An interview with Michael Mann: The New McCarthyism

MoonHowler

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From ABC News:

Some of Mann’s main points and charges in include:

– “New McCarthyism” in US legislature directed at US climate scientists; details

– Death threats, dead rats, scientists’ families threatened.

– Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., campaign has aimed to discredit climate scientists…

– Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, misrepresented Mann’s science

– National Science Foundation and other panels have cleared Mann

– Koch Brothers, Scaife Foundation, involved in fossil fuel efforts to discredit the climate science

– Organized email and letter campaigns have intimidated and silenced climate scientists; details

– Believes intimidation campaigns will fail if “exposed to the light of day”

The political war against scientists has been described as the new McCarthyism because scientists have been so bullied and intimidated, many just do their work and keep their mouths shut.  This behavior has been going on for over 10 years.  Our own attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli sued for Mann’s emails.  He was told he didn’t have standing.

The tobacco industry attempted to silence science for years.  The attitudes in Europe are quite different than in the United States, for example. There has been a strong attempt to silence the entire science community who researches changes in climate.  I wonder who could be trying to silence them?  Hmmmmmmm   …the fossil fuel industry?  Perhaps.

I am simply not willing to bet the ranch on industry being right and the preponderance of scientific findings being wrong.  That just makes no sense and there is only one earth.  You screw that up, and there is no place else to go.  The bullying and McCarthyism must stop.  The use of government to thwart distribution of scientific discovery and discussion is a serious violation of trust and use of taxpayer money.

The entire transcript can be seen at ABC News.

 

Duckworth vs Walsh: Who do you believe?

MoonHowler


There’s a lot more to this story.  Laura Ingalls is in for Bill O’Reilly and also interviewed Walsh.  He claimed to have said she was a hero hundreds of times.  I am not sure that Laura Ingalls fell for his bull.

I fall in on the side of Duckworth.  Walsh is on the defensive.  Plus, I heard the smug, dismissive snickering in his audience.   I also argued with some local Republicans both in person and on blogs about McCain.  Pretty stupid when I am defending their Republican nominee.  I don’t care.  Right is right.  He was a hero.  It doesn’t require us to vote for him but never diminish what John McCain did for his nation.  He could have gone home.  He didn’t.  He stayed with his men and suffered greatly for it.

What has Walsh done for his country?  He was dishonorable to Ms. Duckworth.  Attack her ideas, not her persona.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Giles County VA School board skirts 10 Commandment issue

MoonHowler

Huffington Post:

A Virginia public high school will display a page from a history textbook depicting the Ten Commandments, according to a recent compromise.

Originally, Narrow High School in Giles County displayed a framed copy of the Ten Commandments, prompting a lawsuit last September from the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, who argued that the display violated the separation of church and state.
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Joe Walsh brings a new dimension to the term Dog D***

MoonHowler

Just when you thought there was no lower place to be, along comes Joe Walsh.

Huffington Post:  (and lots of other places)

Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) on Sunday accused his Democratic opponent Tammy Duckworth — a double-amputee veteran of the Iraq War — of not being a “true hero” because she made her military service central to her campaign.

After calling Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) a “noble hero” for downplaying his military experience during a 2008 presidential bid, Walsh shifted gears to Duckworth at an Elk Grove, Ill., town hall.

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Higgs Boson: The God Particle?

MoonHowler

 
Scientists have stopped short of declaring a new discover but those at CERN feel they are closer to finding the “stuff” that makes matter have mass.  For most of us, this abstraction remains just that, an abstraction. Will this near discovery of this sub-atomic particle change anything?  Who knows.

From the Washington Post:

Dubbed the Higgs boson — or the “God particle,” to the chagrin of scientists — the particle is thought to create a sort of force field that permeates the universe, imbuing everything that we can see and touch with the fundamental property known as mass.

Scientists also recoil from the expression “God Particle” which has been theorized about for nearly a half century.  Perhaps there will be a better, more descriptive term.  Maybe that discovery should come first.

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Happy 4th of July

MoonHowler

 

Happy 4th.

Somehow as we wish  each other Happy 4th, I somehow feel that the nation has not been this divided since the Civil War.

My friend Bear has suggested that it might be the 24 hour news channels generating the hate and malice.  I think he is on to something.  Each host feels obligated to start up some contention.  No show is a success without some good old fashioned partisan fury hurled at “the other side.”  The blogs and online journals pick up where the hosts leave off and pretty soon, we are all at each other’s throats for yet another day.

I remember times when politics wasn’t this mean, nasty and just plain common.  I wish we could return to a time when people disagreed over ideas rather than personalized elections.

I agree with Bear 100%.  Any other ideas?

 

 

Arlington emergency director calls on area to cancel 4th of July

MoonHowler

Now wait.  We can’t cancel the 4th of July.  What we can do is cancel government and community events.  Wait!  That’s not even patriotic!  Where is this coming from?

Washingtonpost.com:

With 27,000 households without power, 19 roads still blocked, land line phone service erratic and calls to 911 not always getting through, Jack Brown, director of Arlington County’s Office of Emergency Management, has an audacious idea: Consider canceling the Fourth of July.

“I’m questioning having a special event during an emergency,” he said Monday after a weekend of extreme heat, lack of power and most critically, the failure of the emergency 911 call system. “Police are pre-deployed to two or three venues for traffic [during the holiday]. We had to evacuate the Iwo Jima Memorial a couple of times due to pending storms. Our power supply is not up and running at full strength and our emergency communications are not where I’d like.

“I’m really, really concerned about the vulnerability of our community, especially Arlington, but really the whole National Capital region.”

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Could Climate Change be the cause of the Colorado wildfires?

MoonHowler

Nye brings up an important point.  Thousands of scientists can agree and all it takes a few naysayers to have people in denial.  Most scientists believe that there is climate change.

All time records are being set.  In the last 17 years, 16 of those years have been the hottest on record.  We need to invest in electrical storage systems.  We can lead the world change to meet these challenges.  We can also improve our economy.

The weatherman on WRC 4, Doug Kammerer,  has blamed global warming for this heatwave.  Some conservative bloggers have called him a nut case.   Pot meet kettle.

Nye is relating the forest fires to global warming and the dehydration of the forests because of the heat.   Ever seen an entire tree do what appears to be spontaneous combustion?  No lightning strikes, no fire wall…just burst in to flame.  I saw it once.  It made me a believer.   Where did I see this?  Utah, in the desert.

Eugene Robinson on climate change

 

 

Peeking in to Sherwood Forest

MoonHowler

Last week I stipulated that we weren’t going to be hanging out on Sherwood Forest, mainly because I was uncomfortable with some unverified accusations.  I know of too many disgruntled employees out there who want to take a shot here, there and everywhere at supervisors and the upper ranking management.  That is not to say that I can’t read and file away information, however.

The Sheriff seems right on about Rainbow Riding.  He says it is a fine charity but that we shouldn’t have to pay for it. He also alludes to a little too much family being involved.  I can handle that and I agree.  I have done much of this research myself so I am not uncomfortable with much of his findings.  Most of it is a matter of public record.  The taxpayers of Prince William County should not be footing the bill for Rainbow Riding.  Period.  The services are a luxury, not a necessity.  Wounded Warriors have other resources.  Perhaps military funds could help out there rather than the taxpayers.

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HBO: The Newsroom

MoonHowler

The Newsroom is a new series on HBO.  It began a week ago and I forgot about it and didn’t watch until over this past weekend.  I thought it was great.  Story line with all the things we talk about here as the backdrop.  The lead actor like Steve Doocy and the female protagonist reminds me of Christiana Amanpour.  Other than that, it has great potential.  The reviews weren’t great hich as far as I am concerned, is a great recommendation.

The show is serious drama and lots of subtle comedy.  The associate producer also had a fit over someone saying “illegals.”  That made me smile.  No, it isn’t  a liberal show.  Everyone has a niche, at least they do so far.

Sunday nights, 10 pm HBO

You can also see it on HBOgo.com.  On demand is great.

How long will the hysteria last?

MoonHowler

I have listened to people’s hysteria over ACA for several years now.  Part of it escapes me–the hysteria that is.  Health care is horribly expensive.  Insurance companies rip people off all the time and often one’s treatment depends on what is deemed appropriate by the insurance company, not by the medical community and the patient.  People are excluded from health care because of pre-existing conditions.  All the things I have mentioned are not good for the average person.

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Cuccinelli distinquishes himself as a loser

MoonHowler

 

 

 

 

Columnist Robert McCartney has declared Gubinatorial hopeful Ken Cuccinelli a multiple legal loser.  Why?  Cuccinelli keeps batting out in his rather grandiose legal challenges.  The Washington Post today reminds us about his failed lawsuits that pandered to his base–health care and climate change being his biggest swing and a miss challenges.

 With two new, major court defeats last week, Cuccinelli’s record is almost as woeful.

… Cuccinelli is used to coming up short. Although he’s won battles over voter redistricting and Medicaid fraud, he’s had a remarkable number of losses on closely watched cases. Ironically, his much-publicized complaint against Obamacare didn’t even make it to the Supreme Court, because an appeals court tossed it out on grounds that he lacked standing to sue.

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