(Note: I can back Mike up on this, I’ve been getting several letters like this from my TV Meteorologist friends from around the country, all nearly identically worded. – Anthony)
Guest post by Mike Alger
If you thought the dishonest tactics taken by Gleick et al were somewhat under the tableau of honesty, I am beginning to find that it is a pattern that is beings followed by much of the CAGW movement as a whole. Let me illustrate:
Just a few days after the smoke was just beginning to clear from Gleickgate (although I imagine there will be a stench to come from it from some time), I received what at first appeared to be a sincere letter from a well meaning viewer of my television weather reports. Here is the letter:
“I am John Lopez, and I am a viewer here in Reno and I’m interested in the issue of climate change and how it is affecting our weather. As someone who studies these things, I was hoping to get your opinion.
As I’m sure you’re aware, there’s been a lot of extreme weather recently, and last year set records for severe weather events. From what I have read, climate change is a factor in all of this. Because I’m interested in climate change and weather, I have joined a campaign called Forecast the Facts, which is focused on how broadcast meteorologists report on this important issue. They’ve helped to put me in touch with reporters like you to ask them their views.
I know that the American Meteorological Society says that human-induced climate change is occurring and is largely created by humans. I’m also aware of reports that climate change is likely to have an impact on weather events like heat waves, droughts, and shifting rainfall patterns. Do you agree with the AMS’ position? Do you think climate change is happening? And do you think it will have an impact on weather in Reno?”
Now, normally I’d be happy to have a discussion about what I think we know and what I think we don’t know about all this, as well as challenge some of his assumptions (last year set records for severe events, etx…), but as had already been brought up in his fine forum and others, “Forecast the Facts” is designed only to pressure the heretics in the broadcast meteorology community for their a apostatic refusal to toe the party line on CAGW. So they try to phish answers from broadcast mets to find out what side of the fence they lean, and then they go after the cretins…pitchforks raised in holy banner…all the way to their nearest newspaper and TV station general manager.
I still retain enough of a Pollyannish view about life that I was willing to see if this John Lopez really existed, and if so if he was a local who fell in with a bad lot. So I responded simply that the issues he brought up were complicated and multifaceted, and would be best explained in person. I then invited him down to the TV station where we could have a great talk about it. If he lived in our area and was sincere in trying to educate himself on at least some of the many factors involved in climate, then that should be easy. If not, and he was cooped up in “Forecast the Facts” strategic war room, then I wouldn’t hear from him again.
That was nearly a month ago. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what the response was (n’t).
I have always heard that in a court of law that truth is a good defense. It appears like there’s too little of that going around in the CAGW camp.
Mike Alger
Chief Meteorologist
KTVN TV
Reno, NV
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Astroturfing and Paid Marketing from the “Deniers of Natural Variability” camp
Commentary phishing tactics by the Climate Worriers
Probably a poorly educated employee of George Soros…
When you’ve got so much money that you can almost literally persuade people black is white (that you lack money and your evil opponents – who have none – are funded by massive oil money). When you can persuade the public that something like a 1000:1 ratio in favour of your PR is really a 1:1000 ratio the other way …. in other words that “reality” and facts are 1:1,000,000 to one … or to put it another way, that one sceptic is worth a 1,000,000 warmists.
What won’t you do?
Odd how the Warmist camp has no problem throwing things out but not
defending their positions….
In person, particularly…
I know that the American Meteorological Society says that human-induced climate change is occurring and is largely created by humans.
The stunning power of warmist logic.
If you’re selling gold bricks you have to distract the mark, and lies are so useful. Seems to me just what you’d expect from that crew.
Is the “local viewer” always named John Lopez?
On a more topical vein, we are seeing what might be called “etch-a-sketch alarmism”: The threat used to be GW, but now that that has stalled for 12 years, with a shake of the hand, it becomes “climate change”.
You should understand that this is an even more focused and directed campaign than you may suspect. David Axelrod became Obama’s top advisor because of his work for the DNC at the company he founded, AKPD Message and Media. (formerly Axelrod and Associates)
From the very beginning, this type of strategy has been AKPD’s *Specialty*. It’s known as astroturfing, and Axelrod is the best in the country at it. (which is how he got to where he is) Now of course there’s no way to know if Axelrod’s organization is behind this particular effort, since his extreme success has spawned countless imitators, but even if he isn’t directly responsible, he is still the inspiration.
Let me make this clear – this is *Not* some aberration, or some splinter faction. This is the primary tactic the left in general (and the Democrat National Committee in particular) uses to advance their agenda, and they pump tens of millions of dollars into these efforts constantly. What’s amusing is that they even occasionally pay representatives to go to various blogs and post these kinds of things on message boards. If you see someone refer to a “concern troll”, this behavior is what they’re talking about. I personally doubt that any of these are even written by an actual person anymore; to me they all sound like A I generated posts built to follow a template with an assigned random name, and what’s true for posts is true for letters.
This is left wing politics in America, today. It is all fakery and fraud.
As far as faked “letters to the editor” goes, this one is almost as bad as the Gleick memo.
I had typed out rather a long formatted comment. As usual wordpress tried its best to force me to log in so as to make the comment ( a recent, unwelcome change ) and when I did this my comment had been removed from the comment box and was not held in the ‘back’ page. I’m getting rather tired of this.
I don’t comment much at WUWT but it is my favourite blog. WordPress are just making it annoying for me, who has registered his email with wordpress but never uses it in a personal capacity, so much so that it’s jsut not worth the hoops I have to jump to to comment. I’m certainly not typing out posts twice because a system that has worked fine for years is suddenly broken.
As I’m sure you’re aware, there’s been a lot of extreme weather recently,
================================
Only if you claim history started less than 50 years ago….
You don’t look at the facts….
….and you don’t read Steven Goddard’s blog
http://www.real-science.com/
I would have just sent back the following response:
“Thank you for your letter. Absolutely I believe in climate change. The earth’s climate has changed throughout its entire history. I have no doubt that the climate will continue to change througout the remainder of its life.”
To warm or not to warm. Very odd.
A~N
I am a (proud) member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations in the UK. If you are caught astro-turfing – H/T to Macro Contrarian at 9.39 – you will be kicked out of the CIPR and finished in UK PR circles…quite rightly.
It is not just a matter of professional ethics. It is also a matter of personal honour.
Anthony, if you or any of WUWT’s contributors, can help to track down the individuals involved with sending these emails – and if they are a member of an internationally-recognised PR body – please let me know and I can promise investigation and retribution.
“…human-induced climate change is occurring and is largely created by humans.”
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The Department of Redundancy Department.
“Forecast the Facts” is an oxymoron, because Facts by definitions “have already happened” (“Fact” comes from Latin and it means “done”) and so cannot be forecasted. Unless FtF is into divination that is.
This latest tactic is such a shame but hold true to the ” discredit, slander, isolate” anyone who opposes the teams consensus.
When I first had interest in the subject of CAGW I couldn’t figure out what the truth was. it was a local Weatherman that I contacted via email who directed me to this site and ICECAP so I could find some factual data and judge for myself. He offered his opinion on the subject but stressed to make my own call based on the data. Its not rocket science when you see temps have flat-lined and CO2 is still climbing…
“I know that the American Meteorological Society says that human-induced climate change is occurring and is largely created by humans.”
Uhhhh what was the question again?
http://forecastthefacts.org/
Not much question about who they are or what their goals are. This isn’t a secret project.
It is difficult to combat propaganda. Hitler and the Nazis had a propaganda machine that was able to bend the minds of the majority of Germans in WWII. The AGW folks are doing the same today using the same basic tools including the broadcast media. In 2011 local meteorologists did a reasonably good job of explaining La Nina cycles including the drought period 1950-1957. They also did a fairly good job of explaining the back to back La Nina in late 2011 and early 2012. However, they did nothing to explain that the AO cycle interfered with the 2012 La Nina, thus warping the jet stream to the west causing colder weather and snowfall to the northwest and warmer and wetter in the northeast and central US.
The only way I see to combat propaganda is to tell the true story any time it is obvious that weather is acting in an unpredicted manner. It need not be told in a combative manner but just a few simple words to keep the truth before the general public.
Just as National Socialism was trying to take over Europe in the 1930s and 1940s, Global Socialism has been trying to take over the world since the 1980s. The liberals never give up no matter how many times their policies fail. Those with a bully pulpit must use it to speak the truth.
wws (9:49 am ) I can’t see any difference between your paid shill theories and the big-oil funded shill theories, and think both are likely as not pure fiction.
A popular Hispanic surname to give it a bit of ethnic flair. How cute.
To reiterate, for everyone who thinks “oh, you should have said this or should have said that” – these are in all likelihood A I generated letters and posts which are placed only to try and steer a public conversation in a direction that the financier of these efforts desires. There is no actual “person” behind any of these things, therefore there is no point in crafting any kind of reply, except to make it clear to any other readers what is going on.
These letters are a form of passive-aggressive assault; “psy-ops” is the only accurate way to characterize them. So the question is, what is the best way to respond to an aggressive psy-ops campaign by an enemy trying to remain hidden? Publicize what they are up to as loudly as possible. Which of course is what is happening with this post, and I commend Mike for writing it and Anthony for posting it.
You have struck another blow for freedom, sirs!
JJ says:
March 23, 2012 at 9:48 am
I know that the American Meteorological Society says that human-induced climate change is occurring and is largely created by humans.
The stunning power of warmist logic
——————————–
Only largely though. So there must be some residual of human-induced climate change caused by something other than humans. Zombies ??