Kudos to Charles for posting the link to Watts’s extensive, amusing rebuttal. That’s the spirit of free inquiry! Unlike that shown by the pseudo-scientists who want to shut down discussion, claiming “the science is settled.” Science is never settled. There are always new things to learn, in any branch of science.

I mentioned the Soros-funded realclimate.org earlier, as an example of the kind of politicized info-source that helps drive the AGW-bus. A commenter named “Smokey” (probably a cop, or a bear) had the following facts on hand about this organization, which is often cited in the MSM as if it is a totally trustworthy, unbiased scientific body:

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Realclimate censors. They use government money and assets to run their site. Deleting skeptics’ comments is therefore government supported censorship.

One of realclimate’s censors is Harald Korneliussen.

Korneliussen explains why RC censors skeptical comments:

“About the banning policy on RealClimate. RealClimate is a science blog, not a political discussion blog, and they are quite clear on that. Unlike many of their opponents, they are not paid to promote a certain agenda, and that limits how much time they can afford to use on answering comments… To evaluate claims, or to distinguish signal from noise, we apply networks of trust to decide who we should use our limited time to listen to. It’s not unlike google’s algorithm, where a link from an important site carries more weight than from an unimportant one. Everyone does it, but in science it’s institutionalized in the peer review process: a respected peer gets to set the agenda more, decide which results are important, which paths should rather be explored.”

Korneliussen is either ignorant or lying when he states that RC is not a political blog. It is heavily political with a Leftist slant, as anyone who regularly visits them understands. Korneliussen is being mendacious when he states that RC is not paid to promote an AGW agenda. In fact, RC is paid to advance the AGW hypothesis by outside interests: realclimate is funded by George Soros – as is James Hansen. He who pays the piper calls the tune, and those with an AGW agenda are calling the realclimate tune.

Korneliussen’s statements are dishonest. I’m not the only one to be censored by RC. Rarely a week goes by that someone doesn’t mention on WUWT that their polite, reasonable – but skeptical – comment was censored by realclimate.

Since the people running realclimate are all on the government payroll, what they are doing is censorship. Private blogs like WUWT, which are run by volunteers, can not be said to censor anything. Censorship is a government activity, and applies to government actions. Realclimate qualifies.

Maybe this will make it clear:

NASA/GISS Director: James Hansen

Hansen’s subordinate: Gavin Schmidt

NASA web site contributors: Gavin Schmidt and Michael Mann

GISS Modeler: Gavin Schmidt

RealClimate is run by Gavin Schmidt and Michael Mann; contributor: William Connolley

Wikipedia editor: William Connolley

Hansen has pocketed upwards of a million dollars [that we know of] from individuals and organizations with a heavy pro-AGW agenda. By accepting their outside cash, Hansen is deliberately cheating the taxpayers. He should work for one or the other; you cannot serve two masters. And from the crazy statements Hansen makes, it’s clear that he’s not impartially representing taxpayers. Instead, he is representing George Soros and others of that ilk. When you follow the money, you see that James Hansen is corrupt, and realclimate is a Soros-financed propaganda site