Clear Channel Backs Dubious Rubio

Patricia Mazzei reports that Clear Channel refused to accept billboard ad buy by Forecast the Facts. The environmental organization want to post this billboard on Marco Rubio's climate science position.

NO CLIMATE DENIERS IN THE WHITE HOUSE," the proposed ad from Forecast the Facts Action read, steering viewers to RubioIsNotReady.org.

The billboard would look something like this.

Brant Olson had this to say about Clear Channel's decision.

"Clear Channel is applying a partisan filter to the ads that it allows Miami residents to see, and tilting the scale in favor of its own partisan agenda," Brant Olson, Forecast's campaign director, said in an email. "Clear Channel is playing dirty politics."

Clear Channel has heavily supported the Republican Party. The company pulled songs by the Dixie Chicks after lead singer Natalie Maines made these famous anti-Bush remarks.

Tom Hicks, an executive at Clear Channel, helped stage pro war rallies in support of President George W. Bush. The idea for the rallies came from Glenn Beck. Hicks bought the Texas Rangers from Bush and his partners. Hicks donated $146,000 to Bush's gubernatorial campaigns.

Clear Channel's reason for rejecting the ad.

"All our contracts clearly state we reserve the right to final ad approval," spokesman Jason King said in an email. "And sometimes the original ad presented in discussions may only be a draft."

Clear Channel has a right to reject the act. I just wish they would upfront about being pro-Republican.

Wingnut of the Day: James Inhofe

It is a fucking disgrace that James Inhofe is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Unsurprisingly, oil and gas is the number one industry donating to Inhofe's campaigns. Dirty Energy Money has a graph that shows a who's who of energy companies donating to the Senate's leading science denier. Campaign cash might explain why Inhofe makes incredibly stupid statements like this.

“I have offered compelling evidence that catastrophic global warming is a hoax. That conclusion is supported by the painstaking work of the nation's top climate scientists.”

Fun fact: Koch Industries, an oil companies of the Koch Brothers, is one of Inhofe's leading donors.

Paul Ryan: Portrait of An Unserious Man

Rep. Paul Ryan's remedy for man made climate change is to do nothing. Literally. This is what he told the media.

"Climate change occurs no matter what. The question is, can and should the federal government do something about it? And I would argue the federal government, with all its tax and regulatory schemes, can't. And all it will do is end up hurting our country, our people, and especially low income individuals."

What Ryan didn't tell the media is the $181,299 he has received from the oil industry during this campaign cycle.

Ryan talked about his poverty program.

"In many cases, the federal government, in its war on poverty, has inadvertently displaced civil society, prodded out good things that are happening in our communities, when it should be supporting them. It should be manning supply lines, not dictating the front lines."

"And the other point, it has given the notion in our society that this isn't your problem. Pay your taxes. The government will fix this. The government fixes poverty. That's not true. We need to break those notions that so that everybody gets involved and does something in whatever way they can to make a difference in this area. And that is one of the messages we need to pound over and over and over if we are going to be successful in reintegrating the poor and getting them from where the are to where they want to be."

Ryan does not have a basic understanding about poverty. Naturally, Ryan is against raising the minimum wage. Ryan previously made the hysterical claim that raising the minimum wage will keep teenagers from getting jobs.

“The majority of these workers are younger people just getting into the workforce,” Ryan said. “What we don’t want to do is support ideas, especially in this kind of economy, which will reduce the availability of jobs, number one, but more importantly reduce the availability of jobs from the very people we want to get into jobs so they can start climbing that ladder of life, so they can get in and start working their way up and get the skills they need to earn a better job.” He added that his time working at McDonald’s as a young man helped “give me better training to keep moving on in life.”

The New York Times had the actual numbers.

Climbing above the poverty line has become more daunting in recent years, as the composition of the nation’s low-wage work force has been transformed by the Great Recession, shifting demographics and other factors. More than half of those who make $9 or less an hour are 25 or older, while the proportion who are teenagers has declined to just 17 percent from 28 percent in 2000, after adjusting for inflation, according to Janelle Jones and John Schmitt of the Center for Economic Policy Research.

Today’s low-wage workers are also more educated, with 41 percent having at least some college, up from 29 percent in 2000. “Minimum-wage and low-wage workers are older and more educated than 10 or 20 years ago, yet they’re making wages below where they were 10 or 20 years ago after inflation,” said Mr. Schmitt, senior economist at the research center. “If you look back several decades, workers near the minimum wage were more likely to be teenagers — that’s the stereotype people had. It’s definitely not accurate anymore.”

The Chamber of Commerce doesn't want a minimum wage increase. The Republican Party heeds the word of the Chamber. The Chamber of Commerce represents businesses that will fight tooth and nail not to pay their employees more. The Chamber of Commerce released an article on their website titled "A Better Approach Than the Minimum Wage Distraction."

The minimum wage debate is misplaced as part of the income inequality debate simply because raising the minimum wage by $1 an hour, for example, adds about $2,000 to the pre-tax income of those few full-time minimum wage adult workers. (Most minimum wage earners are either teenagers or are working part-time). A $2,000 increase would make a difference to the worker, assuming he or she still has a job, but it doesn’t do much for income inequality when stacked against the incomes of those at the very top of the income scale.

Ryan cited the CBO report. The truth is states that have raised the minimum wage have found no adverse effects. The wage increases were needed to keep up with inflation. What Ryan and other Republicans refuse to mention is cost of living increases. From the Associated Press:

"In the 13 states that boosted their minimums at the beginning of the year, the number of jobs grew an average of 0.85 percent from January through June. The average for the other 37 states was 0.61 percent.

"Nine of the 13 states increased their minimum wages automatically in line with inflation: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. Four more states — Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island — approved legislation mandating the increases."

Republicans constantly say that unemployment will increase if the minimum wage is increased. At some point the minimum wage must be raised. Millions of Americans having less spending power will be a drag on the economy. It also costs the federal government money. Forbes reports that WalMart workers $6.2 billion in public assistance. WalMart employees simply do not make enough to survive.

Ryan is against raising the minimum wage because he doesn't want to cut into the bottom line of companies like WalMart. Ryan's war on poverty should be treated like the nonsense it truly is.

Quote of the Day

“I’m not a scientist either, but I can use my brain, and I can talk to one.” Charlie Crist, on Gov. Rick Scott unwillingness to learn more about man made climate change.

Crist recently met with Florida State University environmental science professor Jeffrey Chanton. The two discussed the threat of man made climate change. Scott has refused to meet with Professor Chanton.

“It’s to try to push the dialogue,” Crist said. “I’m convinced. I’m a believer and I notice that my opponent, Rick Scott, would not meet with this wonderful scientist. It’s important for people who have the opportunity to help direct policy to be open-minded and to listen.”

Scott has refused to say if he believes in man made climate science. That hasn't stopped him from having extremely environmentally unfriendly policies. Scott has supported and later backtracked drilling in the Everglades. Scott owns a $135,000 stake in Schlumberger Ltd. The oil company is involved in drilling near the Everglades.

Scott's environmental policies are based less on science and more on profit.

Quote of the Day

"You know, I get called a denier. And anyone who objects to all of the hype gets called a denier. That’s supposed to make me a Holocaust denier. I’m getting tired of that. The comment I made was, the demonization of carbon dioxide is just like the demonization of the poor Jews under Hitler. Carbon dioxide is actually a benefit to the world, and so were the Jews."

William Happer, Princeton Physics Professor

Happer faiuls to understand that no carbon dioxide have been executed by Hitler.

Media Matters notes that Happer has published no peer reviewed papers on climate change.

This is the controversial Happer gave The Daily Princetonian.

“This is George Orwell. This is the ‘Germans are the master race. The Jews are the scum of the earth.’ It’s that kind of propaganda,” Happer, the Cyrus Fogg Brackett Professor of Physics, said in an interview. “Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. Every time you exhale, you exhale air that has 4 percent carbon dioxide. To say that that’s a pollutant just boggles my mind. What used to be science has turned into a cult.”

Perhaps The Daily Princetonian didn't give Happer's entire quote. Barring that it is impossible what point is Happer is trying to make. Happer rambles on about George Orwell, Nazi Germany and cults. Happer is using a lot of buzz words but fails to prove how climate scientists are making a Jim Jones cult in Nazi Germany.

Quote of the Day

"Rubio is an idiot. He says he is not a scientist so he doesn't have a view about climate change and sea-level rise and so won't do anything about it. Yet Florida's other senator, Democrat Bill Nelson, is holding field hearings where scientists can tell people what the data means. Unfortunately, not enough people follow his example. And all the time, the waters are rising."

Philip Stoddard, the mayor of South Miami

Rubio's hometown of Miami has been experiencing increased flooding. Needless to say, many Miami residents are not happy about Dubious Rubio denying climate science.

Marco Rubio Vs Reality

Rubio won't backtrack on his anti-science position until he feels political consequences.

Dubious Rubio Wins Climate Denier Award

Congratulations to Sen. Marco Rubio on winning the Climate Denier award. Organizing For America presented a silver unicorn trophy to Rubio's office. Like unicorns, Rubio's belief that climate change is not man made is pure fiction. As long as the oil industry lobbying money keeps rolling in; don't expect Rubio's beliefs to change.

Dubious Rubio's Anti-Climate Change Position Explained

Marco Rubio has long been a global warming denier. Rubio is also not an original anti-global warming skeptic. Back in 2007, Rubio was reciting Freedom Works talking points with false claims that global warming is just a fiction. Organizing For America is going after dubious Rubio's anti-science stance ob climate change. I say it is about time.

"Sen. Rubio is standing strong against the overwhelming judgment of science, so OFA will be handing out an ‘award’ to recognize Sen. Rubio perseverance in resisting the facts,” says a news release from the group.

They’ll gather at his office on the University of South Florida campus at 3 p.m., the news release says.

Rubio's anti-science and reality stance might have something to do with the $271,228.00he has raised from the oil and gas industry. How else do you explain Rubio voting against the elimination of tax subsidies for the oil industry.

"It’s a tax increase. I don’t vote for tax increases," Rubio told the Buzz. "Those are the same subsidies that are available to everybody and every company. I’m interested in lowering gas prices. I’m not interested in wasting time talking about things that aren’t going to help lower people’s gas prices."

Rubio is so stupid that he doesn't even know what a tax subsidy is. A tax subsidy is the federal government either giving a corporation money or a tax break to help pay for expenses. The federal government is helping highly profitable oil companies and getting none of the perks. Marco Rubio wants to keep this corporate welfare in place.

Tea Party Nation Does Global Warming Science and Fails

Alan Caruba ran a post on Tea Party Nation claiming that the media won't check websites that prove that global warming is a hoax.

The claim that carbon dioxide (CO2) is a pollutant is absurd insofar as it is, next to oxygen, the second most vital gas for life on planet Earth. It is responsible for the growth of all vegetation, including crops vital to feeding humanity and the livestock on which they depend as a food source.

If you want to learn the truth about CO2, you can visit:

http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/

http://sppiblog.org/

http://www.co2science.org/

http://www.nipccreport.org/

What Caruba is either ignorant about or fails to mention is that these global warming denier groups are funded by Exxon. The first link goes to the Science and Public Policy Institute. SPPI does no research since it only has three employees. SourceWatch reports that SPPI was denied tax exempt status.

Although in March 2011 SPPI's webpages described it as "a nonprofit institute of research and education dedicated to sound public policy...", in early 2011 Ferguson said SPPI had not been granted nonprofit status from the IRS[5], 3+ years after it was formed.

(An entry in Virginia's Corporation Records [1] for "Science and Public Policy Institute, The" (#0673507-0) shows SPPI's directors as Robert E. Ferguson, and two attorneys. But this was reportedly a shell corporation, with no income and no expenditures.[6])

The second link goes to the Science and Public Policy Institute blog. Apparently, Caruba places a lot of faith into an organization that does no scientific research. SPPI president Robert Ferguson has no scientific background. Ferguson has an undergraduate degree in history, Brigham Young University, and a master's degree in legislative affairs from George Washington University. Ferguson receives his pay through the Idso family. The Idsos run the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change. The funding for the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change comes from Exxon Mobil. The group has also been involved with ALEC.

Blogger Bart Verheggen has a good breakdown on the bogus scientific reports provided by the Nipccreport (Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change). SourceWatch reports that NIPCC releases scientific reports written by people who aren't scientists.

The 2008 International Conference on Climate Change led to the production of the "Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change." While the "NIPCC enlisted several hundred scientists from more than 100 countries to work over five years to produce its series of reports, the NIPCC document is the work of 23 authors from 15 nations, some of them not scientists," said Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post.[5] This report, edited by Fred Singer, alleged that "natural causes are very likely to be the dominant cause" of climate change and concluded that while anthropogenic sources of GHGs may produce some warming, "evidence shows they are not playing a significant role." [6] The validity of the NIPCC report has been highly questioned by RealClimate, whose scientists have labeled the report "disingenuous and misleading, if not outright dishonest." On their wiki site, they debunk the arguments, chapter by chapter, put forth by the NIPCC. [7]

2009's conference, with the theme "Global Warming Crisis: Cancelled," planned, as did the 2008 gathering, to call "attention to new research findings that contradict the conclusions of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report." [8]

In an interview conducted part way through the conference with NPR, New York Times reporter Andrew Revkin explained that "what I sense, they're realizing that they have such a varied array of scientific explanations for what is going on with the climate that they felt the need to ... square up their own story in some sense because otherwise they are in danger of losing credibility. What has caused this change? They're not gaining traction."[9] Revkin said that Russell Seitz, who had attended the 2008 conference[10], "felt stiffed and didn't really fit their script". 'He felt a strong sense that there is a political frame of the issue that supersedes the need for the science to be accurate. He was kind of frustrated," Revkin said.[9]

Mr. Caruba is right. Journalists will not be going to his recommended global warming denier sites. Not unless these journalists want a good laugh.

NASA Data On Global Warming 1880-2011

Via Re/Creating Tampa. This video shows a stark picture of how much the plant has warmed up since 1880. The finding were released by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. 2012 is likely the warmest year in the history of the planet.

Romney Avoids Addressing Climate Change

Mitt Romney ignores a climate change protester at a rally. A President Mitt Romney would ignore climate change.

Tea Party Nation Denies Global Warming

Tea Party Nation blogger Alan Caruba tells us the message of Hurricane Sandy.

Long ago, the cartoon character, Pogo, famously said, “We have met the enemy and it is us.” The enemy, I would suggest, is President Barack Hussein Obama, his many shadowy, unaccountable “czars” influencing energy policies, his Cabinet Secretaries of Energy and the Interior, and the rogue Environmental Protection Agency that is set to unleash regulations that will destroy the economy, aided and abetted by the nation’s environmental organizations.

That’s Hurricane Sandy’s message to America.

I'm glad that Caruba is keeping things classy by mentioning Obama's middle name negative manner.

We had the hottest July in United States history.

The average temperature last month was 77.6 degrees — 3.3 degrees above the average 20th-century temperature, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported on Wednesday. July thereby dethroned July 1936, which had set the record at 77.4 degrees, the agency said.

NASA reports that shows the shrinking of the ice cap. Older ice is melting faster than new ice is being created.

Caruba writes that the Earth is actually cooling. Caruba states that climate change science has been disproved. Caruba fails to explains the science or even bother linking to a conservative think tank.

This suspension of common sense is worsened when our President goes on television, as he did last Friday on MTV, to say “I believe the scientists, who say that we are putting too much carbon emissions into the atmosphere, and it is heating the planet and it is going to have a severe effect.” This is literally junk science, long since debunked by legions of scientists who know that carbon dioxide has nothing to do with the Earth’s temperature. The planet has been in a cooling cycle since 1998.

I remember sweating my ass off being out in the Florida heat for more than five minutes during the summer. In Caruba's reality, the planet is experiencing a cooling period. Energy companies set up bogus think tanks to deny global warming because they feel that regulations will cut into their profits. What is Caruba's excuse?

Earth to Pat Robertson

Pat Robertson has decisive proof that global warming is a myth.

“Just keep in mind that Mars, and say, ‘How many SUVs, how many oil refineries are there on Mars?’ And yet, it’s the relationship to the sun that is effecting the climate on Mars,” he concluded.

Next Robertson will cite the movie Santa Claus Conquers the Martians as proof of American exceptionalism. Never mind that the fictitious St. Nick is from the North Pole. It actually takes great effort on Robertson's part to be this stupid. I don't know if I should be saddened or impressed with Robertson's anti-intellectualism. I do hope Robertson keeps supplying me with comedy material.

Adam Hasner's Anti-Global Warming Position

Adam Hasner spoke at a Pinellas Park tea party furom. Hasner received applauses when he said global warming was a myth.

"I don't believe in man-made global warming. I don't buy into the alarmist mentality out there that the world is coming to an end," said candidate Adam Hasner, a former Florida House majority leader from Boca Raton.

He chalked up climate change to an "agenda" by some to control the economy and make the country fit in with global wishes.

Hasner floats a conspirary theory about global warming because the best way to gain tea party support is to be anti-science. The anti-science Hasner has yet to explain why he was a cosponsored of cap and trade legislation.

He cosponsored the legislation calling for the creation of a cap-and-trade regime in Florida. And when it passed the Florida House, his office issued a press release on behalf of the bill's sponsor praising the initiative

"Responsibly addressing global climate change and anticipated national cap-and-trade legislation, while continuing to focus on energy diversity, reliability and affordability, the bill will place Florida's energy sector and economy in
a position to best protect the interests of Florida's citizens," the release read.

Hypocrisy from Republican candidates is not surprising. Voters must ask themselves does Hasner refuse to believe scientific evidence or is he a political opportunist?

Quote of the Day

"Does anyone think global warming is a good thing?"

Britney Spears, on her Twitter account.

Gee, let me ponder that question.

Bill McCollum's Anti-Global Warming Movie

Outgoing Attorney General Bill McCollum sent a memo out to Florida Cabinet members Charlie Crist, Alex Sink and Charles Bronson disputing the science of global warming. McCollum urged his fellow a pseudo-documentary called The Great Global Warming Swindle. The director According to the The Buzz, Martin Durkin is a Marxist. Below is the trailer.



Some of the experts Durkin interviews are a hoot. Piers Corbyn is a meteorologist and owner of Weather Action. WA makes forecasts a year in advance. WA went on the stock market. Corbyn allowed people to place bets on the weather. Bad move.

Weather Action - one of the unlikelier stock market debutantes of recent years - is to take shelter in private ownership once more after a two-year buffeting of the sort that would normally merit a warning to shipping.

The forecasting service is selling its PLC status as a "shell" for £273,540 minus the £1 that founder Piers Corbyn will pay to get back his unorthodox weather bureau.

In a final twist to the Weather Action story, the shares - which had slumped from the 79p issue price to 24p - rocketed 370% to close at 90p once it was announced yesterday that Weather Action would no longer own, er, Weather Action.

Asked if he was hurt, Mr Corbyn replied: "Yes and no."

Professor Ian Clark has been involved with the think tank the Competitive Enterprise Institute. The think tank is funded by Texaco, Inc, Amoco Foundation, Inc. and a host of other environmentally unfriendly corporations.

Professor Bill Ball has worked for the Natural Resource Stewardship Project and The Friends of Science. Last time I blogged about the former, the NRSP didn't have their web site up. That is still the case. A University of Calgary found auditor report found the Friends of Science do not conduct scientific research.

Barry Cooper solicited research money from the University of Calgary. The auditor report FoS Science was using funding to run political and anti-global warming ads. FoS told potential donors that they could get a tax right off by donating through the University of Calgary. The school sent a cease and desist letter to FoS. The audit report could not conclude if the research done by FoS with U of C money was legitimate.

These are the so-called experts from the documentary McCollum wants other elected officials to watch. Below are the memos McCollum sent out.

McCollum Anti-Global Warming Memo

Rachel Maddow vs Glenn Beck

Rachel Maddow catches Glenn Beck denying that he ever said that snowstorms disprove global warming. Beck then ran an highly edited piece attacking Maddow. Beck omitted the clip from Maddow's show citing Beck quotes about snowstorms disproving global warming. Beck accused Maddow of being a propagandist and liar. The fact Beck can make that accusation of anyone takes serious chutzpah.

Side note: Yes, I know I haven't been blogging for awhile.

Fox News Isn't Good At Math

The graphics at Fox News News continues to be a source of humor. Fox News showed Rasmussen poll asking respondants if global warming scientists were rigging their research. Notice the poll numbers add up to 120 percent. Unsurprisingly, Media Matters reports Fox News falsely reported the poll numbers.

The actual poll numbers.

3* In order to support their own theories and beliefs about global warming, how likely is it that some scientists have falsified research data?

35% Very likely
24% Somewhat likely
21% Not very likely
5% Not at all likely
15% Not sure

Obama's Climate Change Speech at United Nations

Obama doesn't specifically outline policy in his United Nations speech. Obama states he will work with G20 nations to limit greenhouse emissions. Obama mentions the cap and trade bill that is moving at a snail's pace in the Senate. A better alternative to cap and trade is greater regulation on companies that cause excessive greenhouse emissions. The current cap and trade bill will not cut greenhouse gases enough.

Economist Martin Feldstein explains it would be cheaper for corporations to buy permits than to switch over the greener technology. Corporations that go over approved CO2 levels would pass on the cost to cumsumers. Current power generators create CO2 at record levels. Harsher laws, fines and regulation are needed to make corporations greener. The pro-business Obama is unlikely to back such a bill. The Waxman/Markey bill American Clean Energy and Security Act will hurt consumers and do little to curb CO2 emissions.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen's bill the Cap and Dividend Act of 2009 directly addresses the cost of cap and trade. The bill will require the Treasury Department to create the Healthy Climate Trust Fund. The fund will handle fines and expenses. The program will have a website and the Treasury Secretary must report to Congress on it's progress. There is oversight and a mechanism to handle cap and trade finances. Van Hollen's bill needs to be part of the discussion.

Transcript of Obama's speech.