Reason Over Truth

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush's nominee to become the next surgeon general said Thursday he would resign rather than allow politics to push aside science. At his Senate confirmation hearing, Dr. James W. Holsinger sought to offered assurance that he would be a strong voice for public health, unswayed by political ideology, and to answer criticism of his past writings. He said a controversial 1991 paper about homosexuality and health no longer represents his views.

Committee Chairman Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., said he was worried that if confirmed, Holsinger would let his own ideological beliefs cloud his scientific judgment. He referred to the paper that Holsinger wrote on homosexuality for a study committee of the United Methodist Church. "Dr. Holsinger's paper is ideological and decidedly not an accurate analysis of the science then available on homosexuality," Kennedy said. "Dr. Holsinger's paper cherry picks and misuses data to support his thesis that homosexuality is unhealthy and unnatural."

• JJ Commentary: Sad. The worship of reason over God’s absolute truth prevails once again.