Poptech's hermetically sealed echo-chamber, case in point.

      
What I'm doing here is dissecting and documenting the contrarian debate.  
I share these experiences because I believe rational students and others who want to communicate serious science and engage in a constructive learning debate, (as opposed to the political circus debate), should become aware of what they are dealing with when trying to rationally dialogue/debate with Republican/libertarian characters as they endlessly parrot their bankrupt jingles and ignore everything you try so hard to explain.

It will help younger students and scientists to be aware that every marginally effective communicator of serious science will find themselves under the sort of malicious venomous attack by dogma driven zealots that I've walked into.  The particulars will be different, but just as disconnected from actual reality.  Oh and yeah, they will toss every descriptive back in your face - though they never show the integrity to actually support their labeling with thoughtful arguments or real world facts. 

The thing to realize is that constructively engaging with others seems anathema to the new Republican/libertarian types.  Ridicule, marginalize, demonize seems their only response to challenging facts.  As for learning about what our society and we ourselves are doing to our Earth's biosphere and climate system, which enables that life-support system our society is dependent on - there, confusion and stupefaction is their goal.

Now to the funny, but sick, irony I want to share.

NC-20 Dave Burton runs to echo-chamber, Poptech's clubhouse.

As predicted I might add.  Rather then engaging in a good faith dialogue (or dispute if you like) Dave went running to his echo chamber to complain about what a nasty character I am and Poptech was happy to provide a stage.  

He posted the following comment at his blog, after marching over to that Republican/libertarian climate science attacking crowd to do his whining.  With their typical nasty brand of barroom derision, they are having a field day piling it on.  That it's contrived bull-shit purely intended to demean the messenger and self-justify their willfully ignoring the substance of the information I've confronted him/them with, goes over their heads.  They seem to feel oh so holy, not a doubt in their minds.

But that is one of the big tragedies, these people won't even honestly listen to what one is trying to explain to them.  They simply cannot handle crediting anyone they disagree with, everyone who opposes their self-certain fantasy, becomes the enemy and is open to any and every attack.

They reframe every fact to suit their faith-based conviction.  It's like they've created their own fantasy world from start to finish, one founded on their political dogma and paranoia - one frighteningly devoid of all basic awareness/appreciation for the physical world we depend on.  

My bias is understanding and appreciating this planet and I stand prepared to engage in a constructive debate with any climate science "skeptic-contrarian" type who has the intellectual integrity to actually listen to what his opponent is saying!  

And then to respond directly to those points, without juvenile meaningless distractions.  

As for my character references, what can I say? http://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2016/05/considering-character-references.html)

Return of Lord of the Flies (#10…)

Oh dear, my ol pal AL can't leave it be.  

He again provides me with such an excellent example of what the Republican/libertarian PR Machine is all about and the tactics they are reduced to, I'm not letting it go to waste. 

It is posted with his words unaltered, no courtesy spell correction here.  I carry on a rhetorical conversation with AL, since he never listens to what his 'opponents' are trying to explain.  I figure it might help some appreciate what is going on out there in the Republican/libertarian alter-universe, since this is the way they go after any messenger of climate science education.

It's worth making a big deal out of, because this is how they keep us away from addressing the real issues, instead we continue wasting yet more precious irreplaceable time.

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Arne wrote - February 6, 2016, 6:15 PM 

+Dave Smith Jesus, you're retarded. Just go back and read you own wall of text you have posted here. But I'm not surprised if you won't, since they are just dishonest ramblings.  (If you take the time to scroll up the interminable thread, you'll notice that Dave knows very well how to read scientific papers and respond to challenges in a even toned, polite, informative, I dare say, constructive, manner.)