Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Global Warming

I’ve been meaning to look at some of the journal articles regarding global warning and see how global warming advocates had been playing with the data. Thankfully others are looking into this as well. Michael Fumento, in his article When ‘Science’ Plays Politics brings up an article from Science, which in response to the Hurricane Katrina declared: “A large increase was seen in the number and proportion of hurricanes reaching categories 4 and 5.” But, as Michael Fumento points out, “the researchers simply cut off their data at 1970, though public statistics go back to 1850. Using the full data set would have reversed the conclusion.”

The funny thing is – I do think that global warming is a concern, even though humanity has little or nothing to do with it. Major climatic change needs to be understood and dealt with; as do changes in the earth’s magnetic field (due soon) and major asteroid impacts. What we don’t need are advocates of a certain political viewpoint using science to promote their agenda. This is as disgusting and as venal as religious leaders preventing scientific progress because it interferes with dogma.

Monday, February 6, 2006

Paranoid of the might-be and Complacent to the horrors of the day

It’s incredible how people on the left can both be so worried about the overreaching of government and yet desire to continue the expansion of government power. It doesn’t make any sense. If you’re scared of the power of the government why do you keep giving it more power, keep abrogating your rights in favor of this same government?

A few days ago the NYTs had an article “After Subpoenas, Internet Searches Give Some Pause” which recounted how a woman looked up the term “rent boy” after reading about a British politician who had resigned over an affair. Finding out that rent boy meant a young male prostitute she feared that Google might inform the US government and be whisked away to a “Navy prison in the middle of the night.”

Ms. Hanson assumed the worst and her paranoia paralyzed her ability to think things through. If a child rapist has his day in court, why wouldn’t Ms. Hanson for googling the phrase “rent boy.” A child rapist gets 60 days in jail and Ms. Hanson, the hardened criminal, the infamous googler, would “disappear” in the middle of the night.

This paranoia is emblematic of today’s wimpy left: paranoid of the might-be and complacent to the horrors of the day. Do you want to be horrified about something Ms. Hanson, be horrified about religious madmen who want to curtail any criticism of their faith; fanatics who are in a tizzy about some very tame cartoons.

Do you want to google something try “Danish Mohammed Cartoons”? I’m sorry that you won’t find any of those images in the New York Times. Apparently it didn’t make the cut of “All The News That’s Fit To Print.”