Matalin On Global Warming: ‘A Largely Unscientific Hoax,’ A ‘Political Concoction’
Matalin On Global Warming: ‘A Largely Unscientific Hoax,’ A ‘Political Concoction’
This week, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer discussed the right wing’s tepid support of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) with right-wing activist Mary Matalin. Matalin explained that McCain is out of step with the far right on several issues, in particular global warming, which many conservatives “loathe” discussing:
BLITZER: They loathe that?
MATALIN: Because it’s a largely unscientific hoax. And it’s a political concoction.
Watch it:
Echoing Matalin, former House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-TX) recently said that “there is no science to suggest that man is the cause of climate change.” These claims are laughable. As Science Magazine noted, in addition to the IPCC and National Academy of Sciences, there is overwhelming agreement that the causes of global warming are man-made.
Matalin observed that “you haven’t heard [McCain] prioritizing” climate change recently: “What you’ve been hearing him say since he’s achieved the nomination…is to prioritize security issues,” which are less controversial on the right.
(HT: TheGreenMiles)
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Any time Matalin and DeLay agree on something, you know it’s bogus! Two sycophantic liars.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:04 amMatalin’s a lockstep fascist who knows that our polluting industries will be sued internationally (along with Bush, the enabler) for contributing to this crisis.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:05 amYeah, the American Meteorological Society, they’re not scientists at all. I think they just sell furniture or something.
http://www.ametsoc.org/POLICY/2007climatechange.html
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:09 amTranslation Service:
“Largely unscientific hoax” = An Inconvenient Truth.
“Political concoction” = Poison for us at the polls with moderates and liberals.
“We were so close! Victory was within our grasp!” Hehe
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:10 amJust to cut and paste in their conclusion:
“Despite the uncertainties noted above, there is adequate evidence from observations and interpretations of climate simulations to conclude that the atmosphere, ocean, and land surface are warming; that humans have significantly contributed to this change; and that further climate change will continue to have important impacts on human societies, on economies, on ecosystems, and on wildlife through the 21st century and beyond. Focusing on the next 30 years, convergence among emission scenarios and model results suggest strongly that increasing air temperatures will reduce snowpack, shift snowmelt timing, reduce crop production and rangeland fertility, and cause continued melting of the ice caps and sea level rise. Important goals for future work include the need to understand the relation of climate at the state and regional level to the patterns of global climate and to reverse the decline in observational networks that are so critical to accurate climate monitoring and prediction.”
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:10 amThere is nothing Matalin won’t lie about. Not the reasons for the illegal war in Iraq, and not the truth about global warming. She is a political whore.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:12 amBut the far wrong apparently believe in the science of cloning–how do they know that Dolly the sheep wasn’t just some Disney animatronic?
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:12 amPersonally I’d like to see all their regressive ilk prove that the theory of gravity is a hoax too, from the nearest 10-storey building they can find.
You know, that just really depresses me. I mean, is it no wonder that conservatives will never come around on this issue when they see major personalities telling them it’s a hoax? That really just deflates my balloon right there.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:15 amALBANIA -
Read an article today with which I agree. Supporting seperatist movements in Europe is a dangerous precendent, as muslim populations in many European nations are starting to form their own enclaves, with their own local govenments - pushing for Sharia law even in England (not to mention Canada). It is only a matter of time before parts of France and Spain start seeking independence - is the US going to support those groups too?
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:18 amIt is science that gave her that frozen face.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:19 amScience denial. One of many reasons for the rapid extinction of the Republican party.
My friends who hunt here in Texas talk about global warming quite a bit. Even the Republican voters are way ahead of their leadership (as with the Democrats).
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:20 amJason,
Did you have this much trouble paying attention in school too? Maybe you just haven’t had your coffee yet. The topic here is climate change.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:21 amYes…and the world is flat, the sun revolves around the earth, and the first manned moon landing was flimed in a Hollywood studio.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:21 amHey Jason,
Good morning! Thanks for letting us know how the brown people are taking over the world. A little off topic,eh? So, who should we bomb next?
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:21 amIgnore Jason. He is off topic and is here for the sole purpose of redirecting this thread. He doesn’t want us discussing Global Warming and Mary Matlin.
Now back to Global Warming… the world will rejoice when Bush leaves office because Science will have finally won. Bush doesn’t support science because it takes intelligence to understand science and we all know that the boy Bush has very little intelligence.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:24 amAnother example: Repubs hammering House Democrats for blocking FISA/Protect America Act re-authorization–including that reprehensible internet ad. The Republicans, almost unanimously, voted against renewal a week ago because they didn’t want to extend debate on telecom immunity. The REPUBLICANS voted against protecting America.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:24 amIsn’t it time we recognize these tin foil hat types for what they are and keep them off the TV? Radio too.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:25 amInsanity is a disease. Show some compassion and help them get treatment!
Putting them on the air is cruel… to them and to us.
Cats,
Even when Bush leaves, there’s still a significant portion of conservatives who will never accept the reality of global warming. don’t you find that incredibly depressing? Even after “Inconvenient Truth” and god knows how many IPCC reports warning of major changes, it’s like, what else is there to do?
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:26 amWell, to Hendler’s defense (gasp) there’s no ThinkFast thread today.
So, Hendler, gotta link? That would be nice. And, of course you, in your wisdom, know that the ruling elite controls the masses by separating them, and pitting groups against each other.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:27 amHow can James Carville stand being married to this ugly person? It’s a good thing she doesn’t have kids, because her attitude would be signing her children’s death warrants.
The only reason why the Republiscums deny global warming is because they think it is going to cost them a bundle to stop polluting our environment. They could care less about what they are doing to the planet.
The next time you talk to someone who is a global warming denier, ask them:
Do you really think that pumping millions of tons of carcinogens and toxins into our environment isn’t going to hurt our planet or the atmosphere around our planet? If they say “no”, ask them if they would like it pumped into their homes.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:27 amThere is one group of uber-wealthy that will be directly and quite negatively affected by global warming - those corporations which own all that beach-front resort property around the world. They’ve got 50 years - TOPS - before they lose their assets. And it may already be too late to reverse that.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:30 amAnd Matalin got her degree in climatology from what, a Cracker Jack box?
Oh, she doesn’t have a science degree….
She has a LAW DEGREE and served on the RNC during the Reagan Administration and was assistant to President George W. Bush and counselor to Vice President Dick Cheney, at the same time.
Wow, she is not politically biased is she?
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:32 amSo Matalin’s a scientist now? Could have fooled me.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:32 amThis woman has no credibility in this field to be making any kind of judgment at all.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:33 amJust thinking about McCain’s “coming out party”. The more I think this through the more I believe that it’s a 2000 “redux” - How the NeoFascists Obliterated McCain”. It’s beginning to look like McCrazy’s got a suitcase full of dirty deeds and lies. He ranks up there with Chimpy, The Pathological.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:34 amGreat… another stupid guest being interviewed by a stupid host on a stupid news show on the stupid network, watched by stupid people.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:35 ambilbo: The greedy bas-turds called the GOP once again put money above the people - this time the health of Planet Earth. The deserve the name Republiscum because on the food chain, they’re little more evolved than typical pond scum.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:36 amIs it my imagination or is CNN (with the exeption of Jack Cafferty) beginning to resemble Fuchs Snooze?
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:37 amHow can James Carville stand being married to this ugly person?
um… when was the last time you took a gander at HIM?
ick… it’s a match made in heaven, if you will…
…
how ’bout that bill maher last night?!
letting david frum and jack kingston (r-georgia) get away with
all kind of winger crap… i was fit to be tied…
even matt taibbi was of little help…
bill - wait till AFTER the show to get high, ok? … please?
one of the, maybe THE, worst real times ever…
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:38 amI first saw Mary Magdillene when she was doing a great great job as a spin doctor, I think about 1996. she is still a spin doctor, and I figure she will retire with her little Hubby, compare lies they have told on both sides of the aisle and fade away. I assume their cemetery plots will hold the old inscription, pedal your ass.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:39 amThe Dumbing Down of America - otherwise known as the Bush Presiduncy.
Is it any wonder why we rank so low educationally now? Bush can take credit for this. He’s raping the educational programs to pay for this illegal war and our children will be ones suffering. They’ll someday call it “Bush Syndrome” - Room Temperature IQ like his.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:39 amnatisman: That’s right - two spin doctors who have whored their souls for a buck.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:40 amThe amount of carcinogens and pollutants from her cosmetics alone can kill a forest the size of Yosemite.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:41 amCarville is what is known as a “double bagger”. They both wear bags over their head in order to get through the night.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:42 amAnd the “do” - that’s right out of Gothika.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:42 amTo the two of them, this is one hellova joke. Which is precisely what they’ve each become - a joke AND an embarrassment.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:43 amThey’ll someday call it “Bush Syndrome†- Room Temperature IQ like his.
Comment by satirev
Acutally I have started calling the children born after 2000 the “Fear Kids.”
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:44 amAnd we as parents are to blame, but it was brought on by the fear of this administration. Fear of going out, fear of playing outdoors, fear of everything. These kids are growing up stunted in social ways that we can’t even fathom now.
That’s actually an important and serious point, Jason. People have talked about the deolution of Europe, talking about the Basues, the Vlaandern, Catalonia and Scotland. In general I think it’s a bad idea.
But Kosovo is a bit different: 1)the real preferred parent–Yugoslavia–blew up like the Hindenburg. This is a fragment shaking free of another fragment. 2) The cultural oppression was being administered with AK-47’s.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:45 amI agree with you that it’s not a good precedent–but I think we can look at it as the last shoe dropping in the Yugoslavia affair. All the pieces are now separate.
99LufBalloons: I feel for these kids. Bush has contaminated their young lives.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:47 amWhile I buy into the idea that man “can” cause global warming, the data currently shows we haven’t yet. The hottest year since 1880 is 1934, 1998 is second, 1921 is third, followed by 2006, 1931, and 1999. Not sure this proves that man is causing global warming since the 200’s have been fairly level. I think the world needs more data and at least 20+ years to study what really is happening.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:49 amSpecial cell being held open for her and Cheeeney in the Hague…soon..
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:50 amUm, Mary, that’s only because he’s not in bed (literally) with a lobbyist who’s clamoring for that sort of thing. And that’s because wingnuts, you know, like the guy who signs your pay checks, tend to be invested in the fossil fuel business which would like for us all to believe that “global warming” is just a hoax.
Pravada, in it’s heyday, had far more credibility than Matalin ever will.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:52 amHey Roger, time to sign off of Fox Science, and get with some real data.
http://www.ucsusa.org/ global_warming/ science/ recordtemp2005.html
The record heat of 2005 is part of a longer-term warming trend exacerbated by the rise of heat-trapping gases in our atmosphere that is due primarily to our burning fossil fuels and clearing forests. Nineteen of the hottest 20 years on record have occurred since 1980.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:53 amWell, to Hendler’s defense (gasp) there’s no ThinkFast thread today.
So, Hendler, gotta link? That would be nice. And, of course you, in your wisdom, know that the ruling elite controls the masses by separating them, and pitting groups against each other.
Comment by Briseadh na Faire — February 23, 2008 @ 10:27 am
You don’t seriously believe Hendler posted that to encourage an actual discussion, do you? Even on days with ThinkFast threads, he’ll post the same off-topic comment in every thread but that one, so it’s clear he has only one real agenda: taking threads off-topic and disrupting any actual discussion.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:53 am#9 Jason
I usually read most peoples entries, but I can’t do you anymore because you don’t make any sense with what you say, you seem to put it anywhere, and what you are saying is mostly Caa-Caa.
So I am gonna let other readers here pay attention to you and your entries.
All other Think Progress readers
It’s on you guys now. I don’t want my head to explode from trying to understand Jason.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:55 amNow Back to the Show!
Jason Hitler posts for dimes.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:56 amI think the world needs more data and at least 20+ years to study what really is happening.
Comment by Roger_Roger — February 23, 2008 @ 10:49 am
Yeah, in 20 years the ice caps will be totally melted. They can gather lots of data from that. =P
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:59 amReading this, I must conclude that Matalin’s kids must be the most confused siblings on the planet. Imagine growing up in a household with two snakes like Carville and Matalin, constantly telling you conflicting things. Their psychiatrist is probably making a case study of their twisted existence.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:59 amSomeone realized that the only ones in the world that don’t believe in Global Warming are USA conservatives? Something ado with political talking points? And lobbyists? Hmmmm?
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:01 amComment by Roger_Roger — February 23, 2008 @ 10:49 am
Climate is changing in many ways. Global mean temperatures have been rising steadily over the last 40 years, with the six warmest years since 1860 occurring in the last decade.
http://www.ametsoc.org/POLICY/2007climatechange.html
Once again Roger proves his stupidity trying to shuffle off his lies on TP readers. I wonder how old he thinks the earth is?
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:06 amI’m not completely convinced that conservative pundits don’t understand the impact or causes of global warming. I think it’s more likely that they simply do not care. They and their corporate masters (sorry, but that’s what they are) are the people who are largely insulated from disaster by their wealth and if a few cities are flooded, or crops lost, they’re not going to be the ones suffering. In fact, they’ll undoubtedly make money on it.
Katrina took a few of them by surprise, and a few Gulf plantations were destroyed, but it’s not as if they didn’t have the resources to recover, or other homes to live in while the plantation is being restored.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:06 amAll the comments on this post are a testament to how brain-washed the public is on so-called “anthropogenic global warming”. For the truly informed, the IPCC has lost its credibility as a mouth piece for science; the IPCC has circumvented and destroyed the scientific process in order to push their own agenda of AGW. If you are a “scientist”, politician, or bussinessman living off the teat of AGW, then I understand your motives. I am glad to see that Steve Forbes is enlightened on this issue (http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/0310/019.html). For the rest of you, just talk to any of the thousands of scientists who have a problem with the IPCC. If anybody wants names, then just ask.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:07 amThe hottest year since 1880 is 1934, 1998 is second, 1921 is third, followed by 2006, 1931, and 1999.
Comment by Roger_Roger — February 23, 2008 @ 10:49 am
RR, I know this is difficult to grasp, because you are a deeply stupid person, and I know that it has been explained to you here in the past, and you obviously didn’t get it then, but I will try just one more time to get it through your thick skull into your empty brain cavity: The data you are referring to applies only to the continental United States, which comprises less than 2% of the earth’s surface. We are talking about GLOBAL warming here.
The 14 hottest years on record have all occurred since 1990, and 24 out of the 25 hottest on record have occurred since 1980.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:09 amFor the rest of you, just talk to any of the thousands of scientists who have a problem with the IPCC. If anybody wants names, then just ask.
Comment by xraymike — February 23, 2008 @ 11:07 am
Oh, please, post your most trusted scientific names here and now.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:11 amSomeone realized that the only ones in the world that don’t believe in Global Warming are USA conservatives?
Comment by Evil Spaniard — February 23, 2008 @ 11:01 am
Excellent point! I was in Europe for a couple of months recently and it was really clear how backwards the US was in this regard. Even the mainstream newscasts would never have had such a stupid statement played on their channel.
Roger, wondering if you’ve read the report I posted earlier from the American Meteorological Society? Are you really here telling us that you’re right and the premier organization of climate scientists in the US is wrong?! Forgive me for being a little skeptical about your claims.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:11 amComment by xraymike — February 23, 2008 @ 11:07 am
Looks like a professional denier has just climbed aboard.
Steve Forbes? You’ve got to be kidding me. Forbes is a certifiable idiot, which is more or less normal for anyone who inherits great wealth.
In any case, liar, there are not “thousands” of scientists who deny AGW. I do notice that you employed some sleazy weasel words by saying “have a problem with the IPCC”, which isn’t at all the same thing as denying AGW.
I happen to be a scientist, a**hole, and I can tell you that the only scientists “living off the teat of AGW” are those who have been bought and paid for by the fossil fuel industry to lie about AGW.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:13 amI shall just recycle my old comment - it fits so well here anyway…
Shorter version of crazy woman lobbyist: “Quit hassling me, I am counting the money!â€.
The fact that the famed legendary NorthWest Passage is now TRUE belies claims that the global climate change is bogus.
Also the fact that Canada, USA, Russia and EU are arguing whose territorial waters these are…
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:15 amYou don’t stand a chance here, xraymike, so I suggest running along and telling your masters that there is nothing to be accomplished by trolling these waters with your industry-generated lies.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:15 amJust imagine if all the right wing deniers were housed in tall buildings with generators on top that were powered by the convection current of all their rising hot air. I suspect that collectively they have enought hot air to power half the country.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:15 amSteve Forbes was on tv a few weeks ago claiming that Rudy Giuliani’s election strategy was on target to work out brilliantly.
Moran!
-GSD
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:16 amIf anybody wants names, then just ask.
Comment by xraymike — February 23, 2008 @ 11:07 am
Actually, I want names of SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATIONS. You deniers have many industry-paid ’scientists’ who pay what they’re paid to say. You guys are full of their links which are full of you know what. How about valid scientific organizations? Since this is about science shouldn’t they matter a little more than a Republican spokesperson or a little blogger like yourself.
Below is my list of SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATIONS that take the consensus position on climate change. Now it’s your turn to provide those that take your position. … We’re waiting.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Joint science academies’ statement 2005
American Meteorological Society
American Geophysical Union
American Institute of Physics
The American Astronomical Society
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Stratigraphy Commission of the Geological Society of London
Geological Society of America
American Association of State Climatologists
Australian Medical Association
American Chemical Society
American Quaternary Association
Engineers Australia (The Institution of Engineers Australia)
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:16 amFor the rest of you, just talk to any of the thousands of scientists who have a problem with the IPCC. If anybody wants names, then just ask.
Comment by xraymike — February 23, 2008 @ 11:07 am
Yes, please. Provide a list of the thousands of climatologists who have a problem with the IPCC. Usually, the people making claims like this provide lists of “scientists” ranging from proctologists to website programmers, virtually none of which can actually understand the data. We’re eager to see you do better.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:16 am“For the truly informed, the IPCC has lost its credibility as a mouth piece for science”
Since “mouthpiece” infers shyster, I’d say you were correct, except they never were such a mouthpiece.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:17 am“I’m not completely convinced that conservative pundits don’t understand the impact or causes of global warming.”
Actually, I’m convinced that most of them DO understand the impact and causes. But they are free market ideologues who believe that the best way to combat AGW is to simply let their vaunted “free” markets operate (even those these markets aren’t free at all). These people have already demonstrated their elitist pretensions, and are willing to tell any lie necessary to keep the unwashed masses from deciding that a different course is needed. They lie to subvert democracy, and they make me sick.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:18 amA new from the past monday, but very convenient to this thread
Aussies: Kyoto should have been ratified :
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:18 amhttp://news.yahoo.com/ s/ ap/ 20080218/ ap_on_re_au_an/ australia_environment;_ylt=Ar3ANLyLS_TLd902mEayYoys0NUE
“Steve Forbes was on tv a few weeks ago claiming that Rudy Giuliani’s election strategy was on target to work out brilliantly.”
And his wholehearted embrace of the Fair Tax shows an understanding of economics which is nigh-encyclopedic…
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:22 amThese right wingers are absolute geniuses with their predictions.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:23 amI wish they would pick pro football games so I could bet the other way!
Carville and her must have grudge sex. That is the only way it could be enjoyable.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:28 amGlobal warming, that’s a hoax. But religion, that’s the bare truth?! How do these people stay alive with their brain functions so visibly out of order?
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:30 amComment by goon_golly — February 23, 2008 @ 11:26 am
So, some deniers are cynically self-interested and others, well others are simply too stupid to understand the argument.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:31 amWhy is CNN (Blitzer) propagating corporate oil stances on a scientific subject?
I hate the term “balanced” evidence…because inevitably the word “balance” usually refers to the less scientific or non objective views…
but in this case…CNN is so unbalanced it is hanging over the precipice.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:33 amMatalan should more carefully think before she speaks. Just think about it - her term, “unscientific hoax” - to me she is sending a mixed message. On the one hand, we know she loathes reasoned science, but on the other hand, her term means science. What a mixed up crowd the far right is, and to think, their good intentions are accelerating our decline in so many worldly arenas! -Kevo
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:37 amI hope you NorthEasterners are enjoying shoveling out from under your “global warming†today. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Comment by good_golly — February 23, 2008 @ 11:26 am
Today’s news: Spaniard ski stations have increasing problems to stay open the whole season. Through the last years, snow storms and cold have been decreasing, making more difficult to mantain the ski ideal conditions. Artificial snow cannons and snowplow trucks are needed now to mantain the ski lanes with a minimum of snow. If this tendency continues, the level of the snow will go up 300 yards mountain up, with the loses in no longer valid installations.
Cold, indeed.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:37 amI haven’t heard anyone use the name Steve Forbes with out a punch line for years.
So what is the punch line Xrayputts. Tell me I want to know!
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:37 amLooks like little mikey had to cut ‘n run after doing his little drive by.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:41 amI hope you NorthEasterners are enjoying shoveling out from under your “global warming†today. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Comment by good_golly — February 23, 2008 @ 11:26 am
I suggest checking out this weekend’s temperatures in Europe, you provincial rube.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:41 amWould that any one remember the idiots empowered to ignore or act upon the gathering storm. Alas, it will take out their washington home, but they will be okay in Paraguay
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:43 amCan anyone explain the following:
if global warming is a “hoax”, why is virtually every GW denier in the media a right-winger?
If it truly were a scientific controversy, as R2, Gigi and the like seem to think (we won’t vcen count Jason, as he is a consistent sufferer of Troll Tourette’s), where are the mainstream scientific organizations and publications debunking the story in the media? Where are the fair-minded liberals and moderates who have looked at the data and say, “I agree, there’s no trend there”?
Why is science a partisan issue?
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:45 amThis is nothing more than eco-terrorism. These neocon pundits should be sent to Guantanamo forever.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:47 amOf course, since Gigi has a difficult time telling the difference between weather and climate, it’s understandable that she would jump aboard the “hoax” bandwagon.
And since R2 can’t tell the difference between the continental US and the planet, it’s understandable that HE would misinterpret the data (willingly or not).
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:48 amI worry about her children. Do they know how to differentiate between fantasy and reality? Do they understand why their parents sometimes go on TV together and fight? Will they grow up believing that winning is the only thing that matters? Will they grow up believing that although the world is a dangerous place, it’s possible that one day we might all live together in peace and harmony, without the need to go to war with each other? Or will they grow up to believe that there will always be evil people no matter what you do, and the only way to beat evil people is to use evil tactics (fight fire with fire), and if you have to lie to make your point, then so be it? I worry about her children.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:48 amIt’s known as “Global Climate Change” idiot.
Now pull that tiny head out of your tight, shriveled a$$hole, fcuking inbred cretin.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:55 amI thought I’d have a little fun with the record snow falls in the U.S.
Comment by good_golly — February 23, 2008 @ 11:52 am
I bet you take your brain out anf play with it for fun sometimes too.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:59 amActually pbg, Kosovo was an independent country in it’s own right many, many years ago. It wasn’t absorbed into Serbia until the late 12th century. And it didn’t become part of Yugoslavia (Serbia also) until 1929.
“Kosovo was known in antiquity and up to the 19th century as Dardania, after the Illyrian tribe of the Dardani.[7] Dardania was conquered by Rome in the late 1st century BC and became part of Moesia Superior.
The area remained part of the Byzantine empire until the 9th century, when it was conquered by the First Bulgarian Empire. Later it was briefly returned to the Byzantines, before it was absorbed into Serbia in the late 12th century, and was part of the Serbian Empire from 1346 to 1371. In 1389, in the famous Battle of Kosovo a coalition of Christian armies led by the Serbian prince Lazar Hrebljanovic was defeated by the Ottoman Turks, who finally took control of the territory in 1455.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosovo
The Basque country was once the Kingdom of Navarre and was annexed by Spain and France.
http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Basque_Country_%28historical_territory%29#History
Scotland was an independent state until 1707.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland
Vlaandern (Flanders) never was an independent country, but was once part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Flemish movement is more about protecting the Dutch language and culture, as well as a reunification with the Netherlands.
http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Flemish_movement#Belgian_Independence
I tend to support independence movements for those who are trying to regain it after colonization, invasion, etc. versus movements based on culture or language. Hence, I believe the Basque independence movement is valid, while the Flemish movement is not. (My opinion). My thinking is also that independent enclaves of Muslims (or Christians) within established states are inappropriate.
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:01 pmJust another example of how far your head has to be buried in the sand to be a loyal Republican Bush supporter these days.
-B
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:03 pmYo good_golly, expand your intelligence. GW is only a faucet of climate change accelerated by overuse of the earth’s life sustaining systems. You are experiencing the Brrrrrrrrrrr of these rapid changes. Your denial and inane response to this most sobering moment in human history is the baggage you carry. Smarten up dude! -Kevo
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:15 pmSmarten up dude! -Kevo
Comment by kevo — February 23, 2008 @ 12:15 pm
As if….
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:17 pmTom Delay can say any nonsense he wants from his prison cell. Criminal, traitor, liar.
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:18 pmHere’s an experiment for those who are struggling with the concept of AGW to try.
You will need a rubber band, duct tape, a clear plastic bag, pencil and paper.
Place the clear plastic bag over your head and secure it around your neck with the rubber band. Then duct tape around the band and your neck, ensuring an airtight seal. The sealed plastic bag represents the earth’s atmosphere and your head represents the planet.
Stand still and breathe normally for 30 seconds. Then jump up and down for 30 seconds. Pause for 10 seconds and then jump up and down for 60 seconds.
As you jump up and down you can expect to feel warmer and the air around your head will also feel warmer. This is to be expected and may be ignored. Now jump up and down for 120 seconds. You should now feel warmer still, and again you should ignore it because the increase in temperature you may be feeling is just a natural cycle and nothing to do with your increased human activity.
You might also notice a change in the quality of air you are breathing, which will probably seem moist and tainted. Ignore this also.
Jump up and down some more.
At this point you should be feeling hot ,groggy and confused. You might also notice an increase in moisture as sweat pools around your neck to which the condensation from your breath trickles down the inside of the plastic bag and adds its volume to the lake of liquid beginning to rise upwards from your neck.
As the temperature rises along with the liquid DO NOT PANIC. The temperature increase is only due to the inability of the CO2 that you breathe out, to escape. CO2 is completely natural and some if us like to call it “life”.
The accumulation of water in your plastic atmospheric bubble is also completely natural and therefore will not harm you in any way. Remember. neither of these environmental changes have anything to do with your human activity.
At this point should you suddenly start seeing drowning polar bears, ignore them, they are imaginary. Write down only what you can specifically observe, such as a distant ethereal light, choirs of angels etc. Remember, you WILL lose points for poor penmanship.
At the end of this 20-year experiment, please submit your findings in a clear oil-based plastic folder and be sure to properly underline the fromat headings of Purpose of Experiment, Equipment, Methodology, Data and Conclusions.
Upon review of your paper your experiment will be graded as follows:
A: As God intended
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:24 pmB: Bush-like
C: Conservative
D: Dead (Incomplete)
F: F**king liberal atheist hippie islamofascist (Fail)
Matalin, who is not a scientist, discounts a plethora of scientists who are certain that global warming is real - imagine that?
I never thought Matalin to be stupid or possessed by an all-consuming GOP herd mentality but she is showing signs.
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:26 pm“…Carville stand being married to this ugly person?”
Comment by bilbobaggins — February 23, 2008 @ 10:27 am
That’s funny, but have you taken a close look at Carville…:) He looks alot like a muppet ;) But Looks aside, how can he stand being in the same room with her when she says such idiotic things?
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:31 pmSo… Gigi claims she can tell the difference between “weather” and “climate” but she “has a little fun” with those who tout heat waves as evidence of climate change.
Odd, that she dismisses weather evidence when it points to a conclusion she doesn’t like, but embraces it when it seems to undercut that conclusion.
That sounds like a … what’s the term I’m looking for…?
“Double Standard”?
Yeah! That’s it. Double Standard.
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:32 pmI never thought Matalin to be stupid or possessed by an all-consuming GOP herd mentality but she is showing signs.
Comment by nofltwlt — February 23, 2008 @ 12:26 pm
What evidence ever led you to believe otherwise?
Besides her questionable taste in marriage partners, I mean.
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:33 pmOh, and BTW Bilbo, She and Carville do have kids. and on that note I’ve got to go shower because the thought of those two in the “act” makes me feel all dirty… ;)
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:34 pmYou got the message!!!! I’m so proud of you that you got the message of the global warming alarmist Double Standard. There’s hope for you yet.
Comment by good_golly — February 23, 2008 @ 12:33 pm
Recommend (0) | Report Abuse
and yet gg never gets the message. I wonder what it’s like to be a brainwashed, idiot Republican? gg seems to be our prime example. sad case.
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:38 pmOdd, that she dismisses weather evidence when it points to a conclusion she doesn’t like, but embraces it when it seems to undercut that conclusion.
That sounds like a … what’s the term I’m looking for…?
“Double Standard�
Yeah! That’s it. Double Standard.
Comment by ralph the wonder llama — February 23, 2008 @ 12:32 pm
Just thinking about writing this makes me itch in the wrong place, but . . . goon_golly does have a point (beyond the point on its head). Certain comments here do suggest that their local heat wave is indicative of Global Warming. I’ve seen it time and again and have given up pointing out that local weather is not global climate data. Last summer I saw a lot of it here at TP, with people talking about “the hottest summer I remember”, while we in the PNW were having a very pleasant season. Local weather gets used a lot to “prove” GW. The goon is mocking those comments and (excuse me while I scratch vigorously) I agree.
The fact that the goon is doing this as an ignorant denier is beside the, er, point.
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:39 pmAnd Matalin has earned her degree in science, where?
The lying sycophants of Bush&Co are seeking out any lone scientist who will be paid to back up their assertions that global warming is a false alarm.
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:46 pmThey ignore thousands of scientists around the world who are in agreement.
The arrogance and hubris of Bush&Co have gotten us into trouble around the globe, and now they even claim to know more than the scientists.
“one of the, maybe THE, worst real times ever…”
Comment by katy — February 23, 2008 @ 10:38 am
Katy, I couldn’t agree with you more I actually turned it off, I couldn’t bear to watch it.
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:46 pm#93
“I never thought Matalin to be stupid or possessed by an all-consuming GOP herd mentality but she is showing signs.”
The likes of Matalin are amoral egoists. Carville is a soul mate. Frank Luntz is another, and of course Rove. There is a not just a whole class of these types whose compass only points to them, they are the workers of a long established industry of political consultants whose only concern is the playing of the political game for their own benefit. The campaigns of Dems and Repubs alike are run by such people. Their continued employment is the result of mere habit, not actual merit or in terms of tangible results. Matalin and Carville would happily swap political affilitations if weither thought that they would benefit more from such a change. Each apparently has a preference for a particular side but it would appear to be based largely on circumstance. The fact that Matalin and Carville always appear together and on the same crappy network despite having been shunted to the periphery for so long speaks volumes about their real motiivations–the continuance of their relevance despite all evidence to the contrary. Their realtionship is a gimmick that sells to the rubes.
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:47 pmI might believe Matalin if she could offer any proof of what she says.
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:50 pmShe’s a WHORE like the ORIGINAL Mary Magdelene.
Except when Jesus told HER to “sin no more”, so didn’t LISTEN,
and continues to LIE, SIN, and WHORE…
McLiar, McTraitor, McPanderer, McLOSER…
McHAHA!
McByeBye!!!
Sincerely,
McNRA Gun Nut(e)s
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:50 pmNuclear weapons are also a hoax, scientists have no idea how things work whatsoever. And the internet is a scientific hoax, yep, thats right, all the people that post on it dont really exist, its a clever ruse.
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:56 pmAnd scientists dont know how to make anthrax other than it can be found on sheep. Yellow Cake is really just Duncan Hines cake mix.
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:57 pmMicrowave ovens are another scientific invention and hoax as are silicon computer chips, its actually just billion of little people encased in a dielectric compund.
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:58 pmmary’s kinda cute - for a knuckle-dragging, mouthbreathing troglodyte.
luckily, science, and scientists, don’t give a pinch of sh*t for anything anyone in politics has to say. mary needs to understand that she could not matter less to the scientific community.
wonder how denigrating it is to have to parrot the same hokum as disgraced bug-spray magnate turned felon Tom DeLay?
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:03 pmAnd Matalin here, she has no idea about astronomy or cycles, or of precession of the earth. Why if you want to see runaway global warmiong just look at Venus, its hot enough to melt lead on the surface. Matalin doesnt know about the haline conveyor belt or upper atmospheric doings, much less about desertification, which is what happened to the garden of Eden and the middle east. Pat Roberston said gays create earthquakes, if that is so doesn’t corruption in government and their lobbyist enablers create global warming?
Matalin knows she doesnt know and doesnt care if she knows, she only knows we need another four years of the same detrimental course we have been set upon so her team can ‘win’.
And thats a very poor way to look at our life support system.
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:06 pm#29 Katy
one of the worst Real Times ever…@ 10:38 am
I stayed up to watch the show and I went from disappointed to frustrated and then angry. What the hell happened? The rightwingers were allowed to tell their lies and distortions with little if any contradiction. It was, I agree, the worst show from Maher I have ever seen.
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:08 pmAfter looking at these pictures, only an idiot would say that the human population has no effect on the earth’s climate.
http://www.nasa.gov/ vision/ earth/ lookingatearth/ NIGHTLIGHTS.html
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:10 pmLast summer I saw a lot of it here at TP, with people talking about “the hottest summer I rememberâ€, while we in the PNW were having a very pleasant season. Local weather gets used a lot to “prove†GW. The goon is mocking those comments and (excuse me while I scratch vigorously) I agree.
The fact that the goon is doing this as an ignorant denier is beside the, er, point.
Comment by gummitch — February 23, 2008 @ 12:39 pm
This is a good point. We shouldn’t use individual point measurements to prove climate change. Climate change is, by definition, a change in trends and not point samples.
But there is something to be said for measuring trends. If it snowed every winter in your region ten or twenty years ago and now it doesn’t, that is a change in climate. It’s also a change in climate if it never snowed ten or twenty years ago and now it does. Indeed, some models of climate change actually have North America getting colder due to a shift in the Gulf Stream, while the rest of the world heats up dramatically.
This is why we really need to retire the term “Global Warming.” It’s completely inaccurate.ا
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:11 pmBut why does Matalin care about government and issues if she doesnt care about our life support system, our little blue Ark that rotates our starry Sun?
Why does Matalins ability to ’see’ travel no more than her life-span?
Why does Matalin believe in destroyig humanity thru armageddon?? But not working to replenish our blue whirly marble of life as we know it?
Why does Matalin want to fill our fish bowl with toxic wastes? Does she know that car exhaust, sitting in traffic for hours, is detrimental to our health as well?
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:13 pmtoasterhead–
I agree. “Global Warming” dramatizes but simplifies. Need something else.
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:15 pmComment by Godfry Daniel — February 23, 2008 @ 1:10 pm
Thats another hoax, we dont have any sattelites in orbit, just more photoshopping and political concoctions. Hydrazine is another fraud perpetrated on us by scientists.
Snarkasm on
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:18 pmI agree. “Global Warming†dramatizes but simplifies. Need something else.
Comment by 5th Estate — February 23, 2008 @ 1:15 pm
Global Climate Change works for me. It doesn’t just mean a change in temperature, it means changes in rainfall patterns, savannah turning to desert, tundra turning to temperate forest, rain forest turning to sahelian zone, and all the other predicted variations of the IPCC
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:19 pmNow theres a question, our administration is worried about 1000 lbs of Hydrazine but not about billions and billions of tons of C02.
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:19 pmNow theres a question, our administration is worried about 1000 lbs of Hydrazine but not about billions and billions of tons of C02.
Comment by Xisithrus — February 23, 2008 @ 1:19 pm
Well, hydrazine has some pretty nasty health effects:
CO2 is a long-term problem. And doesn’t give the Navy an excuse to try out a new toy.
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:26 pmWe can assume that this strange-looking and strange-sounding woman has been brainwashed in Cheney’s undisclosed locations. Why she is placed on our teevees is a puzzle.
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:36 pmgood_golly, climate change science doesn’t say it will stop snowing in the northeast. Excessive CO2 levels have in fact destabilized our winter season. We are now getting fewer snow storms, but the storms we do get have gotten more powerful. They have begun to take on tropical storm properties, producing what we now call thundersnow. We’re not supposed to get thunder and lightning in the winter, but we are. We are also seeing a greater frequency of days with above normal temperatures in the winter. With all this, we have also seen a rise in rainfall averages. Climate change is happening.
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:41 pmNOAA reported Friday 46.7 percent of the country was covered by snow, an area nearly 70 percent larger than snow cover a year ago.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/ news/ weather/ chi-mxaweatherbiggraphic022308feb23,0,312971.story
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Comment by good_golly — February 23, 2008 @ 11:48 am
AH, the POOR TARD doesn’t understand that GLOBAL WARMING involves MORE RADICAL SWINGS IN THE WEATHER including HARSHER WINTERS in SOME REGIONS while the GLOBE (hence GLOBAL) is WARMER AS WHOLE.
Science is definitely something that shouldn’t be left in the hands of MINDLESS CHILDREN like good_golly! POOR STUPID LITTLE TARD! He can whine about it only being a THEORY, just like GRAVITY and ATOMIC are only THEORIES TOO!! ROTFL!!
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:42 pm#119: They didn’t seem to be too worried about it when they launched the damn thing. They wouldn’t reveal anything about the payload.
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:43 pmMatalin has her head shoved in a sand pile… The new Botox!
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:45 pm#117
“Global Climate Change works for me”–toasterhead
To the educated, yes that works, but it lacks “zaz” .
Just as Global Warming is derided by the simpletons every time it snows, ‘Climate Change’ can be deried thusly “of course the weather changes, you anti-american libruls! Now you want the government to interfere with the climate instead of letting the free market decide. Go back to Mexico or Russia!” —that sort of thing.
Not that the language should be compromised…I’m just struggling to think of an acronym or phrase that is both accurate and apropriately dramatic. Maybe something like “No Child Left a Future” or something.
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:50 pmClimate Change is a local and natural occurrence, but GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE succinctly points out that the weather is changing on a global scale.
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:53 pmtoasterhead–
“exposure to high levels of hydrazine may include…”
Sounds as bad as Chlorox when used in a small unventilated space.
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:56 pmI see now that Gigi was mocking those (on both sides, presumably?) who use weather reports as evidence of global climate change.
If Gigi was a more talented satirist, perhaps her clumsily-presented parody would have been clearer. Maybe we sholdn’t blame Gigi that her philosophical and political compatriots tend to make the exact arguments that Gigi advances as satire, only they are serious when they do so.
So… no one on the wrong wing wants to tackle my question of why science has become a partisan issue?
February 23rd, 2008 at 2:01 pm#119: They didn’t seem to be too worried about it when they launched the damn thing. They wouldn’t reveal anything about the payload.
Comment by Godfry Daniel — February 23, 2008 @ 1:43 pm
Well, usually the fuel in satellites gets dispersed while it’s on orbit. When they come down after 10-20 years of operation, the tanks are empty. This one failed immediately after reaching orbit, and was going to come down with a full tank.
I don’t doubt that there was some other reason this had to be deorbited now - sensitive technology they didn’t want landing intact in Xinjiang or Turkmenistan or wherever. But the hydrazine excuse is at least plausible in my mind.
With all this, we have also seen a rise in rainfall averages. Climate change is happening.
Comment by Dragonmetal — February 23, 2008 @ 1:41 pm
Right. Now whether we can attribute every single observed change to anthropogenic causes is still open to debate. There are many factors that cause changes in climate - El Niños and La Niñas and Milankovitch cycles and whatnot.
We need to look at human-induced factors as another layer on top of all these other naturally-occurring climate changes, and a factor that’s going to potentially wreak havoc on all these other cycles in a way that the planet hasn’t seen in 55 million years.
February 23rd, 2008 at 2:06 pmSo… no one on the wrong wing wants to tackle my question of why science has become a partisan issue?
Comment by ralph the wonder llama — February 23, 2008 @ 2:01 pm
Because SCIENCE is based on FACTS and FACTS ARE ALWAYS BIASED against CONSERVATIVES! ;)
February 23rd, 2008 at 2:13 pmWe need to look at human-induced factors as another layer on top of all these other naturally-occurring climate changes, and a factor that’s going to potentially wreak havoc on all these other cycles in a way that the planet hasn’t seen in 55 million years.
Comment by toasterhead — February 23, 2008 @ 2:06 pm
Excellent point, TH.
The principal tactic of climate change deniers is to simplify the phenomenon, and the pronouncements of scientists who study it, and then ridicule these simplifications. (This tactic is a favorite among trolls, and the Right in general).
What they never address is the underlying theory beneath the science — that CO2 is a greenhouse gas, that human activity adds to the naturally occurring levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, and the predictable result is a warming of the atmosphere. The fact that so much of the data collected over the past few decades tracks very well with this prediction is what is alarming.
The fact that trolls and deniers are so determined to dismiss this rational application of scientific method is disturbing.
February 23rd, 2008 at 2:21 pmNOAA reported Friday 46.7 percent of the country was covered by snow, an area nearly 70 percent larger than snow cover a year ago.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/ news/ weather/ chi-mxaweatherbiggraphic022308feb23,0,312971.story
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Comment by good_golly — February 23, 2008 @ 11:48 am
A snapshot of a single day or location does not prove or disprove anything, which tells me that:
A.) You are in way over your head and you do not possess the intellect to engage in an adult discussion of global climate change or
B.) You know this, but it is irrelevant to your mission which is to make as much noise, get as much attention and distract as much as you can from any adult discussions on climate change…… or maybe you get paid piecemeal style….say 10 cents per post?
Btw, if this is about giving local weather reports here in the NYC area we’ve just had the first January in over 60 years with zero snow cover.
Every storm here until the one on Friday has been a mix of rain, snow , sleet, with temps sometimes rising well into the 40’s and 50’s.
Even yesterday’s storm which was the first pure snow storm of the winter had above freezing temps at the tail end and had a little rain and sleet mixed in. We’ve hit record warm temps during warm spells the first weeks of both Jan and Feb, but have had nothing even remotely close to record cold temps. I have a feeling this current snow cover won’t last too long.
Yet on the other side of the world there has been snow this winter in places like Bagdad and Jerusalem which rarely see snow.
Again isolated events prove nothing, but if you look at the overall picture, we ain’t in Kansas anymore Dorothy.
February 23rd, 2008 at 2:34 pmWhy does CNN network and many others keep seeking the knowledge of Mary Matalin on this issue?
She offers nothing of a scientific value. She is neither a scientist nor a researcher.
February 23rd, 2008 at 2:45 pmShe only can offer denial by calling Global Warming a ‘Hoax’,in line with her political party.
What do viewers learn from that, Mr. Blitzer..?
What do viewers learn from that, Mr. Blitzer..?
Comment by tarazan — February 23, 2008 @ 2:45 pm
That CNN will gladly toe the party line and allow itself to be led by idiots?
February 23rd, 2008 at 3:05 pmAgain isolated events prove nothing, but if you look at the overall picture, we ain’t in Kansas anymore Dorothy.
Comment by flavorino — February 23, 2008 @ 2:34 pm
Ummm… I thought one of the consequences of global warming would be unpredictable, explosive weather patterns, kinda like what Li’l g pointed out.
Kinda makes the point even whilst he, or she, fantasizes it’s being disproved.
Amazing.
February 23rd, 2008 at 3:08 pmconservatives are too stupid to exist. someday we’ll all wake up and conservatives will be gone.
February 23rd, 2008 at 3:13 pm.
“So… no one on the wrong wing wants to tackle my question of why science has become a partisan issue?
Comment by ralph the wonder llama — February 23, 2008 @ 2:01 pm
Hey, ralph. How’s it going? I tried to post this as captain mantastic, but I’ve been banned. If I get banned again, I want you to know that I’ve appreciated the debate here.
I’ll give you’re partisan science question a shot. (But please understand that I am warming to the idea of climate change - pun intended).
There are a lot of scientists that believe that the Earth is getting warmer. And that the warming is caused, in large part, by man’s activities.
But, there are also scientists that believe that the Earth is either not warming or that if it is warming, it is not significantly impacted by man’s activities.
Progressives often point to the scientists that support the climate change theory as unquestionable, but they characterize those who disagree with the premise as either a general charlatan or, more often, unethically supported by oil companies.
My argument is that if you want to hold scientists above reproach, because they are scientists, then the scientists that disagree with manmade climate change would, by that logic, be also accepted without question.
Additionally, where did we ever get the idea that scientists are infallible or incorruptible? There were scientists that believed we were going into an ice age just 30 years ago. And there are scientists today who disagree with the premise of global warming. They are still scientists, aren’t they? Just because someone is a scientist, doesn’t mean they’re infallible.
And corruption. You can corrupt a businessman, a politician, a priest, a teacher, a soldier and a scientist that disagrees with the premise of global warming. But, you can’t corrupt a scientist that promotes the idea of manmade climate change?
I have worked in the government (military for 10 years) and for a corporation (also for 10 years) doing a similar job. I confess to not knowing how government funded scientists get there funding, but I remember where the money came from in the military. For people that believe there is no agenda driven motivations except for those of corporations, I would just disagree. I would argue that there is a stake for scientists that are funded to research manmade climate change, in there actually being manmade climate change.
I would question government funded scientists motivations no more or no less than I would question the motivations of anyone else.
February 23rd, 2008 at 3:17 pmI would question government funded scientists motivations no more or no less than I would question the motivations of anyone else.
Comment by backup — February 23, 2008 @ 3:17 pm
the logical fallacy you keep repeating is that there is some overriding interest in scientists lying about the fact of global climate change, as opposed to the rightwing, conservative, bought-and-paid-for oil company shills whose only real interest in money and power. you are trying to equivocate scientists with charlatans, and it won’t sell. one has to be very blind or stupid to believe that 6 billion polluting, manufacturing, driving beings won’t affect the planet. I’m not saying you are, but I am saying tha the small percentage of “scientists” claiming that mankind has no effect on global climate change is made up of liars and charlatans.
February 23rd, 2008 at 3:25 pmbill - wait till AFTER the show to get high, ok? … please?
one of the, maybe THE, worst real times ever…
Comment by katy — February 23, 2008 @ 10:38 am
I couldn’t agree more. Last week wasn’t much better. I’m about to give up on this show completely.
February 23rd, 2008 at 3:27 pmMy argument is that if you want to hold scientists above reproach, because they are scientists, then the scientists that disagree with manmade climate change would, by that logic, be also accepted without question.
Additionally, where did we ever get the idea that scientists are infallible or incorruptible? There were scientists that believed we were going into an ice age just 30 years ago. And there are scientists today who disagree with the premise of global warming. They are still scientists, aren’t they? Just because someone is a scientist, doesn’t mean they’re infallible.
Comment by backup — February 23, 2008 @ 3:17 pm
First, it’s time to retire your Global Cooling talking point. There was never a widespread consensus on Global Cooling. From 1965 to 1979, there were a grand total of seven peer-reviewed studies that predicted global cooling, versus 44 that predicted global warming. So they were in the minority even in the infancy of climate science.
Second, we’re not holding scientists “above reproach.” We are trusting in the concept of consensus. The harshest critics of scientists are other scientists. The scientific method IS criticism - testing and re-testing of hypotheses and looking for holes and mistakes in your work and other scientists’ work. When 800 contributing authors and 2,500 scientific reviewers agree on a theory, that’s a very compelling argument in favor of the theory.
Not that there’s complete agreement - climate scientists are still debating the details of the theory and improving the models of how human causes will affect the environment and the climate. But they still agree on the basic theory of AGW.
The ones that come out against the consensus are, in general, not making scientific arguments. They’re making political arguments, or speculating on the motives of scientists, who often divert time from their paying jobs to devote to IPCC work. It’s very rare that climate skeptics actually publish a peer-reviewed study that challenges the consensus.
February 23rd, 2008 at 3:51 pmHey, Lefty.
6 billion people is a lot of people.
One of the difficulties I have with the idea of manmade climate change, is the size of the planet. I work as an airline pilot. If you live in New York or Los Angeles it would be pretty intuitive that man has a great impact on the planet. I believe that local environment is very significantly impacted by man.
But, if you fly from New York to Los Angeles, you realize that probably less than 1% of the land between is populated. There is alot of nothing down in ‘flyover’ country. And the area is vast.
Additionally, if you fly from Los Angeles to Hawaii, it’s 5 hours at 8 miles a minute of nothing but water. And that only gets you about a third of the way across the Pacific. The world is 3/4 covered with water. No people, no factories, no cars: water.
Manmade climate change is a very real possibility. But from that vantage point, it’s difficult for me to imagine that even 6 billion polluting people, can have that much impact.
I have heard, that if you could take the entire Earth’s population and stand everyone shoulder to shoulder, front to back, in a square, they would occupy 20 square miles. I haven’t figured the conversion, but I believe the earth has 510,000,000 square kilometers of land surface. And the land is only 29% of the total earth surface.
What’s more intuitive to me than man warming the planet, is the size and energy of the sun in relation to the earth.
It is possible that mankind is polluting the planet to an extent that the planet is warming. It is also possible that the issue is being exaggerated by those that want to control policy.
I’m keeping an open mind.
February 23rd, 2008 at 3:53 pmHow can her husband(Democratic pundit James Carville) possibly stand her? I mean, she’s an idiot. A complete kool-aide lush.
I think the only thing that keeps them together is that the sex must be REALLY hot. Even with that, she’s not worth it.
February 23rd, 2008 at 3:56 pmBut, if you fly from New York to Los Angeles, you realize that probably less than 1% of the land between is populated. There is alot of nothing down in ‘flyover’ country. And the area is vast.
Comment by backup — February 23, 2008 @