Posted on 04/22/2017 9:23:03 PM PDT by Fester Chugabrew
I am a Carl Sagan fan from way back. His 1980 TV miniseries “Cosmos” hit me at just the right age and inflamed a lifelong love of science. But we’ve had nearly 40 years to assess the long-term effects and see how Sagan unwittingly contributed to a trend that muddled public understanding of science. This weekend’s so-called “March for Science” is a perfect example of what went wrong.
All you really need to know about the “March for Science” is that it is scheduled for Earth Day. The organizers may say the march is nonpartisan and has a variety of goals, but it’s mostly just about global warming. It’s not just about whether global warming is actually happening, or whether it is caused by human activity, but about a specific political program for dealing with global warming.
To be sure, there are other goals involved in the march and some contention, even among the organizers, about the extent to which the march should embrace causes like “diversity.” So the goals run the gamut from the left to the far-left. And that’s the problem. The “March for Science” is an attempt to equate the Left’s political goals with Science Itself, claiming the intellectual and moral authority of science for the Left’s agenda.
You can see why they would want to do that. . . .
(Excerpt) Read more at thefederalist.com ...
The unit of measure called a “Sagan” is defined as “billions and billions and billions”...
The Real War on Science - by the Left
http://www.city-journal.org/html/real-war-science-14782.html
He had the sense or political insight though to publish his pro-cannabis editorials under a pseudonym.
[The unit of measure called a “Sagan” is defined as “billions and billions and billions”...]
Are you certain that is not a “McDonald’s”?
“And over a quarter pound of actual hamburger used...” /old Johnny Carson joke
Instead they form a conclusion, skip the experimentation, ignore the data, and call anyone who disagrees anti-science.
= = =
They cherry pick some data and call it “evidence”.
“He had the sense or political insight though to publish his pro-cannabis editorials under a pseudonym.”
I didn’t know that. Didn’t know he advocated for it pseudonymously.
Speaking of movies, I am babysitting my grandchildren this week-end while their parents are attending an out of town wedding, so I have been exposed to lots of children's movies that I would ordinarily not watch. I was only half listening while they were watching Finding Dory this afternoon. The movie contains so much environmental propaganda, from showing one of the fish swimming around with the plastic rings from a six pack of sodas around its neck to showing the ocean with so much garbage floating around in it that the fish can hardly swim. When my other daughter came in and I said as much to her, she said that the children don't really understand what is going on. I told her that was the problem - Hollyweird is trying to indoctrinate "young skills full of mush" right under their parent's noses!
Earth Day has a special meaning to me because I was an undergraduate majoring in Biology when the first one was celebrated in 1970. Global cooling and a new Ice Age was the big fear at the time. I now have a Masters in Biology and have been teaching for over 30 years at the local community college. Since I was there for the first Earth Day and have lived long enough to see that none of the dire predictions that were being made back then have ever come to pass, I try to enlighten my students by telling them that global warning (AKA climate change) is a bunch of "hot air" by encouraging them to use the scientific method to examine the evidence for themselves - which none of the proponents of climate change seem to be willing to do for fear of what they might discover.
In a society that has horoscope readings hot lines advertised on TV, it is no wonder that these climate change charlatans would use non-science to line their pockets. The vast landscape of America is easily be taken in by this narrative formula that goes on like a skipping record.
In 1989 Sagan wrote an article for Parade Magazine about The Life issue. After presenting what amounted to political arguments he came to the “scientific” conclusion that abortion was acceptable. Parade Magazine reported that the article created the biggest response in their history. Ninety nine percent of the letters were against his reasoning and conclusion. So much for Carl Sagan.
[Finding Dory]
Well, it’s Ellen DeGeneres. Like Oprah, wide-appeal (no pun intended) but they slide in their little agendas while going for broad-based audiences (no pun intended again) and then trying to lure people over into their crazy worlds.
It’s pervasive - that’s for certain.
It’s no coincidence that the first Earth Day was held on Vladimir Lenin’s 100th birthday.
I was in San Francisco for the first “Erf Day”. I still remember all the hippies driving to Golden Gate park, spray painting graffiti on the fountain, and leaving all their trash when they left.
I was at the first Earth Day and it was not a “green” event, but a “red” one. I remember Comrade Pete Seeger singing for the “cause”, as well as lots of other Marxists of all stripes literally dominating the stage (Got to look up who the others were, possibly avowed Marxist Holly Near of the Hanoi Lobby, etc.
I’ll get back on who was there soon.
I did meet a beautiful blonde who I later dated so that day was not a total waste.
Arlen Specter was a Republican louse.
Ira Einhorn's fugitive saga was the signal accomplishment of his miserable 82-year-long life.
ping
Silly me thought that it was held on that day as it was Oliver Douglas’ birthday, as opposed to Lenin’s.
And then we have .... Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
What a joke.
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