Goracle gets busted

Turns out that Al Gore’s mansion uses nearly twice as much energy as the typical American household.

Hypocrite? Of course not. You need all that energy to head 30,000 square feet! Silly poor people telling the rich what to do! It’s supposed to be the other way around.

But don’t worry, the Goracle has taken steps to reduce his carbon footprint!

The office of the former vice president and former presidential candidate told Thinkprogress.org that he has signed up for 100 percent “green” power through Green Power Switch — a renewable energy program through the massive local electric distribution network, the Tennessee Valley Authority. Gore also has installed solar panels and uses compact fluorescent bulbs and other energy-saving technology.

Gore said he also buys carbon offsets: a service that tries to reduce the total carbon emissions of individuals or organizations indirectly.

“What Mr. Gore has asked is that every family calculate their carbon footprint and try to reduce it as much as possible,” Gore’s office said, according to Thinkprogress.org. “Once they have done so, he then advocates that they purchase offsets, as the Gores do, to bring their footprint down to zero.”

I’ve installed lots of the energy efficient light bulbs, he says. And I’ve installed solar panels on my sprawling estate. They heat my pool and pool guest house!

I did a quick rundown. For the Goracle’s estate, if he were to install a “large” system by BP standards to yield a whopping 10 kw of power, it would cost.. get ready…

$80,000. For installation & labor & parts. Average savings? $815 a year, plus an extra $1000 in tax savings. So, the investment will pay off in… 40 years. All the while, he’s still using grid power, just 90% of what his behemoth estate would if he were on the grid. It’s nowhere near Kyoto, but hey, he’s doing his part! You can’t fault him for that! I mean, he’s gotta have his pool, man.

Related: HotAir. The Anchoress gets all up in Goracle’s grill.

You’re not helping

Rep. John Linder, R-Ga, gave an editorial a little bit ago on the hype surrounding Global Warming and even compared it to Eugenics.

Now, I’m all for people combating the morass that is the Anthropogenic Global Warming meme, but if you’re going to stand on the side of science and refute the science of the other side, you have an obligation to get it right.

Linder’s piece is good (not great), because it’s a parallel to another scientific meme that wasn’t truly grounded in solid science. Eugenics, as we can all agree, is a “science” that doesn’t really work within the confines of “science”. Genetics, the bastard son of Eugenics, was actually proven through hard work and the scientific method. Eugenics was fueled by allegory– the Africans didn’t have technology when we arrived, so therefore they are inferior. Same with the Jews. Or the Irish. Or women. Essentially, anyone you didn’t like could be pigeonholed into an “inferior” position by measuring noses, head size, the blueness of the eyes– you get the idea.

Well, Linder’s comparison of the two is OK, at best. Many who support cutting CO2 emissions do so because they see the world getting warmer and think, “Oh my God! I’m causing it!” It’s the inherent guilt felt by liberal America. So they’re out there, recruiting Leo DiCaprio and Zach Braff to combat Global Warming. They don’t really understand the science– they just trust what they’ve been told by the Goracle and Laurie David. (By the way, if someone wants to throw $300,000 at me to make a movie of one of my lectures, by all means, send me an email. We’ll win an Oscar!)

Unfortunately for Linder, there is a good deal of scientific background to distance the idea of Anthropogenic Global Warming from the realm of mere allegory. CO2 is a greenhouse gas that has been increasing in concentration. Man has made an impact on the global climate (how big of an impact is really what’s in question).

So when you pick up the crusade, especially a crusade that’s championed by the likes of Dr. Lindzen from MIT, Dr. Michaels from U of Virginia, or Dr. Legates in Deleware, you really have to make sure your point carries the same weight, or it’s going to end up in the circular file. Most importantly, if you’re a non-scientist writing about Global Warming (like Sen. Infohe), you have to have your material fact-checked.

And that’s why I was so disappointed when I read this from Linder’s op/ed:

Many of you will remember the “scientific” studies 30 years ago about the destruction of the ozone layer, particularly at the poles, that would reduce the atmosphere’s ability to stop infrared rays from the sun. We would see increasing incidence of skin cancer and increasing temperatures. It was theorized that this was caused by the increased production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that were used — as Freon — in refrigeration units.

Infrared rays? Come on, John. Any 6th grader can tell you that ozone blocks UV radiation from the sun, not infrared. And to inject this into your article simply invalidates your entire premise because it’s obvious you don’t know what you’re talking about.

If you’re going to make a foray into the argument, you have to make it not only with conviction (which you have), but with ammunition. And by stating IR rays break down ozone, well, you’re just shooting blanks.

500 Posts for The Autopsy

And thanks a bunch to the Anchoress and all her loyal readers for stopping by yesterday for one of my better jokes.

Today’s headline: Korean in Hot Water for Anti-Semitic Book

Outrage! Anger! Headlines on Yahoo! Can you believe a textbook had this teaching in it?

One comic strip in the book shows a man climbing a hill and then facing a brick wall with a Star of David and “STOP” sign in front. “The final obstacle to success is always a fortress called Jews,” a translation says.

Another strip shows a newspaper, magazine, TV and radio with the description: “In a word, American public debate belongs to the Jews, and it’s no exaggeration to say that U.S. media are the voice of the Jews.”

Good thing this is limited to just Korea. I mean, what if it happened in Britain in a Muslim school? Oh, that’s right, you’d really have to be paying attention to notice.

Venezuelan Big Oil Gets Bigger!

And it’s all Dick Cheney’s fault!

Not really. But in the frame of “socialist dictator”, just as Russia’s been doing, Hugo Chavez has decided that foreign investors are subject to having their assets seized.

Nothing attracts foreign investment like seizing assets!

The Goracle Has a Statue to Worship

Well, technically, the producers have the statue. He was just up there to demonstrate he hasn’t taken off the back-brace.

So, congrats, Al. Your inaccurate spook movie on Global Warming won you an oscar. You and Mike Moore should be proud. And the nutroots are going wild. They want Al to jump in and run for President in 2008.

The Politico calls it a “late run“, which I find funny. It’s kind of like me sending out an invitation to a party I’m holding in three weeks. Two days later, 12 people show up, ready to party. Then two days later, Al Gore shows up and everyone says, “Why are ya so late, Al?” Meanwhile the party is still more than 2 weeks away.

David Roberts over at the PuffingTons Host had three orgasmic posts on the Goracale. Effectively, Gore won the Oscar, which is proof that there’s consensus on anthropological Global Warming.

Over at the Boston Globe, they’re talking about how great it would be to have the Goracle as a Presidential Candidate.

And ThinkProgress declares the Oscars have gone green. Well, it’s about time. They’ve been Pinko Leftist for far too long.

Seriously, a guy “wins” an Oscar on a movie that’s total bull, and people want him to run for President. I think it’s time for me to pass out Aquanet Moments to anyone who uses his Oscar “win” as proof he’d be a great candidate.

‘Ugly Betty’ Goes Moonbatty

Not a surprise, really. Hollywood actress denounces Bush? Really newsworthy.

But, even so, I love the show. And I still think Sean Penn is one hell of an actor, too. Same with Tim Robbins. But the moment I start going to Hollywood for political views, I’m off the deep end.

Blizzard Blogging

I shoveled about 1000 lbs of snow today. That was fun. The blizzard and blizzard related activities pretty much consumed all of my activities over the weekend. Now that the grant proposal is in, all’s good, and I’m ready to resume normal blogging activities.

James Cameron Finds Jesus

So his new documentary says. And it turns out he was buried in a traditional Jewish way with his wife Mary and son Judah! And a bunch of other people!

So says James Cameron, director of “Titianic”, “Raise the Titanic”, “Remember the Titanic”, “Are You Sick of the Titanic Yet”, and “Terminator”, says he’s found the real tomb of Jesus and that Christianity is bunk.

I just want to see the “reenactment” scenes, where Jesus stands at the head of Peter’s fishing boat and says, “I’m the King of the Jews!”

Update: Bryan over at HotAir gives a good and brief explanation as to why you shouldn’t set your hair afire and convert to scientology.

Global Warming sponsored by Aquanet

Lots of good global warming stuff out there. First we’ll go to the Daily Times and learn about the governor of Deleware, one Ruth Ann Minner, telling the state climatologist, David R. Legates, to stop using the title “state climatologist” when speaking about climate change.

Yes. Read it again. It’s true! So true that only someone hair-on-fire insane would tell the climatologist– not to be the climatologist! Ruth Ann Minner, you have a well deserved Aquanet Moment coming. Bottle of Aquanet and box of matches, compliments the Autopsy. (Well, virtual ones, anyway. I’m not going to mail her something she’ll obviously mistake as an attempt to destroy the ozone layer.)

Politics trumps science. That’s what the Church said to Gallileo, anyhow.

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Kids aren’t getting enough sleep these days because they’re lying in bed, terrified that Global Warming will destroy them.

I remember having that anxiety when I was younger, but it was about nuclear war.

Nice to see the teachers care enough about the kids to scare the crap out of them to conform to their beliefs. I felt the same way when I was 10 and in 5th grade. The teacher would tell us how bad nuclear weapons were and how we’d all die because of Reagan. Well, we’re still here and the nukes that were so terrible knocked out the Soviet Union without a single shot being fired.

And now, ironically enough, one of the best power sources we have to combat Global Warming is nuclear fission.

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And one bit from Little Green Footballs.

A fringe group has labeled Al Gore as “The Goracle“.

Not a surprise

I’m a hard-core conservative, according to speakout.com.

If you want to take the quiz, go here.

I’d be interested to see where everyone reading this hits the chart. Leave a comment, let me know!

You can also see where various politicians fall on the chart at ontheissues.org.

Here’s some charts of our “moderate” leadership in the House & Senate.

Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader:

Barbra Boxer, S-Ca.

Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker, D-Ca

Hillary Clinton, D- NY (Warning: may change with poll numbers)

And the Messiah himself, Barak Obama, D-IL. (That red dot should be a question mark.)