As has often been said, PowerPoint is sure proof of Satan’s existence. I agree. This is why I eschewed that excruciating, demonic contrivance and instead read a paper. The benefit to you, dear reader, is you can download it and read it at your leisure, or you can watch the video below. I start at around 18 minutes in.
Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
Proving the contention of my speech—almost as if I had arranged it—an earnest young man from the cult-like Greenpeace repeatedly tried crashing the conference so that he could take photos of participants, doubtless so that they could be circulated among Greenpeace operatives so that they could put faces to their inchoate hate.
The young man was ejected from the hotel and took up position across the street, camera in hand, trying ever so much to look like a spy. When I emerged to head for the train he whipped up the camera with vigorous enthusiasm. Since I am an obliging fellow, I stood at attention and delivered a perfect salute. I was Air Force, you recall, so I was sharp. Look for this on Greenpeace fliers everywhere.
The one question upon which people were split was whether George Orwell or Aldous Huxley was the superior prophet. I side with the Huxley crowd, though I admit the Orwellians have a strong case. As somebody said, “Cooling is warming.”
Yet Orwellian tactics are the easy stuff. Anybody could lie, and people like being lied to, especially when they think they’ll get something for accepting the lie or when the lie, as I say in my talk, confirms their identity.
One gentleman quoted Mark Twain: “It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they’ve been fooled.” Huxley is the long game, the sly and subtle and softening up of a supine citizenry. Huxleyite tactics are accepted for the sake of the children, or because we are convinced they are good for us.
Both systems lead to doom.
Not today, but perhaps later we’ll have a contest about this. I have second copy of Climate Change: The Facts that I’ll give away. The first was signed by the many authors, including Mark Steyn who is not only a scintillating speaker but is a sweetheart of the first order.
That’s it for the 10th Heartland conference. We’re all praying there won’t be the necessity for an 11th.
I’m off to Ithaca tomorrow for two weeks.
Update
DesmogUK's @BrendanMontague on the job at close of #ICCC10. Talked 45 min+ with him. @ClimateDepot @wattsupwiththat pic.twitter.com/ICuj5ZYxQJ
— Russell Cook (@questionAGW) June 13, 2015
The best thing about speaking without powerpoint is that your typo enemies are kept at bay!
Great speech, too.
Indeed good speech all around.
Just one question:
“Pull the other one squire, it’s got bells on?”
Thanks for fighting the good fight and working to maintain our liberty – what’s left of it.
One of the comments I heard was something about free speech rights are now more protected in New Zealand than in the U.S. or something to that effect. Sad.
How does one go about facilitating the change of another’s identity? Perhaps by presenting a more desirable identity, one that also happens to value truth and freedom. This alternative identity must be easy to assume, that is, it must not require a hazing process, but when one acquires this identity, they must feel as though they earned their identity, much like how the AGW believers “earn” their identity by showing off their various badges, ie protests attended, arrest records, etc…
Matt:
Apropos of the thesis of your lecture at Heartland, the Huffington Post reports that UFOs have been spotted above Loch Ness: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/13/tourist-photographs-loch-ness-ufos_n_7554206.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592
Briggs, you’ve described the problem most excellently and the solution. Unfortunately the solution is not to be had in this imperfect world. I have another solution: fund research for interstellar travel and have all right thinkers emigrate to a new planet–it’s quite a bit more feasible and likely than changing the minds of the “True Believers”.
Dr. Briggs, a very well done presentation on your part. You described the AGW ‘religion’ perfectly. Kudos, sir. Keep up the good fight and may God bless you and your family!
A really great talk, but your tie was set ever so slightly asymmetric.
The earth going round the sun is a bad example given the importance of relativity to 20th century physics.
Of course your speech applies to any religion, even yours.
Hans,
It does, especially the point I made about whether the object of worship was true.
I’ve only listened to the first two speakers speak so far, and I was disappointed by Bob Carter, who I am a great fan of as he is something of an old school skeptic. With so much nefarious hanky panky going on in this field, I felt his topics were poorly chosen and in most cases not difficult to rebut, or easy to dismiss. (When I see a speech like that I contemplate becoming a global warming consultant for the skeptical side, except the skeptical side has no money.) As for Dr Brigg’s speech, absolutely brilliant.
Wether considered legally or historically, Mark Steyn’s Heartland rant was a counterfactual disaster.
Thanks to Matt for using my tweet in his update here of our paparazzi photographer outside of ICCC10.
Meanwhile, it appears Russell Seitz graces us with his presence in the comment one space further up, a man seemingly incapable of justifying the logic behind an assertion of his about Richard Lindzen when faced directly with it: http://climatecrocks.com/2015/05/29/dark-snow-touches-down-in-greenland-for-2015-season/comment-page-1/#comment-72960
Russell,
I saw you there with your visor but never got to say hi. Hi.
Even in communism you can have ”free speech” as long as you don’t criticize the elite. Glasnost was never allowed in religion or in communism; telling the truth is the ”green communist Achilles Hill also. I have exposed the truth to the people in ”People’s Republic of the United States” here it is:: https://globalwarmingdenier.wordpress.com/global-warming-lost-its-compass-again/
Matt – Hi! Yep, saw you around several times as well. You know how it goes, so many people to talk with, so little time. I could probably count a dozen or so people I didn’t get a chance to catch up with….