Sunday, February 07, 2010

This is Why We Think You're Dumb

There's a piece coming out in the WaPo complaing that liberals are so condescending to conservative ideas.
American liberals, to a degree far surpassing conservatives, appear committed to the proposition that their views are correct, self-evident, and based on fact and reason, while conservative positions are not just wrong but illegitimate, ideological and unworthy of serious consideration.

I think the real split here is that liberals think conservative ideas are moronic and bigoted, whereas conservatives think liberal ideas are traitorous and immoral. But I digress. Matt Yglesias notes that it's not really a bad thing to try and link your own ideas to "fact and reason":
If I thought my views weren’t correct and based on fact and reason, I would adopt different views—correct fact-and-reason based ones. Does Alexander really think that conservatives don’t think their views are correct? Does Alexander not think his own views are correct? Not based on fact? Not based on reason? I’m not sure it’s possible to be condescending enough to this op-ed.

Meanwhile, the Virginia GOP is using the DC snowmaggedon to demonstrate once more that Republicans don't understand the difference between weather and climate. Is there any other way to respond to such an ad other than "you people are morons"?

14 comments:

Superdestroyer said...

The left would have a much stronger complaint about the snow if the left did not blame the severity of Hurricane Katrina on global warming. http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0912-32.htm

The claims on global warming is that winter would be shorter and with less snow. Now that DC have two of the top ten snow storms in one year, it is hard to believe that the left now believes that global warming had no effect on year to year weather.

David Schraub said...

Clearly you don't understand the difference between weather and climate either. The claim about global warming is not that we wouldn't see big snow storms. The claim is actually that we should see more extremities in seasons, including winter (explaining, for example, fiercer hurricanes -- though it is of course impossible to trace any particular hurricane to global warming, since there's no way to do the counterfactual).

joe said...

How to Be a Conservative Political Cartoonist in Five Easy Steps

1) Draw a picture of Al Gore in a snowstorm.

2) Since most conservative political cartoonist, strangely enough, draw Gore like a classic antisemitic caricature, be sure have him wearing a button with his name on it.

3) While you're clearing up any confusion, have Gore holding a newspaper that reports it is well below freezing and/or there is a large snowfall.

4) Add a caption that reads "Global Warming." Since this is use of irony, you have to take a leap of faith it won't be too confusing to your loyal readers. Hopefully they'll remember the same joke from last winter.

5) Next year, repeat steps 1 through 4.

Superdestroyer said...

David,

I guess you are making the heads I win, tail you lose argument. Any weather is now due to global warming (or should I say global climate change).

However, the prediction a couple of years ago was that winters would be shorter, there would be less snow, and that more droughts would occur. That the prediction came during a drought year seems to have been lost on you.

The nanny staters who want to use the environment to control people are setting themselves up into positions that no matter what happens, more should be given to the government.

PS. It is easy to make fun of Al Gore because he makes it easy. Someone who wants a massive expansion of the government to deal with global warming does no

PG said...

I guess you are making the heads I win, tail you lose argument. Any weather is now due to global warming (or should I say global climate change).

David, I think you may as well give up trying to explain the difference between weather and climate. It ain't penetrating.

However, the prediction a couple of years ago was that winters would be shorter, there would be less snow, and that more droughts would occur.

The prediction by whom, for when, and about where?

You'd almost think that Superdestroyer's arguments lack factual rigor. But that would imply that he's dumb, so I mustn't say that.

Superdestroyer said...

PG,

You can look at this. http://www.nwf.org/Global-Warming/What-is-Global-Warming/Global-Warming-is-Causing-Extreme-Weather/Winter-Weather.aspx

If the same article, it says that snow storms are worse, that there is more moisture but that winters are shorter and that pests are migrating north due to short winters. Of course, in the winter of 2009-2010, Florida had a severe freeze and the mountain of California are above average in snowfall.

The environmental activist cannot have it both ways. Either winters are shorter and less cold or snow storms and winters are harsher.

But if no matter what happens, the activist will blame civilian and call for more regulations. Until the left can get consistent with their predictions, they need to go back and work out the models and make real policy proposals.

Image how bad the snow would be in DC if everyone had a prius and could not get out of their neighborhoods.

David Schraub said...

...or they could be shorter and more intense. Or there could more wild fluctuations, as opposed to relatively consistent weather patterns. Or one data point is not enough to falsify a hypothesis. Or any number of basic scientific premises that you'd know if you weren't intent on proving this post correct.

PG said...

SD,

Your link only answers a "by whom." It certainly doesn't answer "for when," since the only date-specific prediction is "A number of Northeastern ski areas are likely to see a 25-45% decline in the length of their ski season by the 2070s."

I don't think you can say what will happen in the 2070s based on the winter of 2009-10.

Either winters are shorter and less cold or snow storms and winters are harsher.

What David said. Why is it required that winters be BOTH shorter and less cold, or BOTH longer and more cold? Why can't a winter simultaneously be shorter and have "bigger and more intense snowstorms"?

Superdestroyer said...

PG,

Winters cannot have more snow and be shorter. The snow on the ground affects the climate in the area. It is the problem that DC area is currently facing and bigger storms in the past the air temperature near the ground is colder and makes it easier to snow the next time.

Also, if the snow storms are bigger, there will be less drought. Yet, the climate activists keep talking about droughts. Either the storms are bigger and dump more moisture or there will be more droughts.

Of course, what the acitivist absolutely refuse to admit is that there are more people on the face of the earth and more of them are living in the path of bad weather. Flordia used to have a small population due to the heat, humidity, and Hurricanes. Now people intentionally live in the path of Hurricanes.

PG said...

Winters cannot have more snow and be shorter. The snow on the ground affects the climate in the area.

Is this just intentional trolling now?

weather -noun. the state of the atmosphere with respect to wind, temperature, cloudiness, moisture, pressure, etc.

climate -noun. the composite or generally prevailing weather conditions of a region, as temperature, air pressure, humidity, precipitation, sunshine, cloudiness, and winds, throughout the year, averaged over a series of years.

Good grief.

joe said...

Shorter Superdestroyer:

http://ifglobalwarmingisrealthenwhyisitcold.blogspot.com/

Bird of Paradise said...

Liberals dumb solution for crime is counceling and early release and getting citizens to exchanges their guns for stupid tubas or basoons gift cards or silly ice cappade tickers

David Schraub said...

Am I the only one who saw the hideous grammar and spelling of that last comment and assumed it was spam? I was truly expecting hyperlinks on "tuba" and "bassoon" and maybe "ice cappade tickers".

Bird of Paradise said...

Our politicians cant remember their solem oath to UPHOLD,PROTECT and DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES of AMERICA