US Science Teachers say trash books and watch Leo instead

Heartland Institute Book

Check out the book for yourself :- )

The Heartland Institute sent a round of 25,000 books to science teachers across the US. Knowing Heartland, the book Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming is loaded with dangerous material — peer reviewed references, graphs with both axes, stuff like that.  Because it will have been checked, cross checked and subjected to twenty years of non-stop criticism  it will be packed with facts. And that’s why the Climate Religion is so terribly, awfully scared of it.

The NSTC took the extraordinary step of writing to teachers and naming all the errors they could find, which was none. In lieu of that, they said it was false information anyway because, hey,  they could still spell both words.

NSTC warns of an unprecedented attack:

David L. Evans (no relation) sets out his best three reasons:

“First, scientists don’t disagree about climate change or its causes,”

“Second, labeling propaganda as science does not make it so.

  • Exactly, just what I was thinking. How long before science teachers realize that the people who are afraid to read books are the ones pushing the propaganda?

Third, science teachers are the critical bastion in the war against reason. And the special interests know it.”

  • So true. And the special interests marched right through education 30 years ago. How many science teachers know the scientific method? Aristotelian reasoning?
    • Well some still do, and they’ll find the book an excellent resource.

Right now, the NSTC needs to hear from people who do know what the scientific method is, and who can explain how empirical evidence does not come from a climate model.

Inside Climate News found Brandie Freeman, an environmental science and chemistry teacher who won a National Science Teachers Association STEM award. So apparently the best of the best. So what did she do when she was given a free science book that disagreed with the dogma?  She was insulted.

“We’re not novices,” Freeman said. “We’re science teachers, this is what we do for a living.”

…call her professionally insulted then.

Freeman, did, at least read the book, to her credit. Though perhaps because she was never taught how to reason, she fights back with argument from authority and ad hom attacks, thinking that mentioning ISIS, The Koch brothers, and Exxon tells us something about the atmosphere.

And her best advice for learning climate science? Watch Leonardo DiCaprio:

“To help my students visually understand the global urgency of this issue, I utilize the documentary Before the Flood in my climate unit. “

She advises people not to burn the book because that will cause global climate change. At least she is not a hypocrite.

Heartland replies to attacks claiming the climate book is funded by the Koch’s. (It wasn’t)

I think someone needs to mark these teachers and the NSTC for logic and reason and send them their scorecard…

Congrats to the brilliant Craig Isdo, Fred Singer and posthumously, Bob Carter for putting this book together.

Many textbooks place total reliance,
On consensus I.P.C.C. ‘science’,
Which can easily hoodwink,
Those who teach but can’t think,
By their methods of abject compliance.

        –Ruairi  

8.6 out of 10 based on 120 ratings

175 comments to US Science Teachers say trash books and watch Leo instead

  • #
    ren

    In this section, solar activity on a longer scale is discussed, based on recent reconstructions.
    According to these reconstructions, the sun has spent about 70% of its time during
    the Holocene, which is ongoing, in a normal state characterized by medium solar
    activity. About 15–20% of the time the sun has experienced a grand minimum, while
    10–15% of the time has been taken up by periods of very high activity.
    One of the main features of long-term solar activity is its irregular behavior, which
    cannot be described by a combination of quasi-periodic processes as it includes an
    essentially random component.
    Grand minima, whose representative is the Maunder minimum of the late
    seventeenth century, are typical solar phenomena. Approximately 25 grand minima
    can be robustly identified in solar activity reconstructions for the Holocene
    period. Their occurrence suggests that they appear not periodically, but tend to
    appear in clusters separated by 2000–2500 years (the Hallstatt cycle), and having
    a recurrence period of ≈210 years (Suess/de Vries cycle) within the clusters.
    Grand minima tend to be of two distinct types: short (Maunder-like) and longer
    (Spörer-like). The appearance of grand minima can be reproduced by modern
    stochastic-driven dynamo models to some extent, but some problems still remain
    to be resolved.
    The recent level of solar activity (after the 1940s) was very high, corresponding
    to a grand maximum, which are typical but rare events in solar behavior. However,
    this grand maximum has ceased after solar cycle 23. The duration of grand maxima
    resembles a random Possion-like process, in contrast to grand minima.
    These observational features of the long-term behavior of solar activity have important
    implications, especially for the development of theoretical solar-dynamo models
    and for solar-terrestrial studies.
    In general, the following main features are observed in the long-term evolution of
    solar magnetic activity.
    – Solar activity is dominated by the 11-year Schwabe cycle on an interannual
    timescale. Some additional longer characteristic times can be found, including
    the Gleissberg secular cycle, de Vries/Suess cycle, and a quasi-cycle of 2000–
    2400 years (Hallstatt cycle). However, all these longer cycles are intermittent and
    cannot be regarded as strict phase-locked periodicities.
    – One of the main features of long-term solar activity is that it contains an essential
    chaotic/ stochastic component, which leads to irregular variations and makes solaractivity
    predictions impossible for a scale exceeding one solar cycle.
    – The sun spends about 70% of its time at moderate magnetic activity levels, about
    15–20% of its time in a grand minimum and about 10–15% in a grand maximum.
    – Grand minima are a typical but rare phenomena in solar behavior. They form a
    distinct mode of solar dynamo. Their occurrence appears not periodically, but
    rather as the result of a chaotic process within clusters separated by the 2000–
    2500 years (around the lows of the Hallstatt cycle). Grand minima tend to be of
    two distinct types: short (Maunder-like) and longer (Spörer-like).
    – The recent level of solar activity (after the 1940s) was very high, corresponding
    to a prolonged grand maximum, but it has ceased to the normal moderate level.
    Grand maxima are also rare and irregularly occurring events, though the exact rate
    of their occurrence is still a subject of debates.
    http://jultika.oulu.fi/files/nbnfi-fe201703061963.pdf

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    • #
      KinkyKeith

      An interesting outline Ren and it makes me wonder why this area of analysis is not to the forefront of politics because it really is about our future.

      Aren’t politicians responsible for planning for the future?

      The recent winters in the northern hemisphere are a reminder of what might be coming and sensible analysis may be very useful in avoiding human catastrophe.

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      • #
        ren

        The ionizing radiation in the lower layers of the atmosphere increases when the solar wind decreases. It also depends on the magnetic field of the Earth and the atmospheric pressure.
        http://sol.spacenvironment.net/raps_ops/current_files/index.html
        “When an energetic CR particle enters the atmosphere, it first moves straight in the
        upper layers, suffering mostly from ionization energy losses that lead to the ionization
        of the ambient rarefied air and gradual deceleration of the particles. However, after
        traversing some amount of matter (the nuclear interaction mean-free path is on the
        order of 100 g/cm2 for a proton in the air) the CR particle may collide with a nucleus in
        the atmosphere, producing a number of secondaries. These secondaries have their own
        fate in the atmosphere, in particular they may suffer further collisions and interactions
        forming an atmospheric cascade (e.g., Dorman 2004). Because of the thickness of the
        Earth’s atmosphere (1033 g/cm2 at sea level) the number of subsequent interactions can
        be large, leading to a fully-developed cascade (also called an air shower) consisting of
        secondary rather than primary particles. A schematic view of the atmospheric cascade
        is shown in Fig. 6. Three main components can be separated in the cascade:
        – The “hadronic” nucleonic component is formed by the products of nuclear collisions
        of primary cosmic rays and their secondaries with the atmospheric nuclei,
        and consists mostly of superthermal protons and neutrons.
        – The “soft” or electromagnetic component consists of electrons, positrons and
        photons.
        – The “hard” or muon component consists mostly of muons; pions are short lived
        and decay almost immediately upon production, feeding muons and the “soft”
        component.
        The development of the cascade depends mostly on the amount of matter traversed
        and is usually linked to residual atmospheric depth, which is very close to the static
        barometric pressure, rather than to the actual altitude, that may vary depending on the
        exact atmospheric density profile.”

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        • #

          “Earth’s atmosphere (1033 g/cm2 at sea level) the number of subsequent interactions can be large, leading to a fully-developed cascade (also called an air shower)”

          Ren,
          I have no idea where you might get such fouled up numbers? What can some mass normalized by area possibly mean? You are claiming surface pressure, 101325Pa becomes is some sort of density!! At 17°C the surface air density remains at 1.225 kg/m³ or 1.225 milligram/cm³!!! All the way up, at reducing density,pressure,and sensible heat, the atmosphere remains self-buoyant!

          “The development of the cascade depends mostly on the amount of matter traversed and is usually linked to residual atmospheric depth, which is very close to the static barometric pressure, rather than to the actual altitude, that may vary depending on the exact atmospheric density profile.”

          to residual atmospheric optical depth, This may very well be true but has never been verified by anyone! Such is not related to the nonsense numbers above!
          All the best -will-

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          • #
            ren

            The energy of charged particles is progressively absorbed by ionizing the matter it passes through. The more matter and the longer the distance, the more absorption. Cosmic rays pass through a tremendous variety of environments, from the almost absolute emptiness of extragalactic space to the relative clutter of our atmosphere, to the extreme density of our rocky Earth or even lead shielding. We need a measure of the path length that would help us predict the absorption. At any point along the path, the number of interactions is proportional to the density (r) times the path length (dr). If we were to add up all of these interactions along the particle’s path, we would get a number that should be proportional to the total absorption.

            If density has units of g/cm3 and the path length is in units of cm, then this Interaction Depth, X, has units of g/cm2. At first it seems pretty strange to be talking about some sort of distance with units of g/cm2! However, it does allow one to compare the effects of passage through miles of upper atmosphere, to passage through a few centimeters of water.

            The idea of integrating along the particle’s path is daunting. However, we already have some help in this. The pressure here at the surface of the earth, although partly due to dynamic effects of air movement, is mostly due to the total of all the weight of the air above that point. Pressure is force per unit area. Force is the total weight of all the air stacked above. Weight is mass times the acceleration due to gravity. Mass is density times volume. The cross-sectional area of a column of air radiating directly upward, gets larger as it rises. The acceleration of gravity decreases as you get farther away. However, the earth is so large and the atmosphere so thin, that both of these values are essentially constant (to within 1%).
            http://cosmic.lbl.gov/SKliewer/Cosmic_Rays/Interaction.htm

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            • #

              “The energy of charged particles is progressively absorbed by ionizing the matter it passes through. The more matter and the longer the distance, the more absorption.”

              Perhaps! Particles (of mass) may have some accumulation of power (energy) as sensible heat. However There is no evidence that such ‘particles’ physically exist!
              All is fantasy to convince the poor serfs that the elite (science) knows something! This is the deliberate SCAM of certain self appointed elites to lord over serfs with absolutely no evidence of any such knowledge. THE SCAM!

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          • #
            ren

            Atmospheric Interactions

            As a primary cosmic ray, wandering through interstellar space (density on the order of 10-23 g/cm3), suddenly encounters our atmosphere where the density rapidly rises 20 orders of magnitude to 10-3 g/cm3 at sea level, it very likely will collide with particles of air.

            These interactions result in the production of three kinds of pions (positive, negative, and neutral) and two kinds of Kaons (positive and negative). Pions and Kaons are mesons (particles made up of a quark-antiquark combination) and have extremely short life times. The charged pions with mean life times of 26 nanoseconds and the Kaons with lives of 12 nanoseconds, decay into muons which have lives 1000 times longer (2.2 microseconds). The neutral pions decay almost immediately (10-16 s) into gamma rays. The muons can decay into electrons (or positrons) but their lifetime is long enough that they usually make it all the way to the ground.

            The high-energy gamma rays start an electromagnetic cascade of electrons and positrons. Pair Production (electron/positron pair) occurs when gamma rays encounter air nuclei. Bremsstrahlung (“breaking radiation”) occurs when the resultant electrons pass near air nuclei producing more gamma rays, which in turn produce more electrons.
            http://cosmic.lbl.gov/SKliewer/Cosmic_Rays/Atmosphere.htm

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            • #

              “As a primary cosmic ray, wandering through interstellar space (density on the order of 10-23 g/cm3).”

              Please tell us Ren, How your fake cosmic ray may possibly have any mass or density what so ever?

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              • #
                AndyG55

                That is not what he said.

                Put the whiskey down, and read again when sober. !

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              • #

                AndyG55 April 11, 2017 at 10:14 pm

                “That is not what he said. Put the whiskey down, and read again when sober.”

                Andy,
                I know; because Ren has written nothing that makes any sense! At the edge of the solar system density is less than a single hydrogen molecule/cm³, not 10-23 g/cm³ as he claims, Perhaps he means (10^-23) g/cm³, but that is indecipherable. Even surface atmosphere is but 1.2 mg/cm³. All of his numbers and claims seem to come from the same terlet. One lightning strike likely produces more ionizing radiation than a month of galactic cosmic rays. All is as much theoretical BS as CAGW! Such is no way to conduct any science!
                All the best! -will-

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              • #
                KinkyKeith

                Andy, when I first read that what I saw was a density of between 10 and 23 gm/cc.

                I took the lower value: 10 and compared it with water: 1.

                It appeared that we were dealing with very dense material, up near sg of mercury.

                Certainly it was not a gas and especially not interstellar space.

                In hindsight, reading on to the factor of 20 it becomes apparent that we are dealing with indices.

                Too late, I had already moved on to assuming we were being told about a single highly energised particle rather than a vacuum.

                The main point I am curious about concerns the observed and measured results of any experiments used to track this phenomenon of energy entering Earth’s atmosphere from space.

                Will appears to suggest that the concept of wave/particle duality needs to be treated as a “model” that aids in the design of experiments that explore this process.

                Models should be treated as useful tools and only represent reality when experimental work confirms the concept.

                Has there been any useful confirmation?

                KK

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              • #
                Will Janoschka

                KinkyKeith April 12, 2017 at 10:20 pm
                “Will appears to suggest that the concept of wave/particle duality needs to be treated as a “model” that aids in the design of experiments that explore this process.
                Models should be treated as useful tools and only represent reality when experimental work confirms the concept. Has there been any useful confirmation?”

                Thank you Keith,
                The atmospherc generation of golbal (spherical) circulation cells about a rotating sphere with a certain rotation rate and gas with specific Reynolds number has been repeatedly demonstrated in the Cal Tech labs! This is even true without any measurable atmospheric compression due to gravitational forces, or any asymmetrical power flux input!
                Just what evidence of ‘consensus meteorological fantasy’ exist anywhere!
                I do not know. is always correct and informative!
                All the best! -will-

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              • #
                KinkyKeith

                Will, those Cal Tech experiments sound kind of interesting.

                00

          • #
            ren

            The current level of secondary neutrons at the surface of the Earth means very low magnetic activity of the Sun.
            https://cosmicrays.oulu.fi/webform/monitor.gif
            http://www.solen.info/solar/polarfields/polarfields.png

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          • #
            ren

            Will Janoschka I’m not a specialist, so I’m only referring to scientific articles.

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            • #
              Will Janoschka

              “Will Janoschka I’m not a specialist, so I’m only referring to scientific articles.”

              Ren,
              That is fine, and much to consider! Please inform all that such are pseudo-scientific nonsense (guesses) with no impact on what may physically be! Enough of such crap! -will-

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              • #
                ren

                Will Janoschka
                Please tell me where are the errors in these articles?

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              • #

                “Will Janoschka Please tell me where are the errors in these articles?”

                No error in the logic of what might be (fantasy). But no evidence that any is! Can you recite the scientific method? Your numbers still make no sense! 🙂

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      • #

        “Aren’t politicians responsible for planning for the future?”

        Politicians have demonstrated over and over that they aren’t responsible for anything except planning for their very own future! 🙁

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      • #

        “Aren’t politicians responsible for planning for the future?”

        No. Absolutely not. The political system is supposed to be a negative feedback loop. The politicians are supposed to do what their constituents want. If the constituents – like pretty well everywhere – are ignorant, the politicians are not to be blamed.

        The problems is that the population in being deliberately deprived of balanced information to help them come to an informed opinion. That, IMHO, is criminal and is a major weakness of our current system.

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        • #

          “constituents – like pretty well everywhere – are ignorant”

          Ignorance: Willfully ignoring what is clearly before your senses.
          Infants are born id1ots;(unable to care for self), but never ignorant! By three days they have learned 75% of what they will ever know! Now the rest is social brainwashing!
          All the best! -will-

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          • #
            Mark D.

            And by 30 years will have forgotten 50% of whatever they learned. (even though convinced that they know everything).

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            • #
              Will Janoschka

              “And by 30 years will have forgotten 50% of whatever they learned. (even though convinced that they know everything).”

              I agree! Then much later they get to die alone, with no lushes teat to feed upon, and no one smiling while changing wet stinky diapers! Earthlings time is completely backwards!

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          • #
            greggg

            That’s willful ignorance – ignorance because of ignoring. Ignorance is lack of knowledge about whatever.

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            • #
              Will Janoschka

              “That’s willful ignorance – ignorance because of ignoring. Ignorance is lack of knowledge about whatever.?”

              Indeed! and always remains ‘criminal’ when practiced by any elected official, anywhere. I dislike 100,000,000 Torches and pitchforks. But please what is now any alternative? 🙁

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              • #
                C. Paul Barreira

                Why do people perpetually ignore the unelected officials—for they do the real damage. Elected officials are such easy targets and mostly irrelevant.

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              • #
                Will Janoschka

                C. Paul Barreira April 12, 2017 at 6:57 am

                “Why do people perpetually ignore the unelected officials—for they do the real damage. Elected officials are such easy targets and mostly irrelevant.”

                I guess that was directed at me. I agree and do not so ignore. “Follow the Money” should be imbibed in infant memory before leaving the hospital! 🙂

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    • #
      Mark M

      How Ancient Literature Could Help Predict the Next Massive Solar Storm …

      http://www.sciencealert.com/how-ancient-poetry-could-help-predict-the-next-massive-solar-storm

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  • #
    The Deplorable Vlad the Impaler

    I received a copy this weekend (unexpectedly — — I teach Math, though my area of expertise is in the Geological Sciences and Physics), so it was a pleasant surprise.

    The .pdf is also available for download, which is where I started reading it. It is very thorough, and only the close-minded will reject what it has to say.

    As our good buddy Al once said (not Gore), “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”

    Regards,

    Vlad

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    • #
      OriginalSteve

      The general reaction by the CAGW cargo cultists is exactly what you would expect from a doomsday closed cult when presented with evidence based on solid proof – blind panic and telling the cult members not to listen to outsiders….

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  • #
    KinkyKeith

    After yet another reminder of just how divorced from reality our education systems have become, it might be time to look for a solution.

    Perhaps every family could be required to complete a one week farm stay program to experience a little closeness and familiarity with the real world.

    In an age when the closest thing to reality is stacking the dishwasher and later pressing the go button for the T.V. or computer, we are ALL a little vulnerable to political manipulation.

    Leo is not the answer and at sometime in the future the real answer will have to be exhumed, dusted off, and brought back to life.

    Bring back science. Let it live.

    KK

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    • #
      Yonniestone

      Freezing cold and starvation will snap most people out of the eco-nirvana they think or hope exists, the idiom ‘bitch slap’ will finally have some gravitas behind it.

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        KinkyKeith

        My sister-in-law lives in Virginia, a few minutes drive from Washington.

        She is experiencing the piled snow, the shutdown international airport, not leaving the house for days.

        It may not be too long before California has a lot of new residents fleeing the climate change further north.

        Politics is indeed a strange animal when Leo can not even see what is going on in his own back yard.

        KK

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    • #
      Allen Ford

      Leo is not the answer

      Leo, for all his smartness, was not the answer to the Titanic either!

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      • #
        William

        Although he did play a brilliant conman in “Catch me if you can” – very good grounding for his alarmist spruiking role!

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    • #
      Will Janoschka

      “Leo is not the answer and at sometime in the future the real answer will have to be exhumed, dusted off, and brought back to life. Bring back science. Let it live.

      No bringing back! We are still at day 3 of creation! 2 3/4 more days until any are allowed to rest! No real science yet; the JPL guys are still tweeking the parameters!
      “Bring back science”, no! Review remembered history to identify all the vast scin-terrific mistooks, mistakes, and mistreaks! Only after that can the fantasy of sub-atomic particles (quanta) be returned to HELL from whence such originated!
      All the best! -will-

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  • #
    Radical Rodent

    With minds like that teaching the children, the future of civilisation is sealed – it is doomed.

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    • #
      el gordo

      It doesn’t look good Rodent, but we must continue the struggle for the sake of the grandchildren.

      When science teachers refuse to acknowledge that they may have got it wrong on AGW then we can safely say science education is dead in the water. I know a quite a few teachers and let me assure you they are all brain dead and its going to take undeniable global cooling to shake them from their ignorant slumber.

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      • #
        Allen Ford

        With a sister who was a teacher and married to another teacher, I can vouch for teachers’ sense of self-importance, dogmatic attitudes and dominated by a naïve trust in “authority”.

        It’s no wonder that they cannot cope with independent enquiry or bucking the prejudiced ignorance of the in crowd.

        Draining the swamp must start with retraining the educators.

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      • #
        Hivemind

        “…its going to take undeniable global cooling to shake them from their ignorant slumber.”

        Read “Fallen Angels” by Larry Niven, et al to see the reaction you will get to evidence of undeniable global cooling. Complete and utter denial… still caused by CO2.

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        • #
          el gordo

          I’m not a big fan of pure SF, preferring science fact, which can be just as exciting as SF.

          There is this mini ice age yarn rolling around in my head, but its not a catastrophe movie and unlikely to get up.

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    • #
      Mark M

      Young Nationals reject federal party policy to back emissions trading

      http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/young-nationals-reject-federal-party-policy-to-back-emissions-trading-20170410-gvi0n1.html
      . . .
      More turkeys voting for thanksgiving.

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      • #
        Allen Ford

        Labor’s spokesman for energy and climate change, Mark Butler, said
        “It’s good to see the future of the National Party understands the importance of energy security and affordability,”

        There will be no energy security or affordability if the renewable energy route is taken.

        This contradiction escapes RE naïfs, comprehensively.

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      • #
        el gordo

        Young Nats are brainwashed pseudo Marxists, Barnaby should expel them from the Party.

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        • #
          Mark M

          Sadly, El Gordo, Barnaby has just jumped the renewable shark …

          Renewables are ‘like greens on your dinner plate’ it’s good to have some but not too much

          https://twitter.com/SkyNewsAust/status/851619592044597248
          . . .
          How many renewables must Barnaby want before he prevents his first Canberran heatwave?

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          • #
            el gordo

            Career politicians are unreliable, especially when so many farmers and graziers have benefitted from Abbott’s Direct Action Plan.

            He knows nothing of climate change, otherwise he would put his foot down and squash the green blob activists within the Party.

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  • #
    Tom O

    First, it might be of interest to put the US science teacher community into perspective. MANY years ago, I thought I would like to teach. At the university I was going to, I looked at the curriculum for being a natural science teacher. It compared very favorably with being a theoretical physicist. Well, not quite that bad, but the science background required was very, very strong.

    Then, when I went home to see some old teachers that I knew, I discovered that the teacher no longer had control of the classroom. They could not send disruptive children from the class, but had to attempt to teach the class around them. I realized this was not an environment in which I could work and feel satisfied.

    At this time, the system was opening up the floodgates of college graduates, many with degrees that had no value, but with 18 hours od education credits and 3 hours of practice teaching, they could become a teacher. Math teachers in the school I had gone to had been phys. ed. majors, but after teaching high school math for a couple of years became “math teachers.” The same for science teachers. Had they majored for that position, they would have to have had about 60 credit hours of science courses, but you could get a degree in basket weaving, take your education courses, and could be hired into a science teacher’s position.

    I would seriously doubt that the “profession” has found a higher water mark through the years. People that truly would like to teach are generally looked at as too qualified if they studied for the position, and for them to be successful, there would have to be classroom discipline. The graduate just looking for a job, doesn’t care about whether they are giving the classroom what they need. It is easier to go with the flow than to be honest when it comes to something like climate.

    And who are these wonder teachers that just go into education because it is better than driving a trash truck or flipping burgers? Mostly liberal arts grads with no degree of any value, so is it any wonder that teachers don’t support real science or even know what it is? And is it any wonder that students have no idea what science is either? After all, you don’t teach “material” any more, you teach them to think for themselves and give them nothing to judge by accept what they hear peripherally.

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      sophocles

      When the IPCC describes a spade, thusly (Lord Monkton at 2016’s London Climate Conference, opening seconds of the lecture) as a single operator metallo lignite … device then it’s little wonder no one knows what to teach and no school knows who and what to hire.

      The schools are caught in the trap of thinking any trained teacher can teach anything. Human experience and the history of apprenticeships over the last 5,000 years says “Nay, you need to train specialists to teach their specialty.”

      I was lucky to be taught Mathematics by a mathematician. I loved it.
      I was lucky to be taught Physics by a Physicist. It was fascinating.
      I was lucky to be taught Chemistry by a Chemist. Again: fantastic. I got an enormous amount of fun out of the section about explosives, especially gunpowders, which could be made at home. (Potassium nitrate is now not so easy to buy, but wood ash, water and animal dung is one way of getting it. Some work required.)

      In other words, the education system has it back to front. It is easier to train specialists to teach their specialty than it is to train a teacher in a new specialty they have never known before.

      All my teachers knew what they were talking about. It was therefore easy for them to relate their subjects to everyday life in interesting and challenging ways.

      A friend’s daughter said, one day a few years ago, that she hated Maths. I sat down with her, one day, to see if I could get some idea of her complaint and find out if I could help her. (For some reason, her Dad, a professional engineer, wasn’t good enough.) The first session was amazing. We both had a lot of fun, and she claimed she had learnt a lot. She wouldn’t let me escape and it became two years of re-teaching her maths. We all ended up being very proud of her final results and my friends were very pleased to get their dining room table back … 🙂

      As best I was able to discover was that her maths teacher didn’t really know maths and may have been barely a step or two ahead of the senior students. And the education system is having big problems with not having sufficient specialists to teach specialist subjects.

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    Another Ian

    Sort of fits on this thread

    ” scottmc37
    April 10, 2017 at 1:31 pm

    MSM Report

    “Unprecedented warming results in Catastrophic melting of century old Canadian arctic ice”

    A comment at

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2017/04/10/catastrophic-meltdown-of-canadian-ice/

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    C. Paul Barreira

    Rather than NSTC (National Science and Technology Council), should the American teachers’ organisation referred to be NSTA (National Science Teachers Association)?

    Incidentally the source of the notion of 97 per cent unanimity of climate scientists. Remember Mma Grace Makutsi of The No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith.

    Regarding the education system (KinkyKeith). Some means by which a school could opt out of the National Curriculum—presently compulsory by federal law—may be a start. But there is a problem: from where would be find teachers able to do much other than the current totalitarian scheme? Many years ago on a bus to Flinders University I overheard one grandmother say to another that one of the grandchildren’s teachers would shortly introduce some grammar to the class. The friend expressed much pleasure at the thought. I, being a perpetual curmudgeon, wondered even then whether the teacher concerned actually knew any grammar. And now, in 21C with an ever-shrinking facility of language and self-replicating system, that is an even less likely event, however urgent. But the first issue is the law.

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      C. Paul Barreira

      PS. Perhaps this helps explain what’s happening: Communism for Kids, by Bini Adamczak and published by MIT Press on 24 March 2017. From Amazon, too, we learn that the intended age range of readers is “18 and up”, an interesting definition of “kids”—what a horrible word!

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        Roy Hogue

        Is there any good news anymore?

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        Annie

        Yes, our offspring are children, not baby goats. It annoys me to hear children described as ‘kids’.

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          Will Janoschka

          “Yes, our offspring are children, not baby goats. It annoys me to hear children described as ‘kids’.”

          The expression ‘kids (baby goats)’ is an expression of “Wonder” of how they act! (eager). Rather than the begrudging acceptance of They sure are a pain in the Assid!
          All the best! -will-

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          Yonniestone

          Annie I found this link to English Language & Usage Stack Exchange where interesting insights into the origins of child/kid are first used.

          I was thinking along Mary had a little lamb lines but realised this isn’t acceptable in a nanny state………

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          Roy Hogue

          Annie,

          It’s evident that English speakers, probably more so than any other language, prefer shorter words over longer. Hence once something like kids = children get’s started it grows in use exponentially until it consumes the entire English speaking population of the world. 😉

          It’s also true that English lends itself very freely to “customization” so that a noun can suddenly become a verb, etc. So I gave up worrying abut what current usage is because it’s impossible to fight it and make any headway. I never thought the word text (clearly a noun) could become texting (a verb) as easily as it has.

          So kid is around and will probably stay forever, in spite of you, me and my English teachers, one of whom made the same argument you did to the whole class as I remember.

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            Roy Hogue

            And if the objective of language is communication, then the only problem is to avoid ambiguity and lack of universal understanding and not worry about form. The alternative to texting would be, sending a text message, which is very inconvenient because it takes more time to say and even more time to type or write by hand compared to the former.

            And who made me an expert anyway? 😉

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              The Deplorable Vlad the Impaler

              I christen thee, “EXPERT”!

              Let’s see, “ex” means ‘former’, and “spurt” means a discharge of water under pressure, so an ex-spurt is a has-been who’s a drip in the first place … … … … …

              30

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                Roy Hogue

                Vlad,

                You have me pegged perfectly although I wish I could be expert in more subjects than I am. Nuts! 🙁

                The unfortunate thing is that many who have credentials to actually be an expert really are not what they purport to be.

                Climate change comes to mind. But I guess you can’t have everything — some sort of uncertainty principle like heisenberg I think. And if I remember his name correctly. And that exhausts my knowledge of that subject too. 🙂

                30

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              Will Janoschka

              Indeed even in the imperative, “Text me!” 😉

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        Rereke Whakaaro

        I think exposing Communist theory to young adults is a good idea. Once they understand what Communism is all about, they won’t have a bar of it.

        Teacher: “What sort of car would you like to own?”

        Young person: “A twelve cylinder Jag!”

        Teacher: “Oh no, that is way out of your reach – you don’t even attend Political Indoctrination classes! You will have to make do with a four cylinder Skoda, or a Lada, when you eventually climb high enough in the party, of course! Until then, you will have to squeeze onto the Metro, just like everybody else.”

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      Annie

      Thanks David.

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      Will Janoschka

      Have the impostors; (academic freeloaders), presented any evidence that this paper is anywhere incorrect?
      It likely has mistooks\mistakes\mistreaks! That later discovery of such is always the scientific method! 🙂

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    tom0mason

    It is enlightening to see that such people Brandie Freeman, and maybe all members of the National Science Teachers Association, are in the job of closing young minds while teaching how to argue the point without recourse to logic, reason, and observational evidence.

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    Ruairi

    Many textbooks place total reliance,
    On consensus I.P.C.C. ‘science’,
    Which can easily hoodwink,
    Those who teach but can’t think,
    By their methods of abject compliance.

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    Roy Hogue

    By fortunate coincidence I just received a copy of the book from Heartland. I can see right away without ever opening it what one big problem is — the names Idso, Carter and Singer right on the front cover. These three men are anathema to the climate change believer and the reason is simple, they are real scientists who can do the work, explore the theory look for the evidence and tell you whether it’s there or not. And it’s not there.

    The package includes a DVD entitled, History of Climate Change in Greenland, which I’ll sit down and watch at my first opportunity. It’s only 10 minutes and 39 seconds long but I dare say that none of those who most need to watch it will do so. And believing themselves possessed of all the necessary knowledge by way of the consensus and other junk science, they probably won’t read the book either.

    I have begun to lose hope that Trump will make a 180 degree turn on climate change because what’s needed is not a review of the science as he’s apparently determined to do at the EPA, it’s a wholesale firing of those who cannot be honest about the fact that there are two sides to this issue and the skeptical side has the stronger position, so strong that if it was a game of chess I’d say checkmate in 2 moves: 1) fire the dishonest people; 2) hire honest scientists.

    Grrr!

    I have a video to watch and a book to read at least some of, not that I need the book because I already know why scientists disagree about global warming.

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      Roy Hogue

      My heartfelt thank you and appreciation goes to the Heartland Institute for their tireless efforts and for a free copy of a beautifully bound book that must have cost a pretty penny to set up, print and bind in such large numbers.

      I hope it pays off. And Ill be looking for someone who needs convincing and will read the book and watch the video. I’ll gladly donate my copies of both.

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        Will Janoschka

        One cannot learn until that same one truthfully admits ‘I do not know’. All others must be unlearned scammers stealing your wealth! 🙂

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      Roy Hogue

      The DVD is excellent although is suffers a little because some of those interviewed are not native English speakers and have hard to understand accents.

      It makes the same arguments I would make:

      1. Past evidence that the Vikings were thriving in Greenland for a long time, including enjoying weather allowing agriculture

      2. The Vikings all disappeared by 13?? (no memory for numbers anymore) and the climate is now much colder

      3. As warming occurs CO2 lags temperature by hundreds of years and explains why this would be the case

      4. Little Ice Age and the warming since then

      5. Some additional details

      And the net conclusion has to be what we all think it is, that CO2 isn’t doing anything detectable.

      The DVD also comes with permission to copy excerpt, exhibit, etc. for the simple courtesy of giving the producer notice of use.

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        Roy Hogue

        After thumbing my way through the book for a few minutes I can see that it makes strong arguments, including making the point that political influence on science is not a good idea.

        I first heard about it quite a while back (1st edition in 2015) and didn’t order a copy. Perhaps I should have…

        It’s interesting that the copyright page contains this statement,

        Opinions expressed are solely those of the authors. Nothing in this book should be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The Heartland Institute or as an attempt to influence pending legislation,

        when it’s been quite clear to me that the position this book takes on global warming is exactly the position of The Heartland Institute that I’ve seen over and over in what they publish. I guess these days call for a certain neutrality or appearance thereof when in fact Heartland isn’t neutral at all. I would certainly not be afraid to endorse the opinions of Idso, Carter or Singer. On the other hand, when a certain climate scientist has shown a proclivity for suing those who disagree with him I expect it’s wise to distance themselves from the authors. It’s a pity so much trouble is caused by one Mann.

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      Will Janoschka

      “I have begun to lose hope that Trump will make a 180 degree turn on climate change because what’s needed is not a review of the science as he’s apparently determined to do at the EPA.”

      Please do not loose hope! Interpret that to mean ‘a serious and ‘deadly’ review on the non-science of fantasy CAGW! 😉

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    Interested

    Could this book perhaps be circulated (for free) among what passes for the ‘teaching profession’ here in Australia too? Or is the union-based left-wing grip on teaching simply too strong to permit such a thing?

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    DMA

    I downloaded the pdf and read the book a few weeks ago in preparation for a discussion of the consensus papers. It has the best organized discussion and refutation of the several papers and articles claiming the 97% agreement among scientists that I have found. All of the discussions are referenced to peer reviewed papers to support the reasoning for their conclusions. Any teacher that takes time to read this and evaluate it will find it helpful in understanding the climate change controversy.

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    Mark

    I have two nieces. One is brilliant and quite literally could go anywhere with her science chem degree but she teaches science in an exclusive school..the other, she is state school trash that will teach nothing but alternative lifestyle crap…both are teachers of the next generation.

    The former is way smarter than me, yet, she asked my advice on thermodynamics and the laws. I sent her my applied thermo text from my engineering days. Killed climate change in one conversation. She could see the logic process and the illogical argument used by the warmists. Her kids are going to appreciate her wisdom in years to come. The other just fills in the space.

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      “One is brilliant and quite literally could go anywhere with her science chem degree but she teaches science in an exclusive school..”

      Sounds like a true mentor rather than teacher\washer. Someone that somehow gets others to “want to learn”. Then follows up be answering, “that question”, with I don’t know either; let’s go find out!!
      -will-

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      John Brookes

      Oh dear. A brilliant teacher asking advice from a climate skeptic. The world really is ending.

      I thought I’d just drop in after a few years away, but sadly no warmists fanning the flames of debate here. Just the echoing of empty vessels.

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        Roy Hogue

        Speaking of empty things… …Hello John,

        We miss you and your good nature while you preach the party line to us. So do continue to drop in occasionally and let us know what we should be thinking. 🙂

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        Peter C

        Hi John,

        Is this just a fly by shooting or a return to the fray? I imagined that you had either converted from the cause or had retired.

        Anyway, welcome. But we are looking for a better effort when you come back with your next comment.

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        Andrew McRae

        Be the change you want to see in the world, JB.

        Still carrying water for Marx?

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    Oliver K. Manuel

    Dropping out of high school after the 9th probably protected my

    1. Limited ability to reason logically, and to

    2. Prefer precise measurements of reality

    Over 97% consensus scientific models of reality.

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      Oliver K. Manuel

      I dropped out of high school 65 years ago, in 1952.

      Accidently entered college four years later in 1956.

      Accidentally met Prof. Paul Kazuo Kuroda in 1960.

      Learned recently that he recognized the error that separated science from reality on 13 June 1936exactly four months before I was born:

      https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10640850/Nuclear_Energy_Error7.pdf

      https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10640850/HIGHER-POWERZ.pdf

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      Will Janoschka

      “Dropping out of high school after the 9th probably protected my
      1. Limited ability to reason logically, and to 2. Prefer precise measurements of reality”

      Interesting! I did graduate with scholarship to Michigan State University.
      I wished instead to learn something, anything! I asked them to hold the scholarship until I was released of 3 year obligation of enlisting in the US Navy. They agreed!
      Enlisting I first learned that there is always something bigger, badder than you! (Where is my mommy)? After that, I was schooled to become an Electronics Technician. What a fraud! Except for already being a ham radio operator, there was no learning except the Navy way!
      I survived the 3 years by learning the difference between I, I sir!; and why all the electronics crapped out when needed it the most!
      To be continued perhaps! -will-

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        Oliver K. Manuel

        In hindsight, Will, all my plans were for naught.

        Coincidence guided my life, despite my struggles.

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          Will Janoschka

          “In hindsight, Will, all my plans were for naught.”

          Oliver,
          Your plans remain quite insightful!
          Physical verification of such may be impossible, until way way later! No reason to give up. Please continue to try to discredit all of the current Quantum bull Sh*t.
          The Quantum anything is wonderful\useful conjecture of what may be\to wonder about; but has never been demonstrated as anything physical

          “Coincidence guided my life, despite my struggles.”

          Every intelligence must proceed along own path. Many directions are worrisome. You can only discover or follow!!
          All the best! -will-

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          Oliver K. Manuel

          Will,

          For the past eighty-two years, The Quantum Mechanical Scheme” has given humans an Altered Awareness of Reality.

          https://jonrappoport.wordpress.com/2017/04/11/study-manipulating-the-brain-to-create-honest-behavior/#comment-220567

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            Will Janoschka

            Oliver K. Manuel April 12, 2017 at 5:28 am ·

            “Will, For the past eighty-two years, “The Quantum Mechanical Scheme” has given humans an Altered Awareness of Reality.”

            Oliver,
            1935 was about the time when ‘study of Physics’ replaced demonstrably repeatable physical evidence with, consistent symbolic algebra, without understanding the physical meaning of ‘any’ symbol! Politically this became ‘close enough for government work’! And very luckily, physically produced an atomic weapon so weak, that it did not destroy the universe. Fall on your knees and pray!
            All the best! -will-

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      Oliver K. Manuel

      Galileo’s trial and imprisonment in the 1600s started the scientific revolution and offered humans an opportunity to understand their place in the universe by logical consideration of the results obtained by using the scientific method of analysis.

      1. Thomas Jefferson declared ~100 years later, in 1776: Humans were endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights to enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness . . . and to create and or abolish governments to protect those rights.

      2. Prout (1815) concluded that the weights of all atoms are whole number multiples of the atomic weight of the hydrogen atom;

      3. Einstein (1905) discovered that the mass (m) of an atom is stored energy (E), E = mc^2;

      4. Rutherford (1920) concluded that about half of the mass of an atom is collapsed hydrogen atoms (electron-proton pairs in close combination) that Rutherford called “neutrons.”

      5. Aston’s (1922) measured the masses of atoms and confirmed that the weight of each atom is a whole integer multiple of the atomic weight of the hydrogen atom, and the entire mass of each atom is a measure of its stored energy, which Aston called, “nuclear packing fraction and

      6. Chadwick (1932) discovered and reported the neutron is an “electron-proton pair in close combination.”

      7. Chadwick (1935) was given a Nobel Prize for essentially refuting earlier studies and conclusions by leading scientists in favor of The Quantum Mechanical Scheme” of An Altered Awareness:

      https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10640850/Nuclear_Energy_Error7.pdf

      The Quantum Mechanical Scheme” of Altered Awareness, is thus the Mother of these other consensus scientific models of altered reality:

      Standard Nuclear Model
      Standard Solar Model
      Standard Climate Model
      Big Bang Cosmology
      !

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    Terry

    “She was insulted.”

    – Good

    “We’re not novices,”

    – The facts seem to disagree with your assertion.

    “We’re science teachers…,

    – Well of course you are. Now, what was that second reason again.
    “Second, labeling propaganda as science does not make it so.”

    – Quite so

    “… this is what we do for a living.”

    – how terribly sad for you, and more importantly, those that pay for your existence to provide a service they clearly do not receive. What’s a word for that? Maybe we should consult the English Department.

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    Peter C

    Banning this book could be the best thing that happened to it.

    Remember what happened when “Lady Chatterly’s lover by D H Lawrence was banned by the censors. We all read it as school boys. Before that we had never heard of D H Lawrence.

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    Geoffrey Williams

    It’s a great shame that so many science teachers in the US feel this way and are prepared to trash books over the issue.
    It seems that they have complete dislike and loathing of those like ourselves who offer a skeptical science based alternative.
    I can only say that the lack of respect is mutual. These people practice the very dogma that they themselves accuse us of.
    GeoffW

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      Dave in the States

      Teachers in America today are the epitome of incompetence. Most are advocates and in some cases operatives of the Democrat political party. Teachers in America today have very little expertise on science subject matter. They depend on the literature, most of which might as well be outhouse paper, for the substance on any subject. (Ironically the arts and music instructors would be the ones who have any personal expertise on the subjects they teach) Chemistry, physics, biology, maths, statistics? Forget it. Most don’t really know which end of the pencil is up. The problem is systemic.

      When I was a kid I had some great science teachers. I really did. One had multiple bachelor degrees in hard sciences and a masters in agronomy. He was also a retired Air Force officer and an ex fighter pilot with post graduate credits in aeronautical engineering. He had much work experience in the private sector as well. Such an outstanding individual would not be allowed anywhere near a class room in America today. He would need to jump through the right left certification hoops first. He would be a threat to the “professional teachers”. The “professional teachers” are a product of the modern teaching academies. There they learn the art of teaching, such as classroom control, sensitivity training….and so forth. In other words baby sitting. Expertise on the subject matter is not required or wanted. The modern teacher’s job is to present only the approved curriculum which is basically lefty indoctrination anymore.

      Of course, lefty activists don’t want these “presenters” to see or possess any heretical information.

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    • #
      Peter C

      He is the Lion.

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      KinkyKeith

      Leonardo (Leo to his friends) da Vinci, was a famous Italian sculptor, painter and scientist.

      The current Leo of whom we speak, has no friends on this blog, is not a famous Italian and although he may be an artist of stage and screen, is definitely not a scientist.

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        Will Janoschka

        “The current Leo of whom we speak, has no friends on this blog, is not a famous Italian and although he may be an artist of stage and screen, is definitely not a scientist.”

        Thank you Keith,
        I actually believed\suspected\accepted, that this thread used to be significant;
        OH woha are I. Thank you again!

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          KinkyKeith

          Will.

          That comment has a lot of internal conflict.

          Are you sure you aren’t a politician?

          30

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            Will Janoschka

            Will.
            “That comment has a lot of internal conflict. Are you sure you aren’t a politician?

            Keith,
            I truly do not know! However, if IWAP, I certainly would not be alive to post anything! Just who are I?
            And why’d jew think so? 🙂

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              KinkyKeith

              If you had said: ” I …… that this thread used to be INsignificant” then I might have felt I was being complimented.

              As written it seems to suggest the opposite?

              🙂

              KK

              p.s. There’s a bottle of Sullivan’s on the web priced at AUD$10,000. Now that’s significant.

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                Will Janoschka

                If you had said: ” I …… that this thread used to be INsignificant” then I might have felt I was being complimented.

                As written it seems to suggest the opposite? 🙂
                Keith,
                As working engineer I was required to make some mistake every 20 minutes (3 per hour) or I were sloughing off! These were easily corrected, with ‘anticipation’ by the crew, (he did it again!!),but I again bought first round at happy hour.

                “KK p.s. There’s a bottle of Sullivan’s on the web priced at AUD$10,000. Now that’s significant.”

                Do not buy that! Let the Donald buy that!

                The very young single malt distilleries want the medium age experts to covet their product. Go there with that in mind.
                Hell, Dewer’s White Label is an excellent blend. Still execute your of-sprouts, if they mix any of that with Coke.

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                KinkyKeith

                O.K. Thanks for the compliment.

                Now I must go back to all the comments Ren made in response to your comment about his second item.

                See, provocation works and I suspect he has some good stuff posted there.

                So does that stuff with the semi metho bite.

                Yours in provocation.

                KK

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              • #

                “Now I must go back to all the comments Ren made in response to your comment about his second item.”

                Ren has good ideas, but little physical conformation of such.

                “See, provocation works and I suspect he has some good stuff posted there.”

                Indeed. I remain a true sucker for interesting stuff! His numbers however, are truly lousy!

                “So does that stuff with the semi metho bite.
                Yours in provocation.”

                You betcha! Local kitten ‘shadow’ generally gets that snake first! Good kitty! 🙂

                Talk about provocation; which leads to compelling; never consideration!

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    Clearly the Heartland Institute members are Russian agents. We need to check their phone records and internet search histories. One of them has already admitted that his cousin owns a samovar. Or knew a guy with an accent who used to own a samovar.

    Sun indeed! Where is the science? We all know that when the climate has gone off-script in the past that was just due to a volcano erupting in the same century. Or something like that.

    I know they give these solar cycles German-sounding names, but really…they’re Russian!

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    Another Ian

    One of their idols has spoken (and been reviewed)

    “The (sur)Real News with M.Mann”

    https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2017/04/10/the-surreal-news-with-m-mann/

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    Mark M

    O/T.

    Mass Fish Die-Off at Mallacoota: Upwelling and the EAC?

    “Thousands of dead fish have been washing up on the shores of far eastern Victoria and southern NSW. They started appearing on the beach in small numbers around March 11 but came in en masse in the last few weeks of March.
    Although most of the fish appear to be leatherjackets, there are also whiting, black sole, puffer fish, boxfish, sea urchins, flathead and even some penguins”

    http://oceancurrent.imos.org.au/news.php
    (h/t to a previous comment/thread @jonova for link)

    HERE is the Daily sea surface temperature anomalies in March 2016 show unusual warmth around much of Australia. (animation)
    Author provided using OSSTIA data from UK Met Office Hadley Centre.

    Courtesy of the doomsday scientists @theconversation, complete with the most alarmist headline they could imagine, here we see how cold is far more deadly that warmth.

    https://theconversation.com/great-barrier-reef-bleaching-would-be-almost-impossible-without-climate-change-58408

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    • #

      Mark M mentions this:

      “Thousands of dead fish have been washing up on the shores of far eastern Victoria and southern NSW. They started appearing on the beach in small numbers around March 11 but came in en masse in the last few weeks of March.
      Although most of the fish appear to be leatherjackets, there are also whiting, black sole, puffer fish, boxfish, sea urchins, flathead and even some penguins”

      I know that this is only anecdotal, but it is indicative.

      My Mum’s large extended family on her Father’s side had a small holiday shack on 90 Mile Beach, around a mile or so from the actual Entrance at Lakes Entrance. There were three or four of these holiday shacks and they were owned by virtue of a 99 year lease (at the cost of a Penny) from the Government of the day, but only on the proviso that they were actually used a few times a year, and Mum’s Uncle owned one of them, and it was used a number of times throughout the year.

      We went there for the second, and last time in 1959, and I was only 8 years old. A year later in mid 1960, we moved to the Gold Coast in Queensland. For this short holiday, there were Dad, Mum, and the two eldest of the five of us children. We stayed there for two weeks. The only way in and out was via ferry from the small township of Lakes Entrance. No power was connected, so we cooked with bottled gas, and had Lanterns for lighting. We stayed there for two weeks. Never had so much fun in my young life. Fishing with Dad, walks with Mum and my sister, ferry trips up into the Lakes with more fishing, and two wonderful weeks of semi isolation.

      We marvelled at the way the water would rush in through the Entrance, and watched the trawlers navigate it to get out to Sea. (into Bass Strait)

      It was the first time I saw a shark, and two guys had caught this thing, a seven foot Grey Nurse, and they strung it up to a tree by the tail, and we all had our photos taken with it, and I still have the slides.

      We would walk along that windy 90 Mile beach, and some time during the second week, we noticed literally hundreds of dead fish washed up on the beach. Not just an isolated one here and there but at least one or two every foot or so, dead fish as far as the eye could see, and nearly all of them leatherjackets. There must have been thousands of them, literally.

      All these things were new to a city dwelling 8 year old, even if that city was just a town called Beaumaris.

      I would help Dad scale and clean the fish we (well him mostly) caught, doing that in the protected tidal pool the other side of the rock wall near where we were staying, and I would watch amazed as a large eel would slide through a hole in the rock wall, and snatch the cleaned gizzards from the dead fish we had caught.

      Everything was new, and it was two weeks of the most fun I had in my life to that time. There are so many things I will never forget from that time, but the sight of those many many dead Leatherjackets was perhaps one of the most enduring things I remember.

      There is nothing new in the World.

      Tony.

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        Great memories there, Tony. Every kid should have long summer holidays by the Pacific Ocean.

        One of the early anecdotes of Sydney’s settlement is about the encounter with the Cammeraygal or “Manly” tribe, as described by Watkin Tench (who also described the effects of the horror El Nino of the 1790s, the same one which brought on monsoon failures and the Skull Famine in India).

        The aborigines were having an absolute feast on a whale beached north side of the harbour. None of them had tried to torment the creature by pushing it back into the water. It was a big fish. They just ate it.

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        Geoffrey Williams

        Ignore the red thumb just finger error.
        Good story Tony.
        GeoffW

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    David Maddison

    O/T

    I can’t think of any other country that is deindustrialising faster than Australia, primarily lead by the deliberate destruction of power stations (windmills are not power stations) which leads to high power prices which leads to more deindustrialisation.

    Rabid unions and Greens are the other causes.

    Please let me know if you disagree or can think of a worse example.

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    David Maddison

    The rot is so deep in the “education” systems in Western countries that I’m not sure it’s repairable.

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      PeterS

      It’s not going to be simple or easy. It has gone so far the only way it can ever be repaired is to go through a crash and burn scenario where the people wake up and finally see that leftist socialism is terminal to a society in terms of freedoms, the economy and the stability of a society in general. Until then people will enjoy their coffee breaks at work, gossip about sport and the movies, whine about the boss and go home each day to watch the MSN or favourite TV serial.

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        Oliver K. Manuel

        I agree, it will not be easy to undo 82 years (1935-2017) of altered awareness disguised as “consensus science!”

        Patience, kindness and tolerance will be required for all those who were deceived.

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        nightspore

        It may only end when there are no other places to run to. (So now Venezuela is crashing, but it’s having seemingly no impact on anyone anywhere else.)

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    Hivemind

    “How many science teachers know the scientific method? Aristotelian reasoning?

    Well some still do, and they’ll find the book an excellent resource.”

    I think you meant to say “They’ll BOTH find the book an excellent resource.”

    Just my snarky two bits worth. But seriously, these people are into pedagogy, not truth or facts.

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    pat

    our “educated” youth?

    11 Apr: Bellingen Courier: Heath Aston: Young Nationals back emissions trading
    The Young Nationals have split with the senior ranks of the party, voting to support the introduction of a carbon trading scheme…
    The Young Nationals’ stance on carbon trading was described by policy officer Alex Fitzpatrick as one driven by the priority of affordable energy.
    “If we do not plan for renewable energy investment, our hospitals and intensive care units, small businesses with cool rooms and the vulnerable will be impacted – whether it’s blackouts like in South Australia or higher energy bills,” she said.

    Ben Franklin, a National Party member of the NSW upper-house, praised the Young Nats for again taking a different position to the wider party, pointing out that it was the youth wing that first backed legal and accessible abortion in NSW in the 1960s…
    Mr Franklin, a former long-time state director of the Nationals, was in January appointed parliamentary secretary for renewable energy but he said he was not arguing publicly for an EIS.

    But the Coalition government in NSW has done so, telling the Turnbull Government’s energy security review headed by chief scientist Alan Finkel that he should “consider the need for a mechanism that provides market signals” for the transition to a more diversified and renewable energy mix.
    The motion taken by the Young Nats brings them into line with the National Farmers’ Federation, the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Industry Group and much of the energy sector, including the electricity transmission and distribution businesses…

    Labor’s spokesman for energy and climate change, Mark Butler, welcomed the schism in the Nationals.
    “It’s good to see the future of the National Party understands the importance of energy security and affordability,” he said.
    http://www.bellingencourier.com.au/story/4589779/young-nationals-back-emissions-trading/?cs=7

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      KinkyKeith

      Absolutely bizarre.

      But Pat this is not so much about education which can only go so far.

      This is mostly a tribute to and acknowledgement of the power of repetitious and persistent advertising.

      Another advertising campaign success.

      KK

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        AndyG55

        Sounds like the National party youth has been taken over by the far-left.

        More fool the National Party !

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          toorightmate

          Remember when theNationals were the Country Party.
          The changed their name because you could have Young Labour or Young Libs, but you couldn’t have……………..

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        • #
          OriginalSteve

          Indeed…the nationals have been split to water down the right wing influence….its the sort of stuff the Left specializes in, as we can see.

          It would seem the rout by the Left has been complete.

          I hate to bring up the “T” word again, but…..

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  • #
    pat

    11 Apr: GMA News: Reuters: Alex Whiting: World can peak planet-warming emissions by 2020 — former UN climate chief
    “In order to be a decarbonised economy by 2050, we have to bend the (emissions) curve by 2020,” said Christiana Figueres. “Not only is it urgent and necessary, but actually we are very nicely on our way to achieving it,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation before launching a campaign to get governments, businesses, investors and other sectors behind a 2020 deadline…

    ???India, Norway and Germany all aim to switch completely to electric cars by 2030…

    At least $1 trillion needs to be invested in clean technologies globally by 2020, said Figueres…
    “The fact is that we’re moving in the right direction,” she said, adding that green bonds alone are predicted to reach $200 billion this year. Figueres said clean technologies are cheaper and carry a lower financial risk than those based around fossil fuel use. And cutting emissions has many short-term benefits such as better health, job creation, and food, water and energy security, she added…

    Ahead of the “Mission 2020” campaign launch, Erik Solheim, executive director of the U.N. Environment Programme, said the world had made “remarkable progress” in fighting climate change…
    “If you have consistent policymaking and cross-party consensus, it’s perfectly possible to get richer and cleaner at the same time,” said ECIU director Richard Black. “Britain isn’t the only country that’s done it – it’s true for most of the G7.”…

    Whether it would be better for the United States to stay in the accord is not a “black and white situation”, said Figueres. If the United States remains, there is “full participation”, but if it leaves “it perhaps allows all the other countries to move forward more quickly”, she said.
    http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/606634/news/world/world-can-peak-planet-warming-emissions-by-2020-former-un-climate-chief

    10 Apr: OutlookIndia: No agreement stops India from using any energy source: Goyal
    ***Replying to supplementaries, Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said coal will continue to remain our mainstay as it was a domestic raw material for producing energy.
    “Paris Agreement does not in any way stop the government or any country from meeting its energy needs from whatever sources of energy one may choose…
    He also said that coal was India’s domestic raw material and it “will remain to continue to remain our mainstay and there was no such Agreement in Paris that will stop us from continuing to encourage coal-based generation of power.”…
    http://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/no-agreement-stops-india-from-using-any-energy-source-goyal/1025752

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    • #
      OriginalSteve

      Reminds me how the US bankrupted the USSR by inventing “star wars”…the Commies in the UN have done the same to the West by inventing something so big ( CAGW ) it will crash the West…like trying to appease a petty tyrant….clever, but must be stopped.

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        Original Steve writes this: (my bolding here)

        Reminds me how the US bankrupted the USSR by inventing “star wars”

        “Star Wars” got me in more $h1t than Flash Gordon, and this is relatively on topic here, being about education.

        I was posted back to Wagga Wagga as a technical trades teacher instructor in Winter of 1986, and I was pretty bewildered really, wondering how just an ordinary Electrical tradesman was now supposed to teach the subject.

        First thing they did was to put you an IT course, and in those days IT stood for Instructional Techniques, and basically it was a short and very intensive 8 week Course to teach you how to, well, teach. There were usually between 8 and 10 starters from all the five Trades they taught at Wagga Wagga, and it was conducted by an EdO. (Education Officer)

        The Course I was originally slated for was cancelled because they didn’t have enough starters. My Electrical Section couldn’t afford to have me sitting around waiting, so they threw me in at the deep end, a couple of sit ins, and then straight to the front of the class as the talking head, from the lesson plans etc.

        I still had to have the qualification, so, in some time when they could afford to let me go, I finally did that IT Course, after having already been doing it for more than 6 Months.

        Our ‘teacher’ in this case a newly minted Female FltLt, not long out of Uni, and because she already had the Twin Degree, it was straight to FltLt. and she had only been in the job for around six Months.

        First actual go at standing in front of her class, she asked us to speak for around 50 minutes on something that was current at the time, using the whiteboard, and the OHP, so we had to make slides for that as well, a lesson plan, the whole thing. I did all that but ‘winged it’ without referring to my written lesson plan, having already all but got it down pat, even to the timing.

        I was at that stage where I was coming to the realisation that the Media was dumbing down the public with what I thought was just plain outright laziness.

        So, first thing I wrote ‘Star Wars’ on the whiteboard, and straight away, our erstwhile Flight looey said surely you’re not going to talk about some stupid movie, which got up my goat, but right from that very first statement from her, it emphasised what I was attempting to get across. I then proceeded to rail against the media for 50 minutes, white board, OHP slides and all, as I spoke about the SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative) and how the Media just dumbed it down by naming it Star Wars, without ever explaining it, so everyone in the public just (naturally) thought it was all just an extension of that (unrealistic) movie, further enhanced a couple of years later with actual footage of the First Gulf War, and how members of the public actually thought it was not real, but altered computer graphics, and how I laughed about that, having come to Wagga from the PaveTack Mod team, where all that stuff actually was incorporated onto our own F-111’s.

        At the end of that first lesson, our FltLt told me I did okay, but was a little too vociferous when coming down on the Media, because, in effect, they were as pure as the driven snow, and she wasn’t all that keen on how I supposedly, as she said, demeaned Russia by inferring that they fell for it.

        I knew she was a little iffy about Russia, so I decided to keep right away from that for my next lesson, where I spoke for 50 minutes on the Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti, and I think I might have got away with it. Well no.

        Now full in the knowledge that she didn’t want to hear much about anything to do with Russia, I decided that I would keep right away from it for my next lesson, where I spoke for 50 minutes on the 15 Countries which made up the old USSR.

        Occasionally I would look across at her, and I could see the blood rising, but she always commented positively, even though she didn’t know nearly everything I spoke about in all three of those ‘talks’.

        Funny, the best 50 minute talk I heard in that whole time was from an MTFitt, (Motor Transport Fitter) your typical Motor mechanic, and also one of the Technical Trades taught there. He couldn’t speak in front of a class to save his life, and I thought there was no chance he could ever become an Instructor. He just froze when out the front.

        Our FltLt, sometime at the end of week two, when the rest of us had already had three sessions under our belt, got him just to talk for 50 minutes on something related to his Trade. He just stood there basically just facing the OHP slide with a pointer and explained how they ‘cook’ crude oil to get the different products, basically in a monster vat with take off points for each of the different end products. It was absolutely fascinating, and he spoke for almost 70 minutes, not that any of us minded because it was so interesting. After that, he was fine.

        I got a good grade for each of the set tests during that Course. At the end of it, she took me aside and explained that she had an idea what I was doing, and when I said I was using the perceived antagonism to make me better at what I was doing.

        We were good friends after that.

        Fun times those, and with each of those talks, even I actually learned things as well, but that ‘Star Wars’ thing the media called it always got right up my nose, as I could see it was laziness and almost a deliberate dumbing down of the public.

        Tony.

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    pat

    10 Apr: Daily Caller: Michael Bastasch: Trump Won’t Appoint A ‘Climate Change’ Envoy
    The Trump administration will not appoint a “special envoy for climate change” to represent the U.S. at international climate summits, according to one official.
    An ***anonymous administration official told Politico “the president will not name a special envoy for climate change.” …

    “Already, State’s political appointees have largely ceded their work on international climate issues to the White House, according to two people briefed on the arrangement, a move that gives warring factions in the West Wing heavy influence over whether the United States should pull out of the Paris deal,” Politico reported…
    Trump promised to pull out of the Paris agreement on the campaign trail, but his administration is split on whether or not to keep that pledge. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, for example, favors staying party to the Paris agreement, while White House Chief Strategist Steven Bannon favors ditching the deal…

    Texas Republican Rep. Kevin Brady recently circulated a letter asking lawmakers to join in urging Trump to stay in the Paris agreement, but with weaker emissions targets and subsidies for clean coal.
    At least three major U.S.-based coal companies want Trump to stay in the Paris agreement…
    http://dailycaller.com/2017/04/10/trump-wont-appoint-a-climate-change-envoy/

    7 Apr: Vox: Dylan Matthews: A brief guide to Kevin Hassett, Trump’s new chief economist
    President Trump has officially named the American Enterprise Institute’s Kevin Hassett as the chair of his Council of Economic Advisers. The CEA chair serves as the White House’s chief economist, and while Trump has demoted the position from the Cabinet-level standing it enjoyed under past presidents, it remains one of the most important economic policy jobs in the federal government…
    Hassett is open to a carbon tax
    Like many conservative-leaning economists and wonks, and unlike basically every actually elected Republican politician in the country, Hassett has expressed openness to a carbon tax, especially as an alternative to cap-and-trade schemes. Emissions trading, he has argued, is too susceptible to gaming and features prices on carbon that vary too rapidly. Carbon taxation, by contrast, is less corruptible.

    “A program of carbon-centered tax reform, by contrast, lacks most of the negative attributes of cap-and-trade, and could convey significant benefits unrelated to GHG reductions or avoidance of potential climate harms, making this a no-regrets policy,” he wrote with AEI’s Kenneth Green and Steven Hayward in 2007. “A tax swap would create economy-wide incentives for energy efficiency and lower-carbon energy, and by raising the price of energy would also reduce energy use.”

    He has also written two papers with Mathur and Tufts economist Gilbert Metcalf arguing that a carbon tax would be less regressive than conventionally assumed, if you model its effect over a person’s whole lifetime rather than considering their income in a particular year. “This suggests that concerns over the distributional impact of a shift to a carbon tax may be overstated,” they conclude.
    http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/2/25/14728622/kevin-hassett-cea-economic-advisers

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    pat

    10 Apr: ClimateChangeNews: Karl Mathiesen: G7 fails to agree Paris climate statement as US turns spoiler
    All G7 nations, except the US, expressed support for the Paris climate accord, but the Trump administration did back an end to fossil fuel subsidies
    But the US did back an Obama-era pledge to end “inefficient fossil fuel subsidies” by 2025.
    The chair of the Rome meeting, Italy’s economic progress minister Carlo Calenda, said energy ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the US and EU climate commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete had “exchanged views” on the 2015 Paris agreement.
    While all other ministers “reaffirmed their commitment towards the implementation of the Paris Agreement”, said Calenda in his closing summary, US secretary of energy Rick Perry had “informed fellow ministers and commissioner that the United States is in the process of reviewing many of its policies and reserves its position on this issue, which will be communicated at a future date”…

    Perry released a post-meeting statement that made no mention of climate change but name-checked coal and natural gas as fuels that must be supported into the future.
    “I discussed with my fellow Ministers that the Trump Administration believes that economic growth and the environment can successfully go hand-in-hand,” said Perry. “Renewables will continue to have an important role but traditional sources are still needed for energy and economic security into the foreseeable future.”

    Immediately after the meeting, which ended on Monday, Cañete was defiant.
    “While secretary Perry informed us that the US is currently reviewing its energy and climate policies, I was particularly pleased to see that all others joined the EU in reaffirming our solid commitment and determination to implement the Paris Agreement and continue the clean energy transition. We see climate action and the clean energy transition for what it is: a driver of jobs and economic growth, a moral imperative and a promise for a better future,” he said…

    The definition of a subsidy is rubbery, leading to a huge discrepancy in the amounts reported by countries and institutions. The OECD estimates subsidies within its member states amount to $160-200bn each year.
    The US and China last year published a peer-review of each other’s subsidies. The US reported $8.2bn worth of annual subsidies…

    Perry’s affirmation on subsidies contrasts with his unwillingness to engage in discussions around the Paris agreement. But in his statement after the meeting he expressed support for “high efficiency, low-emission coal and natural gas with adequate financing from multi-lateral development banks” – seemingly advocating continuing subsidies in the short term.
    ***No mention was made of a G7 pledge made in 2015 to phase out all fossil fuel use by the end of this century…

    Perry, the former Texan governor who now leads the US energy department (DoE), has expressed doubt about the degree of certainty that exists in the scientific community about climate change…
    http://www.climatechangenews.com/2017/04/10/g7-fails-agree-paris-climate-statement-us-turns-spoiler/

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      Geoffrey Williams

      Well at the least the Americans have stated their intentions to protect their coal and gas. When & if it works for the US others may follow . .
      GeoffW

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    Interested

    Can someone PLEASE SWITCH OFF the email notifications I’ve been getting?!!!!
    Over 60 since this a.m. !!!
    Many thanks.

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      Yonniestone

      Interested, you’ve probably ticked the ‘Notify me of followup comments via-email’ box just under the Post Comment and Preview buttons in your reply window.

      Jo’s Guide for commenting covers it all, cheers.

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    Bruce

    Thank you Jo, this is laughable, except for the insanity.

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  • #
    ren

    Most Recent 2 Months
    Coral Reef HotSpots Animation
    (Pacific Ocean)
    http://www.ospo.noaa.gov/Products/ocean/cb/hotspots/anim_2mp.html

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    toorightmate

    My good wife has been at me for decades to replace my old texts.
    “Why?”, I have said.
    “Avogadro’s number has not changed nor have Newton’s Laws”.

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    pat

    10 Apr: Washington Times: Valerie Richardson: Bill Nye, the white guy: Political activists start to take over March for Science
    Mr. Nye’s selection as honorary co-chairman raised hackles not because he is arguably not a scientist — he holds a bachelor of science degree in engineering — but because he is a white male, igniting a protracted, furious debate on race, gender and “privilege.”
    March for Science organizers ultimately named three co-chairs…while dropping any pretense that the April 22 protest targeting the Trump administration is politically neutral.

    That argument was proving to be a tough sell, anyway, given that the event’s partners include NextGen Climate, funded by top Democratic Party donor Tom Steyer, as well as a host of climate change groups and labor unions.
    “It was a mistake to ever imply that the March for Science is apolitical — while this march is explicitly ***nonpartisan, it is political,” said the march’s statement on diversity and inclusion.

    That clear tilt to the left has other scientists as well as science boosters worried that the march will drag legitimate scientific inquiry into the political mud in an effort to “use the mantle of science to gain authority for one point of view,” said Wesley J. Smith, senior fellow at the Discovery Institute.
    “This manta ‘science,’ I mean, who’s against the scientific method? I don’t know anybody who’s against the scientific method. I don’t know anybody who doesn’t believe in science or who isn’t pro-science,” said Mr. Smith.
    In this case, he said, “you’re really not marching for science; you’re marching for a political agenda.”…EXPAND TO READ IT ALL
    http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/10/bill-nyes-march-for-science-role-helps-stir-politi/

    7 Apr: EvolutionNews: David Klinghoffer: March for Science or March for Scientism? Discovery Institute Joins Heritage Foundation, April 19
    As we’ve observed already (here and here), the April 22 March for Science seems set to be, despite the name, a march for conformity…

    Against that backdrop, on April 19 Discovery Institute and Heritage Foundation will join forces for a provocative event in Washington, DC, “March for Science or March for Scientism? Understanding the Real Threats to Science in America.” Discovery’s Stephen Meyer, Jay Richards, and Wesley Smith will speak on a panel with Heritage Foundation policy analyst Katie Tubb, hosted by coalition relations director Jordan Hess…
    “…At this event, a panel of experts will explore the real threats to good science in America, including the suppression of dissenting views, and the growing misuse of science as a club in the culture wars.”

    The venue is the Heritage Foundation’s Allison Auditorium, 214 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington, DC. Time: 12 to 1 pm. The event will be streamed live online, but to attend in person you must RSVP (LINK)
    https://www.evolutionnews.org/2017/04/march-for-science-or-march-for-scientism-meyer-richards-smith-to-converge-on-heritage-foundation-april-19/

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    pat

    for the record. not only was there no talk of CAGW when the US/Chinese presidents met, it wasn’t the focus of talks in Alaska, when Xi Jinping stopped to refuel on the way home. so much for China becoming the world leader for CAGW!

    8 Apr: SouthChinaMorningPost: Xi Jinping stops in Alaska after summit with Trump
    Walker said he was eager to tell Xi about the abundance of Alaska’s resource development opportunities. “We have tremendous potential in our oil and gas, tourism, fish, air cargo and mineral resource industries,” Walker said in a statement issued before the meeting…

    (Commissioner of the state’s Commerce department, Charles) Hladick sees China as a potential market for Alaska ***coal and hoped to raise the issue with Chinese officials during their visit…

    Walker has been courting Asian markets — particularly Japan and South Korea — in trying to drum up interest in a liquefied natural gas project the state is pursuing. State officials wouldn’t say if Walker would bring up the natural gas pipeline, which is in its early stages, during his visit with Xi, but it seemed unlikely that he wouldn’t take time to tout the multibillion dollar project that would take natural gas from Alaska’s North Slope to a plant on the state’s coast, where it would be liquefied and shipped…
    http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2086021/chinas-xi-stops-alaska-after-summit-trump

    8 Apr: AlaskaDispatchNews: Jeannette Lee Falsey: Gov. Walker breaks down his Alaska meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping
    Xi passed Walker some through-the-grapevine information about President Trump. According to Xi, Trump “made some very complimentary comments about Alaska and specifically the Alaska LNG project,” when meeting with Xi and his wife in Florida, (Governor) Walker said…

    10 Apr: AlaskaPublicRadio: President Xi’s Alaska visit: salmon, scenery and a chance to deepen Arctic ties
    By Elizabeth Harball, Alaska’s Energy Desk
    But the governor devoted the bulk of his public remarks to his favorite megaproject: a planned natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to Nikiski.
    “Through the development of an 800-mile pipeline and liquefied natural gas facility, Alaska can provide a stable source of gas supply to the Asia-Pacific region for more than a century,” Walker said…

    “It makes a lot of sense for them to strengthen their relationship with Alaska,” Nils Andreasson said. He works with the Institute of the North, an Arctic research group in Anchorage…Andreasson said China has a strong interest in Arctic issues…Andreasson said they’re especially interested in the prospect of Arctic ***shipping routes…
    http://www.alaskapublic.org/2017/04/10/president-xis-alaska-visit-salmon-scenery-and-a-chance-to-deepen-arctic-ties/

    Arctic shipping routes a topic for China/Norway too:

    7 Apr: Xinhua: Interview: Norway’s PM eyes new opportunities for stronger cooperation with China
    Solberg said she was happy to see China become an observer country at the Arctic Council, an inter-governmental forum addressing issues faced by the Arctic region, and follow its discussions.
    “I think the Arctic is an important area,” Solberg said, adding that the seaway passing the Arctic region is a much shorter route connecting Norway and China than the one stretching to the Suez Canal in Egypt…

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    TdeF

    On holiday but off topic. front page of this morning’s Australian.

    “50-year rule for coal-fired power stations gathers steam”

    The Australian understands that after the Coalition’s decision to rule out an emissions intensity scheme, which puts a price on carbon in the electricity market to encourage investment in renewables”

    and

    “The Business Coucil of Australia, which has raised concerns about the community shock which could come..”

    Has anyone in the Australian read the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000? Has anyone in the coalition or the BCA? We have a price on Carbon. For Natural gas, it is $230 a tonne! For Coal, it is over $100!

    “to encourage investment in renewables”? Unbelievable! Every energy user including the Governemnt is paying the biggest carbon tax in the world and they do not know it? The idea is that Hazelwood closed solely and wholly because it was old and could not make money? It was running flat out when it was closed by the Government’s RET act. South Australia and Tasmania are spending tens of millions of dollars a month on Diesel?

    Will someone in government please read their own Act? Will someone in the Australian please consider that the biggest electricity plant in the Country did not close because it was old in the highest electricity pricing in history? It was forced out of business.

    As for ‘encourage investment’ in renewables. $3Billion leaves the country every year by Government edict. Unbelievable ignorance or wilful deception. On is a disgrace. The other is criminal.

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      TdeF

      To be fair to the Australian, this was front page. The $3Bn is their own figure, again front page. The Herald Sun also ran front page on the closure of Hazelwood. If everyone is generally befuddled by the Large Scale Generation certificates and STCs, they need to work out why electricity agents are forced to buy billions of dollars of these a year from people who genrerate wind and solar power.

      There is no ‘encouragement’ of investment. This is an unavoidable payment to importers of alternative energy just to please Green voters. It is kept secret. All you see is the amazingly rocketing electricity bill despite the fact that the lights are going off.

      Never has there been such a deliberately deceitful act of parliament, a huge tax on carbon without even mentioning the word. It is about ‘elegible’ and ‘non eligible’ energy sources. Then of course it all gets doubled by the middle men. However it does not cost our profligate government a cent. You pay, without any choice at all. It is not even a tax. This is so wrong, it only survives through public ignorance, buried deep in the accounting.

      I would love someone in the Australian to actually read the act. No one in Canberra has.

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        TdeF

        I keep reading this nonsense, perpetuating the idea that Hazelwood closed because it is old.

        “A 50 year rule would..modernize or close.. create an incentive to improve its carbon efficiency”

        So Hazelwood closed because its ‘carbon efficiency’ was poor? Nice people. Running at 100% output in its last few weeks at boom prices, it closed because of guilt?

        Do these writers even believe what they are writing? The owners of Hazelwood bought it in 1996 for $2.4 Billion with a 40 year life span. It is closing early because of ‘carbon efficiency’? Pull the other leg.

        Worse, gas generators are closing too and they have half the carbon output of brown coal. Are they old too? What about the gas turbine in Tasmania’s Huon valley? Closed and packed up for sale?

        There is also the humourous faux expectation with this new 50 year law that science will improve to the point where we can burn coal with no CO2 output at all.

        Can we please have a science writer who knows some science? Or some politicians? Otherwise all our laws will be written by science ignorant Greens. Maybe the Government should ask Leonardo Di Caprio what to do?

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          TdeF

          A dawning reaslization. Lawyers do not understand science. Scientists do not read laws. The Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 gets away with the world’s biggest and hidden carbon tax because of this. Even the readers of this blog, largely engineering, science types leave the law to politicians who in turn leave it to bureaucrats as long as it sounds right. Eligible energy. Ineligible. Do not mention carbon. Pieces of paper. Trading system and make sure it is not a tax. How many people have bothered to read it? It is not long and you can skim the Act.

          What we need are more science literate people to stop talking science and understand their world is being run by unelected backroom lawyers with Green intentions. I still contend strongly that if the public understood the so called RET, they would be horrified. It is not within the powers of a government to make such a law. I have written to Malcolm Roberts and they are listening, but people seem happy to leave laws to lawyers. What a terrible thing. BREXIT is about taking control back from the unelected bureaucrats of Brussells. We have a greater need here.

          Repeal the RET. This attempt to stop coal power stations closing is nothing of the kind. It is simply another law to force them to ‘modernize’ or close, without limit. That does not even make sense, but neither does the RET. Perhaps hire Al Gore to advise us on Science, or even bring Tim Flannery back?

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            Some of us read legislation. I am currently wading through a mass of bureaucratic bombs and trip-wires associated with aged care, powers of attorney etc. Very few agencies, including Centrelink, realise that power of attorney laws vary by state, so they all write stuff that is nonsense. I am considering lodging a complaint with the other half of the AHRC (the disability discrimination commission). Then there is the 711 pages of new state legislation directly relevant to my professional work, plus probably the same amount in subordinate legislation changes. Usually needs to be read several times. Flow charts are needed, but rarely provided by the perps who produce this stuff.
            Get the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 from
            https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016C00624/Download
            232 pages. Wow. A short one.

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              C. Paul Barreira

              Here are the complete contents of a bill (H.R. 899) in the US Congress by Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky:

              “The Department of Education shall terminate on December 31, 2018.”

              The length seems about right. Whether it goes anywhere is another matter although there is some strong support for the idea.

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            KinkyKeith

            Good logical outline.

            How do they get away with this stuff.

            Legislation should have an operating one page summary, or 10 at most.

            Anything longer is just a deliberate smokescreen to enable political abuse of the taxpayer/voters.

            ps ignore red thumb above. Mistake.

            KK

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          Another Ian

          How about we apply the 50 year rule to politicians as well?

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          PeterS

          The power stations was old by world standards as most are retired by the time they get to 50+. Ours could have been kept alive for another 5-10 or so years with no problem. That’s not the real issue. Hundreds of power stations are being constructed all around the world as we speak but not one of them is here. Japan of all places is to build over 40 of them. The burning question (no pun intended) is why not any here? Of course the answer is Australia has a social disease – the people couldn’t care less so they have allowed the politicians to set up policies and rules that discourages coal power. Perhaps the people will start to care just a little as the electricity prices keep rising but I doubt even that will cause them to rethink the matter of building new coal fired power stations. Perhaps repeated blackouts will do the trick. Problem though by then it will be too late to avoid the crash and burn scenario as our economy implodes, businesses fold, unemployment skyrockets and debt keeps climbing to horrendous levels. Unless the people rise up soon and demand a reversal of the decision to treat coal power as though it will end the world we have to wait for the crash and burn scenario to be played out.

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            KinkyKeith

            Accurate, sad, discouraging.

            But true.

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            Graeme No.3

            The problem is that those on the government payroll, be it direct salary or pensions, payments or allowances, think that there is a never-ending source of money for the Government and any actions elsewhere will have no effect on them. It will only be when they face blackouts and rising electricity bills that they will start to wonder why.
            Green initiatives sound nice to them, e.g. the Heywood mill closure in Victoria. It is only when those about to be unemployed started grumbling that the Union reacted.

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          GD

          Can we please have a science writer who knows some science?

          TdeF, there aren’t any climate aware journalists. Andrew Bolt does his best but is only one man and not a scientist. Paul Murray on Sky calls out the rubbish claims but still drinks the carbon kool-aid. The only writers who can impact on public perception of the so-called climate problem are right here on Jo Nova’s blog.

          TdeF, TonyfromOz, et al, are eminently qualified to write about the climate scam and the energy crisis as well as being accomplished writers.

          Why can’t their wealth of knowledge, expertise and wisdom be directed at the MSM?
          Could I suggest now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party.

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    PhilJourdan

    Professionally insulted, and incompetently employed. Receiving awards from sycophantic organizations is not a sign of competency. If the ones dishing them out have no clue, their awards have no meaning. I think we learned that over 10 years ago with the Nobel committee.

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      Oliver K. Manuel

      You are right, PhilJourdan. The Nobel Prize first became an obvious tool of false government propaganda when Chadwick (1935) received a Nobel Prize for essentially refuting earlier studies and conclusions by leading scientists in favor of The Quantum Mechanical Scheme” of Altered Awareness, including:

      1. Prout’s (1815) conclusion that the weights of all atoms are whole number multiples of the atomic weight of the hydrogen atom;

      2. Einstein’s (1905) discovery that the mass (m) of an atom is stored energy (E), E = mc^2;

      3. Rutherford’s (1920) conclusion that about half of the mass of an atom is collapsed hydrogen atoms (electron-proton pairs in close combination) that Rutherford called “neutrons.”

      4. Aston’s (1922) measurements of the masses of atoms and confirmation that the weight of each atom is a whole integer multiple of the atomic weight of the hydrogen atom, and the entire mass of each atom is a measure of its stored energy, which Aston called, “nuclear packing fraction and

      5. Chadwick’s (1932) own discovery and report of the neutron as an “electron-proton pair in close combination.”

      https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10640850/Nuclear_Energy_Error7.pdf

      The Quantum Mechanical Scheme” of Altered Awareness, is thus the Mother of these other consensus scientific models of altered reality: Standard Nuclear Model, Standard Solar Model, Standard Climate Model, Big Bang Cosmology!

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        Will Janoschka

        “2. Prout (1815) concluded that the weights of all atoms are whole number multiples of the atomic weight of the hydrogen atom;”

        Likly’ Prout is correct but never defined ‘weight as gravitational compressional effect, or any other, always involving ‘nearness’ of other mass!

        “3. Einstein (1905) discovered that the mass (m) of an atom is stored energy (E), E = mc^2;”

        Einstein’s evaluation is likely correct but only “if all mass be converted to energy”. Such is not physical! Half the mass is converted to Fe(56), only the useless waist (entropy() of any nuclear energy converted to measurable “work”.

        Available ‘work’ from mass remains close to mc²/2!!!

        “4. Rutherford (1920) concluded that about half of the mass of an atom is collapsed hydrogen atoms (electron-proton pairs in close combination) that Rutherford called “neutrons.”

        Such ‘neutrons’ is wonderful conjecture of ‘what may be’ in some remote fairyland” Can you define just what is ‘physical’ rather than philosophical\conjectural ‘reality’.

        Reality must encompass all ‘fantasy’, Thought within nanoseconds, no checking is allowed!
        All the best! -will-

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    “How many science teachers know the scientific method?”

    Apparently very few:

    «For almost twenty-five years the National Science Board has surveyed the American public as part of its Science and Engineering Indicators study to determine the state of interest in and awareness of fundamental issues in the sciences and technology…

    One element of the survey examined individuals’ views about how science is conducted. The study designers formulated a series of questions aimed at classifying respondents’ positions on a four level hierarchy of nature of science understanding.

    Those at the highest level (Level I) understand that science is concerned with the development and testing of theory. Those responding who lack this degree of sophistication, but still have an awareness that experiments require a control group would be classified as Level II. Individuals at Level III do not have the comprehension of those in the higher two groups but still see scientific findings based on a foundation of careful and rigorous comparison with precise measurements. Those lacking any understanding of the nature of science were classified as Level IV.

    These findings are sobering. Two percent of the two thousand adult respondents were at Level I, 21 percent were at Level II, 13 percent were at Level III and 64 percent were at Level IV.

    This finding is sobering. Even as measured by the basic nature of science elements contained in this study, more than 60 percent of the American public effectively had no knowledge of how science works…

    The explanation for the general public’s poor understanding of how science functions is astoundingly simple. The crux of the matter is that at all levels science teaching and textbooks emphasize the factual recall of science content to the near total exclusion of the knowledge-generation process.

    Science teachers rarely have opportunities to learn how science functions in their own studies and, not surprisingly, fail to emphasize that aspect of science to their students. Lakin and Wellington, (1994) reported that teachers in their study, having never reflected on issues relating to the nature of science, tended to undervalue such ideas in their teaching. Furthermore, educators who would like to incorporate something of the pageant of science in their science lesson must consult the same textbooks that frequently misrepresent or even omit discussion of the way in which science knowledge is produced.»
    The Nature of Science in Science Education Page 3

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    John F. Hultquist

    The book arrived in the mail, today. I just need some time to read it.
    In Washington State, USA:
    A cool and wet spring has set back many projects.

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      Will Janoschka

      “The book arrived in the mail, today. I just need some time to read it.” In Washington State, USA:”

      Your north-western State has many wonderful folk, apart from those hunkering down in Sea Tac, or Portland Or!

      Keep honing the pitchfork tines and re-oiling the torches. Reloading all spent brass and practice aiming each day, avoids fullish-ling waisting ammunition when needed to win!

      “A cool and wet spring has set back many projects.” Ah-yes! but more time to play with kiddies Momma!
      All the best! -will-

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    Radical Rodent

    You’ve done it again, Ms Nova! You’ve managed to get me embroiled in discussion with yet another set of tightly-closed minds!

    Why can I not resist such temptation?!

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