Charlie Petit, who runs the Knight Science Journalism Tracker, has had it with John McCain using a scientific study of bear populations in the northern Rockies as “the butt of low-brow jokes.” McCain has repeatedly cited the study as an example of wasteful federal earmarks, mischaracterizing what is actually a worthwhile and relatively inexpensive project. It’s the kind inconspicuous, but no less damaging politicking that journalists tend to ignore because it’s not really enough to hang a story on. But Petit, thankfully, finds and rounds up a number of press items that have sought to set the record straight.