Help send Kenji to the "Scientists March on Washington" event!

From the “all’s fair in love, war, and climate science” department comes this opportunity.

On Facebook, Dr. Roy Spencer made a comment related to a post on the original website calling for scientists to “March on Washington” to…

…take a stand for science in politics. Slashing funding and restricting scientists from communicating their findings (from tax-funded research!) with the public is absurd and cannot be allowed to stand as policy.

They add (bold mine):

Who can participate:

“Anyone who believes in empirical science. That’s it. That’s the only requirement. We will both have a diversity committee and a diverse steering committee that represents people of many backgrounds and identities. Science is done by POC, women, immigrants, LGBTQ, indigenous people, people of all beliefs and non-belief. We hope that this diversity is reflected in both the leadership of the march and the march itself.”

Dr. Spencer commented:

It is ironic that they emphasize “empirical science”, since that’s what argues against global warming being a problem. It’s the “theoretical science” they have to invoke to scare people.

But the comment by Dr. Spencer that motivates this post is this one:

Since *everyone* is invited to a “scientists march”, I’m reminded of the time Anthony Watts had his dog join the Union of Concerned Scientists. https://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/10/07/friday-funny-the-newest-member-of-the-union-of-concerned-scientists/

adding:

Kenji might need a white lab coat though.

Long-time WUWT readers may recall that I put UCS to the test. Here’s excerpts:

Be a “concerned scientist” – valid credit card required

Since becoming a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists when I found out all you needed was a valid credit card, my curiosity about who and what they really are has spiked.

I decided to put that theory to the test. I am very proud to announce that a member of my family has been accepted into this prestigious organization. With pride, I present new UCS member, Kenji Watts:

Yes, Kenji is our dog. Apparently, the claim is true, all that is required to be a member of the illustrious group of “concerned scientists” is a valid credit card. No discerning questions were asked of me when I prepared Kenji’s application and no follow up check after the application was done. I simply put in his name, address, and provided a valid credit card that matched the address.

Here is his letter of acceptance:

Kenji is a Japanese Chin, hence the name. Read the full post here: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/10/07/friday-funny-the-newest-member-of-the-union-of-concerned-scientists/

I replied to Dr. Spencer’s comment on FB with:

Kenji does believe in empirical science, why just the other day he sniffed out some empirical evidence of change on the lawn. Yeah, I figure if those protesters in SFO at AGU(16) can wear white lab coats, (see below) Kenji certainly can. UCS might even have to put out a press release “denying” his membership.

and…it tuns out that cyber-criminal Dr. Peter Gleick who admitted he took on a fake identity and used it to steal documents from the Heartland Institute, has announced his intentions of going in a Tweet:

So, it’s settled (the science march, not the science). If these clowns can go “stand up for science” (on the steps of a Catholic church in downtown San Francisco no less) then the only canine member ever accepted by the Union of Concerned Scientists can certainly go.

And it gets better, the march name and website have been changed….

….and now there’s no requirements to attend listed on the new website at all!

It gets better:

Someone should warn Washington that the "White Coats are Coming!" We march for freedom, then for Congress! #LabCoatParty

— Willow ✍🏻 (@MindOverMuses) January 28, 2017

Well, OK then.

To do this, Kenji and I will need to fly from California to Washington DC. I’ll fly coach, probably Kenji will fly doggie carrier under the seat, which Southwest airlines allows for a $100 fee each way. Also, he’ll need to get a health certificate from the vet to fly. We’ll need to get a dog-friendly hotel for a couple of nights at a minimum, transportation to/from the hotel/event and I’ll need to make a sign to carry, get a custom white lab coat for Kenji, plus do some training with Kenji to get him acclimated to large crowds. Since he is so small, and could easily be stepped on, or kicked on purpose, I’ll likely get a chest carrier for small dogs like this one.

We’ll have a two-sided sign, one that shows support for science, and on the reverse, a picture of the worst climate monitoring station ever found by the surfacestations project at the University of Arizona with the question “If you measure climate in a parking lot, is it still science?”

Help Kenji go!

Estimated costs by the time this is all done is about $2000-2500. Since Kenji is still waitng for the #BigOil check, or a grant from the #KochBrothers and has no funds of his own, he’s asking WUWT readers to kick in some pocket change ($10-25 or set your own level) to help get there and “March for Science” (whenever that is they haven’t got the date set yet).

Of course, we’ll have pictures, commentary, and probably some hilarious reactions by people to this.

Captions for the other side of the sign are welcome. Right now, “My Dog is a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists” is the leading message.

SEND KENJI TO MARCH IN WASHINGTON DC!

Kenji has his own Twitter account, so be sure to follow him for updates.

Also, if we don’t get enough donations to make it happen, they will be refunded. Thanks, Anthony