In Denial

al-gore-bd-suitThe Meltdown of the Climate Campaign

By Steven F. Hayward

It is increasingly clear that the leak of the internal emails and documents of the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in November has done for the climate change debate what the Pentagon Papers did for the Vietnam war debate 40 years ago-changed the narrative decisively. Additional revelations of unethical behavior, errors, and serial exaggeration in climate science are rolling out on an almost daily basis, and there is good reason to expect more.

The U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), hitherto the gold standard in climate science, is under fire for shoddy work and facing calls for a serious shakeup. The U.S. Climate Action Partnership, the self-serving coalition of environmentalists and big business hoping to create a carbon cartel, is falling apart in the wake of the collapse of any prospect of enacting cap and trade in Congress. Meanwhile, the climate campaign’s fallback plan to have the EPA regulate greenhouse gas emissions through the cumbersome Clean Air Act is generating bipartisan opposition. The British media-even the left-leaning, climate alarmists of the Guardian and BBC-are turning on the climate campaign with a vengeance. The somnolent American media, which have done as poor a job reporting about climate change as they did on John Edwards, have largely averted their gaze from the inconvenient meltdown of the climate campaign, but the rock solid edifice in the newsrooms is cracking. Al Gore was conspicuously missing in action before surfacing with a long article in the New York Times on February 28, reiterating his familiar parade of horribles: The sea level will rise! Monster storms! Climate refugees in the hundreds of millions! Political chaos the world over! It was the rhetorical equivalent of stamping his feet and saying “It is too so!” In a sign of how dramatic the reversal of fortune has been for the climate campaign, it is now James Inhofe, the leading climate skeptic in the Senate, who is eager to have Gore testify before Congress.

Read the rest of this article at the Weekly Standard.

39 Responses to In Denial

  1. Neil F. AGWD/BSD March 12, 2010 at 6:08 pm #

    Is Eyeore wearing a thong in that drawing? I love the Polar Bears laughing at him. I’m still chuckling!

  2. Hal Groar March 13, 2010 at 12:33 pm #

    This was a great article!! I have not read a piece like this in quite a while! I am considering a subscription now. Great job Dan!

  3. Cubanshamoo March 14, 2010 at 4:29 am #

    I see the outcome again repeated. Obama, Gore and EPA “plans are seriously flawed in its purpose, but the already burdened American taxpayer would have to pick up the check for the meal he didn’t order. Environmental overkill, indeed!” Dixy Lee Ray.
    And remember EPA has a huge record of ignoring Congressional requests

  4. Rob N. Hood March 15, 2010 at 10:48 am #

    Methinks “Cuban” may be the opposite troll… interesting- and pretty funny.

  5. Cubanshamoo March 16, 2010 at 2:50 am #

    I am very proud to be a Cuban. In USA they are 80% republicans and in Miami, they were able to turn a farm with electicity into a wonderfull and prosperous city. I, personally, own a double engine aircraft in Florida and here in Europe, I do not receive any social money, pay for my health insurance, and don’t care about your opinion!

  6. Rob N. Hood March 16, 2010 at 8:02 am #

    Oh I’m so glad for you Cuban Shamoo dude. Apparently you do care, maybe just a little… ha ha ha. Right-wingers are so hypocritical even about the littlest things. And don’t even realize it. I wasn’t bashing you for being anything except a dittohead wing-nut. They aren’t just American, they are everywhere, just like Liberals. Unfortunately there aren’t enough real Liberals in the world.

  7. Dan McGrath March 16, 2010 at 8:35 am #

    Cubanshamoo is an example of what usually happens when people leave (or should I say, “escape”) communist countries. They’ve lived “liberalism” taken to it’s conclusion (what “progressives” are progressing toward) and they’ve seen how terrible it is first hand. Their eyes are wide open and they can easily spot the bad legislation and policies that would lead to the sort of situation they left behind.

  8. Cubanshamoo March 17, 2010 at 1:03 am #

    Thanks Dan, I couldn’t say it better

  9. Rob N. Hood March 19, 2010 at 7:56 am #

    Dan, your line of reasoning is very typical of right-wingers. Spurious and skewed. You can do better than that…?

    E.g. I could easily say the exact same thing about a person “escaping” a fascist country/regime and come to the same lame conclusion only in reverse. In fact wasn’t that all we heard during both the Iraq wars??? Yes, indeed it was.

    Now if your possible rebuttal is “hey I’m a Libertarian and that is not fascism” I would simply use your own “logic” against that retort. See? Spurious? yes…

  10. Rob N. Hood March 19, 2010 at 7:59 am #

    Fact: Socialist countries in Europe have been that way a long time and in no way shape or form are even leaning towards communism. Another truism:

    The line between the Libertarian and the White Christian Supremacists in the USA isn’t that thick. I would expect some co-mingling in that area. They are too close in too many areas from their Christianity to gun ownership to being predominately white to wanting to create their own enclaves and laws. They may not all want to be neo-Confederate Nazis but it is too close for comfort I would say. The Libertarians preach about not initiating violence but not all of them can contain themselves.

    • Neil F. AGWD/BSD March 19, 2010 at 9:34 am #

      Rob, once again you are wrong. Here’s why. Socialism, by definition, is a transitional state between capitalism and communism. If a country is a socialist country then it is on its way to becoming communist. That’s what the definition of socialism is. It is impossible for a country to be a socialist country and not be in no way, shape, or form leaning towards communism! A country that is not leaning towards communism can not be socialist then. You were not specific about which countries you are talking about, so give me the name of one of these “socialist” countries to which you refer.
      And what the heck is a White Christian Supremacist? I think the two are mutually exclusive. If you are a White Supremacist, you are not following the teachings of Jesus Christ, period, end of story. If you are a Christian, and following the teachings of Jesus Christ, then you can not be a White Supremacist. Now I have to say being neither one, either Christian, or White Supremacist, that I am only pretty sure about that. But it seems pretty clear to me that a White Supremacist is not following what a Middle Eastern Jew taught 2000 years ago. And I’m fairly certain that the Middle Eastern Jew of which I speak did not proclaim white people to be superior to anyone. In fact, I seriously doubt that Jesus knew all that many white people.
      See what I just did there, Rob? I applied some critical thinking to what you posted above. I asked myself if it made any sense. And I concluded that it did not. You should really give that a try sometime, preferably before you write something down.
      Now as far as there being a thin line between Libertarianism and white Supemacists, I admit I don’t know a whole lot about the outlines of either ones goals to say with a whole lot of confidence if there is any merit to that statement. But I would like to point out that there is a line. Thick, or thin, there is a line. But your statement sounds like an attempt to erase that line. It is like saying that there is a thin line between what you believe and what the John Birch society says just because there are a few things they say that I do agree with, such as global warming is a hoax. But there are some things the John Birch society says that I do not agree with, and that difference of opinion is a very thick line. What you are doing is calling an apple an orange, by pointing out that they both have seeds that get planted in soil. Now that’s spurious!!!!

      • Rob N. Hood March 20, 2010 at 3:29 pm #

        Neil, you are so woefully ignorant and stubborn. You have failed to learn anything from current events not to mention history. Just because you think these things above doesn’t make them true or accurate. You’re like a child who sees only what he wants to, and totally ignores the rest.

  11. Cubanshamoo March 20, 2010 at 1:04 am #

    Neil, Dan, it could be very simple: Rob, please go to Cuba for just 6 months, get to years in prison for reading in a bus any book of George Orwell, then spend the last 6 months in Cuban sugar-cane fields working as slave, and come back. Then you will understand us. No, even better, you will be one of us.
    Other solution: don’t talk BS about a social system you don’t know at all. Marx is to real comunism the same Allah is for stupid suicide-bombers: a paridise without address

    • Neil F. AGWD/BSD March 20, 2010 at 7:03 am #

      Cubanshamoo, that sounds very rough indeed. I’m glad you got the heck out of there.
      For me it wasn’t anything so drakonian. All it took for me was a border tour in West Germany at the Chzech border in 1988. Up until that point I was not political at all but my beliefs were pretty much Liberal. What I saw really woke me up. Guard towers, barbed wire fences, mine fields, k-9 patrols, machine gun bunkers, armed guards, and giant spotlights. None of it was to keep people out. It was designed to keep people in. The people were prisoners in their own country! I was amazed at that site. Suprized too. I had heard that was what was there, but seeing it was a whole other thing entirely.
      Today whenever I hear anyone speak of socialism, or communism, that is the image that appears in my mind’s eye. I don’t envision a worker’s paradise because nowhere that it has been tried has a worker’s paradise emerged! Just a home-made-hell-on-earth appears, with no way out.

    • Rob N. Hood March 20, 2010 at 3:34 pm #

      Your personal experience, even if true, has no bearing on what I’m talking about. Of course you would hate the people and the system that did that to you. And I’m sorry, but it is not relevant. You are not understanding, just as Neil chooses to pick and choose what he wants “reality” to look like. You guys continually throw the baby out with the bath water. And that is not logical and neither are you.

      Come out in the open then and admit you are for a fascist-like State. For that is what you all wish for. Problem is we already have it and with your help it is only getting worse.

      • Neil F. AGWD/BSD March 20, 2010 at 5:26 pm #

        Rob, are you crazy? A fascist-like state? What are you talking about? The only thing close to fascism that is going on now is the government takeover of private industries, and I was, am, and will always be against such things. And it’s not Republicans taking over private industries either. The problem here is that you like to browse a lot of propaganda sites. You soak it all up and believe every word of it. Then you come here and vomit it all over us. The trouble is that you think you know what’s going on, but sadly you have no idea what’s going on because your mind is completely poisoned with lies, distortions, half truths, and complete fabrications.
        Have you ever read the Constitution of the United States? Have you ever read the Federalist Papers? Do you have any idea of how this country operates, or the basic principles on which it was founded? I don’t think you do. And you’re not going to find those ideas at buzzflash blog either.

  12. Rob N. Hood March 20, 2010 at 6:19 pm #

    Uh, Neil, Fascism is the corporatizing of government, not the other way around. What you indicate above is a Totalitarian State. What are you, like, 12 ?!

    And are not Republicans part of the government that you say is “taking over”?

    True, I know you cannot see any fascism, because you are totally obsessed with the other side of that coin- totalitarianism. I’m sorry I have to explain it to you, but someone has to apparently.

    • Dan McGrath March 20, 2010 at 6:39 pm #

      Where on earth did you get that definition of fascism?

      • Neil F. AGWD/BSD March 20, 2010 at 7:13 pm #

        He gets it from buzzflash blog. A prime example of what I said “your mind is completely poisoned with lies, distortions, half truths, and complete fabrications.” He doesn’t know the meaning of the words he uses. He has no fundamental understanding of what he is advocating. He just regurgitates what he reads from the netroots. And to top it off he thinks we should take him seriously!!!! Rob, TRY A DICTIONARY!!!!!!! Its not hard. Try this one: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/

  13. Neil F. AGWD/BSD March 20, 2010 at 8:42 pm #

    If you ever wonder what Rob is posting, he gets it from places like this: http://www.buzzflash.com/ There is an overwhelming amount of information there, but every story I linked to there seems to have the same kind of tone that we get from Rob. And they call Republicans hateful. If you are a conservative, I would recommend not eating before you read some of these stories. It’s presented as news, so it’s no wonder our friend here is so misguided. I didn’t realize the degree to which he is bombarding himself with this kind of worldview. It’s no wonder to me now that he is so set in this point of view. He really is a mind numbed robot to it.

  14. Cubanshamoo March 21, 2010 at 8:59 am #

    Hey guys, there is no hope with Rob. He most experience his dreams in first person. I hope he get it moving into another country, not in USA

  15. Rob N. Hood March 21, 2010 at 2:46 pm #

    Oh come on. Where’s your honesty and integrity? I am not seeing it. Sorry, but that IS the definition of fascism. Now who needs a 9th grade education? (ok so maybe it’s a 12th grade thing…)

    Oh, and in case you haven’t noticed (i realize you haven’t) big business is hand has been very busy privatizing EVERYTHING. That is the opposite of what you are seeing thru your right-wing eyes. Obama is so far only slowing that process down- he is NOT stoping it. Wake up, open your eyes for crying out loud.

    I’ll play along, for a minute: the end result is the SAME. Totalitarian State or a Fascist Regime for a country. It really boils down to the same thing doesn’t it? Only with slight superficial differences, e.g. the role of religion etc.

    It DOESN”T matter what we call it NOW. We need to stop it NOW.

  16. Dan March 21, 2010 at 8:46 pm #

    The feds just bought two of the big three American auto companies and I don’t know how many banks and security firms and Obama’s on the verge of taking over another 1/6 of the US Economy. That’s just “slowing down” privatization?! You can’t be this ignorant. I don’t believe you at all anymore.

  17. Rob N. Hood March 23, 2010 at 7:30 am #

    C’mon Dan. What he did was SAVE those companies- and he WILL make sure they return to private hands. Can YOU be that ignorant? Or just that paranoid?

  18. Dan McGrath March 23, 2010 at 9:37 am #

    Those companies shouldn’t have been “saved” at all, but yes. I am that paranoid. Nationalization is the beginning of communism. Hugo Chavez has been gobbling up private industry left and right and I believe Obama is a kindred spirit.

  19. Rob N. Hood March 23, 2010 at 12:02 pm #

    Sorry Dan- it’s mostly paranoia on your part. Oh wait, you admitted to that… So what the heck should you care about an elected official in a small country not even connected to ours?? That kind of paranoid thinking has gotten us into every bad war (all of them in my opinion, except WWII). Just wait and see- I will be correct about Obama and this issue. I agree he should have let them fail, but just like FDR did, he is saving them for capitalism by doing what he/they did. Will capitalism thank him for that? Not a chance! “They” never thanked FDR either, but they sure should have. I also think we need another big trust breaking spree. It is mandatory for a functioning free-market every couple of decades or so. It is LONG overdue.

  20. Rob N. Hood March 23, 2010 at 12:06 pm #

    BTW that is what Saddam’s big crime was- he wanted to nationalize his countries oil fields so HIS people could fully benefit from then. (imagine THAT!!!- the horror!) And look what happened to him… Same thing with Iran now, more or less. And a coup was already attempted against Hugo during Bush II. He survived, so we may have to invade that country too and bomb it back to the stone ages. Sadly, that is what we are still good at.

    Yes, I KNOW, Saddam was a BAD guy. There are plenty of them around, but not all of them are sitting on top of oil fields. Curious that…

    • Dan McGrath March 23, 2010 at 1:47 pm #

      Right. Saddam was all about helping the people.

  21. Rob N. Hood March 23, 2010 at 2:18 pm #

    He wanted what was his and his people’s. How would you like it if the Chinese invaded our country for our forests, and starting cutting all them down and taking the wood to their country. In addition to that bombing the crap oout of us for good measure. I’m sure you’d be right there helping them… right?! That wouldn’t bother you at all I guess…???!!!

  22. Dan March 23, 2010 at 3:20 pm #

    Right. Saddam wanted what was his, he wanted what was his people’s, he wanted what was his neighbors and used force and brutality to take it all for himself and his henchmen. We’re talking about an article called “in denial” and while we’ve gotten off topic, the title seems very appropriate for this branch of discussion, which is obviously pointless. Where’s all the oil we were supposedly invaded Iraq to steal, by the way?

    • Rob N. Hood March 25, 2010 at 3:47 pm #

      So you want to continue this “off-topic” subject- Where’s the OIL???!!! You are kidding right? What a statment…. you guys get more off the wall all the time. Why don’t you ask- Where’s the WMDs??? NOW THAT’S A GOOD QUESTION.

      Good grief. And oh, hi Paul. Yes, as you can see I am waaaaaayyyy out there as usual, saying and asking all sorts of really WEIRD questions- yep that’s me…. not, oh NOT Dan…… me, I’m the one asking the straaaaaange and oddball questions….. uh huh, mmm hmmm……………….

  23. paul wenum March 23, 2010 at 7:09 pm #

    Wow! I just clicked on the site to see what was up with the liberals now focusing on Cap N Trade and I see all these tirades by Ole Robbie Boy. He’s gone bonkers since my departure. Think he needs a short leash or help? Get back to the case at hand. Global Climate Scam and don’t get “scammed” by the Robbie Boys” of the world. Forge on my friends. Cubanshammo, I’m on the net if you wish to look me up my friend. Bye.

  24. Rob N. Hood March 30, 2010 at 7:32 am #

    The Reagan Revolution is alive and well. You guys won, and are still winning. You are sore winners.

  25. paul wenum March 30, 2010 at 8:00 pm #

    Common sense and logic wins, not parties elected.

  26. Cubanshamoo March 31, 2010 at 6:00 am #

    Wow, Reagan, that was a president!!!!
    And what about Oliver North, Rob? Great guy!!!
    God Bless America

  27. Rob N. Hood April 1, 2010 at 6:44 am #

    Both criminals at least in this space and time dimension. (Nixon was impeached on much lesser charges than Reagan was guilty of) Don’t know which one you are operating on.

  28. paul wenum April 3, 2010 at 11:54 pm #

    Typical left wing liberal response. Couldn’t ask for less.

  29. Rob N. Hood April 17, 2010 at 3:50 pm #

    Typical? For earth-based reality yes.

A project of Minnesota Majority, hosted and maintained by Minnesotans for Global Warming.