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Received via email:
Dr. Curry,
Thanks for reproducing in your recent post my account of the left’s attacks on our scientists and donors. It’s a story that isn’t getting nearly enough attention in the blogosphere. I’m disappointed, though, that you also reproduced, at length and even endorsed, the lies and distortions written about us by Suzanne Goldenberg. A simple call or email to me or Jim Lakely would have given us a chance to correct her many misstatements.
I won’t ask for a correction or apology, but please understand that …
(a) Concerning ICCC-7, we set a record for the number of cosponsors (60), 12 speakers asked to speak after only 2 withdrew, and the mood was decidedly upbeat. Opponents (including “Forecast the Facts” and Occupy Wall Street) promised to disrupt the conference and failed utterly – fewer than 50 people showed up for their rallies. Those who did show up wore boots on their heads and refused Christopher Monckton’s invitation to debate.
(b) You didn’t see many new faces on the program because 50 warmists invited to speak refused to show up, and we had set aside space on the program for them. I’ve said after nearly every conference since the 3rd one that “this is probably our last conference,” and I’ve made a fundraising pitch, because the ICCCs are expensive and I suspect they are subject to the law of diminishing returns, but we keep doing them due to popular demand. Stay tuned for news about ICCC-8.
(c) Concerning Heartland’s financial health, we’ve raised more money since the Fakegate incident than in the previous 11 months, and are on track to double our income this year. We’ve doubled the number of current donors since February. With only one exception so far, the donors we’ve lost either didn’t give in 2011 (or even in 2010) or have agreed to fund spin-off organizations we are creating, such as the R Street Institute, so the result is no net loss of our effectiveness, and actually an increase.
(d) The campaign against our directors and donors being conducted by “Forecast the Facts,” 350.org, and Greenpeace – not by “anonymous individuals” as you strangely suggest – in fact is unprecedented because it could not have occurred had not Peter Gleick stolen and revealed our donor list. But we are obviously well on our way to building a new and much larger donor base that is “Greenpeace proof.”
(e) Our PR response to Fakegate has been called “brilliant” even by the folks at DesmogBlog. History will record it as another major scandal that helped bring down the man-made global warming movement. But the MSM and environmental groups doubled down on their strategic mistake, understanding that the only way to prevent Fakegate from “becoming another Climategate” is to take down Heartland and its network of scientists and donors. Their tactics compelled us to match their intensity.
(f) I am not surprised or disappointed that you and other bloggers disapprove of our tactics. It is simply not your role in the controversy to be aggressive or controversial. But it is ours.
(g) The billboard, which cost $200, generated more than $5 million in earned media so far, and that figure doesn’t include television, radio, and tens of millions of page visits and online commentaries. Was the MSM coverage overwhelmingly negative? Of course. How could it be otherwise? There has been no positive coverage of skeptics since Fakegate broke, none at all, and reporters have made it clear that they will not report the debate fairly, so there is no longer any point in trying to appeal to their ethics or honesty. Thanks to the billboard, 37 million Americans now know that the debate over climate change continues.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me or Jim Lakely if you have questions or suggestions.
Joe
Joseph Bast
President
The Heartland Institute
One South Wacker Drive #2740
Chicago, IL 60606
Web site http://www.heartland.org
Support The Heartland Institute today!
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FYI, I can back up point (b) from personal experience, he said the same thing last year. Also I’ve seen the list of people invited who declined to join the debate. You’d think that if we were as wrong and as stupid as they claim, it would be easy to just show up and slaughter us intellectually, but for some reason they don’t want to even try. – Anthony
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Thank you for posting this, Andy (and Judith Curry).
But the Billboard with the Unabomber was a mistake. Utterly tasteless. Accomplishes nothing besides further polarizing. Is that what you want? Really?
It would be far better to focus on the apparent unwillingness of the AGW movement to agree to a debate.
Kurt in Switzerland
Good for you.
I’m afraid that even Judith Curry will not be able to change the facts,
which will become apparent soon
http://www.letterdash.com/henryp/global-cooling-is-here
…
better get yourself an extra cloak..
Judith Curry must be feeling a lot of pressure to return to the dark side as the AR5 propaganda is spewing out.
NICE POLITE ANSWER MR. BAST, YOU DID YOURSELF PROUD – Keep fighting for all of us that desire good fact based science on all items before we destroy our economic base in America like the EPA – Endangered Species Act did with our raw material through value added manufacturing sector. Cutting 5 million blue collar middle class manufacturing and mining jobs.
“Thanks to the billboard, 37 million Americans now know that the debate over climate change continues.”
….and that’s all folks
Thanks Joe!
So, $5 million in earned media is “nothing”? Besides, when the other side is engaging in trench warfare, it’s time to ditch the Marquess of Queensbury rules.
I got a response from the press complaints commission in the UK about Suzanne Goldberg’s latest piece:
http://tallbloke.wordpress.com/2012/05/24/suzanne-goldberg-guardian-journalist-tells-lies-about-fake-gate-and-the-heartland-billboard/
I hadn’t seen Judith’s post. I can’t imagine what was going through her head to think that CAGW info in The Guardian (of all places) was factual.
Kurt in Switzerland says:
May 25, 2012 at 9:46 am
Thank you for posting this, Andy (and Judith Curry).
But the Billboard with the Unabomber was a mistake. Utterly tasteless. Accomplishes nothing besides further polarizing. Is that what you want? Really?
It would be far better to focus on the apparent unwillingness of the AGW movement to agree to a debate.
Kurt in Switzerland
______________________
Not nearly as tasteless and polarizing as a billboard featuring All Gore…
Is the debate not already polarized?
There’s more than one way to flush out a Burner Brownshirt.
Latitude:
More like this, “Thanks to Peter Gleick’s misguided zealotry and subsequent fall from grace, Heartland had a unique opportunity to capitalize on public consternation and indeed sympathy. Sorry, the 37 m Americans were already watching from February onwards! Unfortunately, this potential for a continued outpouring of good will was squandered by running a tasteless ad campaign comparing proponents of AGW with the Unabomber.”
Good that Bast pulled the billboard after a day, and understandable that he was caught up into the fistfight in the first place. Too bad he doesn’t just leave well enough alone and write it off as poor judgement in the heat of battle.
Two wrongs really do not make a right.
Kurt in Switzerland
If the billboard’s ‘message’ would have been headlined [i.e.] with:
”We don’t do ads like this:…”, there would certainly been mostly/only positive reactions…
Go figure… 😉
Brgds
//TJ
This is one of the reasons they have changed the topic – again. Climate change and it’s predecessors have been thrown under the bus and replaced with saving species. This will be the theme for Rio+20. Obama just made note of it also.
Apparently some of the better known skeptic’s will be “Occupying” the festivities. Should be fun. 😉
UN says case for saving species ‘more powerful than climate change’
http://www.climatedepot.com/a/16005/Time-for-Next-EcoScare-Obama-follows-lead-of-green-movement-and-demotes-global-warming-UN-now-says-case-for-saving-species-more-powerful-than-climate-change
@Kurt no it wasn’t, it was an excellent idea! More please Heartland!
If it makes one person wake up to this scam, to see that we are killing the future of humans on this planet due to disastrous laws banning something that actually feeds us then it is well worth it! We now cannot afford to be polite and nice anymore, they have been pushing and pushing this nonsense for too long… we need to start to fight fire with fire and show those that don’t know, or don’t care, just how important it is that we halt this now!
Energy Bills are being based on this rubbish as we speak, we no longer have time to sit back and be nice!
‘The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.’ – Albert Einstein
Curry has finally got off the fence and nailed her colours to the mast. Personally, I’m not too surprised at what they were …
Pointman
Kurt: “But the Billboard with the Unabomber was a mistake. ”
No. It was accurate. There are very, very crazy people supporting AGW at the very top.
“David Suzuki has called for political leaders to be thrown in jail for ignoring the science behind climate change.”
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=290513
Humans are maggots.
More or less crazy than the Unabomber Kurt?
“Accomplishes nothing besides further polarizing. Is that what you want? Really?”
(ignoring the $5 million in earned media, and DJ Hawkins pointed out)
Yes, actually. This is now a binary political fight – there is no middle ground anymore, there is no hope of achieving any kind of “consensus” with our opponents. There is only the sorting of the two opposing sides and then the fight to see who wins, and who loses. That’s what this game is about now.
I see you’re Swiss, it’s kind of like what the EU has to decide right now – they either have to start up the Euro printing presses to bail all the debtors out and keep Greece in, or they have to defend the currency and throw Greece out. The middle ground is gone, there is no “3rd way” in between those two very hard choices. It’s either / or, and all the wishing in the world won’t change that.
We are in a fight where one side is right, and one side is wrong. That’s where the polarization comes from.
I’m a big fan of Dr. Curry and was quite surprised to see her treat The Guardian and DeSmogBlog as credible sources on her blog, I’ve got to say as a possible defense, I’m not sure she even realized how partisan they are. There’s almost a kind of naivete about her. In any case, I’m glad to read your post Joe B.. I do think you guys made a mistake with the billboard, but it wasn’t fatal by any means. Keep up the good work. In fact, I plan on making a modest contribution in the next few days….
Have you not heard of gumboot diplomacy?
DJ Hawkins: if “$5M in earned media” means the same to you whether that “earned media” is net negative or net positive, then you have a point. But Bast’s Billboard gave the likes of the Guardian’s Goldenberg the opportunity to portray Heartland as a lowlife organization, about to be abandoned by corporate interests. Good that he set the record straight for readers of Judith Curry’s post (as well as those on WUWT), but don’t expect the MSM to correct any misrepresentations.
My advice for Joe Bast: focus on the science and remain civil, while reminding those sitting on the fence about the unwillingness of the AGW movement to debate.
Kurt in Switzerland
In his speech to Heartland, Czech President Vaclav Klaus points out that the warmists have recently toned down their strident attacks, pronouncements and catastrophic predictions. For good reason, he therefore, thanks Heartland
In my opinion, the billboard did a service, and should be redeployed at some point prior to the presidential election. The issue is of course divisive, but as Bast observes, the delicate sensibilities of warmists are not a top priority right now. More important is getting rid of Obama and the highly destructive policies of global warming that he has endorsed. Obama should be forced to reiterate his positions on green energy, and on the money he’s gambled – and lost – on renewables. The billboard just flushd them out of hiding.
No doubt the pro-CAGW protagonists will now try to attack heartland based on the “massive big-oil funding of $5m”. Let them, screech and wail, but good to see the work growing in strength an vigor.
As for “aggressive”, facts don’t need to be aggressive. Assertive, maybe. A strength is to underplay the aggression, and present a calm, composed and rational persona as demonstrated by Lord Monckton’s numerous examples. Being calm, unruffled and sticking to the data-based facts is more likely to upset the doom-sayers than anything. The more you doggedly stick to the data & facts, the more intense and angry they become trying to deflect you away from it with red herrings, ad hominem attacks, appeals to (false) authority, etc. etc. because they can’t answer. You just have to stick with it. Also, focus on the people who suffer from their policies, as they will focus on Gaia, i.e. it is the earth that serves man, and not man the earth, as this is where the assertiveness can reap rewards. Push the questions on suffering back on them, pick a few core examples, cheap electricity to enable mass improvments and develop sustainable businesses for example, and keep probing, probing, probing.
As for the MSM, just bypass them. Use all the internet tools and channels available against which they have no defence. If billboards, then fine, go for it.
I just wish I could have been at ICCC-7, but maybe next year.
I support WUWT and Heartland financially. Just those two. For their size and shoestring budgets, they are David to the mainstream’s Goliath. So I put my money where it will get the most bang for the buck.
• • •
[Also, I attended the Conference and picked up some “Peter Gleick/Fakegate” and Heartland’s “Don’t Tread On Me” T-shirts. If anyone would like one, send your name & mailing address to my throwaway email acount: themistocles2010-2020 at yahoo.com. State your size. Offer good until my supply runs out.]
“reporters have made it clear that they will not report the debate fairly, so there is no longer any point in trying to appeal to their ethics or honesty. Thanks to the billboard, 37 million Americans now know that the debate over climate change continues.”
It is good to know that Joe Bast is not wearing blinders as so many skeptics do. I am very happy to learn how successful the billboard was and I hope Heartland will do the rest of them. Please put one on Rt. in New Hampshire just north of the MA border Joe.
A good response, and I wish Heartland well. Thanks for the online presentations.
The end does not justify the means re: the billboard saga. It seems like it was a knee jerk reaction that was out of character, though it was understandable under the circumstances. I hope lessons will be learned from it rather than just taking an arrogant “it was right” kind of stand. It takes a long time to build up credibility and only one second to lose it.
Not that it matters that much, but I also believe the billboard to be highly accurate and appropriate.
When you are dealing with religious zealots determined to destroy society at any costs, they have to be met with at least the same level of effort. To do anything less strengthens their resolve and is seen as a self justification.
Nah… That billboard was right on the mark.