Think Progress

Hannity: Snow Storms ‘Seem To Contradict Al Gore’s Hysterical Global Warming Theories’ - Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Last night on his Fox News show, Sean Hannity claimed that the recent spate of winter snow storms in the Washington, D.C. region clearly means that the planet isn’t warming. He then attacked Vice President Gore, calling his anti-global warming advocacy “hysterical”:
HANNITY: And tonight’s “Meltdown” is brought to you by the D.C. snow storm, [...]

Inhofe’s Grandchildren Build Igloo To Mock Killer Snow Storm: ‘Al Gore’s New Home’ - Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

The record-breaking snowstorm that has shut down the mid-Atlantic region for days has become a favored target for mockery by Republicans who deny global warming, seemingly on the supposition that deadly blizzards invalidate the science of climate change.
Before the storm hit, the Virginia GOP launched a web ad mocking “12 inches of global warming,” [...]

Virginia GOP Mocks Epic Snow Storm As ‘12 Inches Of Global Warming’ - Saturday, February 6th, 2010

Record snowfall is now falling in the Washington D.C.-Baltimore region, with accumulation expected to shatter the 1922 Washington record of 28 inches and the 1993 Baltimore record of 26.8 inches of snow. The storm is leaving destruction in its wake, with tornado watches in Florida and ice storms expected in North Carolina. In Virginia, towns [...]

Utah state representative claims climate change is a ‘conspiracy’ aimed at population control. - Saturday, February 6th, 2010

On Thursday, the Utah House Natural Resources Committee passed a resolution expressing the legislature’s belief that “climate alarmists’ carbon dioxide-related global warming hypothesis is unable to account for the current downturn in global temperatures.” The resolution, which now goes to the full House for a vote, urges the EPA to not regulate pollution blamed for [...]

ThinkFast: February 1, 2010 - Monday, February 1st, 2010

President Obama will unveil a $3.8 trillion budget for 2011 today, that will add “billions of dollars in new spending to combat persistently high unemployment and bolster a battered middle class,” increase war spending, “raise taxes on banks and the wealthy to help rein in soaring budget deficits,” cut spending on some discretionary domestic programs, [...]

Kerry tells climate advocates to get as angry as Tea Partiers. - Thursday, January 28th, 2010

Speaking at the 2010 Clean Energy, Jobs and Security Forum yesterday, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) invoked the anger of conservative tea partiers in his advice to advocates of climate legislation. His comments came following the shocking election of Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), who rode a wave of anti-incumbent anger to win the seat previously held [...]

Why Scott Brown Cannot Be Trusted To Work Proactively To Reform Health Care - Monday, January 25th, 2010

enator-elect Scott Brown (R-MA) is a conservative ideologue who opposes financial reform, the bank responsibility fee, immigration reform, health reform, clean energy reform, doubts global warming, supports torture, and rejects the stimulus as an utter failure that has not created a “single job.” As the Boston Globe editorial board has concluded, Brown is “more conservative [...]

After hottest decade in history, senators attempt to outlaw science of global warming. - Friday, January 22nd, 2010

As scientists announce that the 2000s were the hottest decade in recorded history, U.S. senators are working to outlaw the reality of global warming. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration reported yesterday that 2009 is “tied with a cluster of other years — 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007 — as the second warmest year [...]

Senator Of Katrina-Ravaged Louisiana Collaborates To Block Climate Action - Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Today, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) announced that she is the previously unnamed Democrat joining Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) in her campaign to prevent Clean Air Act regulation of greenhouse gas pollution. Because she “believes the Clean Air Act is not meant to be applied to carbon dioxide emissions,” Landrieu is collaborating to craft what environmentalists [...]

Scott Brown Denies Asserting That Obama Was Born Out Of Wedlock, Refuses To Apologize - Monday, January 18th, 2010

Earlier this weekend, David Kravitz of the blog BlueMassGroup uncovered a 2008 video of State Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Tuesday’s special election, speculating that then-candidate Barack Obama was born out of wedlock. Today, ThinkProgress caught up with Brown to explain his comments, and asked if he would apologize [...]

Fox Thinks Winter Chill Disproves Global Warming; Experts Disagree - Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

In recent days, conservatives have seized on the cold snap gripping the southeast region of the country to cast doubt on global warming. “Hey Al Gore: we want our global warming, and we want it now,” said Newsbusters’ Mark Finkelstein. In his newsletter today, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich wondered about “Al Gore’s explanation for [...]

Right Wing Mounts Witch Hunt To Smear TSA Nominee With Flailing, Off-Target Attacks - Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

“Republicans are stepping up their effort to block Erroll Southers from becoming head of the Transportation Security Administration,” Politico reports. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) has been holding up Southers’ nomination in a political effort “to prevent TSA workers from joining a labor union.”
Southers, a counterterrorism expert, is currently working as a senior official for homeland [...]

At Least 16 Tea Party Activists Step Up To Challenge Top Republican Incumbents And Recruits - Monday, January 11th, 2010

ecognizing the emerging popularity of the so-called tea parties, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele sought to embrace the fringe movement. “If I wasn’t doing this job, I’d be out there with the tea partiers,” Steele recently told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto. But the tea party movement Steele is encouraging does not appear to be [...]

Governor Of Katrina-Ravaged Louisiana Tries To Block Climate Change Regulation - Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Even as the Senate argues whether to pass clean-energy legislation, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finally moving to regulate global warming pollution. One of the leading opponents to the EPA’s proposed regulations, slated to go into effect in March, 2010, is Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal (R-LA). On Monday, Jindal “and the secretaries of the [...]

Right wing bullies Build-A-Bear into removing videos about manmade climate change. - Thursday, December 24th, 2009

Until recently, the Build-A-Bearville website (part of the Build-A-Bear Workshop) featured online videos telling children about manmade global warming and the dangers it holds for the North Pole. In the videos, little animals learn about the problem and teach Santa Claus about it. The right wing has been outraged over the antics of these [...]

Drudge Report: ‘Obama Races Home For Blizzard’ - Sunday, December 20th, 2009

As President Obama brokered a last-minute deal with China, India, and other nations to jointly fight global warming, American conservatives continued their assault on reason when it comes to climate science. All through the week, right-wingers from Rush Limbaugh to Fox News highlighted the fact that Copenhagen, the site of the international climate negotiations, received [...]

Obama Establishes Copenhagen Accord, But We’re Not Done Yet - Saturday, December 19th, 2009

Shortly before leaving Copenhagen yesterday, President Obama announced that he had succeeded in finalizing the text of an interim political agreement, the Copenhagen Accord, with the cooperation of a surprising array of parties from the developing world, including leaders from Brazil, South Africa, India, and China. This is a first step toward finishing a new [...]

After ‘Truth Squad’ Fizzles, Der Spiegel Reporter Tells Inhofe: ‘You’re Ridiculous’ - Friday, December 18th, 2009

Back in September, godfather of global warming deniers Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) announced that he would be going to the U.N.’s climate change summit in Copenhagen this week to present “another view.” “I think somebody has to be there — a one-man truth squad,” he said. His “truth squad” later expanded to three, with Sens. [...]

Greenpeace Protesters Declare U.S. Chamber Of Commerce Headquarters A ‘Climate Crime Scene’ - Thursday, December 17th, 2009

As ThinkProgress has documented, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been standing in the way of bold and ambitious action to mitigate the effects of climate change. The business federation has repeatedly questioned the science of global warming and opposed cap and trade, causing numerous companies to leave the organization.
Today, protesters from the environmental [...]

ThinkFast: December 16, 2009 - Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

A Washington Post/ABC News poll finds growing public skepticism over health reform. While a bare majority of Americans still believe government action is needed to control health care costs, “there is minimal public enthusiasm for the kind of comprehensive changes in health care now under consideration.” More than six in 10 Americans favored the Medicare [...]