One group has nothing to fear from monitors of misconduct; the other group stands to lose prominence, careers, committee membership, "honors," and, worst of all, the incredible chunk of research money that their method allows them to extract from NIH. Scientists like Stewart and Feder are the only effective counterforce that pure science has to defend itself against overgrowth by "careerists." Federal anti-fraud agencies are mere window dressing, as Bernadine Healy has demonstrated beyond doubt.
David Baltimore's audacious comments (Franklin Hoke, page 1) make it clear that the group he de facto represents feels that its rights have been curtailed. The right to do what? What are we to tell our students? Perhaps we could explain to them, as the youth in Sparta once learned, that it is not cheating, but getting caught, that is bad. Stewart and Feder's farewell could be spiced with words from Machiavelli: "He who makes ...
