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Yes, Chris Mooney really is dishonest.
By Michael Fumento
You've heard of pseudoscience, of course. Well, Chris Mooney is a pseudoscientific writer. He twists and bends and remolds data any way he can to come to the "proper" conclusion.
 | | "Yeah, I kinda make 'em up as I go along!" |
Among his works, a book called "The Republican War on Science." It was actually just a criticism of anything Mooney doesn't like, portrayed as if emanating from the GOP. Another work of his was the 2007 book "Storm World: Hurricanes, Politics and the Battle Over Global Warming."
Yes, it was another argument that clearly global warming was leading to an increased number of hurricanes and intensity of hurricanes, a thesis I had criticized two years earlier when the whole thing erupted in the wake of Rita and Katrina. Pseudoscientists and pseudoscientist writers had built a whole thesis around a grand total of two data points, rather like looking at two stars in the sky and seeing the outline of Marilyn Monroe.
Well, the years went by and the 2005 season proved to be a total anomaly. Indeed, by the end of the 2009 season hurricane activity was at a 30 year low. I blogged on this and then later had a piece in Forbes Online.
Mooney, who has a blog sponsored by global warming cheerleader Discover Magazine, smirked and smiled about my blog rather than wait for the full evidence in my piece. I, in turn, thought he had seen the whole piece and on that basis interpreted his response as dishonest. Upon realizing my error, I apologized and told him I'd give him a chance to respond to the actual article that would indeed show hurricane activity was at a 30-year low.
Rather than wait, he presented a chart he claimed refuted my assertion. Problem is, as you can see here, his data effectively ended with 2008. I didn't say 2008 was a 30-year low, I said 2009.
When I the article appeared I provided the hyperlink on his blog and asked for a response.
None. "The silence was deafening," as they say. Mooney had titled his original blog "Fumento swings . . . and misses." Now it was clear that Mighty Mooney had struck out.
My apologies for apologizing. Yes, Chris Mooney is dishonest.
January 8, 2010 07:49 PM ·
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