From the once respectable Salon:
In his earnestness to go against the consensus of 97 percent of scientists, a producer for The O’Reilly Factor allegedly sent out an email looking for “the best arguments against global warming being caused by humans.” And for inexplicable reasons, he sent the email to DeSmogBlog (the self-proclaimed “world’s number one source for accurate, fact based information regarding global warming misinformation campaigns”), which went right ahead and made it public.
The email, complete with @foxnews.com address, reads:
Hi,
I’m a producer at the O’Reilly Factor. I’m writing up a paragraph for Bill on the best arguments against global warming being caused by humans.
What would you say are the very best arguments you’d present in one paragraph? I am working under a very tight deadline.
“I feel for O’Reilly’s producers, honestly,” wrote Brendan DeMelle, the site’s executive director and managing editor. “It must be tough to face this ‘very tight deadline’ problem when asked to provide factual support for a baseless, ideologically-motivated assumption.”
“The science is settled!” (except it’s not)
I remember when I was a kid we had debates in class over issues in the news. We were given an issue and told whether we were “for” or “against” that issue. Then we went to the library (this was in the dark ages before the internet) and looked up the best arguments supporting our assigned position. When we had finished our research we came back to class and held the debates.
I guess they don’t teach debate anymore. Probably because too many people were thinking for themselves. Nowadays students are given the official approved answers to everything and told to memorize them.
I am no fan of Bill O’Reilly. I think he is a pompous ass and I can’t stand to listen to him bloviate. But this “gotcha!” is a big nothingburger with cheese.
I could literally do a daily post called “The Stupidest Thing of the Day at Salon”
All they do is repeat the most hackneyed and irresponsible leftist dogma. They have closed minds and less and less ability to analyze anything. It is like watching someone go mad and lose all ability to reason. They bet the farm on Obama-ism and it is blowing up in their faces. 97% my ass. They say this stuff to stop themselves from having any doubts like any true-believer. Yell louder to make everyone else shut up. This is one of the reasons the right and the left is afraid of Cruz. He can debate and make people think and doubt and it scares the shit out of them.
Back when I was working retail security I busted this kid for shoplifting and when his mother got there he told her he didn’t do it. I asked her if she wanted to look at the video and she said no, she believed her son.
Thomas Sowell nailed it re: Cruz. The GOP turtles created a leadership vacuum and now act like 10 year olds because a new kid reacts to it.
And the turtles are silent these days to protect their district’s federal $$$$ infusion. Could there be a better reason to take the power of awarding discretionary funds out of the hands of a blackmailing administration? Or is that also racist?
So Christie, HRC and now Walker are being targeted. So far, the 3 best fundraisers for their respective parties are being dragged through the mud. Sounds like the Dems are afraid of what’s going to happen in 2014 elections.
The Progs want Warren (not Hillary) to run, so expect Hillary to get it from both sides of the aisle. That means that the Dems are behind all of this (with a complicit MSM).
Is going after everyone under the sun the Dems idea of “bipartisanship”?
Honk!
I have a dream that one day a politician will run FOR office instead of AGAINST all the other candidates.
Are you sure you were never a republican?
Back when I was young and dumb and full of shit. That was 30 years ago.
Warren is a mental lightweight (sorry, she just is) who’s thought to be much easier to control by the PTB. Much like someone else. Sadly, they are spot on.
But at least with Warren we could have our first Native American President. Because first woman President is not worth noting.
Making it that much harder for any future Native American OR woman to be nominated.
Mental lightweight? I think just “mental” would be fine. She’s out of her mind but has learned to “pass” as sane. Fauxahontas is a couple of arrows short of a full quiver…
VDH:
Some group was actually petitioning WaPo not to run this OpEd:
Settled science reminds me of what is going on in the UK. Their chief meteorologist is a climate changer. She was braying about the floods being climate change. An even older meteorology professor came out and called her a ninny or some such and that it is an odd Gulf Stream this year and she would know this it if she ever looked at the weather data maps instead of giving climate change speeches. Then an hydrology prof piped up and said of course it is going to flood with a huge Gulf Stream deluge when you have NOT dredged for a decade or so the rivers and estuary systems that naturally silt up that dump the excess water into the sea. Why did the dredging stop? To return it to its natural state as marshes (The Fens) and stop it from being used as farmland and housing locations. AND to use the money for building giant windmills that kills the birds that the marshes are supposedly to be habitat for. It is a giant circle of clusterfuck.
Great article.
Scientifically speaking , the predictions of climate change global warming called for a continual increase in global temperature. That has stopped ,for about a decade ; this change is being called a pause by those who continue to adhere to this theory. So strictly scientifically speaking , the original premise, or theory has already been invalidated , because the results are not what were expected . That calls for a new premise , strictly scientifically speaking . Even a quick perusal of Wikipedia will show that there are at least one third of the “prestigious scientific organizations ” in the world who remain non-comiittal on global warming , climate change etc. While the people who adhere to this theory want to point to large weather events , tornadoes , flood and drought , as signs of weather changes , this somehow invalidates those who point to other weather events; colder winters, lack of hurricanes , as evidence that climate change may be an invalid theory . I live in an area of the USA that experiences hurricanes seasonally . The number of hurricanes has decreased dramatically in the past few years . How is that explained by the climate change theory ? It doesn’t fit the model , so the lack of hurricanes goes unremarked by the ” the believers”
Then there is the unprecedented , current dramatic decrease in sunspot activity , for which scientists are seeking answers. They are comparing this decrease to the Maunder Minimum , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maunder_Minimum . which had an effect on temperatures on different parts of the planet. I say we are already dealing with a partly invalid theory , with too many variables to draw a conclusion , if we are to adhere to HONEST SCIENCE and not give in to popular / political “belief ” , which at this point more resembles religion than science.
I am a proponent of preserving the earth and the planet from the adverse effects of human impact .The Earth actually is part of my religion . I absolutely believe we have to deal with pollution ,animal extinction and loss of natural spaces . I also am a proponent of increasing the use of clean energy , but without inadvertently causing more harm.. While we use energy from wind turbines , we have to acknowledge the damage to wildlife and any other adverse effects of any alternative we use. Birds and bats are being killed by the thousands upon thousands by wind turbines, and scorched to death when flying over solar arrays . Do we really want to take the back road to a silent spring?
Another variable that gives me pause (pun intended) , is the behavior of the chief adherents to this theory . They don’t seem very alarmed . They are not concerned enough with the outcome of their theory to even live as if it were true . They want the general population to buy their books, elect them to office . and generously allow them lavish lifestyles, and at the same time this population must adhere to and be ruled by guidelines that impact their own lives , sometimes in a very devastating way. True
believers , honest scientists , live on the basis of the truth of their own theories .
Nostradamus had dire but obscure predictions for the future , and he made his reputation and living on the basis of those predicions. Little known , or should I say little publicized historical fact ; Nostradamus also made himself a healthy living selling fake cures for the plague .
More from Krauthammer:
When 4 out of 3 climate changers have a problem with math and statistics, it ain’t “science”.
ignoring the effect of biology, i.e., vegetation and topsoil
Krauthammer is about two decades out of date. The land model component of the NCAR Community Climate Model does extensive modeling of vegetation, as well as soil chemistry and has done so (with increasing precision) since the mid-1990s. So do the other major models (the GFDL models, etc.). He’s just plain wrong about this.
Even Britain’s national weather service concedes there’s been no change — delicately called a “pause” — in global temperature in 15 years.
Atmospheric temperatures (particularly in the temperate zone) haven’t gone up much, but temperatures in the Arctic, Antarctic, and in the oceans are increasing pretty rapidly. Temperature increases aren’t going to be uniform in a complex system, and the increase in temperature in the oceans is particularly disturbing because it suggests that, even if we take drastic action, warming will continue for a considerable period of time. This is because the heat capacity of the ocean is about 50 times that of the atmosphere. For a layman’s discussion, together with a graph of actual observational data (*not* model results), see:
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2013/09/what-ocean-heating-reveals-about-global-warming/
Raw data can be obtained here (if you feel like crunching it yourself):
http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/OC5/3M_HEAT_CONTENT/
Note that the effect of warming on ocean currents can cause some “paradoxical” effects: the only reason why large areas of Northern Europe are habitable is due to the warming effect of the Gulf Stream. Disrupt the Gulf Stream and large portions of Europe get much colder – to the point where agriculture becomes difficult and much less productive. I’ve heard this referred to as “the 700 million hungry people with nuclear weapons” problem.
We’ve actually stumbled into a bit of good fortune the last few years, because solar output as evidenced by decreased sunspot activity. It’s possible this may slow things down enough that we have time to mitigate climate effects without completely disrupting the world economy.
Propertius ignores the number “crunching” methodology in use lacks statistical validity, Adding apples and pears to determine how many bananas to expect seems quixotic.
Today show is stirring up shit about the Russian girl getting the gold instead of Yuna Kim because she wobbled her landing on one jump.
It’s the point system, idiots. Sotnikova’s program had more elements and was at a faster and therefore more difficult pace.
I did not hear any complaints about Jeremy Abbot getting a high score despite a huge fall.
I am no expert but I think all of the girls last night skated beautifully.
It wouldn’t be an Olympics without a scoring controversy.
True.
Yulia fell again but she can hold her head high. She was instumental in winning Russia the team gold. Too bad she could not repeat those flawless performances.
Needs more mental toughness – comes with maturity I think. Beautiful skater, tons of talent & discipline.
I understand Yulia and her family will soon be moving to Siberia to begin training for 2018. The Russian hockey team is going with them.
Yulia will be captain of the Siberian hockey team.
I thought Yuna Kim was the best over all skater (i.e. her style is utter precision, grace, and beauty) , but as I understand it Sotnikova (with an athletic style) included more elements to ramp up her score. This was a risky calculation that paid off big time, so congratulations to her! In fact, she won by a whopping 5+ pt lead! I got the sense that the tv commentators thought Kim was the best skater, therefore the likely gold medalist, but their comments were censored so that their views were obscured.
The announcers during the live performances, Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski, gave some nice detail of the differences and said that the rankings and scores were 100% accurate. I agree with them. Really, the entire top 10 was some of the best singles skating I’ve seen. But shows need ratings…
Pingback: Friday’s Frighteners | Witch's Will
😀
Denise I totally missed your DM! Sorry. 😦
Is WP ok now for you?
In Ukraine that is one of the sweet little Beta guys who go into the clergy!
Confessions have been causing them a lot of trouble lately…
Talk about beating a dead horse.
I really hope this isn’t Obama’s idea of sending a message to China.
Broncobamalama.
ROFLMAO!
Sentence structure is so pre-Common Core.
Coulda been me. 🙂
The last time bronco met with the Dalai Lama, bronco had him coming and going through the back door and stepping over bags of trash.
It is called “Scold’s Syndrome”. The sufferers only derive pleasure if someone they hate is perceived as getting an ass chewing or public humiliation.
“settled science”…isn’t that a bit of an oxymoron? Is science ever settled? I thought only dogma was settled. But then, I guess, climate change has become dogma.
The flat earth theory , and geocentric theory were “settled science” too .
It is very confusing. 😦
That picture of tens of thousands of Venezuelan people filling that boulevard spoke for itself. What it said is open to interpretation, but it can’t be easily ignored or forgotten.
https://newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finkelstein/2014/02/21/given-ukraine-mika-blasts-people-making-money-olympics-omits-nbc#main-content
sometimes I do not know whether to laugh or cry
Stupid should hurt.
She’s her father’s daughter
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/senators-demand-fbi-head-answer-questions-about-indictment-dinesh-dsouza_782781.html
this is a good thing.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/benghazi-cover-cont_782749.html
congress critters want mike morrell back to testify and be questioned on the Benghazi talking points
we are stuck with justin bieber
Dr. Mrs. Propertius, who is Canadian, says we are welcome to him.
I suppose we broke him, so it’s probably deserved.
Yah, his campaign to rebrand himself as a thug is doing soooooo well
Nice comment on the Zimmerman story in Salon, myiq. I’d have commented, but I don’t FaceBorg and I don’t log into Google so I can’t sign in. My alternate headline:
“Hispanic Man Driven from Public Beach by Racist Mob.”
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2014/02/michelle-obama-lists-daughters-as-senior-staff-on-her-424000-trip-to-africa.html
why is this not a surprise
Doesn’t everyone?
Some wants to make them a Dynasty!!! 👿
I have to agree with her. After all, they voted for Obama. Twice. Can’t get much dumber than that.
Weekly Standard:
Great article. And spot on I think.
Agreed.
Acceptors mumble their realizations and half apologize with, well, I actually wanted Hillary to be President. Grrrr. Why didn’t they stand up and fight for her?
The Deniers are well, in denial.
The Deflectors are many. I know plenty and they seem to be the ones that are very partisan and divisive. The vile progs and their mothers come to mind.
http://weaselzippers.us/175588-poll-66-percent-say-congress-should-continue-to-investigate-benghazi/
It is not going to go away
Its the only one of the scandals that broke that week (IRS, Benghazi, NSA etc) that has teeth in it
No matter what else turns up, the biggest scandal as far as I’m concerned is that Obama went back to bed after being told those guys were under attack (and went to a fundraiser the next day). Whatever mistakes or security lapses might have occurred beforehand, when the SHTF he went back to bed and let them die. That’s not a mistake, that’s dereliction of duty.
FCC invasion called off
http://nation.foxnews.com/2014/02/21/fcc-putting-hold-controversial-study-american-newsrooms
when the video becomes available it is a must see
Greta is awesome in her off the record comments on this story
http://weaselzippers.us/175549-piers-morgan-questioned-by-police-in-british-hacking-scandal/
if we are lucky piers will be going back to Britain
In chains would be a nice touch.
Make him swim.
Ukraine president has left Kiev. US claims credit for a new deal that establishes interim govt & elections.
http://pjmedia.com/blog/white-house-takes-credit-for-ukraine-deal/
So glad Ukraine is looking better. But the idea that Obama had anything to do with it is rather sad.
Also Poland press says it was Putin that did the deal, and Obama had nothing to do with it.
Doesn’t Biden get to grab credit? He;s the one that’s been on the phone, right?
We’ll see what Putin gets after the dust clears. My hunch is it will be quite a lot.
Putin probably sent the same message to the protesters than Reagan sent to PATCO – “You made your point, now get back to work.”
The protestors are smart to settle. As soon as the Olympics are over Putin will be free to crush the protest.
From pjmedia:
So the protesters were told to take the deal or get martial law, while the govt side were told – they wouldn’t get visas to travel in the USA?
Yeah, I’m sure that scared them.
Obama told them if they didn’t make peace he was going over there to give a speech.
Would make me agree to anything just to avoid that droning sound…
Cool map of Lenin statues being pulled down
Compilation of Humpty Lenin falling down
Michelle’s Mirror summed up Michelle’s visit on Fallon’s show:
http://www.michellesmirror.com/2014/02/michelle-obama-twerks-with-girls-and.html