rationalskepticism.org

ConnyRaSk wrote:What a bunch of inane comments! How about arguing about the points made in the video? Is Holdren pushing such policies now or not? Does he have an influence on scientific progress? What is his history thus far?
If you, or any other reader can refute the claims made by Tarpley, please do! It would set things right once and for all.

President Obama’s top science adviser has toyed with extreme measures of population control, even suggesting in one book how to make it more publicly acceptable for the government to spike drinking water in order to sterilize people.

John P. Holdren, named as Mr. Obama’s science “czar” earlier this year, described this in a book he wrote with Paul Ehrlich — author of the “Population Bomb,” which predicted masses would starve due to exploitation of resources through the 1980s — about the world’s rapidly increasing population. In the 1977 tome “Ecoscience: Population, Resources, Environment,” Mr. Holdren and Mr. Ehrlich, in addition to Mr. Ehrlich’s wife, Anne, considered various ways to keep growth in check. Continued...

Washington D.C., Jul 15, 2009 / 06:08 am (CNA).- The office of President Obama’s “science czar” John Holdren has responded to concerns Holdren co-authored a book which allegedly contained comments supporting coercive population control measures. A spokesman for the department said that Holdren disavowed such policies at his confirmation hearing.

Holdren is currently Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, and Co-Chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

In 1977, he co-authored the 1,000 page book “Ecoscience” with Paul and Anne Ehrlich. The book included several descriptions of possible population control measures, including the addition of “sterilants” to the water supply to prevent human conception. Continued...

Just to add some sense to these reviews. This was written by young academics in a time (and I remember the time) that overpopulation was a big concern. They imagined what MIGHT be done, from the mondane to the extreme, to combat what was then (and still is) percieved as an impending crisis of resources.

They probably studied Malthus - like many of their contemporaries. Heck, even popular culture from the late 60s until the present day have wallowed in post apocalyptic representations of the future. Nothing more fun than a worse case scenarios - Soylent Green, Planet of the Apes, Mad Max, etc.

Finally; Young, smart people in their late 20s and early 30s with freshly minted PhDs like thought experiments and "what if" scenarios. This doesn't mean that they are Nazis.

Some of the arguments are downright Republican/Conservative, i.e. DEMAND responsibility from parents, make people responsible for their offspring.

FINALLY, and most importantly, the uptick in unwed births and absentee fathers HAVE contributed to the decline of civilization and responsibility, just as they predicted.

I'll allow RESPONSIBLE people to have all the freedom they want, and gladly curtail the freedom of irresponsible people.

STOP FEAR MONGERING!