This has been the most strange and unsettling week ever. Wiretaps, using the tax code as a political tool against your opponent, Huffington Post goes over to the dark side, and we witnessed the collapse of climate models ability to predict the future.
The Chinese must be laughing at our folly.
“May you live in interesting times“, often referred to as the Chinese curse, is reputed to be the English translation of an ancient Chinese proverb and curse, although it may have originated among the English themselves. It is reported that it was the first of three curses of increasing severity, the other two being:
“May you come to the attention of those in authority” (sometimes rendered “May the government be aware of you”). This is sometimes quoted as “May you come to the attention of powerful people.” (Alternately, “important people”.) Source
The icing on the cake this week is a portrayal as being one of the “Mad Men”, but given what’s been going on, one has to wonder, who really are the mad men? You just have to laugh though.
For those unfamiliar, this is a parody of the TV series Mad Men, which I have only a passing familiarity with. Apparently its about Madison avenue, sex, power, and smoke filled back rooms in the 60’s.
Unfortunately there’s no large version of the poster, because I’d surely like to print it and frame it for the sheer hilarity of it. It’s like somebody did a Vulcan mind meld with Mike Mann, and this was the image that came out. Of course, I want to frame the poster, rather than burn it like some that inhabit Mann-world do.
(Update: In comments, Michael Palmer says at June 7, 2013 at 10:48 am: here is a reconstructed mostly hi-res version of the picture. My thanks to him – Anthony)
Just a couple of notes for the artist, Steve Brodner, who didn’t bother to do his homework (all he had to do was check my “about page“), but instead allowed himself to get caught up in the Mannian fantasy vortex. For example, recall how Mike Mann reacted with full on conspiracy theory when I sent him a free calendar for Christmas.
I’ve met some, but not all of these people. As far as I know, none of them smoke. I asked Joe Bastardi yesterday whether he smoked or not (given his bodybuilding I highly doubted it) and he replied “only when I’m on fire!”.
For the record, both of my parents died of smoking related illnesses while I was young, and my severe hearing loss is connected to ear infections (and treatment by an ototoxic
drug) due to growing up in a smoke filled household. Smoking adversely affected my life, and made life choices for me that I didn’t plan. To portray me as embracing smoking is particularly unkind and most certainly inaccurate. But, that’s what happens when you live in The Mad Mad Mad World of Climatism.
While the cartoon is funny, the smoking portrayal does bother me a bit about this cartoon, because it is personal, and the artist of course is just another low information sap who works with popular memes. But, that smoking meme all part of the ongoing comparative smear to tobacco company tactics that Mann and Co. like to push, because after their own failure of the alarmist public relations strategy, all they have left now is denigration. Maybe they need to watch that “Mad Men” show for tips.
Oh, and also for the record I’ve also never gotten any money from big oil, small oil, Olive Oyl, Kochtopus, or the American Petroleum Institute, nor am I on the payroll (nor have I ever been) of any such organization. What you see is what you get, some advertising on the blog and the donation button on the right sidebar.
Finally, I don’t “deny” climate change. Most certainly the climate has changed over the last century. My view is that while CO2 has an effect, it isn’t as bad as being portrayed and it certainly isn’t living up to the expectations of the climate models. Like many eco-causes, it is over-hyped to get emotional churning which panders to the gullible.
Yes, we live in interesting times.
UPDATE: I’ve asked Steve Brodner on his blog (where he talks about the artwork) for a full sized copy. We’ll see how he reacts. I’d really like to get one. – Anthony
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I think it would be great to have a printed poster autographed by all of the “mads”. 🙂
Unfortunately the logistics of getting a poster and circulating it to everyone would be difficult (i.e. expensive) and I haven’t received my check from Big Oil yet…
The Pompous Git says:
June 7, 2013 at 2:01 pm
PG,
Hang in there, my friend!
When I quit (back in ~1982), it took a full year and 3 failed attempts before I succeeded. Keep at it and you will succeed also!
MtK
I would LOVE for the women of climate skepticism to get together and write to the artist and demand that he either produce a Mad Women version, or risk being labelled as the sexist he seems to be. I would bet his head would explode on the spot. 🙂
Maybe the artist could squeeze Roy in, in drag? 😉
If the artist won’t do it, maybe Josh could? This is just too fun to drop. 🙂
Bravoe again Pointman. I found this excellent essay on the infowars via today’s Bishop Hill post. Coincidentally there is a comment on Steve’s site that basically said that attacking sceptics in this way could lead the curious to find out more which could backfire. Pointman states the same thing in his opening paragraph. Great coincidence.
http://thepointman.wordpress.com/2013/06/07/how-to-run-a-really-bad-infowar-campaign/
This is from the University of Waterloo in Ontario???? (http://watcut.uwaterloo.ca/_files/overlay-pic.jpg) Or just posted there? Why?
Concerning the presence/absence of women in the Mad Men poster: I wonder what Jo Nova would think of being portrayed as Christina Hendricks?
well I know I would like it, but….
Like a well funded, well organised army of occupation confronted with a deeply embedded but totally dedicated ‘insurgency’, Warmism has always been tormented by the absence of organised resistance. This poster is a very belated attempt to create such an organised, well funded and exclusively male body of skeptical opinion, for the purpose of knocking it down.
I suspect that it’s a little late for that now, given the growth of the Skeptical movement and ‘issue fatigue’ amongst the politicians.
What they’ve failed to understand is that there are millions of us and we are all Mad Men/Women.
We’re mad that we’ve been conned and taxed and regulated because of someone else’s religious beliefs.
Speaking of ‘well funded’ I’ll bet that artwork cost a bob or two!
You are right, It is all about appearances. No one who is anyone here in New Zealand can express a doubt about man made global warming. Such doubt is equated to racism sexism and ageism. and all the other isms that the smart people avoid These themes sell magazines, especially to women. But cheer up,journalists will soon be looking for other fields in which to distinguish themselves from the common herd. . Prohibition of something everyone enjoys no doubt, that’s the usual way it goes.by proving it affects some small portion of the population adversely.Like cosmetic and soap fragrances at environmental conferences.
I want a signed copy 5×10 suitable for framing. Will also buy an additional when the rest of the “A” team is included. This could be an important piece of ephemera.
This is humorless parody.
I’d love to see a retort cartoon with Gore, Mann, Hansen, Gleick, Jones,Trenberth and many more all-time favorite cabalists In a Mad magazine style send-up
with Dr Jim Hansen as “Professor Fonebone” In “Gone With the Extreme Wind”
Oh please, please, please … can we have a WUWT hosted competition started to produce the best Mad-Men “alarmist-montage” (photo-shopped or original artwork allowed). All artists submitting work encouraged to be honest about “Big Oil”, etc. funding. Maybe we could enlist Josh to be the judge?
“This has been the most strange and unsettling week ever. Wiretaps, using the tax code as a political tool against your opponent, Huffington Post goes over to the dark side, and we witnessed the collapse of climate models ability to predict the future.” ~WUWT
Then there was also the WH staff fundraising for Obamacare – collected from the very insurance cos that would be regulated by Obamacare.
“Republican senators are demanding answers about Health And Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ private fundraising efforts to augment finances for Obamacare, saying her actions were legally and ethically wrong.”
Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/gop-senators-sebelius-obamacare/2013/06/01/id/507479?s=al&promo_code=13B12-1#ixzz2Va1OarKW
Urgent: Should Obamacare Be Repealed? Vote Here Now!
The Deniers look good, so I really hate to have to show you up – but you didn’t quite make the mythic proportions of the Big Renewable politicians, here:
http://fenbeagleblog.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/the-arrogantauts/
My dad cured both me and my younger sister of smoking in a simple yet effective way. One day when I was about 9 , I sneaked a lit cigarette from an ashtray and begin smoking it. Of course I was almost immediately caught but my dad just said something like “I see you are really growing up, finish that one and we will have another.” About half way through the second one I became very nauseous and never wanted another cigarette after that. I discovered later, as a teen, how effective nausea can be when I went on a Drive-In date while coming down with the flu. My date was wearing fairly strong perfume and just the odor made me want to vomit. It was decades before I could even stand the smell of even mild amounts of perfume after that. As a result I can see where the treatments used in “A Clockwork Orange” could be very effective.
He also offered me small amounts of beer/wine when young so that when my friends just couldn’t wait to hit the bars at 18, I just didn’t see the logic or the need. Of course these days parents might get reported for doing these things to their kids.
The fact that you and others are not upset but are actually willing to pay to be in the cartoon or to have an autographed copy of it, speaks volumes about the difference in maturity and integrity of this side versus theirs.
Mac the Knife says:
June 7, 2013 at 3:04 pm
“This has been the most strange and unsettling week ever. Wiretaps, using the tax code as a political tool against your opponent….
Indeed, the revelations from congressional hearings that the higher levels of our government were responsible for directing the IRS to target conservative groups and individuals for illegal intimidation via ‘special investigations’ indicates willful, direct corruption.”
The IRS is NOT following the original 1954 501(c)(4) law which states that tax exemptions were to apply to “Civic leagues or organizations not organized for profit but operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare.” The IRS changed this in 1959 to: ”To be operated exclusively to promote social welfare, an organization must operate primarily to further the common good and general welfare…”. The change requires an IRS individual to interpret “primarily”.
http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/05/15/the-real-irs-scandal-reinterpreting-the-law/
Unless congress changes the law, ALL organizations not meeting the original standard should have their tax exempt status pulled (I can hear wailing and gnashing of teeth already).
Who would be the 12 worst AGW folks representing the other (dark) side?
In reply to:
lsvalgaard says:
June 7, 2013 at 12:52 pm
William Astley says:
June 7, 2013 at 12:14 pm
The current observed cooling and wet weather is in the same regions that experienced the Little Ice age. Most reasonable researchers would say that the LIA was global… so wet weather is global?
William: Global in that increased precipitation occurs 40 to 60 degrees latitude both hemisphere. Not global in that all regions of the planet experience increased precipitation.
Increased precipitation has been observed along with cooling of both hemispheres. The regions that are experiencing increased precipitation and that are cooling (cooling includes higher northern latitudes where there is cooling but not necessarily an increase in precipitation) are the same regions that experienced increased precipitation and cooling during the Little Ice age.
Observed significant regional cooling (reversal of the warming in the same regions that warmed in the last 20 years) is a game changer. The CO2 forcing mechanism is not reversible. The proposed mechanisms by which solar magnetic cycle changes modulate planetary cloud cover are reversible.
Formal debaters (I am debator judge) must argue both sides and can come up with arguments for both sides. (Similar skill that a criminal lawyer must have to defend a guilty client.) In a scientific debate observations trump theory.
Regardless of what you believe and regardless of what others believe or have stated it appears the planet is starting to cool. As I have noted above there are fundamental observations that are not in agreement with the AGW theory. Typically the fact that there are multiple unexplained anomalies indicates either the fundamental hypothesis or related assumptions are incorrect. Those anomalies have been ignored.
Significant cooling is a game changer. Cooling as opposed to a lack of warming cannot be ignored. The climate change problem will change from warming to cooling.
Obviously the public and media will want an explanation as to how 97% of all climate scientist could be incorrect and how it is possible that everyone stated the science is settled when we are trying to address global cooling.
http://www.solen.info/solar/images/comparison_recent_cycles.png
They obviously feel a need to respond to all the cartoons our side uses. Pity they just don’t have the pathos or empathy of the human condition required to display something that has a meaning beyond the facile.
posted a 6000*3840 px blow-up of the picture without labels – might print a little better than the 1500 px version.
Whilst we are on proverbs: I recieve a word a day from wordsmith – and they always includes a thought too. Todays thougts seem to be insightful and relevant to your blog and this thread.
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The greatest obstacle to discovering the shape of the earth, the continents, and the oceans was not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge. -Daniel J. Boorstin, historian, professor, attorney, and writer (1914-2004)
yesterdays was equally good
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies. -Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, philosopher (1844-1900)
Had a slightly bizarre though for a Josh reply , An illustration of Steve Brodner being manipulated as a sock puppet, by another poor cartoonist, John Cook, with both puffing furiously on a stogie with the usual pile of ashes and butts on the floor, then of course surrounded by other smokin bystanders, Lewandowski, Mann, Gleike between puff’s urging the pair on to make sure you can see the cigarettes, that will stir those……up!! I guess that would put the boot on the other foot and another smile on our faces.
I’d suggest that the Australian artist/cartoonist Larry Pickering would also do a good job in reply, but his would be a bit rude, but apt.
Attention: William Astley (and moderator – if interested in helping out Mr. Astley, sua sponte, here)
I believe your 6:21PM today post (re: Leif Stalsgaard at 12:52PM today) belongs on the Spain Solar thread (link below) where Dr. S. made a comment at 12:52 PM today:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/06/06/solar-gains-in-spain-may-cause-warmists-pain/#more-87754
You put an awful lot of thought into that post — hate to see it not get the attention it deserves.
@ur momisugly Ken B (7:10PM) — “… a sock puppet, … both puffing furiously on a stogie … .” LOL. I love it!
And on the wall behind them, have a poster of Gary Larsen’s “The Far Side” cartoon where he has the dinosaurs standing around smoking reefers and the caption says: “Why dinosaurs went extinct.” #[:)]
*****************************
Well, Go Home (at 6:10PM today), not “the 12 worst AGW folks,” but here are 2 of them:
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=+Jasper+and+Horace+from+Disney%27s+101+Dalmations&view=detail&mid=CA3CE444B1C0FF2F3F6FCA3CE444B1C0FF2F3F6F&first=0&FORM=NVPFVR
Margaret Hardman June 7 12:02pm
&
Eric Stimpson
The antonym of “marketer”??? How about “hoarder”? A marketer sells and a hoarder does not.
Of course this is all dependent on the definition of “marketer” you are using. Above i assume a marketer is someone who brings goods to the marketplace to sell them. A hoarder withholds those goods from the marketplace.
if the definition of a marketer is someone who for a fee attempts to enhance the appeal of any product then their opposite number would be someone who for a fee attempts to discredit a product. (In both cases the actual worth of the product is irrelevant). i believe this is called negative marketing but am not sure. Marketing and negative marketing are both aspects of “marketing”, (think negative political ads) — functions that “marketers” perform. So in that sense a marketer has no antonym. Both opposite services are part of a marketer’s offered expertise.
But, still, does a marketer have an antonym? Seller is the antonym of buyer but a marketer does neither of those things yet he is certainly the agent of the seller. So who would be the agent of the buyer? i guess a “consumer advocate” of some form or other. Just as a marketer dual functions to enhance or disparage certain goods — so does a consumer advocate enhance or disparage certain goods.
The antonym of “marketer” is “consumer advocate”?
This is making my head hurt. i need to get a life.
Eugene WR Gallun
William Astley says: “Obviously the public and media will want an explanation as to how 97% of all climate scientist could be incorrect and how it is possible that everyone stated the science is settled when we are trying to address global cooling.”
We will not address global cooling, for to do so would require addressing global warming as a hoax, which the 97% dare not admit, nor will the media recognize it. Extrapolate this situation of rapidly dropping temperatures to its logical conclusion, and you’ll readily see the outcome.