“Climate Fears and Finance” - A look at CRC's Dr. S.J. Allen’s fraud.

I will be taking a closer look at Dr. Steven Allen’s (Capital Research Center) YouTube feature, “Climate Fears and Finance” which is a stringing together of misrepresentations, innuendo and lies about a topic that is of critical importance to our future, after an introduction. 

Finishing my Investors Business Daily takedown was the usual let down.  No one seems concerned or interested.  No one wants to be bothered.  In my short email exchanges with Dr. Mann, I could almost hear him thinking: ‘Buddy, I got a bottom drawer full of this and worse! What do you want me to do about it?’  Thing is, that’s right.  He’s got far more important work to do with that incredible brain, his time is too precious to be squandered on such contrived delusionals.

Still, people should care.  In particular, I can’t grasp why there are so few knowledgable students who care about their futures and honesty enough to confront such trash in comments sections where ever that sort of fraud gets astro-turfed.  

Why aren’t hundreds writing the sort of take-downs I am - say what you will about my quality or tone, these dissections are to the point and packed with valid information that climate science contrarians always run and hide from.  Nor are they tough to put together, if you have a familiarity with the topic, a curiosity to search out more information and wrestle with arguments.  They also make excellent personal learning tools. 

Or, for that matter the older folks like me who have been attentive witnesses to the past decades of slow ominous degradation of the biosphere we were born into, mature people who resent juvenile malicious nonsense when they see it.  We have Potholer54 and Greenman3610, but need many more.  Why are we leaving the playing field open to these strategically manipulative fraudsters?

In any event I did what I could, it’s part of the record now, back to catching up on my wage slaving obligations.  In my spare time I've returned to wresting with the Map Territory Problem and am reading from suggestions that Trenberth and Francis offered and this.  Of course, such reading always leads to looking up more papers.  Check out one link, read the abstract, perhaps dig into the full paper if available, do a little searching for other stuff related to points raised, see something else that catches my eye, before I know, I’ve got multiple pages with a dozen tabs on each open and me overwhelmed with info overload and deeply humbled by the folds within folds of complexities.  That’s when I must step back allowing things to soak in, reestablish my grip on the fundamentals and to get some perspective.

If I visit CFI and am not careful my sparring mate Mikie The Contrarian will have me chasing another one of his shticks.  Which is how I discovered the scandalous Dr. S.J. Allen of the Capital Research Center where he’s Vice President & Chief Investigative Officer.  He previously served as press secretary to U.S. Senator Jeremiah Denton, as editor of Tea Party Review magazine, and as senior researcher for Newt Gingrich 2012.  

edited 9/30/2017,  9:00 PM
Links to info re feedback mechanisms added October 11.

350action.org - January Actions - Demanding sober assessment of the science.

I'm going to interrupt the regularly scheduled programming (Hmmm, guess I'm dating myself.) for a couple public service announcements.  I've got plenty to add, but not the time for adding it, so I'll simply share the following 350.org public action schedule for January 2017, followed by more options for contacting your state and federal Representatives.  I'm out in the middle of nowhere and unaffiliated, but I certainly support 350.org and gladly spread this news while encouraging you to find out more about them.
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In their own words:

350.org is building a global grassroots climate movement that can hold our leaders accountable to the realities of science and the principles of justice.

That movement is rising from the bottom up all over the world, and is uniting to create the solutions that will ensure a better future for all. Our online campaigns, grassroots organizing, and mass public actions bring together a global network active in over 188 countries. You can read more about our history here.

January is going to be a (busy) month of resistance

https://350.org/big-plans-busy-month-this-january-to-resist-trump/

https://350.org/how/

The climate movement is getting ready for a big January of bold action to defeat Donald Trump’s dangerous fossil fuel agenda. He wants to put Big Oil in charge of our government, roll back decades of climate progress, and witch hunt climate scientists out of their posts.

January 9th: We’ll take to the streets in all 50 states to defeat Trump’s climate denier cabinet. Find events here.

Profiles in Lucidity - Trevor Noah

I ran out of steam the other evening and decided to watch some of the comedy shows via YouTube, no TV around here.  Trevor Noah is the guy I’ve singled out as the real deal.  By coincidence Terry Gross interviewed Trevor this past week on Fresh Air and now I understand why it’s no wonder that air of natural gravitas and solidity I sense.  I’ll be no spoiler ;-) I linked to that interview and invite you to (if you haven’t already) discover this fascinating individual for yourself.  The man makes a lot of sense to me and believe he's made many observations that definitely belong in my collection of common sense and thought provoking ideas.   

I’ve also included a link to his interview of President Obama on December 12th.

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The Daily Show - Profiles in Tremendousness - Secretary of State Nominee Rex Tillerson

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6alHr_ZTdQI&t=11s

Published on Dec 14, 2016

President-elect Trump nominates ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson for secretary of state, prompting Trevor to break down the oil tycoon's foreign policy experience.

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The Daily Show - Adapting to Donald Trump's Lies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P1IVQJdVvE

Published on Nov 30, 2016

Even after Donald Trump's mendacious 2016 presidential campaign, the media is still grappling with how to report on the now-president-elect's blatant falsehoods.

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Trevor Noah on fake news and Donald Trump (HARDtalk) - BBC News

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-8GPvIX6bY

Published on Dec 14, 2016

Diary 12/14/16, Learning moments - DNC failures considered.

Like a lot of Americans I’m still angry at the Democratic Party for turning out to be such a disconnected crew of losers, still in shock that they could have lost this election.  But, I’m stuck with them and it's time to move on and clean it up.  

Time for some new talent in there who, folks have a more realistic appreciate for today's situation.  Recently, I’ve heard a few new young intelligent eloquent voices over the radio.  They are out there!  It’s up to you, We The People to find them and help them become successful.  

Democracy use it or lose it.  The following is my own collection of DNC's general failures to communicate.  Perhaps others will agree that these are important, yet neglected, discussion points that require more direct attention.  At the end I've included links to various articles examining how the extreme right has taken over Christianity and bent it to their own self-serving purposes.  America, it’s your move. 

Democrats consistently shrink in the face of bullies and intimidation.

(There's a longer rumination over at HotWhopperChat)

Incapable of publicly enunciating the challenge and frustration of dealing with an opposition party that possesses zero good faith - and that feels free to alter know objective "facts" to suit their needs rather than adhering to the object truth.  

Nor able to spotlight that at its core the Republican party is absolutist.  

A most unAmerican trait, we are supposed to be learning from each other. Compromising and moving forward in a constructive manner is the American Way.  Our Founding Fathers would be aghast at the malicious absolutism demonstrated by Republicans, and now their even uglier Alt-Right bullies, who are just spoiling for a fight, while we slumber.

I mean these are “God people” who actually believe they (petty self-centered humans that we all are) are in direct communication with thee God of Creation and Time, Life and Love.  

5 Ways to be a Silent Trump Protestor - Patti Mulligan

Here's is Patti Mulligan's suggestions for those who aren't willing to go public with their opposition to our Russian Obligate President-Elect's plans to dismantle and vandalize of our US Government.  I follow up with some more pro-active suggestions.
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Patti Mulligan 

Operations Director at NC Democratic Party. 

Feminist, #DJTResistance fighter, Mama, Wife, Runner. 

Twitter @chachina | LinkedIn /pattimulligan

November 23, 2016

Also visit: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/alarmism-saved-my-family-from-hitler-why-i-wont-tell-anyone-to-calm-down-about-trump/

5 Ways to be a Silent Trump Protestor

The next four years are going to be a constant assault against all of the progress made in the past hundred years by women, minorities, LGBTQ folks, immigrants and democracy itself. Everyone who knows me knows exactly how I feel about the impending Trump Presidency, the NC GOP attempt to steal the Governor’s office and just about everything else. There are times (daily) when I feel bad about my constant posts & tweets about these things. Not bad enough to quit though! 

( CC:  Let's not forget the Republican willful disconnect from down to earth physical realities and the lessons that serious science has been learning about our planet and what we are doing to its near future habitability. 

Also, lets not forget the fundamental Republican attitude of elevating their personal faith to presumed universal facts that totally fly in the face of objective observations.  As reflected in their blind hatred for our Environmental Protection Agency, and the regulations that are intended to protect waterways and landscapes from poisoning.  Faith based greed and power-lust is all they seem capable of.

Do you want a government or a corporation of united states?  

Wake up America, it's your move! )

Not everyone can, or wants to be, this public about their political views.

“I’m an introvert and don’t feel comfortable putting myself out there.”

“Making my political views public will get me fired.”

“It’s not safe for me to talk about opposing Trump.”

Here are 5 concrete ways that you can actively, but privately, protest the Trump/Alt-Right/GOP takeover of America:

On building stairs, integrity and malicious slander.

Recently over at Center For Inquiry's forum which I frequent regularly, I was confronted with another joker repeating Poptech's conjured description of me as a guilt-riddled strung-out druggie and lost soul.  Poptech's slander is his way of responding to my fact checking, critiquing and challenging his claims.  Others of his persuasion have been quick to embrace the bull-pucky.

It seems that every few weeks some new joker finds Poptech's article and gleefully grabs his ammunition and blasts aways at me in the middle of some other discussion.  That they are dealing with figments of their own imagination matters not one wit to them - it's character assassination they're interested in.

What else is there for someone who consistently misrepresents serious climate science?  They sure don't have solid evidence on their side.  Nor do they have the requisite intellectual curiosity to learn about the things they don't understand.  When something confuses them, assume the worst, with ignorant certitude.

Distraction is their game.  Marginalize the messenger and marginalize the message.  Spend all your time wrestling with ad hominems and there's no time to talk about our real world situation.  Go straight for the jugular of your opponent with anything you can conjure.  

There's a certain level of sick humor in reading how these minds can spin facts into tailor-made fictions - but of course, in the end all they want is to destroy any opponent in order to stifle fundamental climate science education - no commitment to honesty, or integrity, or respect for others.  Tragically absolutism and paranoia driven resentment seems all their hearts are capable of.

Admitting to and learning from mistakes is treated like blasphemy by the Republican contrarian crowd.  Nothing funny about that either.

It's irrational, irritating, stupefying and it certainly demands some sort of comeback.  But, I’m not into Poptech’s, or LandscapesandCycles' Jim Steele's or NC20 Burton’s style of childish messenger bashing. 

Still, since they want to get down and personal, I can respond with something personal.  

Consider it another character reference . . . . . . . 

It started as a note to a friend . . .

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Hey D, I never did tell you the end of the story regarding those stairs.  As you might remember last autumn I had me a hernia.  It took months longer to get repaired than it should have, towards the end of that run I was actually invalided, bed to recliner, no lifting.  Innards all funky.  Not fun.  Feeling every bit of my sixty years and reconciling myself to the end of my sweet vigorous years.  Among other dark thoughts was the realization that my carpentry days were totally behind me now.  Which they are, but to ponder that I’d never be able to climb walls again, or help set beams and rafters, or one of my favorites building stairs - that's a different thing from choosing not to do it.  A proud physical old man wrestles with those realities as the 'diminishing' advances with the years.