Climate Change, Nasa And Sketchy Astronauts

April 11th, 2012

HT to Oliver Willis

This morning over at NRO, Jonah Goldberg is hyping a Washington Examiner (yeah, they're not biased) article which opens as follows:

"In an unprecedented slap at NASA's endorsement of global warming science, nearly 50 former astronauts and scientists--including the ex-boss of the Johnson Space Center--claim the agency is on the wrong side of science and must change course or ruin the reputation of the world’s top space agency.

Challenging statements from NASA that man is causing climate change, the former NASA executives demanded in a letter to Administrator Charles Bolden that he and the agency "refrain from including unproven remarks" supporting global warming in the media."

Okay, it sounds big and dramatic. In fact, it's as breathless as print propaganda gets. It's still certifiable horseshit. Who is behind this effort? This is who:

"Former Apollo astronauts Walter Cunningham and Harrison “Jack” Schmitt are listed as the main contacts for the letter, and their past advocacy against climate change science calls into question the scientific validity of the petition.

In 2009 Schmitt appeared on the talk show of 9/11 conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and said that he believed that the environmental movement was a front for Communism.

"I think the whole trend really began with the fall of the Soviet Union. Because the great champion of the opponents of liberty, namely communism, had to find some other place to go and they basically went into the environmental movement," Schmitt said." EMPHASIS MINE

Uh huh. 

What's the real latest information on this critical issue? Well, there's this...

And then there is THIS and THIS and THIS (which is especially depressing) and THIS.

But let's be honest. We really have no time for provable, empirical climate science when we are hot on the trail of the far bigger threat... the vast and insidious global Communist conspiracy.

WTF?

The Battle For The Conservative Soul, cont...

Dec 2nd, 2011

David Jenkins is justifiably gobsmacked by a recent Bret Stephens column conflating global warming science with "doomsaying prophecy and faith in things unseen":

"Mr. Stephens, in one fell swoop, is equally dismissive of religion and science. What kind of hubris causes one to have no use for either the knowledge gained from empirical evidence or the faith that has pushed mankind to rise above his base instincts?

This type of egotism seems to be running rampant among those—particularly in the right-wing media—who profess to be conservative. I believe this unfortunate phenomenon is the by-product of traditional conservatism being shoved aside by a radical, libertarian-inspired ideology that is deeply antithetical to traditional Burkean conservatism.

This ideology elevates personal freedom and financial gain far above all other values, and in doing so, empowers its followers to dismiss or even belittle anything that does not directly serve those parochial ends."

If the conservative movement doesn't right itself, no pun intended, with a strong push against the kind of thinking exhibited by Stephens, they risk total marginalization in the arena of ideas.

Things You Can't Make Up - Galileo Edition

Sept 9th, 2011

Yes, Rick Perry said it. In defending his anti-science positions on, well, pretty much everything, he actually referred to the theocratic persecution of Galileo Galilei in the 17th Century to portray his irrationality as not only somehow reasonable, but steeped in tradition. Or something. It is very much worth noting that none of the audience laughed.

The Real News Is That It's News

Aug 31st, 2011

I like Jon Huntsman and have said so for months. No, I am not a supporter. Yes, I have every intention of backing the current President for reelection. That's not the point. Huntsman has generally struck me as smart and principled. After he received a grand total of 69 votes in the recent GOP Iowa Straw Poll, I expected his campaign to wind down and likely be over in a matter of weeks. Then something happened.

Following a particularly pandering pronouncement from Gov. Rick Perry, Huntsman tweeted this:

"To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy."

Huntsman has suddenly recaptured everyone's attention. It is now news when a GOP politician running for the Presidency declares that he believes in science.

GOP Sabotaging America, Ctd...

June 30th, 2011

Yesterday evening on MSNBC's The Last Word, Lawrence O'Donnell drew attention to a blistering editorial lamenting the intellectual decline of the GOP. It appeared what many regard to be one of the stalwart conservative papers from the American heartland, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The full text follows the video. It is essential reading.