I don’t recognize the value and utility of true expertise, it’s that “experts” are often merely advocates. Journalists aren’t the only ones who seem to confuse evidence and hypotheses, or who mistake…

]]> By: Dylan Otto Krider http://cstpr.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=3600&cpage=1#comment-1796 Dylan Otto Krider Fri, 16 Sep 2005 17:38:06 +0000 http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/prometheusreborn/?p=3600#comment-1796 Here's a paper I found on the subject: http://www.nira.go.jp/publ/review/2001winter/rich.pdf It basically says the same thing: conservatives have far more think tanks, and have put them to better use, but that their effectiveness is overstated. I doubt that, only because we have seen think tanks involved in deciding such things as rebuilding Iraq, and given access to high level intelligence. Think about that. Why were think tanks given intelligence in the run up to war? Shouldn't that information be restricted high level military brass? A lot of the plans for rebuilding New Orleans are being generated by think tanks. The intelligence involving Iran's nuclear capabilities are being given to and generated by think tanks. I think if you can look at post war construction in Iraq, and pretty much every bad decision Bush has made, you can see the fingerprints of the failed thinking produced by think tanks, where you start with your conclusions and work backwards. So it's a little hard for me to believe think tanks aren't very influential on policy when this administration has always chosen the science, intelligence and "policy" generated by think tanks over scientists, intelligence analysts and experts in the field. As the former administration official Dilulio pointed out, this administration doesn't seem to have any policy aparatus at all. The fact that liberals are creating think tanks scares me. They ought not to touch them with a ten foot pole. It might make your policy "sell", but you'll only be giving the public an empty box. Here’s a paper I found on the subject: http://www.nira.go.jp/publ/review/2001winter/rich.pdf

It basically says the same thing: conservatives have far more think tanks, and have put them to better use, but that their effectiveness is overstated.

I doubt that, only because we have seen think tanks involved in deciding such things as rebuilding Iraq, and given access to high level intelligence. Think about that. Why were think tanks given intelligence in the run up to war? Shouldn’t that information be restricted high level military brass?

A lot of the plans for rebuilding New Orleans are being generated by think tanks. The intelligence involving Iran’s nuclear capabilities are being given to and generated by think tanks.

I think if you can look at post war construction in Iraq, and pretty much every bad decision Bush has made, you can see the fingerprints of the failed thinking produced by think tanks, where you start with your conclusions and work backwards. So it’s a little hard for me to believe think tanks aren’t very influential on policy when this administration has always chosen the science, intelligence and “policy” generated by think tanks over scientists, intelligence analysts and experts in the field. As the former administration official Dilulio pointed out, this administration doesn’t seem to have any policy aparatus at all.

The fact that liberals are creating think tanks scares me. They ought not to touch them with a ten foot pole. It might make your policy “sell”, but you’ll only be giving the public an empty box.

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