Please, someone take away my computer
Please, please, please. I need someone to take away my computer. Reading right-wing blogs is bad for me, but I can’t stop reading them. My behavior at this point is completely out of control, and I need someone to perform an intervention. Just look at what Ace is trying to do to me now:
I don’t remember hearing anything about this “statistical tie” business when 1998 was being trumpeted as the undisputed, unchallenged warmest year in human history. Boy, you guys suuuuuure seemed to keep a lid on the “statistical tie” thing back then, huh? It’s only now — when 1934 becomes the warmest year — we’re hearing about “statistical ties.”
From a 1998 Associated Press Report:
While temperatures in the United States were the warmest in at least 40 years, final figures aren’t complete, NASA said. But, the agency added, it is clear that 1998 did not match the record warmth of 1934, which occurred during the Dust Bowl era.
Oopsie-doodles!
Back to Ace:
(He does quote Hansen himself noting it was a statistical tie, sometime. Once. Obviously the global warming cultists must have missed that, or else I’m sure they would have modified their cant to say “1998 is the warmest year on record, but you should note, in fairness, it’s statistically tied with 1934 for that honor.)
Buh-buh-buh-but Ace! Globally, it was the hottest year on record! It just wasn’t the hottest year on record in the United States. And they emphasized in the original report that 1934 still had the record for the hottest year ever in the U.S.!
You’re going to make me break out my favorite diagram, aren’t you?
Another claim is made that global temperature records haven’t changed… much. Well, “global temperature records” are something of a myth. Only two areas of the world — the US and Europe, of course — bothered to keep extensive, systematic temperature records for the past 100 years, and of those two, we now know that at least one now shows absolutely no upward trend line in temperature at all.
Absolutely none? Well, I’m not quite sure about that. But I don’t see a major obvious trendline here:
Uh, it kinda looks like it’s trending upward, Ace. In fact, it definitely looks like it’s trending upward. But those are just the slopes perceived by my LIE-beral eyes.
Oh, and let’s do a quick check on the mean hemispheric temperature changes of the last 100 or so years:
Oopsie-doodle!
The global temperature “records” — constructed partly by interpolation and guesstimation — still show a marked upward trendline, of course. But it’s rather easy to get such a trendline when you’re free to, ahem, adjust and guesstimate the data-set your analyzing.
And Ace’s evidence that there’s a grand conspiracy of climate scientists who are forging data is…?
Oh, there isn’t any. None. Zip.
When you’re a wingnut, you don’t need actual evidence to prove your point. You can simply assume that there’s a broad conspiracy of people out there who Hate America (i.e., scientists, Europeans, LIE-berals, Muslims, homosexuals, etc.) who are behind everything nefarious and are out to ruin Ace’s life.
Please, please, please. I need someone to take away my computer. Reading right-wing blogs is bad for me, but I can’t stop reading them. My behavior at this point is completely out of control, and I need someone to perform an intervention.
So… what are you saying? I’m getting a vague feeling that this might be a cry for help, but I’m not sure.
Anybody else getting the same feeling?
Yes, but Mark Noonan says this proves that the entire global warming thing is a scam, a swindle, a boondoggle, just another part of the liberals’ centuries-old plot to eradicate Jebus H. God. And as we all know, Mark Noonan’s credibility is pristine.
You know, as a scientist I am truly hobbled when dealing with these people because at my core is the belief that if someone is shown the data, they will understand. Obviously I’ve failed Wingnut101.
You could bring these morons sunburned, dehydrated, and starving to the oasis, but if they see it as a LIBERAL oasis, they’d rather die than drink.
Dude, there’s crappy movies on Fox Movie Channel today! I just finished a huge bowl of chipotle-dusted popcorn with “The Alligator People.”
Brad, you need to take a more Gavin-like approach to these crazies. E.g. they’re incredibly stupid (and/or dishonest) and so below you and here’s a brutal, blow-by-blow, snarky explanation as to why. Don’t let them get to you. You are better than they are, and instead of being depressed by them, make fun of them.
It’s a great coping technique w.r.t. to the fact that people like this actually run this country, and, who doesn’t love a good laugh? It’s the reason most of us come here: to feel smart and laugh at right-wing numbnuts.
I worry about the good folks here all the time for exactly the same reasons I cannot force myself to wade through Wingnuttia. There’s nothing good that’s going to happen from doing it. Wingnuttia won’t care, or, funnier, won’t have the capacity to understand, and I’ll just go mental. Mental-er.
Heck, I think being a political junkie, i.e., someone who is concerned about the facts and circumstances on how their country is run is bad for me. Doing what the folks at SN! do really SHOULD qualify them for combat pay, because dealing with teh stupid all the time is clearly psychologically dangerous.
I can’t find it in myself to even mention the Malkins or Ace’s and their ilk on my blog, unless it’s through a link to TBogg or someone here making them look like the bats**t nutballs they are, for a good laugh is tonic for the madness. But actually wading through that crap and trying to create something funny? THAT’S serious business.
The tears of a clown, when there’s no one around…
Take a break if you need one, Brad. Think, “long run.” We’ll miss you, but we’ll survive.
Space Ace.
Brad, I recommend a novel. Naomi Novik is the bomb: the Napoleonic Wars with Dragons!!! teh awesome.
No, I’m a masochist who secretly enjoys this stuff. The whining, while certainly real, is also added for comedic effect. I think it works nicely, IMO.
I don’t know about y’all, but I find it increasingly painful when these scientific layman somehow feel qualified to argue about the data with real scientists working in that field. You got ace arguing with real climatologists, which by the way is one of the most complex, difficult areas of science.
You’ve got all manner of folks arguing with real biologists about evolution, bringing arguments that make no sense, that are not grounded in science at all.
Why don’t can’t these people realize that they don’t understand the science they are attempting to debunk? The real funny thing is, if they took the time and put in the effort to understand the science they would no longer disagree with it. When scientific research reaches the point where the conclusions are overwhelmingly supported, the only people who really even CAN attempt to argue with it are scientific laymen with an ideological axe to grind…
mikey
Space Ace.
Grape Ace Grape Ace.
Only two areas of the world — the US and Europe, of course — bothered to keep extensive, systematic temperature records for the past 100 years
Canadians? They don’t use thermometers.
indeed, mikey, and they just don’t understand how science works, in general. The case for global warming isn’t built on one yearly temperture in the US (1998), and knocking down that temp has no impact.
that is just how they approach everything. “the mosque isn’t ‘DESTROYED’ therefore everything you say is false”.
Canadians use Celsius.
Clearly, the terrorists have won there.
I find it increasingly painful when these scientific layman somehow feel qualified to argue about the data with real scientists working in that field.
You know, it happens in every field more and more; must be [reverting to crotchety oldster mode] about education today. I spent a good deal of time yesterday at work arguing with a young entrepreneur who wants to become my organization’s “client” by using our property to conduct an activity that’s technically illegal.
In response to me turning down his business, he started quoting State penal code to me as an argument that what he wanted to do wasn’t forbidden.
The funny thing is, what he was quoting to me clearly stated it was illegal. And on my side, I already had the City Attorney’s office opinion confirming that.
He seemed to be saying, “Yeah, well, City Attorney, what does he know? I just googled…..”
I agree with John O. Before the happy day I stumbled across Sadly, No, I used to go to the Creator’s site quite often to read Molly Ivins. While there I would read some of the other columnists I liked and agreed with, like Norm Solomon and Robert Scheer. And then . . . then I decided I should read some of the wingnuts, in a know-your-enemy kind of way. It hurt. It really hurt. At times I thought I might have a stroke, the blood would pound so fiercely through my head.
Thank you for taking that cross from my shoulders. Get some rest.
I really don’t think it’s because they don’t understand science that wingnuts like Ace scream so loudly about global climate change. It’s not even the slavish love of Big Business that drives your average libertarian “think tank” daisy chain, either. It’s simple ol’ liberal hate. They just cannot abide being on the same side as filthy dirty hippies about anything, even if taking a contradictory position means denying reality. That’s no biggie, remember, because these are the same people who think the folks who want to legalize gay marriage are also dying to live under Islamic law. It also helps if you’re incredibly stupid, which, well…
Ace denies scientific consensus, yet we’re the “cultists”. The guy’s a friggin’ buffoon.
Ace-Hole, Waste-O-SpAce, Mental cAce,…
Sigh…let me copy and paste my response from another thread. Actually this could apply to anything Ace has ever said.
“God Ace is embarrassing. I mean what the hell! How can anybody be as stupid as this guy? Has he ever commented on anything without completely humiliating himself (while remaining totally oblivious to said humiliation)? I am seriously asking this! Has he even once managed to not come across as a buffoon when giving his opinions?”
Easy now, maybe we should give the wingnuts the benefit of the doubt on this one. Their track record on scientific “controversies” IS pretty strong. They were right about lead in paint not posing a health risk to kids, weren’t they? OK, bad example. But you have to concede that they carried the day on the whole cigarettes don’t cause cancer arguement. What? Oh… Well, remember when they told us taking the lead out of gas wouldn’t reduce air pollution but WOULD destroy the auto industry? No? How about when they told us that CFCs didn’t eat the ozone no matter what those Nobel laureates said and even if it did we’d never be able to have ceese-whiz in a can without them. Well, they were right about Terry Schiavo weren’t they? Uh, second-hand smoke?
Why don’t can’t these people realize that they don’t understand the science they are attempting to debunk? The real funny thing is, if they took the time and put in the effort to understand the science they would no longer disagree with it.
It’s not that they can’t understand it, it’s that they refuse to. They regard anything that conflicts with their worldview as wrong. See here for an extremely depressing example. Seriously, after years of evidence that dinosaurs did not live with humans they simply dismiss it all as an atheist plot to overthrow Christianity.
It’s the same with global warming, but on a somewhat lesser scale. The icecaps are melting, temperatures are increasing worldwide, flowers are blooming earlier, etc. etc. This is meaningless to them. As Matt T. said, if those damned hippies support it, it must be wrong, and no amount of facts can change their minds.
Ace’s momma always said, “stupid is as stupid does, and ace, you’re fucking stupid.”
I think it’s time to start arguing the Bible says everyone has to have gay sex with aborted fetuses.
I read the Bible, and it said that. For real.
It’s depressing that these folks cannot understand science’s self-correcting, peer-review, experiment/test and re-testing of theories; instead they see this as weakness, and admission of error as admission of being wrong about everything. I suppose because *they* will never ever admit error.
It’s interesting how these self-appointed science critics can look at those graphs and claim “no trend”. Applying their “expertise” at reading graphs, I think it would be reasonable for me to suggest that, were these actual graphs of the price histories of stocks in which Ace of Spuds owns shares, he should sell off shares because it is clear their value is not going up.
Easy… you can stop fretting about anything Ace says, now that he’s confirmed he visualizes breasts as heaving to and fro sandbags that clatter like hooves on a roof on Christmas eve.
Brad,you gotta go outside,go swimming,have a beer,lay in a hammock. It helps,trust me.
I think it boils down to spite. There is a contingent of wingnuttia that would set themselves on fire rather than to even appear to be liberal in any fashion.
These are the people with shitty healthcare who would rather have NO healthcare than universal healthcare. Even if it means they or a family member suffers.
The ones who gleefully would withold tax dollars from road and bridge repair because it contributes to society at large. If there’s the slightest possibility a poor and/or brown person might benefit,then let the whole damned country fall apart.
Normal,happy,well adjusted humans don’t behave like that,even though it seems like it’s some fucking gold standard to be a willfully ignorant and stupid asshole on purpose.
Please, please, please. I need someone to take away my computer. Reading right-wing blogs is bad for me, but I can’t stop reading them. My behavior at this point is completely out of control, and I need someone to perform an intervention.
Hold on, Brad, no matter what occurs! I can be by after 7:00 pm tonight!
…
You still live in JP, right?
Sometimes the Canadians claim they use Celsius! Sometimes they say they use Centigrade! Ha! Ace has just proven that global warming is a filthy LIE(brul)!
Folks, the whole “argument” thing about science, creationism, whatever is all about making enough noise until they can get a scientist to actually engage them in discussion, and then prancing around saying “See? We DO TO have a case; why look at how this scientist is talking about it with me!”.
If you ignore them, they claim you are afraid to engage the argument. If you argue with them, they claim the fact that you are arguing with them gives them legitimacy and therefore intelligent design must be taught as an “option”. Catch 22. It’s the crazymaking method of political/social discourse, and crazy is exactly what results. And look at how well it is working, since crazy seems to be in abundance these days, Ace being a prime example of this.
My behavior at this point is completely out of control, and I need someone to perform an intervention.
I think I can help, Brad. ahem… ahem…
Ace of Spades! In the name of Christ, I command you to stop blogging!!
Well, that should take care of that wingnut…
It should be pointed out that the average temperature is more important to global warming effects then the random extremes.
“Only two areas of the world — the US and Europe, of course — bothered to keep extensive, systematic temperature records for the past 100 years.”
I’m trying to figure out why this bothers me so much. Aside from the obvious xenophobia of it.
Why don’t can’t these people realize that they don’t understand the science they are attempting to debunk?
“Evolution is ‘just a theory’!!!11!”
I don’t know about anyone else, but every biology textbook I’ve ever been handed defined the word “theory” in the first chapter.
Here’s a thought. Maybe ACE is an agent in deep cover (kinda like psycheout and deep-throat) to discredit the wingnuts. He’s trying to out-Swift Jon Swift! It’s a sublime example of meta-parody. It’s brilliant!
Clearly you need to take classes at Liberty University.
Just get an Atrios once-every-two-hours auto-poster a rotating template: “(reactionary blog I examine) is stupid.” You wouldn’t even have to provide him any traffic.
Brad,
As reward for duty above and beyond you are hereby named a QC, and appointed Earl of Sandwich.
Next topic for the Ace: There is no such thing as gravity. The earth sucks.
Come now, people. We all know that Global Warming is a myth, and even if it isn’t, it isn’t being caused by human activity, so we can’t do anything about it, and anyway it doesn’t matter because the worst that will happen is the oceans will rise a couple of feet, and humans can adapt to any environmental change, anyway, and even if we can’t, and we all die, at least all the Christians will go to heaven. So stop worrying.
“Buh-buh-buh-but Ace! Globally, it was the hottest year on record! It just wasn’t the hottest year on record in the United States.”
Don’t be silly. If it happened outside the United States, it doesn’t count. Or so the wingnuts keep telling me.
“global warming cultists”
Tom Cruise can only lie awake at night wishing cults could sustain ranks that large.
“Global Warming is a hoax because God created the heaven and the skies and God would not let man destroy his creation.”
Actual explanation given to me as teh resun for ignoring climate statistics.
oops, that should have been “the heaven and the Earth”…
You can’t really argue with ‘reasoning’ like that. All you can do is laugh in its face and call it a self-centered idiot. Then ‘reasoning’ gets all upset and accuses you have hating god and embracing Sharia rule…
“The real funny thing is, if they took the time and put in the effort to understand the science they would no longer disagree with it.”
Oh, ye of too much faith.
My theory about wing-nuts is that they hit the eighth grade and discovered girls or boys or glue and that was it, their intellectual lives were over. From then on it girls, football and stealing the old man’s booze. They didn’t give school even a second thought. All they thought about were boobs and how to give an atomic wedgie to the class nerd. After high school they promptly went to work at the lumber yard or they sold carpet or whatever.
Buh-buh-buh-but Ace! Globally, it was the hottest year on record! It just wasn’t the hottest year on record in the United States.
All part of the plan. We’re warming the temperatures over there so we don’t warm them over here.
Well, duh! Canada is, for all intents and purposes, part of the US. Or maybe it’s Europe. Hard to say. Those Canadians are pretty sneaky.
As for the whole “science” thing, it’s pretty obvious: data that support your political view are pristine and perfect; those that support an opposite view have clearly been manipulated by lying partisan scientists.
I don’t know why I have to keep explaining this.
It’s just this little chromium switch here. You people are so superstitious….
Like ‘g’, the basic stupidity of people gets really depressing sometimes, and its not just the ‘younglings’. Had a conversation with an old school freind the other day, who is a doctor of Chemistry and a high school Chemistry/Physics teacher. Like me, he is also old enough to know better, but all of a sudden he comes out with the line; “you know, all this global warming is just bollocks, the folk that believe in it are like a cult…”. This is from the same guy who gets really worked up about anyone suggesting alternatives to evolution, I was just stunned.
I wonder perhaps if a lot of climate change denial is just wishful thinking, as most people realise what changes will need to be made, and it is just too much for them. Witness the crappy attempts to fight climate change; i.e limits on platic bags at supermarkets, like, wow.
In the comments to Ace’s post there is a link to to:
HERETICAL THOUGHTS ABOUT SCIENCE AND SOCIETY
By Freeman Dyson
He doesn’t buy the conventional wisdom regarding climate change and has some pretty strong arguments why.
But he is also the first to admit he could be wrong.
Michael Tobis has a reply to Freeman Dyson here:
Only In It For The Gold: Dyson Exegesis
Where he effectively deals with Dysons’ “heresies”. One thing to note is the tremendous difference between the two discussions. On one hand we have an ignorant blogger with no idea what he is talking about and on the other two distinguished scientists. There is simply no comparison. They are like night and day.
Hey, these scientists got caught with their pants around their ankles. Live with it.
Jose Chung said,
August 15, 2007 at 8:33
Hey, these scientists got caught with their pants around their ankles. Live with it
Calm down, there, big fella. The scientists just aren’t that into you.
Who’s this Jose Chung knobbesticke? Is he the new Kevin? A kind of stealth Kevin, sneaking up on us by bagging scientists, waiting until he’s close before he shouts “HIPPIEEEEEEEEEESSSSS!!11!”
Only two areas of the world — the US and Europe, of course — bothered to keep extensive, systematic temperature records for the past 100 years
You have to be a manly Judeao-Christian white Anglo-Saxon to properly utilize things like thermometers and log books, you know.
I think it’s time Ace was officially renamed The PlayDoh Pantload.
You know, it happens in every field more and more; must be [reverting to crotchety oldster mode] about education today. I spent a good deal of time yesterday at work arguing with a young entrepreneur who wants to become my organization’s “client” by using our property to conduct an activity that’s technically illegal…
That’s another facet of the Repubs’ toxic legacy. For the last 30 years, the “winning” political model has been: (1) Assert something really stupid, like trickle-down economics; (2) Out-shout all the reasonable people who point out how stupid your assertion is; (3) Lie, cheat, and steal your way into money/power/fame while insisting that your gains are due to the “Magic” of your stupid idea. We’re coming up on the second generation of people who believe, because it’s what they’ve always known, that behaving dishonestly in pursuit of a stupid idea is how America defines winning. When Dubya Bush, Donald Trump, and Paris Hilton are the national icons, there’s a considerable proportion of our fellow citizens who can’t tell the difference between cause and effect, or truth and fiction — and they won’t thank you for trying to teach them differently.