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| Credit: Gage Skidmore |
"Climate Hustle" goes to Washington: Skeptical film to premiere on Capitol Hill; Riveting panel with Gov. Sarah Palin and other guestsIf you've never experienced cognitive dissonance before, now you know what it feels like. The word "riveting" in the same sentence as "Gov. Sarah Palin" must be making you squirm in discomfort. Of course it might have provoked a guffaw and memories of Tina Fey. Or you might have wondered if Sarah Palin has started reading any newspapers yet (or if she still can't remember the name of even one news source).
The number of people at WUWT who've called this a promotional disaster vastly outnumber the Palin fans. What they haven't commented on are two of the other people listed, who if you look them up are equally nincompoop-ish. That is, Lamar Smith who thinks that there's a vast climate conspiracy at NOAA except he can't find it. That of course means the conspiracy is very deep. It's hidden from him. The other person is Brent Bozell, who I'd never heard of. He's described on RationalWiki as:
...a conservative Christian hatemonger and self-styled "media watchdog". The nephew of leading conservative pundit William F. Buckley, he makes his uncle look like a revolutionary socialist by comparison.
The other thing that only one person commented on (that I saw) was a mention of a "special video appearance by Emmy Award-winning educator Bill Nye the Science Guy". This was clearly meant to imply the opposite of what would be the case. Bill Nye would never in a zillion years endorse a film that is targeted at climate conspiracy nutters of the wacky kind.
There's more bad news. Apparently the theatre only has a few seats so almost no-one will get to see it, unless the climate hustlers can persuade someone at Fox to show bits and pieces.
If you thought that science deniers are on a downhill slide passing through obscurity to self immolation and oblivion, you're probably right. There have been a couple of articles at WUWT lately that pointed this out. Denial is a bitch.
(Time is limited and so is the notebook's battery - so this is short and oh so sweet. I might come back later if there's time and give you a taste of the "thoughts". Meanwhile you can read them here.)
Post script: The Climate Hustle Conspiracy
The advertisement for the film, as shown on WUWT, is evidence of the target audience (if Palin wasn't enough of a guide). First of all the name is "Climate Hustle" meaning it's for people who already think that climate science is a hoax. The next line confirms that the intended audience is the rabid conspiracy theorist. It is "Are they trying to control the climate... or you?".
"They" is the word for whatever demon the conspiracy theorist imagines. It could be scientists, if the conspiracy theorist is an Illiterati, or it could be the government, if the conspiracy theorist is a Right Wing Authoritarian follower. It could be Lizard Men if the conspiracy theorist is a David Icke fan. It could be Jews if the conspiracy theorist is a Tim Ball fan. Each conspiracy theorist probably thinks that all the other conspiracy theorists have the same conspiracy theory as he or she. Since all the conspiracy theorists have two things in common - a pervading sense of paranoia and an inability to use rational judgement, they can easily imagine that they have 'right" on their side. And no-one whose opinion they value is about to set them straight. If any tried, they'd be viewed as one of the "enemy". (Just read the criticisms of the people who have criticised the choice of Palin and you'll see what I mean.)
The word "control" feeds the deepest darkest fear of the paranoid conspiracy theorist. That he or she will be "controlled" by some ogre, whether it's a Jewish banking family or the government or scientific knowledge or Lizard Men.
That CFACT and Marc Morano (and Lamar Smith) and Anthony Watts have all signed on to the framing of science as a hoax says something about them, but I'm not sure what. Are any of them sitting back laughing at the deniers? The one who probably is more aware than the rest is Marc Morano, who I figure knows just what he's doing at some level at least. He doesn't care, as long as he gets paid.
Added by Sou around mid-day here, having just gained an hour.
Around here, we call her Former Governor Quitterface. Ironically, she setup a climate change task force that her vice governor Parnell disbanded after she quit for her vice prez run. Parnell then proceeded to bend over to the oil companies and now we pay them to come take our oil. It sounds weird to say, but at one time Sarah was friendly to both mitigation and adaptation.
ReplyDeleteWhy did she resign as governor? Do you know?
DeleteMad Jayhawk, no one really knows why she resigned.
DeleteShe said it was to pursue other possibilities, and she's made a bundle of money since then on various media scams.
Many suspect it was because being governor is a lot of work, and she's pretty lazy.
There also are rumors of financial improprieties that would have become public had she continued on as an elected official or sought other public office (you notice she hasn't run for any other office since resigning).
Does someone has the talent to make a parody video of Palin endorsing this film with Marco the Climate Hustle standing to the side looking as embarrassed as Donald Trump when he had to suffer under her endorsement?
ReplyDeleteI know it is tough to speak like that for someone who is able to speak.
"I know it is tough to speak like that for someone who is able to speak."
DeleteTrump comes close.
"Marco the Climate Hustle" ?!?!?!?!?!
DeleteWhat did *I* do to deserve this??
That thread is a text-book example of 'Murrican Political Korrektness' - you know, the kind that actually exists?! - in action.
ReplyDeleteThe ideas of incoherent, Dunning-Krugerite whack-jobs are certainly the equal of any of those sciencey science people, and anyone who thinks otherwise is a stooge of the Democrats and NYT!
I note Stealey's one of her chief defenders. And even manages to drag in Saul Alinsky! Priceless! You cannot make this stuff up...
Re Alinsky: but Lewandowsky was wrong, of course!...
Delete
DeleteIncredible screed from dbstealy that finishes with:
"I think if Einstein was alive today, he’d be a regular WUWT reader. And I think he would prefer someone new."
Like the Jewish Socialist, perhaps? ;-)
Delete
DeleteIncredible screed from dbstealy
Linky goes AWOL: but just follow Sou's last link to the WTFUWT? post above and Ctrl+F for 'stealey' (the long one). Truly breathtaking!
DeleteNow there's a person in denial about many things. E.g. he's not a birther but Obama probably wasn't born in the US (isn't doubting Obama's birth certificate and place of birth the definition of a birther?).
DeleteAnd no surprise he's a Drumpf supporter too. He's in denial about the Donald's antics and poor behaviour.
So now Stealey thinks he is qualified to speak for Einstein. It is April the 1st after all.
DeleteSo how come none of the normally draconian "moderators" at WUWT actually "moderated" that pile of sh*ite?
DeleteI know that the disgusting creep* Stealey use to be a mod there, but I assume that's no longer the case.
*Evidence available if required.
It's not all bad:
DeleteEvery one of us has a choice: either buy into the hatred, the demonization, and the attempts at of personal destruction — or decide whatever the real question is, based on its merits, and make your decision. Don’t listen; watch them. You will see what they’re trying to make you do. You will see their Agenda. And it is not in your best interest. Look around. If you don’t see the mark… then it’s you.
Sadly, he's not much one to ever take his own advice.
From dbstealey:
Delete"Because as Albert Einstein said, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is a definition of insanity."
The irony is so chunky, you can carve it.
I've added a postscript on the conspiratorial fantasy that the film is feeding. It's probably a wise move for CFACT to not distribute it widely given it would probably play to largely empty theatres. (Conspiracy theorists like to think they are part of a majority. Their illusion can be maintained on the internet because it allows them to find each other. Not so much in the harsh light of the real world where they aren't just in a minority, they are in a very tiny minority.)
ReplyDeleteWhy does anyone read anything by dbstealey aka smokey?
ReplyDeleteFor example, see Pseudoskpetics exposed in the SalbyStorm, and open the attached PDF.
Search for dbstealey (41 hits).
Now, a few of us knew within an hour or two of the Salby afair being public in 2013, that the NSF had debarred him for chicanery, that he'd run off to Australia, and that his story about Macquarie was rather reminiscent of the same bad behavior that got him in trouble in Colorado.
Unsurprisingly, Salby's complaint against MQ <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murry_Salby</a> got crushed as badly as his against CU did.
But, in July 2013:
dbstealey: July 9
"Agree with the remedy of legal action. Such action should be taken under U.S. jurisdiction, where there is a better discovery process. (NONSENSE) Prof Salby was enticed from the U.S.; actions were taken within this country, by agents of Macquarie. (FANTASY, Salby answered an advertisement, looking to get out of US, dbstealey just *MADE THIS UP*)
Dr. Salby suffered subsequent financial loss and damage to his professional reputation, which the university must be forced to explain. There are ongoing damages being incurred.
As always, if financial support is required to right this wrong, I will contribute. Others here have indicated they will help, too. This is a battle worth fighting."
Salby refused to teach, misused credit card to take disallowed trip ... which would get anyone fired from a company right then. Universities take longer. I wonder if any of the people were going to contribute to Salby did :-)
(Then long *after* the NSF mess and US court cases were published.)
{dbstealey} says:
August 12, 2013 at 2:54 am
Ferdinand,
Given that everything you say is true, what is your opinion on Macquarie U deliberately stranding Salby at he airport, and denying him the opportunity to defend himseelf at a hearing?"
Salby had lied about the ticket issue causing him to miss the hearing.
2013.04.25 Salby was giving talk mid-day in Oslo, Norway
Sydney is ~8 hours ahead, so it was already evening there, and the hearing had been on 04/24, a day earlier. I takes at least a day to get from Oslo through Paris to Sydney, and actually, Salby hung around Europe, arriving back in AU around 05/02.
SO, his ticket *NEVER* could have gotten him back for the hearing.
WUWT, JoanneNova, and Bishop Hill offered multiple blog posts, and with a few others, generated ~2000 comments, with much revilement of MQ, portrayal of Salby as martyred Galileo, etc.
Curiously, Salby getting totally court case, and proving almost everything wrong that some people were sure of ... has not gotten so much attention at these blogs :-)
So, I don't post at WUWT, somebody might try asking dbstealey if he still defends a guy who defrauded both US and AU.
I keep wishing Salby would return to US to give a public talk. I'm sure many people would like to attend.
"Why does anyone read anything by dbstealey aka smokey?"
DeleteBecause he's a reliable supply of comedy. And its fun to watch such nasty piece of work slowly going insane as reality gives him a kicking.
Where is Salby now?
DeleteStealey's good fun. He could lose an argument in an empty room.
DeleteHe'd certainly argue with his echo.
DeletePG:
DeleteAs far as I know, still in Australia.
He was dismissed from MQ mid-2013, filed suit (cheap, represented himself), did a lecture tour in UK sponsored by ~PSI "slayers.
Apparently he was back in UK 2014 for PSI. and again a few weeks ago.
(For those who enjoy reading craziness, recall that Watts has at least sometimes even banned slayers, at least temporarily. I think Doug Cotton shows up as PhysicistsGroup.)
He signed the "300 scientists" letter for Lamar Smith:
"SALBY, Murry: Professor (ret) University of Colorado, Macquarie University, visiting positions at National Center for Atmospheric Research, Princeton University, Stockholm University, CNRS/University of Paris, Hebrew University of Jerusalem,Australian Bureau of Meteorology; author of books and numerous papers on the atmosphere and climate."
That of course, left out a few things, and "dismissed for cause" and (ret) are not quite the same :-)
He represented himself in court case he just lost, and in US he often appealed ... but as I recall, AU is "loser pays" so this may not be as easy.
"
OOps, and I see I missed New video: Dr. Murry Salby – Control of Atmospheric CO2 at WUWT a year ago (not two weeks ago, sorry).
DeleteLook at the list of 'Key Scientists' in the film:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.climatehustle.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ProfileofScientists1.pdf
LOL!
Science advances one funeral at a time.
DeleteBy the look of that sorry bunch we are heading for a quantum leap very soon.
Former
emeritus
was
The only next generation candidate Tol looks like he has lost his gremlins.
It's a wonder they didn't include non-climate scientist wacky conspiracy blogger "Steve Goddard" aka Tony Heller, who gets invited to speak at the Heartland Institute anti-science conferences as an 'expert'. They included Monckton and Watts as 'key scientists' :D What a joke.
DeletePalin is not qualified to present and endorse Climate Hustle to Republicans on the Hill.
ReplyDeleteI want to reassure those worried WUWTers that Palin is superbly qualified to endorse Climate Hustle.
From the people who were happy to present Monckton to Congress as an 'expert witness'? Yes; what could their objection possibly be?
DeleteI want to reassure those worried WUWTers that Palin is superbly qualified to endorse Climate Hustle.
DeleteThe LOL WHUTers made their own bed, but now they won't sleep in it. Well observed, PG.
Maybe it is simply an April Fools
ReplyDeleteEvery day seems like it's April Fools day when reading denier blogs.
DeleteI just watched the trailer for this idiotic movie. Complete with ludicrous scary 'Algore'. Any half-way intelligent 12 year old could refute their strawman premises. It will sink without trace.
ReplyDeleteDeniers; this is the best you can do? No wonder you're stuffed...
bill being a denier automatically protects one from the crippling tyranny of standards, decency and evidence.
ReplyDeleteBack in 2008 I saw the first Tina Fey/Amy Poehler skit on Palin, a reworking of her interview by Katie Couric. And I was appalled, I couldn't believe that anyone could be as idiotic as they portrayed Palin.
ReplyDeleteWhen I went and watched the original interview, I found that I was correct, but in the wrong direction - Palin was _far worse_ than portrayed. Fey's caricature made her look more organized and focused, and less idiotic, than she came across in the actual interview. Stunning.
The Climate Hustle is a silly piece of propaganda, and I suspect CFACT is well aware of that - otherwise they wouldn't be limiting the showings to dedicated crazies.
KR, read this latest about the Australian conservatives, and weep at the parody that our country's government has become:
Deletehttp://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-22/turnbull-shares-continuity-and-change-slogan-with-veep/7265992
The Climate Hustle is a silly piece of propaganda, and I suspect CFACT is well aware of that - otherwise they wouldn't be limiting the showings to dedicated crazies.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the ultra-conservatives just lap this sort of stuff up. This is a very illuminating piece, but the intro concerning Romney is no longer topical. If you don't find that bit interesting, start at 'An Oilfield in the Placenta':
http://thebaffler.com/salvos/the-long-con
Explains a lot about the situation the U.S. is currently facing.
That's an amazing piece -- highly recommended, along with Bruce Bartlett's "The Revenge of the Reality-Based Community."
DeleteIt's not Brent Bozell , but Brent Bozell Jr. who alas evidences how fast apples can decay when they fall too close to the tree.
ReplyDeleteIn fact along with the Climate Hustle there was a paper released which had the preamble CO2 and H2O are cooling agents.
ReplyDeleteNow in some situations this may be true for H2O, I am pretty sure CO2 has never been a cooling agent unless you look at the reflection of energy directed at the molecule and say some percentage goes past it to be reflected away from earth.
@-"I am pretty sure CO2 has never been a cooling agent ... "
ReplyDeleteIt could be argued that it is a cooling agent above the tropopause. An increase in CO2 in the stratosphere increases the emission rate for the outgoing LWR. That is why there is stratospheric cooling with the 'Greenhouse' effect, it is actually an increase in the temperature gradient over the depth of the atmosphere because there is more emissive 3-atom molecules. The top gets cooler and the bottom gets warmer, as seen in the satellite data.
izen
Sou,
ReplyDeleteI see there is a climate aspect to recent Liberal preselections in WA. Contrarian Dennis Jensen got dumped, more due, it seems, to general wackiness than specifically to climate sensitivity. And your "funny sunny" David Archibald tried unsuccessfully in Durack.
I've been thinking about the climate policy of the Coalition and Labor recently, and pondering the definition of "denier".
DeleteBoth the Coalition (post He Who Smuggles Budgies) and Labor claim to "believe in climate change" (idiotic phrasing, but anyway) but OTOH their climate policies are not in line with what the science is actually saying. They are, at best, very half arsed. This seems to me to mean that they are effectively denying the science. This would, for some reasonable uses of the term, make them deniers.
So, I've been wondering if the definition of "denier" should include those politicians who claim to be using science as a basic for policy, but who are obviously not doing anything of the sort.
Here is the address for the dump of the documents supplied for the senate request for the rationale of the carnage at CSIRO. Read them and weep for the future of Australian public good Science.
ReplyDeletehttps://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B5h8W9UNa9Qxc3VWS1ZxR2prZnc&usp=sharing
It's basically the same dump as accessed by Fairfax/ABC and others.
R the Anon
R the Anon
This is some sewing circle folks. Adults?
ReplyDeleteBitter-fest
?
Delete