Bill Maher versus 9/11 Consipracy Theorists, Interview with John Edwards

October 21, 2007 — Ron Chusid

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzrUD-5hf1A]

In September I posted the video of Bill Maher’s new rule which was on 9/11 conspiracy theorists:

New Rule: Crazy people who still think the government brought down the Twin Towers in a controlled explosion have to stop pretending that I’m the one that’s being naïve. How big a lunatic do you have to be to watch two giant airliners packed with jet fuel slam into buildings on live TV igniting a massive inferno that burned for two hours and then think, “Well, if you believe that was the cause?” Stop asking me to raise this ridiculous topic on this show and start asking your doctor if Paxil is right for you.

Firday’s show had some 9/11 conspiracy theorists heckling Maher from the audience, as seen in the video above.

Maher shows less sense in choosing political candidates than he does in disbelieving the 9/11 conspiracy theorists. His interview with John (I’ll say anything to get elected) Edwards was consistent with other impressions Maher has given that Edwards is his preferred candidate. For the most part Maher asked a lot of soft ball questions, but he did at least get one cut in on Edwards for his heavy promotion of ethanol in his energy plan. Suggesting that Edwards’ energy plan was written to pick up votes in Iowa, Maher asked “Why do I think if we had the first primary in Vermont we would be subsidizing biofuels made out of syrup.”

Maybe he thinks that as Edwards’ entire campaign, and changes in his positions from 2004, all seem to be based upon picking up votes in Iowa. That legal training to support either side of an argument in court has sure paid off.

Posted in Environment, John Edwards, Television, Terrorism. Tags: , , . 1 Comment »

Poll Shows Americans More Concerned About Climate Change

October 21, 2007 — Ron Chusid

It is often frustrating to see public opinion lag behind what all the facts show to be true. In 2004 a narrow majority of Americans reelected George Bush. Now the polls show approval for Bush in the upper 20’s to low 30’s. Similarly, while it took longer than we would like (for some politicians as well as the public), most now agree that the Iraq war was a terrible mistake. This year we are probably seeing the tipping point on public understanding of global warming.

The global warming deniers have been incredibly effective at creating a false impression that there is some scientific controversy over the issue. The release of An Inconvenient Truth, followed by the IPCC consensus statements, helped get the truth out. The Nobel Peace Prize further demonstrated their credibility. Global warming deniers continue to make a tremendous amount of noise and distort the facts, such as with the recent distortion of a decision of a British court, still creating confusion in the minds of many.

Public opinion is gradually changing. This is seen in a CNN poll which shows that an increased number understand the scientific consensus on global warming:

Most Americans blame emissions from cars and industrial plants as the primary cause of global warming and believe the United States should reduce levels even if other countries don’t, a survey shows.

Fifty-six percent of poll respondents said the phenomenon of global warming has been proven, and can be largely blamed on human endeavors, such as power plants and factories, according to the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll.

In comparison, 21 percent of those surveyed claimed global warming problems are caused either by natural changes or are unproven.

Sixty-six percent of Americans believe the United States should do what it can to reduce global warming, even if other nations ignore it. This compares with 52 percent of respondents who believed that way in 2001.

In that year, 34 percent thought the United States needed to reduce harmful gases only if other nations did. A much smaller proportion, 16 percent, responded that way in 2007.

There is little doubt that the 21 percent who accept the claims of the global warming deniers overlap tremendously with those who still approve of George Bush. Most likely those who accept the scientific findings will continue to increase over time. It is also a safe bet that there will continue to be conservatives who deny the science, just as many of them deny evolution, still claim that there was WMD in Iraq before the war, or deny our heritage of separation of church and state.

Posted in Al Gore, Environment, In The News, Polls. Tags: , , , , . 7 Comments »
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