That’s how Robert Vienneau described me after some of my stoushes last year.
It seems as if my luck is holding in that respect at any rate. While I’ve had plenty of supportive responses after being booted from the Fin, I’m sure not everyone is sorry to see me go. Most of those in the latter class, however, haven’t seen any need to gloat.
I would have been disappointed, however, if Andrew Bolt had not lived down to his usual form on this occasion. Sure enough, as his fans have advised me both by email and in comments here, he’s written a gloating column, expressing the hope that Laura Tingle (a far better journalist than Bolt could ever be, even if he was trying) will be next to go.
Bolt can’t even manage an original line of attack, dragging out the tired misrepresentation of a 2007 blog post that the Telegraph ran last week.
The great thing about having Bolt as an enemy is that you get his fans thrown in as part of the package. There’s something comforting in knowing that, if someone dislikes you, there’s a high probability that they are the kind of person who comments on Bolt’s blog.
Of course, it isn’t much of a distinction to be one of Bolt’s enemies. With the exception of the late Paddy McGuinness (who at least had some style to combine with the vitriol) I can’t think of anyone who is less discriminating in his hatreds.
John Quiggin 
But maybe they had only experienced good weather before they started?
@Joe
Joe,
Like Tim I am assuming you are in good faith.
1. Your definition of ‘young’ may be different to mine, but the scientists that contribute to the IPCC and related research institutions are likely to be mostly middle aged. People who contribute are typically at the very top of their professions – something that is likely to take even the most gifted researchers decades to accomplish.
2. Yes scientists are in general unelected, but the truth is not subject to popular opinion. If a referendum tomorrow decided that the world was flat, this would not change its shape.
3. The claim that there has been no warming over the last decade or so has some truth, but is misleading. Global temperatures are volatile from year to year and some statistical techniques are required to differentiate between a few hot years and a warming trend. We had an incredibly hot year in 1998 and subsequent years have been very hot (and getting hotter) but still haven’t exceeded this incredibly high mark. So if you ignored all the evidence prior to 1998 we would see less evidence of warming. But this is like saying that if you ignore DNA, fingerprints and many other forms of information, there may not be enough evidence left to convict a murderer who otherwise is clearly guilty.
4. Sea levels change slowly and vary from place to place. Would you notice an increase in sea levels of 3mm per year over the last decade? Scientists do because they measure these things precisely and often, but for you to do this casually, you would have to recall the average sea level to within a few centimetres from 10 or more years ago.
5. The same is true of the general weather. Slow changes over time are difficult to detect as weather is very volatile and we update our expectations every day. To do this properly you need to take many precise measurements over long periods of time, which is exactly what the scientists do.
The ‘sceptical’ view of climate change requires us to believe that either (i) the consensus of tens of thousands of brilliant scientists is wrong, or (ii) those same scientists are engaged in a giant evil conspiracy. Anyone who has studied a complex random phenomenon like the global climate knows that armchair “expertise” is worthless relative to real expertise, and anyone who is over 15 should know that evil conspiracies of this magnitude and over this many people are likely to be fiction.
I believe George Pell; he speaks for God you know!
My god,the blind arrogance displayed by you people on this blog is f***ing staggering!
@JB Goode
“goody goody gum drop !”
@JB Goode
Blind arrogance is something I’d attribute to people who think we can pollute indefinitely and endlessly financialise our economy, personally.
@Joe
Understand your frustration Joe,Try Richard.S.Lindzen Professor of Meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.An Ipcc lead author and publisher of over 230 ‘peer reviewed’ papers.One of the few people on the planet qualified to call himself a ‘denier’,in fact he insists on it.Hip,easy listening.
@Dan
Don’t believe everything Cate Blanchett tells you mate,try doing some homework on the subject.
@JB Goode
I see you’re giving measure for measure; meeting ‘blind arrogance’ with blind ignorance.
“goody goody gum drop !”
@Freelander
Joller moller custard,green snot pie
all mixed together with a dead dog’s eye
slap it on a sarny,nice and thick
and swallow it down with a cup of cold sick!
You’re turn.
@JB Goode
If any wonders why Lindzen is such an idiot, his doctoral advisor was another Goody. “Goody Goody gum drop !”
Not touché; just touchy! “Goody Goody gum drop !”
@JB Goode
You should be so lucky that Cate Blanchett provides my policy knowledge. You have no idea who I am or what I do but I can promise you a superficial feelgood interest it is not.
Although I’m grudgingly impressed at how quickly you proved yourself a hypocrite.
@JB Goode
*your
The ‘Bolts’ are out in force tonite, or is that the wing-nuts?
@Dan
You are a communist.
@JB Goode
Inherit the world-wind; the fool will be servant to the wise. “Goody Goody gum drop !”
You used to get a better quality of nitwit climate change denier. Maybe their ranks are thinning?
@Freelander
What don’t you understand about the peer review process?
Apologies if you are an atmospheric meteorologist.
I suppose you do. I guess life must be tough, and frustrating, when you’re a Bolt Dolt.
“atmospheric meteorologist?” Are there non-atmospheric meteorologists?
“pear review process?”
opps awaiting moderation. and it was good too ‘goody goody…’
@JB Goode
Social democrat, actually. But I guess it’s all the same to you?
I thought the whole communist paranoia had passed or at least beam passé?
I have a libertarian friend who describes Greenspan as a Communist. Guy can’t keep a girlfriend either. Coincidence I’m sure.
@JB Goode
As always, the most compelling commentary from the delusionals relies on their ability to do projection.
It’s amusing that this one is quoting Lindzen, who is not, strictly speaking, a denier. He’s in the camp of those trying to offer up (unsoundly) reasons to be cheerful.
@Dan
Just about Dan,yeah.It is capitalism that has lifted untold millions of people from poverty and you’re previous ‘endlessly financialise our economy’ is typical of a negative, hand wringing mindset.Relax Dan,we have done all right so far and a lot more will be done as soon as we start to divert the vast amounts of money now being wasted on the climate change gravy train to where it should be.
I wonder what god had in mind when he created mr goode? Truly moves in mysterious ways; even his spokesman here on earth, Mr Pell can’t explain him, or is it her, or hermaphrodite?
@JB Goode
Actually, you are quite right about ‘lifting millions out of poverty’.
@Fran Barlow
‘As always, the most compelling commentary from the delusionals relies on their ability to do projection’
Fran,can you do us all a favour and get someone who speaks English to check your comments before you post them.
@JB Goode
I had no trouble understanding Fran? Dictionary, Joe, dictionary!
@Freelander
Not so fast Freelander,by the way do you still live with your mum? the ‘whole communist paranoia’ might be passe to you,but communism left 94 million people dead, so personally I can understand a certain amount of paranoia about the next gift to be so graciously bestowed upon us by the left.
@Joey Be Good(e)
We all die, Joey. Back in the pouch before a dingo gets you. “A dingo stole my joey!” Goody!
@Freelander
I don’t believe in god, scientology,David Koresh or CAGW,and you?
@Joey Be Good(e)
So you are not unboundedly stupid, just somewhat.
@JB Goode
If you”re going to come here full of swagger, you could a least say something a teensy bit impressive. So far your standard is no better than Cardinal Pell’s.
@JB Goode
There’s little point in your posting here if you find simple English challenging.
@Joey Be Good(e)
Y’all come back now!
@JB Goode
Capitalism that creates stuff that’s useful and lifts people out of poverty I have no issue with.
‘Capitalism’ that is in fact speculation that doesn’t involve an meaningful risk on the part of the person who should be bearing the risk, is purely inflationary in nature, and is punctuated by crises that hit the poorest hardest, on the other hand, I think is subject to systemic malfunction.
Unfortunately the latter seems to follow the former around in much the manner of a bad smell. See Minsky.
Important also to realise that Soviet growth model developed by Fel’dman and applied in China before the Great Leap Forward (and India to this day, albeit more slowly) also lifted millions out of poverty. But I suspect that historical nuance will be lost on you.
Gosh, the world’s problems are so simple for you! Capitalism works fine and there’s no global warming. Just cheer up, everyone, and vote for market fundamentalist deniers!
(I suspect at a deeper level you know that reality isn’t quite so benign.)
@Dan
Fools like this latest troll JBGoode/Joe are a sad indictment of the system as it stands. AGW is in its ubiquity, periodicity and variety by the proverbial country mile the largest market failure in human history. If there were a shred of integrity amongst the defenders of capitalism, they’d acknowledge that and try to devise a solution with which humanity as a whole and in the future could live.
They are bereft of both intellectual and ethical integrity of course. The idea that their god — the fabled invisible hand — could have failed humanity so profoundly and might — horror of horrors require state intervention and some sort of constraint upon commercial stakeholder discretion is utter anathema to them. All over the world, the heads of Randian dogmatists and libertarian fundies are exploding. Synapses are crackling and gliomas are forming.
Unable to get their heads round a god-that-failed and to accept the possibility that when human system failure occurs, it’s sometimes necessary for humans to take witting action to correct it, including constraining human discretion, they’ve decided that if the conclusion is politically unacceptable then the underlying science must be destroyed. If their right to behave with reckless disregard for others is to be upheld as a matter of culture, then it follows that observable reality must be wrong — a scam or some sort of cunning left-wing plan. At that point all claims, no matter how absurd are to be accepted if they subvert the integrity of the science or policy makers one doesn’t like, and rejected no matter how impressive if they speak to the need to act.
This is cognitive dissonance on a truly delusional scale. It was their side that distinguished themselves years ago from “the reality-based community” and it seems they really have taken that to heart on this matter. No stupidity is too great for them to utter in the service of their “freedom” to trash the commons and civilisation with it.They aren’t in the least bit perturbed that not a single scientist whose opinion is worth a cracker is in their corner on the basic science. They will lie and when cornered lie even bigger and on a wider scale.
We should not argue with this lot. These people are not speaking in good faith and those that aren’t completely ignorant and mad are simply selfish mendacious misanthropes.
Hmm this thread is starting to sound a bit Catallaxian. Who woulda thunk the demise of Larvatus Prodeo would cause such shudderings in the blogiverse?
@Tim Macknay
I suspect that it’s more to do with Bolt and PrQs “End of an ERA at AFR” The Flying Monkeys have been sent off to troll all the enemies of Bolt — Amazon, Random House, here and some even wound up at LP …
@Tim
There are always trolls. This thread is going Catallaxian only because so many commenters have decided in their infinite wisdom that the way to deal with trolls is to feed them, giving them aid and comfort.
@Dan
What is this ‘capitalism’?
Creating useful stuff is not the key.
There is no point in welcoming any form of economy where the production of ‘useful stuff’ for some occurs either at the expense of others or at the expense of future generations.
Minsky was a capitalist and therefore only objected to certain forms of debt.
There are always trolls. This thread is going Catallaxian only because so many commenters have decided in their infinite wisdom that the way to deal with trolls is to feed them, giving them aid and comfort.
More than usual on this thread. I think Fran’s explanation is more convincing.
Sorry, the first bit (a quote from Alan’s comment) should have been in quote tags.
You are never going to change a Joe/Goode. Ridicule I’d the way to go. That way he goes away and similar nitwits don’t line up for more if the same. Also, ridicule may result in the ‘joe’ reflecting on their silly ideas. Getting someone to engage on self reflection is often the most effectivr way to get them to change their views.
Just as I’m starting to feel optimistic about the human race, along comes some stupid with a flare gun…
This just in … Bob Brown resigns as Greens leader …
Very sad indeed. His contribution to our party is hard to overstate. Christine Milne has a big job ahead of her to keep up that standard.
Dunno, capitalism does drive innovation, both good innovation and bad innovation, in both the obvious and hidden sense. Much of the “useful stuff” that is a product of innovation can be harmful to humanity in the present or future, but much of it can also be a savior eg. medical innovation, warning systems of natural disasters, technology to lower communication barriers – eg to reduce violent repression and tyranny. I agree, it’s a culture killer, it’s inherently unstable and inherently leads to a growing inequity gap. I’m not advocating capitalism, but I totally agree with Dan’s points.
@Fran Barlow
What???