At Last: Unity

Monbiot, as disgusted was ever with the oil companies coordinated attack on climate science, nevertheless notes an irony emerging among the warm mongers:

Confronted with crisis, most of the environmentalists I know have gone into denial.

We're all denialists now!

Hiding the Decline of Global Warming Science

And thus, the NYT proclaims Climategate a mere speed bump:

The evidence pointing to a growing human contribution to global warming is so widely accepted that the hacked material is unlikely to erode the overall argument.

Of course, the evidence comes from the very same models that the now infamous climate "scientists" admit in private cannot account for the cooling since 2001. Hell, until the e-mails were released they wouldn't even admit publicly the cooling had occurred.

One of the scientists, Kevin Trenberth, is spinning like a top:

...he added that he thought the revelations might backfire against climate skeptics. He said that he thought that the messages showed “the integrity of scientists.”

One thing certainly hasn't changed. The warm mongers still think the rest of us are abject idiots.

Conspicuously silent through this scandal has been James Hansen, although perhaps for not too much longer. It was barely a year ago he wanted skeptics put on trial for high crimes against humanity.

Given how badly skeptics have been treated; the reputations destroyed, the character assaults, the pattern of silencing, I would suspect they will keep a foot firmly placed on the throat of the climate change set. At least, I hope so. It's time for this nonsense to end.

Vindication is Sweet

Mark Steyn has quotes from two leading warming-mongers today. Here's one from Aussie Tim Flannery:

We’re dealing with an incomplete understanding of the way the earth system works… When we come to the last few years when we haven’t seen a continuation of that (warming) trend we don’t understand all of the factors that create earth’s climate...We just don’t understand the way the whole system works… See, these people work with models, computer modelling. So when the computer modelling and the real world data disagree you’ve got a very interesting problem… Sure for the last 10 years we’ve gone through a slight cooling trend.

Until I read this I was prepared to believe that the erupting climategate e-mail scandal would blow over with little fanfare. But when Tim Flannery sounds like the people he and others have been denouncing in the loudest terms possible for the last few years, the impact of this scandal to global warming science can't be understated. If people such as Flannery and others had been willing to simply admit this earlier, their cause may not be as dead as it appears today.

Over the years I have done 163 posts on the subject of global warming. The evidence provided by the e-mail scandal justifies every single one. As far as I'm concerned skeptics are vindicated completely. I predicted 2008 would be the year of the skeptic. It was, and 2009 has become the year that skepticism caved the whole thing in on itself.

Of course, we'll still need a cap and trade bill - because this has never been about science anyway. It's about money.

Beer Fridges Create Hookers

Never let it be said that people lack imagination when it comes to finding things to lay at global warming's door:

Suneeta Mukherjee, country representative of the United Nations Food Population Fund (UNFPA), said women in the Philippines are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change in the country.

“Climate change could reduce income from farming and fishing, possibly driving some women into sex work and thereby increase HIV infection," Mukherjee said during the Wednesday launch of the UNFPA annual State of World Population Report in Pasay City.

Look for prostitution numbers to plummet in the near future, if past predictions are any guide.

What the Hell, its Only Other People's Money

A $100 million here, a $100 million there, and sooner or later it starts adding up to real money.

If I was one of the senators not getting a $100 million payoff for my vote, I think I'd hold out.

Eating Crow on Favre

Eight games into the 2009 football season, let's revisit my reaction to the signing of Brett Favre back in August:

I think it's a bad deal.

An excellent illustration why my professional football coaching career never really got off the ground.

Contrary to my stellar instincts, Favre has not only played very well for the Vikings, he is having one of the best seasons of his career. He has turned Sidney Rice into a superstar, utilized Percy Harvin beautifully, taken a lot of pressure off of Adrian Peterson (leaving him fresh for the home stretch while other premier backs - like the Bengals Cedric Benson for instance - are breaking down), and generally infected the team with a joy for football and a hunger for victory.

If I harbored any lingering fantasy that the Vikings would be anywhere near where they are without him, they flew high and wide with T-Jack's passes late in the Detroit game.

My main argument in August was that Favre was a one-season answer to a decade problem. Perhaps, but what a season. A quality quarterback truly was the missing link. Plus, and frankly, if Favre finishes the season healthy and successful (with or without a Super Bowl) I am not convinced he won't be back next year. Why wouldn't he play again? He's at the top of his game, is surrounded by extraordinary talent, has a great defense, and a system designed for his success.

As for the Vikings in general, I think they are still getting better from week to week, and are poised to peak in December. Will it be enough? Don't know, don't care. At this point what would a prediction serve anyway? My track record doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

Best of all has been the deepening agony of Packers fans with every Favre success. Their hope Favre would "break down" in the second half of the season now has a distinct odor of desperation which, to me, smells like a Thanksgiving pumpkin pie.

Mmmm.

Doing My Part

Don Surber argues that beautiful women are to be found on the cutting edge of social change.

WILLisms adds: "Look for the babes, and that's where the social action is, that's where the success will be."

I offer Scroo-Loo to further bolster the Babe Theory of Revolution. Gorgeous, conservative, revolutionary, and all mine fellas so..you know...settle down.

It's Like a Tumor

Editor's note: GD⁴ (demonstrating how deeply ingrained technology is in the next generation) suggested I Google the topic of this post, and sure enough I am not the first person to notice.

I just wanted to point out that Jon Gruden, who is terrific as a Monday Night Football announcer, needs to make a choice: close the legs, or buy baggier pants (see photo). Seriously, as much as I am enjoying his commentary, I am not prepared to look at his junk for the next four years.

Just sayin.

Enemy in the sky

Hugo Chavez has had enough of bad weather and wants to go to war:

"I'm going in a plane; any cloud that crosses me, I'll zap it so that it rains," Chavez said at a ceremony late on Saturday with family members of five Cubans convicted of spying in the United States.

Our hero.

Sweet as Honey

This song makes me miss making music. Nickel Creek is a three piece featuring guitar, mandolin, and fiddle, with vocals to die for. The song linked above, "Reasons Why" is sung by Sara Watkins, while this one, "When in Rome" is sung by Chris Thile:



The most surprising thing about this band is they aren't a household name.

Getting on with life

With a rather time-consuming and, at times, traumatic experience behind me professionally, life returned very much to normal today. Hopefully that will lend itself to more attention to this site in the near future.

Sorry about the drop in activity. But at least I can say I wasn't even trying. Poor CNN has no excuse. Aaah. It's always nice to come up for air and see that things are going your way.