re: #368 elizajane

Actually, everybody has a right to an opinion. The problem you are pointing to is that our system also gives them the right to act upon it, or to influence policy based on it, in some small way. This is why you are frustrated.

That is exactly one point. I am also saying that opinions are not facts and no one has a right to conflate the two.

I think that most climate scientists are frustrated right now by the power of demagoguery and misinformation over fact and knowledge. My partner, who is also in this field, lies awake at night worrying about what world we will leave to our children and their children. Those with unpleasant knowledge are impotent against those with pleasant lies.

I feel for him. The actual knowledge of how bad it is and how we are actually gleefully marching towards our destruction, that it could be prevented, but isn’t, and that it is being done by morons whome we can not escape is at times, overwhelming.

I think that your anger at ignorance is somewhat misplaced. The ignorant have always been with us.

True, but we are now at a point in history where the votes of those ignorant people could potentially wipe out our civilization. This is a new problem.

And when you say that politicians now are morons compared to the founding fathers, I somewhat disagree as well.

Well you are certainly correct that the founding fathers we talk about were not the only politicians of their day.

I think you could probably find many very smart men and women in politics today too, but the system does not necessarily reward the people with the intellects.

One look at the careers of W. Bush, Palin, Inhofe, Barton, Bachman and Angle will show demonstrably show that our system rewards the opposite.

I would really look more at how the political system, and the information market, has been misshapen, and less at the “intelligence” of the voting public.

Educated people would be more resistant to the propaganda. Not immune, but at least resistant. As to the cretins at Fox, or the Heritage Foundation, I want them imprisoned.

A somewhat incoherent way of saying that I’ve been listening sadly to Ludwig for the past few days,

I rather like you a lot. I am sorry to have made you sad.

and that the crowing of the Right about how this Discovery Chanel nut was inspired by Al Gore has me upset as well.

Well the right are about as moral and cuddly as a bubonic rat.