The Center for American Progress affiliated attack group “Forecast the Facts” is turning on the CBS News magazine “60 Minutes” for reporting truthfully on the issues surrounding green technology last Sunday.
See the press release below and the full video from CBS News follows.
For Immediate Release January 9, 2013
Contact: Anna Zuccaro, anna@fitzgibbonmedia.com, (914) 523-9145
Benghazi Redux? 60 Minutes “Cleantech Crash” Segment Severely Misleads Viewers
Climate Group Forms Online Petition in Demand of Public Editor
Washington, DC — On January 5th, 60 Minutes aired a segment entitled “Cleantech Crash” and made false accusations regarding the nation’s clean energy economy. The broadcast failed to mention that the clean energy industry has actually been booming, and that the increasing and severe threats of climate change makes the transition from fossil fuel pollution an economic necessity.
Not only did the “Cleantech Crash” segment mislead viewers, it threatened our ability to confront the global warming crisis.
Fortunately, 60 Minutes can still set the record straight: by appointing a Public Editor, the program can see to it that this particular broadcast is investigated, ensure that all future reporting serves the public interest and deliver more accurate information about climate change to their audience.
“Those who watched 60 Minutes this past Sunday might be under the impression that cleantech is dead, our hope for a much-needed green energy economy down the tubes,” said Forecast the Facts campaign director Brant Olson. “Fortunately for the world and unfortunately for good investigative journalism, 60 Minutes got the future of clean energy technology wrong—very wrong. 60 Minutes should appoint a Public Editor to restore its damaged reputation.”
Take a stand with us and sign the petition to demand the appointment of a 60 Minutes Public Editor, which will be delivered to Jeff Fager, Chairman of CBS News and Executive Producer of 60 Minutes: http://act.forecastthefacts.org/sign/sixty_minutes_public_editor.
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THE VIDEO:
From the YouTube video description:
Published on Jan 5, 2014
Despite billions invested by the U.S. government in so-called “Cleantech” energy, Washington and Silicon Valley have little to show for it. Lesley Stahl reports.
Friends:
I write to offer a warning and not to get involved in ‘private grief’.
Several posters have blamed effects of croney capitalism on “socialism”.
The reported problems all derive from faults in the strange system of US government.
In effect, rich corporates invest money on campaigns to get individual politicians elected then expect the elected politicians to repay their investment with interest.
This causes US government to allocate income from tax revenue to ‘subsidise’ interests which payed at election times with a view to their obtaining subsidies.
Gail Combs provides a succinct and clear report of one inevitable outcome of this in her post at January 10, 2014 at 12:49 am
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/01/09/climate-campaigners-start-to-eat-their-own-over-cleantech-crash/#comment-1531235
The problem is the US political system which allows – indeed, encourages – unlimited funding of political campaigns. Pretending that this obvious and real problem is something else – be it “socialism” or anything else – is excusing failure to address that problem by ‘turning a blind eye’ to it.
Incidentally, those in this thread who blame “socialism” all display appalling ignorance of what socialism is, but that is not important. The important point is that they are deflecting people from considering the clear and real problem.
That clear and real problem is obvious to those of us who view the US from the outside. Indeed, the fact that it is obvious to those observing the US system from outside is why – as reported in the “60 minutes” video – Chinese corporations find it so easy to benefit from US government subsidies to businesses.
Richard
William Astley wrote, “The key components in “green technology” require rare earth elements. China strategically purchased and moved the technology to China.”
How the Great Rare-Earth Metals Crisis Vanished
China’s attempt to control the market for materials essential to the tech industry is turning to dust.
There was a time, not so long ago, when the world feared China was going to use its dominance of the global rare-earth-element industry to crush Western economies and militaries in a strategic vise. Those were the days. Recent developments highlight how wrong those alarmist predictions were.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303848104579308252845415022
The effects of crony capitalism lie entirely in the hands of the cronies.
It is not ‘socialism’, which is the redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor, achieved through the nationalisation of the means of production.
It is poor quality capitalism, since individuals, individual financial organisations and crony entrepreneurs/managers took private decisions using privately held capital to allocate capital incorrectly, inefficiently and incompetently.
Traditional views of capitalism consider such events to be part of the market correction process, leaving better investors wealthier and poorer investors poorer.
The only problem arises if the means of exchange itself, aka financial capital, becomes controlled by cartels, monopolies etc etc.
We all know how capitalism views cartels and monopolies.
Perhaps we should ask whether cartels and monopolies in financial services should be dealt with using anti-trust legislation??
I have argued thus as I have seen little evidence to see Governments dominate the investment landscape in the past 15 years.
This would be the same @forecastfacts that tweeted an EF1 tornado in Florida as proof of #ClimateChanged or thinking cigarette style warnings on gas pumps are ‘awesome’ (I see Anthony spotted this too)
“@Anthony Watts: @ForecastFacts Brad Johnson should wear a warning on his t-shirt – I’m paid by Soros to make up this crap – keep 10 feet back.”
I have only two changes which I would like to see.
1. Repeal all federal taxes and institute a fair tax. Most likely near 24% to cover our bills and stop borrowing money.
2. Change all election laws to allow only people to give money to a campaign only if they can vote for the candidate or items on the ballot otherwise NO donation or spending on any election. Corporations cannot vote therefore they cannot donate to a candidate.
If Bill Gates wants to give Hillary $100M that’s okay but not Microsoft. It’s his money. It’s not tax deductible and the donor, amount and purpose must be declared with the FEC and published before one dime is spent.
Only people can vote.
Richard-san:
It’s not the free market that corrupts government, it’s government that corrupts the free market and morphs it into a tangled of web of push and pull.
The free-market is perfectly capable of efficiently and effectively allocating land/labor/capital without the “help” of government. When governments overregulate, overtax, subsidize, intervene, bailout and control business, land/labor/capital are malinvested, operating costs soar, profits fall, capital investment funds dry up, competition is reduced, businesses become uncompetitive, jobs/entire industries destroyed and/or are driven out of the country.
Businesses and people just want to be left alone. Individuals are perfectly capable of reaching mutually beneficial agreements without government intervention.
SAMURAI says: @ur momisugly January 10, 2014 at 3:03 am
The history of fiat money, to put it kindly, has been one of failure. In fact, EVERY fiat currency since the Romans first began the practice in the first century has ended in devaluation and eventual collapse, of not only the currency, but of the economy that housed the fiat currency as well.
SAMURAI says: @ur momisugly January 10, 2014 at 5:36 am
Richard-san:
It’s not the free market that corrupts government, it’s government that corrupts the free market and morphs it into a tangled of web of push and pull….
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The first problem is we do not enforce anti-trust laws and the second problem is fiat currency.
A country that has a printed on the spot fiat currency does not have capitalism since by definition capitalism is reinvesting YOUR WEALTH to produce more wealth. Instead with a fiat currency the wealth is stolen from the citizenry at large and the ‘More Wealth’ produced goes into the pockets of the thieves. Net result is the poor and middle class finance the schemes of the rich and accrue no benefit but instead become poorer.
Worse if you invest your own money you are careful with your investment. If the money is stolen you don’t ruddy well care!
Sen. Daniel Webster, during the debate over the reauthorization of the Second National Bank of the U.S. in 1832, summed it up:
What fact was very very wrong?
Oh, I should also mention that originally in the USA corporations only had a life of twenty years….
Rhys-San:
Under free-market economies, incompetent/unprofitable companies go out of business and their land/labor/capital are reallocated to more comment/profitable companies.
Cartels and monopolies are directly or indirectly formed through government intervention, not by free-markets. Any monopolies like US Steel and Standard Oil were a net benefit to consumers with vastly falling prices. “Monopoly” busting is usually called for by uncompetitive companies, not consumers…
Anti-trust laws are insane. If prices are too low, it’s predatory pricing, if prices are too similar, it’s “price fixing” and if “too high” it’s price gouging…. Just let the market determine price discovery.
SAMURAI:
I understand your post at January 10, 2014 at 5:36 am
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/01/09/climate-campaigners-start-to-eat-their-own-over-cleantech-crash/#comment-1531447
to be a reply to my post at January 10, 2014 at 4:02 am
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/01/09/climate-campaigners-start-to-eat-their-own-over-cleantech-crash/#comment-1531380
In my post I wrote
Your reply says
Sorry, but that is patently untrue. Businesses and people do NOT “want to be left alone” unless that benefits them.
Businesses and people want maximum benefit for themselves. Indeed, capitalism relies on this truism.
Businesses exist to make profits for their owners. So, companies and corporations will spend money on political campaigns which result in their maximising their profits by gaining subsidies for their businesses from government. And they do. But they would not spend that money if they did not want the government intervention.
Many – probably most – countries operate forms of corruption. Croney capitalism is a form of corruption which exists in countries where businesses gain a good return from investment in political campaigns. And the US is an extreme example of a country where a good return is obtained from investment in political campaigns.
Similarly, many people want government benefits; e.g. financial support when unemployed or ill, etc.. They want government to provide such benefits and not to leave them alone.
A theory is fine unless it is falsified by observations.
Richard
Gail Combs-San:
Yes, I agree that fiat currencies never work.
All countries need to return to a gold/silver standard or governments will always print themselves into oblivion.
History is very clear in this.
I didn’t realize 60 Minutes was still on the air. ;->
I CR!NGE when I see trees being ground up for fuel when we can just pump it out of the ground and refine it, or mine coal and use it. That is a bad use of wood.
I thought “Forecast the Facts” was supposed to be about economically persecuting TV weathermen, under the guise of promoting accurate communication about the science of ‘global warming’.
60 Minutes doesn’t have a weatherman, and the story in question wasn’t about the science of ‘global warming.’ It was about government subsidies to failed industries favored by the left. When did ‘Forecast the Facts’ become “Save the Subsidies”, and howcome they didn’t change their name when they did?
Rhetorical questions, of course. They’ve always been about directing taxpayer dollars and government authority to their friends. Climate doesn’t have anything to do with it.
Washington, DC — On January 6th, Forecast the Facts started a petition entitled “60 MINUTES: APPOINT A PUBLIC EDITOR” and made false accusations regarding the THE 60 MINUTES expose of our nation’s clean energy economy. The petition failed to mention that the clean energy industry has actually been booming only because of the billions of dollars thrown away—nay thrown into giant pollution causing bonfires—and that the increasing and severe threats of economic collapse caused by the inevitable implosion of the American dollar makes the transition from cheap oil and gasoline to so-called “cleantech” an economic catastrophe.
Not only did the “60 MINUTES: APPOINT A PUBLIC EDITOR” petition mislead 17,000 naïve left-wing signatories, it threatened our ability to expose the global warmists’ hysteria for what it is.
Fortunately, Forecast the Facts can still set the record straight: by appointing a Public Editor, the petition organization can see to it that this particular petition is investigated, ensure that all future petitions serve the public interest and deliver more accurate information about climate warmist hysteria to their audience.
“Those who read THE 60 MINUTES: APPOINT A PUBLIC EDITOR petition this past Monday might be under the impression that warmist hysteria is alive and kicking, our hope for a much-needed sensible oil based energy economy down the tubes,” said Petition the Facts campaign director Brandon Solitary. “Fortunately for the world and unfortunately for hysterical petition creators, 60 MINUTES got the future of clean energy technology absolutely right. Forecast the Facts should appoint a Public Editor in an attempt to create a heretofore nonexistent reputation.”
Take a stand with us and sign the petition to demand the appointment of a Forecast the Facts: Public Petition Editor, which will be delivered to Brant Olson, campaign director of Forecast the Facts: http://lichmyachingtechtticals.org/sign/forecast_facts_petition_editor.
Where are they used in smart phones, William?
The ‘speakers’ maybe?
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@ur momisugly richardscourtney says: January 10, 2014 at 4:02 am
You’re right. In my experience the middlemen make all the difference in semantics. Especially if they are wealthy and experienced enough, like the Chinese, to bet on all running horses. What would be a more suitable term to describe the current state of US affairs?
The CBS News report implied that the Chinese now plan and guide production and investment with US tax-payer funded assets. This is why I suggested here the term ‘administrative command economy’, but ‘crony command economy’ may also work.
I wonder if Richard Nixon ever realized where he was leading his own nation when he established EPA and redirected NASA. Both presumably influenced by Moynihan’s ideas at the time, such as, http://www.nixonlibrary.gov/virtuallibrary/documents/jul10/56.pdf.
re: richardscourtney says January 10, 2014 at 6:16 am et al and
…
“ A theory is fine unless it is falsified by observations. ”
Ask Bill Gates about the ‘lobbying’ (pols) and ‘meddling’ (intimidation by govt) thing; he learned the hard way to ‘give until it hurts’. All he wanted was to be (effectively) left alone until that first (figurative) ‘knock on the door’ and now he lobbies -er- ‘buys politicians’ too … in the vein of paying ‘protection money’ to be left alone …
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/05/opinion/la-oe-kinsley-column-microsoft-20110405
Fair use excerpt per copyright act law for the purposes of discussion:
Unless I read your post incorrectly, Richard.
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So has everything else. LOL
Ever? Very strange claim to make … maybe you mean “today”? Within your lifetime the Bell (telephone) system (remember them?) was broken up; IBM and Microsoft both ‘settled’ rather than face break-ups or other mandated ‘solutions’.
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Let me emphasise the last bit.
Everything is boooooming apparently.
A “Public Editor”? Do they mean a “Global Warming” editor like Wikipedia’s?
AND your ‘method of observation’ is??? Our ‘press’? Poor method of observation, if so … there are a LOT of subtleties from ‘local talent’ you are probably missing if you are not on/within these shores … never participated in the politics, sat in on business meetings, etc.
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