December 6, 2016

"And... I see the climate science skeptics within the scientific community as being similar to Shy Trump Supporters."

"The fact that a majority of scientists agree with climate science either means the evidence is one-sided or the social/economic pressures are high. And as we can plainly see, the cost of disagreeing with climate science is unreasonably high if you are a scientist. While it is true that a scientist can become famous and make a big difference by bucking conventional wisdom and proving a new theory, anything short of total certainty would make that a suicide mission. And climate science doesn’t provide the option of total certainty.To put it another way, it would be easy for a physicist to buck the majority by showing that her math worked. Math is math. But if your science depends on human judgement to decide which measurements to include and which ones to 'tune,' you don’t have that option. Being a rebel theoretical physicist is relatively easy if your numbers add up. But being a rebel climate scientist is just plain stupid. So don’t expect to see many of the latter. Scientists can often be wrong, but rarely are they stupid."

From "The Non-Expert Problem and Climate Change Science" by Scott Adams, who has surprised me by reopening his comments section. (I'd believed his notice that his comments were "temporarily" closed was a funny way to say they were permanently closed. (In the manner of "Is never good for you?"))

And while we're on the subject of climate change, here's an article on what Al Gore said about his meeting with Ivanka Trump.
"I appreciate the fact that she is very concerned about this." Gore... called it a "very intelligent exchange."

Ivanka Trump has singled out environmental regulation as her primary policy focus as an incoming first daughter, despite her father's past claims that climate change is a hoax propagated by China. Reince Priebus, the incoming White House chief of staff, in recent days said Trump's "default position" on the topic was that “most of it is a bunch of bunk.”
Gore also met with Trump:
“It was a sincere search for areas of common ground.... I found it an extremely interesting conversation, and to be continued, and I'm just going to leave it at that.”
Gore was sent to Ivanka first, and then to Trump. Interesting theater. Gore must be tempted to make himself relevant again, and the Trumps must see a use for him. It's political theater, and Gore is a big ham, no? How can he resist the charm of the Ivanka-and-Donald routine?

238 comments:

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Anonymous said...

"Not unless you drop our IQ's down about 20 points and drag pods into our bedrooms while we sleep!!"

Trump has already done that to you fine people. You just don't know it yet.

Drago said...

exiledonmainstreet: "Yeah, what is writing the Declaration of Independence compared to the glory that is Ben Mankiewicz?"

Ben Mankiewicz is a buffoon who got the TCM gig simply by virtue of his family being "in the biz". In particular the great Joseph Mankiewicz.

Drago said...

Unknown: "Trump has already done that to you fine people. You just don't know it yet"

Well then, it seems ungracious on your part to hold us accountable for that given our current state.

Harrumph.

Drago said...

Unknown seems awfully angry about this Trump win which was really (according to Unknown) a win for the left!!

Again, can you imagine the reaction of Unknown if the left had actually lost?!

The mind continues to reel.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

"If he just gives us about 5 things we want (including the supreme court, significant tax relief, repeals obamacare, etc) I can accept the rest."

Exactly. I knew damn well I wasn't voting for a doctrinaire conservative.

The great thing is that my vote for Trump was rather reluctant. It was more of a Never Hillary vote. However, after the left's gigantic temper tantrum and solid Trump picks, I'm coming to like him more and more.

Drago said...

Something tells me that Unknown has not really thought this line of dialogue all the way through.

Let's sit back and see what happens next......

Anonymous said...

Nah, if I was mad, I'd sound like Mr.Exile.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Yes, Joseph Mankiewicz was a great screenwriter and wit. The Mankiewicz gene pool has really deteriorated in the space of a couple of generations.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

I like feeling mad like this because I'm laughing my head off. I'm so mad I've been extra cheerful for a whole month now. Just like I really like losing like I did on Election Day. More losing please!

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Hey, Drago, did you know Unknown is Ivanka Trump's bestest friend and Ivanka's been filling her in on the Super-Duper Secret Liberal Plot To Control Trump? Why, I'm sure he's gonna appoint Obama to the Supreme Court! That's not Betsy DeVos, that's really Bill Ayers in drag! Pretty soon Mike Pence is gonna take off his Mike Pence mask and reveal he's really Harry Reid!

We're in for some shocks, I tell you!

Drago said...

Unknown: "Nah, if I was mad, I'd sound like Mr.Exile."

(while filming from behind the scrub brush) "We watch the fatigued lefty attempt to recover from the taxing and ultimately failed run made at the conservative. We wonder how many more attempts the starving beast can possibly generate without success before the inevitable occurs and the vast Trump savanna claims yet another lefty would-be predator."

Michael K said...

Isn't it amusing that all these lefties are telling us we lost and then going nuts ?

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

You know, when mature and reflective people lose, their response is to engage in a honest, if painful self-assessment. "Why did I lose? What did I do wrong? Is it possible the basic premises and assumptions I've been relying on are wrong?"

Well, there are mature and reflective people and then there are liberals. Their absurdities over the past month have convinced me that they are incapable of finding any fault in themselves or their beliefs. They.can.not.do. it. Really - how do you operate as an adult in this world with that sort of mindset? It's astonishing.

Guildofcannonballs said...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_J._Mankiewicz

Jupiter said...

Michael K said...
"Isn't it amusing that all these lefties are telling us we lost and then going nuts ?"

I don't know. It was awful damned close. I don't think we're out of the woods yet. Fuckers are down, but they're a long ways from out. And they still control the universities.

Jupiter said...

The universities, the public (and most private) schools, and the government bureaucracies at every level. No, we're not out of the woods yet. This was a setback for the bastards, but they'll be back. The Left is like a boa constrictor; every time you exhale, it takes up little more slack.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Where are the "unknowns" that aren't assholes?

Seeing Red said...

Why do they hate us?

Lolol



Trump is a NYC dem. EOS.

He is no conservative.

And we don't care.

He's not Evita.

Kyzer SoSay said...

Unknown gives me a chuckle. He really tries to sell what he's pitching, but you can tell he doesn't believe it himself (herself?, itself?). I think he's twisting the "bargaining" stage of grief into a personal fantasy that Trump is somehow going to be as liberal as Obama or Bernie would have been, and it's all because of Ivanka - somehow. His persistence is an attempt to force the Big Lie into his psyche as the Truth - but it won't work, because he's also seen the true reaction of the Left, and this had him worried. Very worried.

It should be fun to watch him go through the "depression" stage. I give it a week after Trump's inauguration.

Lewis Wetzel said...

People like "Unknown" ("Unknown" is a she), live in terror of being uncool, of her thoughts not mattering.
She can always blame "fake news."
"Yeah, that's it, people think that I am a joke because of the fake news people are tweeting out. But I am not a joke! I am an important person! Why am I rolling around these ball bearings in my sweaty hands? Because of the fake news! And the strawberry ice cream, and especially the plot to steal the strawberry ice cream . . . "

jg said...

Gore should be grateful.

Going with an Adamsian "pacing and leading" take: Donald wants to use him to move *slightly* to the center on environmentalism. That way he gets credit from all sides.

Why not just do a really great job at the environmental stuff everyone wants? Good air+water. Control noise+light pollution too. AND fund some unbiased studies + develop mitigation techs that we'll surely need because do you really believe other countries are gonna give a hoot and not pollute? It's not even in their culture.

dpn1031 said...

Obama said the oceans were gonna recede and so forth. Trump hasn't even taken office and Chicago has a record or near record snow and we are having a lessened tornado nd hurricane season. An Indiana is now worried about the President picking winners nd losers in the marketplace. I wonder if he had the same concerns when Obama was picking mostly losers in the
green energy sector.

Brando said...

"Then of course, attack her! Woodshed her, whatever that means. Adults do that, right? Yes, we lesser minds can only bow to your genius."

Who's talking woodshed? I'm just pointing out that Trump himself has for a long time described her as a close confidant, and quite clearly he trusts her more than non-family. If you have reason to think anyone else has more influence over him than her, by all means I'd like to hear it.

Whether she's some sort of liberal, I don't know--frankly she seems more apolitical than anything else.

Rusty said...

Unknown said...
"Not unless you drop our IQ's down about 20 points and drag pods into our bedrooms while we sleep!!"

"Trump has already done that to you fine people. You just don't know it yet."


Wait!
Hillary didn't get elected, right?
We won.

damikesc said...

Science is based on something called the Scientific Method.

A big component is that your results can be replicated by others.

Guess what "science" cannot be replicated in the real world by others?

What is the funniest of all us that you people think you won. No dummy, liberals won. Trump is no conservative, neither is his daughter.

Then why were you so upset over his winning? You were more upset than most.

damikesc said...

The universities, the public (and most private) schools, and the government bureaucracies at every level. No, we're not out of the woods yet. This was a setback for the bastards, but they'll be back. The Left is like a boa constrictor; every time you exhale, it takes up little more slack.

We can simply tighten up the requirements for grants.

Like limit them to ACTUAL sciences and the like.

Rusty said...

"What is the funniest of all us that you people think you won. No dummy, liberals won. Trump is no conservative, neither is his daughter."

Guess what?
We knew that.
Still not Hillary.
You lose.

Todd said...

Trumpit said...
I want to know what Trump Inc.'s carbon foot print is.
12/6/16, 6:44 PM


Why? Additionally, what makes you think he even cares what it is?

If you might recall, all of this carbon foot print stuff was/is simply a ponzi scheme instigated by Al Gore to make him and his friends filthy rich, at which he has been extremely successful.

Why don't you care what Bono's carbon foot print is? Or Leonardo Dicaprio's? Or even Al Gore's? Oh, hell what about Mr and Miss Obama?

Chuck said...

Rusty: Republicans held the House, and the Senate.

Is that part of what you meant by "We won."

Quasi-Trump and vaguely-Tea Party candidates lost primary races against incumbent Republican establishment figures like Paul Ryan, John McCain and Marco Rubio.

Is that also part of, "We won"?

You are of course free to opine that this election represents the defeat of establishment types, and that liberal/conservative labels are unimportant to both you and Trump, but I am curious whether you were dissatisfied with the Republican Congress in 2012-2016. And if so, was it because you thought that they were not reliably conservative enough?

Robert Cook said...

"Hey, dummy - we won, remember?"

Ha! Only if you can call electing one of two equally repugnant, unfit candidates to office "winning."

In real terms, we all lost, which was a foregone conclusion given the two equally repugnant, unfit candidates, of whom one was certainly going to be elected.

Todd said...

Chuck said...

Is that also part of, "We won"?

You are of course free to opine that this election represents the defeat of establishment types, and that liberal/conservative labels are unimportant to both you and Trump, but I am curious whether you were dissatisfied with the Republican Congress in 2012-2016. And if so, was it because you thought that they were not reliably conservative enough?

12/7/16, 10:05 AM


You are correct on a number of items BUT think of it this way. You go to the Doctor's office for an exam and he tells you that you might be terminally ill, weeks to live. Give him some time to complete some test. After 3 hours he tells you that you are in fine shape, the tests all came back clean, enjoy your life. You go out to your car and find a parking ticket. Right at that moment, do you care about the ticket so much as you just dodged a major bullet?

There is time enough to assess the quality of congress and to put pressure where needed BUT for today, some are giddy due to dodging a nuke.

Robert Cook said...

"The left, I refuse to call them "Liberal," is still wandering around in a daze."

Of course; the terms are not synonymous.

Very few of the left are wandering around in a daze, as they recognized both candidates as wretched and unfit. It's the liberals who are gob-smacked.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Apologies Brando, it was Two-Buck Chuck talking about the woodshed. I could be convinced to spank her, except I decided back when to lay off the married stuff. for the balance of your post I daresay we agree. I'm sure you'll agree that her influence has its limits and that DJT is the boss. As you say, big part of her value is watching his back, i.e. trust.

Gahrie said...

In real terms, we all lost, which was a foregone conclusion given the two equally repugnant, unfit candidates, of whom one was certainly going to be elected.

Things would be so much better if we had a Party of our betters to tell us who to vote for.......

Come to think of it, that is almost exactly what happened, only we had two Parties trying to tell us who to vote for.......

mockturtle said...

Art thou splitting hairs, Cookie? Do not 'liberals' and 'leftists' both stand for big government and cradle-to-grave welfare programs? Workers loyally toiling for the State rather than for their own gain? Stealing from the rich to give to the poor [not really to the poor, of course, but to bigger bureaucracies]?

Robert Cook said...

"Liberals" want to maintain the status quo, though a "nicer" and "fairer" status quo. Liberals are basically affluent bourgeoisie who want to feel good about themselves.

Gahrie said...

"Liberals" want to maintain the status quo, though a "nicer" and "fairer" status quo. Liberals are basically affluent bourgeoisie who want to feel good about themselves.

In other words, class enemies.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Tell us, Cook, what do leftists want?

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