Comments on: Frustrated by Facts, Right-Wing Turns to Fiction Author For Policy Advice

By: Skeptical of all Things

Skeptical of all Things — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 06:30:42 +0000

At least read what he told them before you go crazy judging him. For all your outrage you should, at the very least, read what the scientist/doctor told them. I thought he made a lot of really good points.

http://epw.senate.gov/hearing_statements.cfm?id=246766

By: the darkerside to rants » I just lost all respect for Michael Crichton

the darkerside to rants » I just lost all respect for Michael Crichton — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 23:08:20 +0000

[...] When I read “State of Fear” I was a bit torn over it, but overall “enjoyed” the read. It was a nice fastfood entertainment. Little did I know just how insulting he had been to quite a lot of people it seems. Best-selling novelist Michael Crichton is a vocal critic of global warming science. His 2004 novel State of Fear depicts global warming as a hoax concocted by environmentalists to raise money. In January 2005, Crichton spent an hour talking with President Bush; the two were â€œin near-total agreement,â€ according to Weekly Standard editor Fred Barnes. [...]

By: Think Progress » Journalist Critical Of Climate Skeptic Michael Crichton Written Into Crichton Novel As Child Rapist

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 18:30:51 +0000

[...] Best-selling novelist Michael Crichton is a vocal critic of global warming science. His 2004 novel State of Fear depicts an MIT professor who “fights a wellfunded network of eco-terrorists trying to kill thousands by creating spectacular ‘natural’ disasters” meant to trick people into thinking the global warming hoax is real. In January 2005, Crichton spent an hour talking with President Bush; the two were “in near-total agreement,” according to Weekly Standard editor Fred Barnes. [...]

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 01:32:18 +0000

You can also watch the hearings here if you have real player:

http://epw.senate.gov/epwmultimedia/epw092805.ram

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 23:52:18 +0000

If you want to know what was said at these hearings check this out:

http://epw.senate.gov/hearing_statements.cfm?id=246814

I haven’t read it all yet, but I am especially fond of Senator Jefford’s remarks.

By: Jessica Bosanko

Jessica Bosanko — Thu, 29 Sep 2005 19:30:05 +0000

Here’s a good comparison on the myths vs. facts in State of Fear, http://www.undoit.org/whatsnew_spotlight.cfm?story=stateoffear

By: Ryan Neat

Ryan Neat — Thu, 29 Sep 2005 04:55:31 +0000

Jolly,

It’s because the partisan hacks always come to distract. They don’t want any discussion on the topic, because it doesn’t actually interest them. I’d be happy to discuss the topic at hand – is there something you’re interested in?

There’s a nice link here about the administration witch hunt on climate scientists.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/083005EA.shtml

There’s another one here about the ‘fair and balanced’ coverage actually produces an inaccurate bias. This is a common problem with crackpot republican values. When faux news or cnn or another news service simply treats creationism as ‘equal’ to evolution for instance, it creates a bias that there’s actually some basis to what they say – when in fact there is none…

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1978

This is a common problem with how the latest press methodologies are created an entire population of people who have NO IDEA what facts are anymore. They think facts are what 2 sides have to form their opinions, whereas the only real opportunity for a difference of opinion exists in the ABSENCE of facts. When the facts are present, those who ignore them for a partisan agenda are just stupid hacks!

By: Jolly Roger

Jolly Roger — Thu, 29 Sep 2005 00:56:49 +0000

How did a debate on Crichton and today’s hearing turn into a foul-mouthed display of partisan hate and virtually no worthwhile discussion of the science, etc.? Wow. Sounds like there’s no “progress” to be made at all here.

By: science bistro / the culture of science / archive » Frustrated by facts, right wing turns to fiction author for policy advice

Wed, 28 Sep 2005 21:32:35 +0000

[...] ELSEWHERE RSS 2005.09.28 Frustrated by facts, right wing turns to fiction author for policy advice [thinkprogress.org] Richard Dawkins tops Prospect’s list of Britain’s top 100 public intellectuals [edge.org] Visions of science [bbc.co.uk] Ivory cower [opinionjournal.com] Canadian Christians discuss science-and-religion [stnews.org] Hollywood’s changing take on the scientist [newscientist.com] 2005.09.27 SpaceNow [spacenow.ca] 2018: moonbase or money-pit [spacenow.ca] Meterologists give storms first and last names [weeklyworldnews.com] Cross-national correlations of quantifiable societal health with popular religiosity and secularism in the prosperous democracies [creighton.edu] Cross-national correlations of quantifiable societal health with popular religiosity and secularism in the prosperous democracies (Figure 5) [creighton.edu] Cross-national correlations of quantifiable societal health with popular religiosity and secularism in the prosperous democracies (Figure 8) [creighton.edu] Pennsylvania’s Flying Spaghetti Monster trials opens today, as godless heathens attempt to refute His noodly appendage [fark.com] Drug secrets [slate.com] New FDA chief: reputation for optimism [cnn.com] Now thatâ€™s what Iâ€™m talking about! [cosmicvariance.com] A Briefer History of Time (Hardcover) [amazon.com] 2005.09.26 A web of faith, law and science in evolution suit [nytimes.com] Bern honors famous former resident Einstein and his theories [estripes.com] Don’t keep your distance [nature.com] OECD report on the scientific publishing industry [pdf] [oecd.org] The paperless library [economist.com] [...]

By: Ryan Neat

Ryan Neat — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 21:23:38 +0000

MrWrong,

You claimed to be straight – are you saying the only oral sex you know how to do involves you sucking a dick? I thought you were straight – clearly another republican lie! Because if you were straight you’d be giving oral sex to a woman, and unless she’s a freak of nature, you wouldn’t get buck teeth from it. And if you both aren’t promiscuous, you wouldn’t get STDs. But then again, considering you’re a closet case – I’m sure the only way you know how to have sex is promiscuously!

What a closet case homosexual you are – you’re just too sad and pathetic for words!

We have a republican congressman who would prefer to put a hack writer in as an EXPERT WITNESS on the environment, instead of the SCORES of qualified actual scientists doing peer reviewed work.

Wow, thatâ€™s up there with an 8000 year old earth! Why do CONservatives hate america? They surely want us to live in the 16th century delusion of Salem where they burned people who got sickâ€¦

Crazy morons! And yes that means YOU TROLLS!

By: I-RIGHT-I

I-RIGHT-I — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 19:15:29 +0000

Buckteeth and STDâ€™s? Where do you get your medical dataâ€¦.Bill Frist?

Comment by Jay

I assume sucking a d*** is worse for your teeth than sucking your thumb but to be sure we’d need to ax Ryan “gums” Neat. The oral STD thing has been getting some press recently. I guess it only makes sense. Didn’t your mamma tell you not to put that nasty thing in your mouth?

By: State of Emergency

State of Emergency — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 19:06:18 +0000

You want facts….

“STREISAND DECLARES ‘GLOBAL WARMING EMERGENCY’”

http://www.drudgereportarchives.com/data/2005/09/26/20050926_142400_flash4bar.htm

By: Sharky

Sharky — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 19:02:26 +0000

To State of Fear:

Exactly my point. Crichton’s a science professional who happens to write novels. He’s not a novelist who happens to dabble in science.

By: State of Fear

State of Fear — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 18:54:59 +0000

Perhaps you all didnt read this from the above link about the Crichton:

“CRICHTON, (John) Michael. American. Born in Chicago, Illinois, October 23, 1942. Educated at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, A.B. (summa cum laude) 1964 (Phi Beta Kappa). Visiting Lecturer in Anthropology at Cambridge University, England, 1965. Henry Russell Shaw Travelling Fellow, 1964-65. Entered Harvard Medical School, M.D. 1969; spent one year as a post-doctoral fellow at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences, La Jolla, California 1969-1970. Visiting Writer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1988.”

http://www.crichton-official.com/aboutmc/biography.html

By: ParrotLover

ParrotLover — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 18:47:35 +0000

Re #21…

Hey now, MLDB… It’s not fair to compare NED to parrots. I love parrots and am an advocate of their plight. Parrots are extremely intelligent, clever, and resourceful creatures. NED is a dittohead. Dittoheads have about the cognitive and social capabilites of common bacteria. To compare him to a parrot is an insult to parrots and a compliment to dittoheads. Truly unfair, it is. :-)

For more info on parrots…
http://www.alexfoundation.org/

By: Sharky

Sharky — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 18:39:30 +0000

Is anyone on this Blog a scientific expert? No. Is Crichton a medical doctor more capable than of any one of us in interpreting scientific data? Yes. Are Barbra Streisand, Ben Affleck, or Martin Sheen scientists? No. You can make it a point of whose celebrity is better than whose, but the reality is, Crichton purely focuses on the importance of taking partisan politics out of science in setting policy. Isn’t that the most important idea here? Absolutely. Democrats and Republicans alike should be able to agree on that.

By: Ryan Neat

Ryan Neat — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 17:45:34 +0000

Now we know why MrWrong doesn’t have a girlfriend (or apparently boyfriend) for that matter…

So in conclusion.

We have a republican congressman who would prefer to put a hack writer in as an EXPERT WITNESS on the environment, instead of the SCORES of qualified actual scientists doing peer reviewed work.

Wow, that’s up there with an 8000 year old earth! Why do CONservatives hate america? They surely want us to live in the 16th century delusion of Salem where they burned people who got sick…

Crazy morons! And yes that means YOU TROLLS!

By: Jay

Jay — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 16:16:11 +0000

Buckteeth and STD’s? Where do you get your medical data….Bill Frist?

By: I-RIGHT-I

I-RIGHT-I — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 16:01:22 +0000

I-RIGHT-U-WRONG,

What does the rightwing have against oral sex?

comment by B-Jay

If you lefties want buck teeth and STDs of the mouth and throat be my guest but don’t ax to kiss my ass.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 14:51:32 +0000

I’m a New Yorker, so I called Hillary to complain about this. She’s my Senator and also on the committee.

Call your senator and everyone on the committee.

http://epw.senate.gov/members/members.htm

Let them know we won’t stand for this crap.