Paul Mirengoff of Powerline intones: “I lack the expertise to weigh in on this issue”.
For those not in the know, Ezra Klein has the best summation of Powerline around:
They get nothing right. Their fact-checking skills are atrocious. They neither report nor call experts, it’s just whatever they invented twenty seconds ago. Watching them work is like attending a high school debate match in the impromptu event. Arguments are created on the fly, accuracy is unimportant so long as the product accuses the “MSM” or Democrats of some cardinal sin that’ll leave Powerline’s sycophantic readers moaning with the exquisite pleasure that comes only from having one’s biases expertly stroked.
All of which raises the question: what the fuck is JWG’s problem with Oliver? Then again maybe I don’t really want to peer into the mind of a power-worshipping would-be fascist war nerd.
You have a serious complex when it comes to Instapundit and Powerline. It’s like you’re the kid who “knows” he’s got more to offer than the popular kids, but no one will pay him any attention so he just constantly whines about how stupid everyone else is. Let it go and be your own man.
Yeah, why ever would I want to point out the logical inconsistencies of the conservative noise apparatus.
BTW, TomY, I notice you haven’t yet found the time to tell us all how much of global warming is manmade. Afterall, since there is no debate, the answer should be easy.
I like a lot of what Oliver writes. My problem with Oliver is that he sometimes does not correct his mistakes after misreading his links (like when he claimed Bush authorized the Plame leak), and that he can’t stop nipping at the heels of more popular blogs.
And what logical consistency did this post point out? It was nothing more than an unprovoked schoolyard taunt of “You’re stupid!” without mentioning a single reason why. Why not explain what your point is? Do you disagree with the linked post for some reason? On what basis?
Mirengoff and the powerliners regularly opine with authority on things they don’t remotely understand. Its not just someone saying what they think, but posing as an expert. You know they do it, stop playing dummy.
This story illustrates the number one reason why I don’t believe half of what Republicans say. From global warming, to Teri Schiavo, to intelligent design, to marriage threats,to Iraqi threats, to which religion this country was based on, to reparative therapy for gays, to almost anything they make an issue out of, they are not only wrong but dangerously wrong — and they don’t care. They don’t care if the only facts to back them up come out of their own think tanks or from organizations like Focus on the Family, making up answers and then finding facts to back them up. Democrats do it too, but not as often in instances where the scientific community has reached a peer-reviewed consensus.
I guess if I still believed in Santa Claus I’d be apt to believe anything my fellow Santa Claus believers tell me is true.
Tell us more about Global Warming.
And the magic of Stem Cells.
And your background in Energy.
Or your experience in combat.
And your creditials in Disaster Preparation.
Again, ferris shows his ignorance. See, for the most part we defer to the scientific consensus on these subjects. Asshats like Powerline, on the other hand, ignore the scientists in favor of their own half-baked theories, or cite studies by hard right wing lobbyists.
The full quote:
Explain why this statement is wrong. As a teacher of math and science, I remember very well all the worries about girls falling behind boys, even when their test scores were rising.
As this post of Oliver’s perfectly illustrates, the liberal response to a conservative critique is, “You’re just stupid, so shut up!”
As I pointed out, your slam would be valid if I pretended to be an expert on things, but simply share my opinion on things and as noted above, defer to scientists and experts. I know I’supposed to bow to “guy with website” but it ain’t happening.
Fine…answer my question from the global warming thread (which no one will answer): What is the consensus on the amount of human contribution to global warming? Remember, there’s no debate so the answer should be easy.
Like investments in the stock market? Please, I’m waiting for another pronouncement about the DOW.
Once again, deflect and redirect. Whatta strategy. Make it about Oliver. Powerline blowhards, the ones picked by Time as “blog of the year,” pontificate regularly on subjects for which they not only have no expertise, but on which they have opinions they cannot justify beyond “because I say so…” A lot of the weight Powerline carries comes from the fact that it was founded by three lawyers, a fact which seems to buy them a lot of undeserved credibility on a broad range of issues. It is also the case that Powerline is quoted as a source by other blogs who are then quoted by Powerline. It’s part of that wonderous right-wing circle jerk/echo chamber that spreads and reinforces GOP propaganda while simultaneously giving the impression that certain conservative positions are better supported than they are.
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I don’t understand the question on Global Warming. Is JWG asking for metric tons of CO2, a gross percentage, or something like “enough to make life on this planet miserable over the next century?” If there is one issue that screams “your EEG is flatlining” to me, it’s Global Warming. What’s the downside of cleaner air, drastically reduced oil dependence (maybe opponents aren’t serious about fighting terrorism), new renewable energy industries, healthier oceans (and healthier fish populations, naturally), reduced extractive mining operations (no more blowing the tops off mountains and destroying the local water supply with heavy metal contaminants)? Do we really need to wait to find out who is to blame to do anything? I just don’t see how trying to avert a potential global catastrophe registers with some as “moonbat conspiracy to ruin the American way of life.” Unless you are a kool-aid guzzling lump who feels entitled to a “way of life” that apparently entails being a grotesque resource hog with an over developed sense of entitlement. That goes without saying, though.
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I’m no expert, but…
these
guys
are.
If you are a Powerline fan, these blue letters are called “links,” and they go to other pages on the “internet” where you can learn more about a subject, in this case, Global Warming, from “experts” who actually have “degrees” in the subject they are discussing.
In other words, feel free to ignore them.
As usual.
The full, full quote:
“I lack the expertise to weigh in on this issue except to say that if the scores of girls were increasing but not as fast as the scores of boys, I doubt that the Post and the educational think tanks would take so sanguine a view. Certainly, when the topic is income disparity, it is no answer to tell a liberal that all incomes have been rising.”
Ya, the guy’s a genius:
Wow, you really missed the point of the statement. He wasn’t making an economic point. As you like to say…idiot.
You’re the one who is ignoring the obvious: Since there’s “no debate” please tell me what proportion of global warming is due to man (1%, 10% 50? 75%, or what?).
Please tell me which percentage of conservatives wish we had a fascist government: 10%, 50% or 75%. Also, please tell me how many liberal journalists you would like to see hanged. It’s all “debateable,” right?
Klein’s Law : it’s official…
Powerline reports that ticket sales for An Inconvenient Truth have “plummeted.” By “plummeted,” they mean increased every week since the movie opened. Oliver reminded us of something Ezra mentioned a while back, and I think it’s official now. Join…
liberal to use an argument one day to bolster his position and then use the exact opposite argument the next day to bolster the same position.
0%. You might find an odd libertarian or two who lean that way, but not conservatives.
0%. I’m certainly in favor of them all being fired in disgrace (i.e. the Dan Rather Treatment). But hanged? Naw. They’ll just become martyrs.
Tonight on Hardball: Are global warming deniers ignorant, liars, or just stupid? Let’s debate!
I think it’s somewhere between 40-50%, myself. Now let’s have two talking heads on Hardball go back and forth about it for a couple of days! That’s the GOP media strategy in a nutshell.
“Wow, you really missed the point of the statement. He wasn t making an economic point. As you like to say& idiot.”
Nothing like a conservative to use a false premise to justify an overgeneralization. Nothing like a conservative troll to back it all the way.
“…Mirengoff and the powerliners regularly opine with authority on things they don t remotely understand.”
Isn’t that delicious…and that’s different from you in what way…?
JWG,
The basic premise of Mirengoff’s analogy was wrong. Boys and girls test scores are both rising but girls have outstripped boys in performance. If the situation were reversed, Mirengoff contends, liberals would complain louder. Just like, he adds, when they complain about income disparity even though all incomes are rising. But all incomes are not rising, JWG. The analogy is false because the premise on which it is based — all incomes are rising — is not true. Hence, liberals complain about income disparity because THERE IS A DISPARITY IN INCOMES and A DISPARITY IN THE RISE OF INCOMES.It just another instance of how conservative idiots try to pass off misinformation as conventional, accpeted wisdom. Here Mirengoff reaches for a twofer: Pass off misinformation as true, smear liberals in general for denying the facts.
[...] Earlier this week when I took a swipe at one of the Powerline boys, some of you complained that I was just lashing out at them. But it s beyond absurd that the mainstream press treats a bunch of yahoos who are wrong on everything like a bunch of acceptable figures to be listened to. Case in point: Powerline claims that An Inconvenient Truth has lost steam, when in fact its box office take has increased every week of its release. [...]