Robb’s Blog

The other night I was tired of the Sunday news shows and Politics (global warming, the war, bla bla bla) so for a diversion I decided to watch the Academy Awards. I know, I know – what was I thinking? To be honest, I wasn’t thinking, that’s what usually gets me into trouble. I’m smart enough to pass on music award shows like the CMA’s or the Grammy’s without at least taking a few valium first. But I like movies (sometimes) and thought it might be fun to see who would win best actor or best picture. Mindless crap like that. Well, they ran one on me. No sooner was everyone off the red carpet and Joan Rivers was packing up her microphone when the political dark forces of the left reared their ugly heads. Melissa Ethridge walks out to sing her Oscar ^TM nominated song “I Need to Wake Up” (zzzzzzzzzzzz). Jeeze, he isn’t going to beat up on a poor lesbian cancer survivor is he?.—  You bet I am. Is it just me or is she starting to look like Hillary Clinton? Anyway, when she started singing and those horrible slogans began to flash on the screen behind her it started to feel like my head was going to explode. The song had absolutely no redeeming qualities - awful lyrics and a boorish 70’s folk rock melody,  I figured when she left the stage, that would be the last I would see of her. WRONG. They gave her the best song Oscar^TM . But what should I have expected? These awards have, for some time now, been as much a political statement as reward for excellence. She was up against Randy Neumann and James Taylor and a few Dream Girls songs. They were OK but I have to admit, not great. From that point on the whole show went down hill fast. Next they anointed that ‘whack-a-mole’ Al Gore (he just keeps poppin back up don’t he?) high priest of the of the Green Academy Awards Church. Their holy book is a film, of course, Gores own “An Inconvenient Truth”, and their sacrament - Global Warming  “Let’s all fast forward to act two scene 3 and sing along with Al”. They even had a black choir, robes and all, runnin up and down the isles, waving their hands in the air followed by the tambourine pounding host, Ellen DeGeneres . (halleluiah Al,  hall-e-frickin-luiah!) The best review I read was by  Cinnamon Stillwell titled “Hollywood’s Big Ho-Hum” its a must read if you missed the awards or even if you saw them for that matter. Stillewll writes: “Religion of a sort also played a part.(in the awards show) The belief in man-made catastrophic global warming, or what Gore kept dubbing the “climate crisis,” (any bad weather will do, as in this year’s extremely cold winter) is the new secular religion and Gore its preacher. And Hollywood has become the locus for its devotees. One could see it in the shiny upturned faces of audience members as they cheered on Gore and Melissa Etheridge for the numbingly dull and therefore aptly titled Inconvenient Truth theme song “I Need to Wake Up,” which, of course, won the award for Best Song. They truly believe they are doing God’s work (or rather Gaia’s work) simply by mouthing slogans about low-flush toilets, recycling and compost, such as those appearing on the screen behind Etheridge during her performance. I’m sure audience members got right on saving the planet, after jumping into their hybrid limos at the end of the night and jaunting back home in their emissions-spewing private jets. Hollywood, thy name is hypocrisy.” Now, anyone who knows me is aware that I’ve never been on board the Global warming express because: 1.) I’m old enough to have been taken in by the great “Global Cooling” scare as reported in Newsweek April 28,1975  among others. and 2.) The people sounding the warning were the same ones I’ve always found suspect of playing fast and loose with facts. (The sky is falling, the sky is falling) So there I was letting the crazies march right through my living room and had no one left to blame but myself. The church service love fest was so over the top it was like watching a train wreck. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. I mean, how can seemingly intelligent people be so taken in by junk science. Al Gore tries to convince us the merits of his warming theory by using the tired old “consensus” line. “We have 50 Nobel winning scientists who agree with us” I’m not sure what he studied in college (I did hear that he dropped out of Vanderbilt’s school of divinity) but it was surely not science. To begin with science is not consensus. (if 100 scientists say the earth is flat and one says it is round, then consensus says the earth is flat) Now there is some stellar scientific reasoning. Next on their evidence list is “computer models” OH-MY-GOD! Ever talk to an engineer about computer models? Some of my best friends are engineers so their testimony holds some sway with me. Top that with my father always telling me that “figgers lie and liars figger”, any time somebody starts throwing numbers around I wince. To really get a perspective on the true value of computer models (numbers quantified) there is a great article by Jerome J.Schmit titled simply “Numerical models, intergraded circuits and Global Warming” (Now that’s a mouthful) Schmitt points out where science and politics collide – funding: “In this competitive environment, one can imagine climate modelers justifying their work by citing the possibility of global change, the further study of which requires, of course, “more research”.  One can further imagine that in the inchoate communication between university researcher, funding agency, congressional staffer and congressmen that “possibility” eventually became “probability” and then “probability” morphed into “certainty” of global warming, especially if there was potential for political advantage.” (or money)   No, you didn’t hear that  on NPR. But trust me, (the article is long and has a lot of big words – but we’re all grown ups here – just read it ok?) you will laugh the next time anyone tries to give you the old “computer models tell us this” line of crap. But that’s just the scientific/engineering side of the global warming thing. As evidenced by the academy award show there is the huge political component also. Wonder why the air heating up is political? Read on. –When the stage was filled with all those awful self-congratulating blowhards accepting their Oscars ^TM it wasn’t hard to notice the total absence of any conservatives. And this is true for  the whole debate. (note to the liberals: this is a debate. Global Warming is not the accepted science you tout it to be - sorry) — But Robb, But Robb, Arnold Schwarzenegger is a republican and he is a big Global warming advocate right? Trust me, the man is a RINO (Republican In Name Only) Lately his politics have been left of Gray Davis. I mean lets face it, he’s married into the most liberal family in the history of the united states – think about it — DUH? But when I’m talking about the political component I’m not talking about the current left/right political gamesmanship in this country. I’m talking about the historical political perspective and the need of one nation or group to make another bend to its will. Imperialism. It’s all about power. Or in the Liberals case the lack of it and their shameless frenzy to get it back. If you don’t know what I’m talking about then you could use a short history lesson, and the perfect person to give it to you is James Lewis. In his article “Global warming as European Imperialism” he presents the political perspective that’s been missing from this debate. “The BBC Class (this would include the current liberal left in the United States) considers itself internationalist, socialist, and Green (and not just with envy). The Greens are of course Reds with camouflage paint. After the USSR fell of its own internal contradictions around 1989, the Left needed a new shtick. They could not admit that free markets and democracies worked better than their engrained ideology. So they found a different set of reasons to do the same thing. The old way was European imperialism à la Karl Marx. The new way was European Imperialism à la Al Gore”. (à la Global warming) If you think this blog is a crock then please read “Why Global Warming is Probably a Crock”  also by James Lewis, and let me know where the holes are cause I can’t find any. Mr. Lewis observes: “(Climate science is very immature right now: Physicists just don’t know how to deal with hypercomplex systems like the earths weather. That’s why a recent NASA scientist was wildly wrong when he called anthropogenic warming “just basic physics.” Basic physics is what you do in the laboratory. If hypercomplex systems were predictable, NASA would have foolproof space shuttles —  because they are a lot simpler than the climate. So this is just pseudoscientific twaddle from NASA’s vaunted Politically Correct Division. It makes me despair when even scientists conveniently forget that little word ‘hypothesis’.)” This is precisely what galls me about the Scientific consensus dawdle that comes from the Global warming gang. I mean, what scientists and – what consensus? James Lewis is a highly credible academic scientist who’s never been asked once for his opinion by Al Gore or his ilk. I do know however that for most people out there any information longer than the CNN 30 second spot or the pathetic speeches given by winners at the academy awards show, is just more information than they’re ready to process. But what the hell, no harm in tryin to turn on a light. I guess that’s what this blog thing is all about. Just sittin here talking to myself — in the dark. Later

RR