Showing posts with label Science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Science. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Bill Nye-- Not the Constitution Guy

Bill Nye, not the Constitution Guy

One of the supposed highlight of the DC March for Science, which was the largest of the Earth Day gatherings around the world, was childrens' infotainment 1990s science host Bill Nye "The Science Guy".

During his remarks in the rain, Nye reiterated his assertion that the Constitution of the United States protects science.





Nye has been claiming since 2015 that the Framers of the Constitution invocation of protecting the "progress of science and the useful arts"  in Article I Section 8 of the Constitution meant the politicians should educate the public about art and have a role in promoting science and a plethora of progressive pursuits like environmentalism and big infrastructure,


Bill Nye at DC March for Science, April 22 2017


Alas, Bill Nye is not the Constitution Guy.  Article I Section 8 is known among lawyers as the Copyright Clause. It protects inventors and intellectual property creators with keeping the benefits of the fruits of their labors.  Namely, others can not steal and profit from their ideas under the law.




Nye's facile interpretation of Article I Section 8 makes one wonder about his other musings.




It is safe to say he is neither Bill Nye the NASCAR Guy nor Bill Nye the Constitution Guy. Considering his public policy pontifications, he may be better described as Bill Nye, the Red Herring Guy. 


Tuesday, October 4, 2016

DiCaprio Demands Denying Office to Any Climate Change Dissidents

Leonardo DiCaprio on Climate Change

During an event on the South Lawn of the White House, actor Leonardo DiCaprio asserted that no one should be able to hold public office unless they believe in climate change.


DiCaprio is not known for his academic prowess (as a high school drop out who later earned a GED) but to mouth lines which are fed to him. And the closest to nature sciences in his adult experience may be being the principle actor in The Revenant. Still, as a celebrity, his words have tremendous resonance so it is worth unpacking them.

While DiCaprio statement was not specific, he presumably was referring to anthropogenic (man-made) global warning, as that is the only thing that our actions can effectively control. Well, perhaps "Dr." DiCaprio can offer better proofs than Sierra Club President Alan Mair was able to do in 2015 Senate testimony on how there is global warming when there have been sixteen straight years of no rising global temperatures (known as "The Pause").

DiCaprio relies on scientific consensus.  The statistic is that 97% of scientists believe in climate change. Yet a 2014 Friends of Science report debunked this statistic after doing a review of the four main studies used to document this alleged consensus.  The reality is that only 1-3% of respondents explicitly stated that they agreed with the IPCC view and there was no agreement on the catastrophic view.

French Mathematicians evaluated whether the IPCC's conclusions of climate change would be acceptable for academic publication.  The Societe de Calcul Mathematique wrote:"The IPCC's report fails to respect the fundamental rules of scientific research and could not be published in any review with a reading panel."  But when Big Science becomes politicized, it is easy to usurp power from the people using ambphbologies.

Pro argumento, considering the climate change studies that are prevalent, there are some problems. An Australian  former climate change modeler noted that the IPCC model was skewed and overestimated CO2 levels by a factor of 10. And let's not forget how the scientists from East Anglia intentionally fudged the numbers to push their flawed Hockey Stick model ,


One must not discount the pecuniary interests in proclaiming climate change (modified from global warning and cries of a coming ice age in the 1970s) as catastrophic predictions tend to win more governmental funding for studies. And as Rahm Emmanuel's political philosophy asserts: "Never let a good crisis go to waste."


If there is no disputing a scientific "fact", then there would be a test that is a proof.  What is that proof for climate change?  Of course, there is none, so it is a theory.  We may ascribe more credence to it based upon supporting data, but it is just a theory.  To proclaim it as an unassailable belief, then it is a secular religion. 




DiCaprio's dictat for fitness for public office is at odds with Federal Law, which specifically prohibits having a religious test for office.  But the rule of law does not stop liberalism. Thomas Sowell notes that: "Liberalism is totalitarianism with a human face."

Still, celebutards cry out the claxon call for climate change.  Homer Simpson may have vocalized it best: "Is there anything that celebrities do not know?"  Well, yes. Ecce homo-- Leonardo DiCaprio.