Think Progress

Ollie North Launches New War Against ‘Cap And Tax,’ ‘Bird Eating Machines,’ And The ‘Myth Of Global Warming’ - Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

Lt. Col. Oliver North (Ret.) has launched a new war against the “cap and tax” plans of President Barack Obama and the “socialists in Congress.” North — when not serving as a Fox News correspondent — runs the Freedom Alliance, an organization supposedly dedicated to “defending the sovereignty of the United States and promoting a [...]

Sarah Palin to Rush Limbaugh: ‘Are we warming or are we cooling?’ - Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

Yesterday, former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) reminded hate radio host Rush Limbaugh that she doesn’t believe in man-made global warming. Palin, on a nationwide tour to promote her new book, Going Rogue, questioned the “snake oil science involved” and complained about the “shady science right now.” Palin said that she thinks any changes are “in [...]

Pawlenty Completes Science-Denying Metamorphosis, Now Refutes That Human Activity Causes Climate Change - Monday, November 16th, 2009

Speaking to the Economist recently, Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) told reporters that he questions the science underpinning climate change. Pawlenty explained that while the earth might be warming, it is unclear “to what extent that is the result of natural causes.” As ThinkProgress has noted, Pawlenty has veered sharply to the right to appease a [...]

ThinkFast: November 16, 2009 - Monday, November 16th, 2009

In Singapore this weekend, President Obama “was forced to acknowledge that a comprehensive climate deal was beyond reach this year,” dashing his desire for the United States to “lead the way toward a global agreement in Copenhagen next month to address the warming planet.” Instead, Obama expressed support on Sunday for a plan “to pursue [...]

Will Conservative Democrats Follow Graham’s Lead On Climate Policy? - Thursday, November 5th, 2009

Extensive coverage has been devoted to the fact that Lindsey Graham’s split on global warming and other issues highlights a rift in the Republican Party. While that’s true, another more important development has not been pursued: Graham’s departure from right-wing orthodoxy highlights the potential for conservative Democrats to follow in his footsteps.
Many conservative Democrats [...]

Senate GOP embrace Inhofe’s boycott of Clean Energy Jobs Act. - Monday, November 2nd, 2009

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK)
Senate Republicans have endorsed Sen. Jim Inhofe’s (R-OK) plan to boycott the legislative markup of the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733), scheduled to begin tomorrow. Inhofe’s GOP compatriots on the environment committee hope to block action by refusing to participate in the markup on the pretext that the [...]

Fox’s Chris Wallace Conducts Sycophantic, Softball Interview With Rush Limbaugh - Sunday, November 1st, 2009

When the White House snubbed Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace of an interview with President Obama in September, Wallace defended his program by claiming it is a “truly fair and balanced show.” This morning, he had an opportunity to demonstrate his fairness, but failed miserably.
During his 30-minute on-air interview with Rush Limbaugh, Wallace [...]

Inslee slams SuperFreakonomics for ‘absolute deception’ on climate science. - Thursday, October 29th, 2009

During today’s forged letter investigation hearing in the House, Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) rebuked the authors of SuperFreakonomics for participating in a “continuing effort to deceive the American public” on the science of climate change. Inslee condemned the coal industry’s effort to “hoodwink, defraud, and deceive the American public now to cover up the toxicity [...]

During Forged Letter Investigation Hearing, Coal Industry Lies Under Oath About Its Lobbying History - Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Today, the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming held a hearing investigating fraudulent letters forged by Bonner & Associates on behalf of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) to attack the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454). As the Wonk Room’s Brad Johnson has reported, ACCCE President and [...]

Jon Stewart Praises ‘SuperFreak’ Author: ‘I’m Sorry You’ve Taken So Much S**t’ - Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

On last night’s Daily Show, host Jon Stewart heaped praise on the contrarian approach to global warming taken by SuperFreakonomics author Steve Levitt, a University of Chicago economist. Stewart was dismissive of the widespread criticism of Levitt and co-author Stephen Dubner, asking, “Have you stepped on a secular religion?” Stewart, often a tough interviewer, coddled [...]

Inhofe: ‘Natural warming cycle’ ended ‘about nine years ago.’ - Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

At the outset of Senate hearings on clean energy and climate legislation today, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Commitee, mockingly praised chair Barbara Boxer (D-CA) for mentioning “global warming” in a YouTube video about the bill. Inhofe claimed that people “have been running from that term” once “that [...]

ThinkFast: October 27, 2009 - Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

Hundreds of protesters from the Service Employees International Union and National People’s Action picketed the offices of Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo yesterday, calling for strong regulatory reform and the breaking up of big banks. The protests coincided with the annual meeting of the American Bankers Association, the trade group of the banking industry.
After “nine [...]

Chamber Of Commerce President Questions Climate Change: ‘Is Science Not Right? I Don’t Know’ - Monday, October 26th, 2009

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has launched a PR offensive after a series of high-profile member defections due to the Chamber’s denial of climate science and its aggressive lobbying against clean energy legislation. Earlier this year, Chamber officials pledged to put climate change science on trial in a “Scopes monkey trial of the 21st century.” [...]

ThinkFast: October 23, 2009 - Friday, October 23rd, 2009

In a meeting with President Obama yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) reportedly pushed for a public option that would allow states to opt-out of the program. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) reportedly doesn’t have the votes for a robust public option. Meanwhile, one Democratic source said Obama appeared to prefer a “trigger” option.
In an [...]

Pennsylvania state lawmaker: Veterans who support climate change legislation are ‘traitors.’ - Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

A coalition of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, under the name Operation Free, is on a 21-state bus tour to alert the public about the dangers of global warming and its threat to national security. Upon hearing about the group’s visit to Pennsylvania, State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R) blasted the veterans as “traitors” and compared [...]

GOP Rep. from district where civil rights workers were lynched talks about shooting ‘tree-hugging Democrats.’ - Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

In a new interview with Rep. Gregg Harper (R-MS), Politico asks the congressman what the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus does. Harper’s response:
We hunt liberal, tree-hugging Democrats, although it does seem like a waste of good ammunition.
Harper represents Mississippi’s 3rd congressional district, which contains Neshoba County — the place of one of the most infamous [...]

Climate Spoof Forces Chamber To Decry ‘Public Relations Hoaxes’ - Monday, October 19th, 2009

This morning, activists from the Yes Men troupe claiming to represent the U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced the organization was reversing its years of opposition to any climate bill before Congress, saying in jest that the “Kerry-Boxer Bill is a good start to a strong climate bill.” CNBC and the Fox Business Network cited the [...]

Impeach Obama Effort Is Too ‘Ridiculous’ Even For Rep. Dana Rohrabacher - Monday, October 19th, 2009

ThinkProgress reported recently that Republican Party activist Floyd Brown is launching an impeachment campaign against President Obama. What “high crimes and misdemeanors” has Obama committed? According to Brown, the president’s supposed espousal of Marxist ideology makes him “a very dangerous man and one of the greatest threats to your personal liberty today.”
In an interview this [...]

SuperFreakonomics Gets Climate Change Super Freaking Wrong - Thursday, October 15th, 2009

Today is Blog Action Day, with thousands of blogs discussing global warming. Matt Yglesias, the Wonk Room, and now ThinkProgress have participated.
SuperFreakonomics, the forthcoming sequel to the pop-economics bestseller Freakonomics by economists Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, devotes 44 pages to a contrarian view of climate change, calling global warming a “religion.” Much [...]

Maldives cabinet to hold climate meeting underwater. - Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

This Saturday, the president of Maldives “is set to chair an underwater Cabinet meeting” in order to “highlight the threat global warming and rising sea levels pose to his low-lying nation.” The governments of the world are now negotiating a successor to the global-warming reduction treaty known as the Kyoto Protocol, which will expire in [...]