An Inconvenient Power Bill

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mirza @ Feb, 06:13 PM) [snapback]398211[/snapback]</div>

So what's the use in being rational with the irrational? That's why I got out of this thread some time ago. These people aren't interested in making sense of the issue. There's no real issue here. Gore has a zero-carbon-footprint and that bothers them. I'm striving for that, and I have a mere 3-bedroom house. I'm getting close, though.

http://algore.com/cards.html

 

More "kill the messenger to kill the message".

"Last year, a seemingly amateurish Youtube video mocking the "An Inconvenient Truth" turned out to have been produced by slick Republican public relations firm called DCI, which just happens to have oil giant Exxon as a client."

So yeah. I'm so paying attention to the Libertarian think tank that's looking to swiftboat Gore. Let them keep it up until he wins the Nobel. He's not going to run so it keeps them occupied. The only ones believing them are the tin foil beanie neo-cons that already think Global Warming is a Communist plot. Even an "Idiot's Guide to Global Warming" wouldn't help.

I give them the attention they warrant.

None.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Mar 1 2007, 12:52 AM) [snapback]398304[/snapback]</div>

I admit to only skimming this thread, but what libertarian think tank? Cato bitches mostly about policy and not the science, especially in recent years. And, although it says negative things about Gore and Bush, its hardly swift-boatian. Or are you confusing a "slick Republican public relations firm called DCI" with a libertarian think tank.

 

Same thing surely? I always got the impression that "libertarian think tank" was usually a euphemism for "slick Republican public relations firm".

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(RonH @ Mar 1 2007, 03:28 AM) [snapback]398332[/snapback]</div>

I don't think that an orgnization with the stature of the Cato Institute would stoop to this kind of stuff. I believe the "think tank" at issue is the no-name "think tank" that issued the original bit of propaganda on the day after the Oscars.

If you read through the thread, I think you can see why a reasonable person might call this "swift boating", including:

Timing: released the day after Gore won an Oscar.
Source: released by a superficially independent "think tank" that upon inspection turns out to be Republican front organization.
Content: ignores the key fact about Gore's electrical use, that it has no global warming impact (Gore pays to have a zero-carbon footprint, purchases green electricity)
Depth: it sensationalizes a single number out of context (Gore's electric bill versus the average American's bill), a traditional propaganda technique known as the "semi-attached figure".
Lack of reason: Never -- not there, and nowhere in this thread -- has anyone answered the right question, which is, how much electricity should an ex-US-VP use, so that I can pass judgment on Gore's use as being excessive?

At the minimum, nobody would characterize this as a reasonable, even-handed criticism of Gore's electricity use. It's just a well-orchestrated poisonous little sound bite, perfectly suited to the short attention span of the average American TV viewer. I'd say the "swift-boating" tag was well deserved.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(chogan @ Mar 1 2007, 06:44 AM) [snapback]398348[/snapback]</div>

No argument with that. Its just that Godiva is usually fairly accurate and pointed in her comments and I was having trouble following. During all the back and forth on global warming, Cato was cited secondarily, but that was the best I could do. If DCI is a libertarian think tank, I look forward to their swift-boatian of the war on some drugs. My favorite libertarian cite was a letter to the editor of the local fish wrapper back in the 70's that went something like this:
"After careful investigation, I have come to the conclusion that the Libertarian Party is a front for drug dealers."

 

Just a little more background on the Tennessee Center for Policy Research.

It almost feels like it a one man organization run out of an apartment. There are 0 officers, board of directors, etc. From it 2005 990, Annual budget of ~100k of which 52k goes to salary, 8k to travel, 5k to marketing, 5k to meals, $18 to research, rent paid $450 (for a year).

Thread that dug this up, with additional info.
http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/mrs_panstreppo...research_center

Their 990 form (pdf, takes a while to load)
http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990s/990se...rt=990&t9=A

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(RonH @ Mar 1 2007, 03:28 AM) [snapback]398332[/snapback]</div>

The Tennessee Center for Policy Research