Gore: If You Don't Believe in Global Warming, You're a Nazi

Al Gore is back. The global warming climate change front man is in the news again after giving another, shall we say, interesting speech lamenting the the future of the planet; this time at Oxford University. The former vice president rebuked politicians for not doing enough to prevent climate change catastrophe, accusing them of taking advantage of people's ignorance. Then, he Godwinned his fight against global warming by comparing it to Winston Churchill's fight against Nazi Germany:

Winston Churchill aroused this nation in heroic fashion to save civilization in World War II. We have everything we need except political will but political will is a renewable resource.[…]We can berate politicians for not doing enough, and compromising too much, and not being bold and addressing this existential threat to civilization. But the reason they don't is that the level of concern among populations has still not risen to cross the threshold to make the political leaders feel they must address it.

So, if Gore is Churchill and the fight against climate change is like World War II then…climate change skeptics in this scenario are like the Nazis? It seems like in any other context comparing a group of people to Hitler and the Nazis of WWII would spark reproach.

Maybe there is a reason the "level of concern among populations" hasn't risen to Gore-approved standards. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, more and more scientists are concluding that human-caused global warming isn't necessarily a given.

Comments

[kinnath]

Fuck Al Gore with a splintered 2x4 . . . .

[The Angry Optimist]

oh boy, this oughta be a good thread.

[tarran]

Yet again, Godwin is vindicated!

[X]

Oh lord, this thread is gonna suuuuck.

[Ska]

Nah, X, I think a lot of people got this out of the way yesterday. It is funny to see Gore Godwin himself though.

[Mike M.]

Meanwhile, it's July 8, and here in Washington D.C. we're still topping out at around 82-83 degrees, with lows in the mid 60s.

Al Gore can call me a Nazi all he wants to, but these temperatures are definitely below normal for us at this time of year.

[Fascitis Necrotizante]

I think the inches of sea level rise would be the Nazis here. Skeptics are just the Lindberghs, Coughlins and Mosleys in this reality.

[Sean W. Malone]

I saw this like 2 days ago... Slowwwwwwww... Made a note of it too.

I guess this means Al Gore is Churchill? Or is he Tom Hanks. I can't tell.

[Pro Libertate]

Laugh it up, but when the climate is rounding up racially impure people and killing them, you'll regret not stopping it sooner.

[Sam Grove]

There's no evidence supporting AGWCT according to Dr. David Evans in his paper: There Is No Evidence.

[The Angry Optimist]

WE DIDN'T LISTEN!!

[Sam Grove]

First the climate came for the Jews, and I did not speak up....

[P Brooks]

Gore: If You Don't Believe in Global Warming, You're a Nazi

*Clicks heels, performs stiff-arm salute.*

[Sean W. Malone]

Lousy appeasers. You're all Chamberlains! All 'o ya!

[Abdul]

Ein volk, Ein reich, ein heat wave!

Arbeit Macht Hitze.

[Invisible Finger]

Don't be stupid, be a smartie. Come and join the climate change party.

[?]

So, if Gore is Churchill and the fight against climate change is like World War II then...climate change skeptics in this scenario are like the Nazis?

In case you didn't catch the tiny uproar about it yesterday, before that Times article was silently edited to make Gore sound less psychotic, the line you quoted said "Nazis."

[P Brooks]

We can berate politicians for not doing enough, and compromising too much, and not being bold and addressing this existential threat to civilization.

Gaaaaaahhhh!!! Run for your liiiiiiiiives!!!

I consider the Internal Revenue Service significantly more threatening than global warming.

[DADIODADDY]

First it was cooling, then it was warming. Now it's changing...couldn't they have gone back to cooling and still get credit for the changing thing? God damn flip flopping climate.

[hmm]

Stupid thoughtless analogies are stupid and thoughtless.

We have everything we need except political will...

...the level of concern among populations has still not risen to cross the threshold

There might be a really good reason for the lack of will and concern when compared to Churchill. People tend to mobilize a little faster when the threat is bombing the ever loving fuck out of your home and marching across Europe, Russia, and North Africa killing people.

Gore and his fat ass mutton jowl lip flapping retardary is like watching a clown fuck a monkey fucking a greased football. Fucking silver spoon dipshit seeking a legacy because he didn't get to be president.

[Ska]

Gore ... is like watching a clown fuck a monkey fucking a greased football.

Please post that video - sounds a hell of a lot more interesting than anything by or about MBP.

[brotherben]

hmmm, don't blame me, I voted fro Gore and the supremes stole it from him.

[The Mythical Canadian Libertar]

I call dibs on being Switzerland.

[The Angry Optimist]

brotherben - that's an absolute myth.

[brotherben]

TAO, and it was sposed to be absolute snark.

[The Angry Optimist]

gosh, I should retire from the Internet. I'm too cranky.

[Warty]

Kids! I've saved you!

[Kevin]

People tend to be more concerned about things that affect them directly. Most people I know are concerned mostly about their jobs, their houses, and their families. Gore doesn't have to worry about any of that, so he has the luxury of worrying about whether the earth's average temperature will go up .5 degrees during his lifetime.

As the economy worsens, this is going to become an even harder sell for him. Nobody's going to give a shit about polar bears when unemployment hits 15%.

[jsh]

As the economy worsens, this is going to become an even harder sell for him. Nobody's going to give a shit about polar bears when unemployment hits 15%.

We'll be saved by Green Jobs I tell ya, Green Jobs!! For instance, high school grads will have to earn their college loans by running on giant treadmills attached to generators to create Green Electricity via Americorps.

Never mind, that would actually be useful.

[brotherben]

TAO, give yourself a break. I am a very schizophrenic poster.

[Paul]

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, more and more scientists are concluding that human-caused global warming isn't necessarily a given.

Of course skeptics are on the rise. The people who always accused the government of not doing enough are now uniformly in control. Now they actually have to do something about it. Is it any surprise that those same people are going to be more circumspect, and start putting up their hands and saying "Hey now, let's not be hasty".

Playing defense is hard. That's why so many of our old reliable liberal commenters are gone.

[Episiarch]

Playing defense is hard. That's why so many of our old reliable liberal commenters are gone.

Maybe they shot themselves after realizing Obama fucked them harder than JFK did Marilyn Monroe. Nah, they just retreated into cognitive dissonance.

[FrBunny]

So Godwinning is now any allusion to World War II in any setting and in any context.

Why does every Internet word end up being the equivalent of "smurf"?

[HoweeCarr]

Fuck Al Gore.

Oh- and fuck Al Gore.

[Fluffy]

Can you accept that rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will, at some level, resulting in a change to the climate, without believing that this constitutes an "existential threat" to civilization?

To me, an "existential threat to civilization" means that civilization will be destroyed if the threat isn't addressed. But the AGW proponents aren't actually claiming a level of climate change that would actually DO that. They offer models that show that some areas will suffer economically if weather patterns change, and other areas will encounter large costs if sea levels rise - while other areas will benefit from higher temperatures [although these benefits will not net out our costs].

How is this an existential threat?

[Dagny T.]

Laugh it up, but when the climate is rounding up racially impure people and killing them, you'll regret not stopping it sooner.

Exactly. Were it not for Gore's noble efforts, we'd all be speaking German Eskimo whatever they speak where it's several degrees warmer by now. A policy of appeasement of the climate will not work!

[Ethan]

So, if Gore is Churchill and the fight against climate change is like World War II then...climate change skeptics in this scenario are like the Nazis?

No, it's pretty clear that in Gore's analogy it is the threat from global climate change that is analogous to the threat posed by (presumably)the Nazis, or fascism in general.

And even if we were to insist beyond all sense that Gore is saying that global climate change skeptics are analogous to Nazis, the title of the post--"If You Don't Believe in Global Warming, You're A Nazi"--would not follow from Gore's words. It's an analogy. If you say A is to B as C is to D, that does not mean that B is D.

[Stretch]

Both the post and the responses have been weak. Gore was not the one to reference the Nazis. The author of the article did. All Gore did was reference a local hero's leadership in a time of crisis. That that leader was Churchill necessarily makes anti-global-warmingers Nazi's?

Grow up, the world is not out to get you.

[brotherben]

fluffy, the existential threat comes when the slow uptick in temperature triggers a catastrophic rise in other global warming causes. There's a word that's used for this. My meds are kickin my ass today and I can't think of it. The whole mess becomes self feeding and it changes very rapidly.

[Episiarch]

The best part is that the economy, doing so badly, is going to be worsened by climate change legislation. And if you think people are going to give a flying fuck about climate change when they don't have a job, you are sadly mistaken.

It's like the absolutely worst possible time to push climate change stuff, and they're going full court press. It's astonishing how stupid these people are.

[jsh]

It's like the absolutely worst possible time to push climate change stuff, and they're going full court press. It's astonishing how stupid these people are.

If you only expect a small window of uncontested power and an approval rating that can only go down, the rush makes sense. Strike while you can.

[Dagny T.]

The best part is that the economy, doing so badly, is going to be worsened by climate change legislation. And if you think people are going to give a flying fuck about climate change when they don't have a job, you are sadly mistaken.

I think that many (or even most) Obama lovers will fail to make this connection. The reason they don't have a job and are paying more for energy isn't excessive regulation, it's Bush, and teh greedy capitalists. Duh.

[Sean W. Malone]

Stretch: If you're going to use an analogy, then you should be prepared for the obvious interpretation.

In Gore-world,

Churchill::Nazis
Al Gore::"Climate Change" deniers

Not that much of a leap.

[brotherben]

Or maybe Obama lovers have made the connection and see all this change as the way to put the greedy capitalists firmly under the iron fist of the government. Power beats money everytime. The left finally has the power and enough voter support to shove these things through.

[Matthew]

Playing defense is hard. That's why so many of our old reliable liberal commenters are gone.

Where are the joe's of yesteryear?

[HeadTater]

Will someone just do something about this guy? I don't care who does it or what they do! Just shut him up! Maybe we can frame his for something that will get the mafia pissed at him. A nice pair of environmentally-friendly concrete Nikes would look good on Al's trip to inspect the purity (ecological, not racial) of Lake Michigan's bottom.

[Tricky Prickears]

Has this guy lost it, completely? He's doing more to hurt his "cause", than to help it. Perhaps just concentrating on the looming fossil fuel shortage/crisis and all the money being spent in Middle Eastern countries. I don't care how much science you may think is on your side. This is not a battle between science and religion. But this whole argument is indicative of the left vs right (us vs them) mentality in this country. Is there no room for open honest debate?

[Pro Libertate]

I mocked Krugman's use of the term, "existential threat" not that long ago, and I repeat for Mr. Gore:

Pro Libertate | June 29, 2009, 1:41pm | #
I'm amused by the increased use of "existential" in the media. While there's not necessarily anything wrong with the word (except the questionable validity of it in this context), it always makes me think of the philosophical movement and an alternate meaning of the term:

[A] philosophical attitude associated esp. with Heidegger, Jaspers, Marcel, and Sartre, and opposed to rationalism and empiricism, that stresses the individual's unique position as a self-determining agent responsible for the authenticity of his or her choices.

I could swear that it's this meaning of existential that Krugman is using--non-rational and non-empirical--but maybe I'm mistaken.

[SWEET!!!]

BOSTON - Massachusetts is suing the federal government over a law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

State Attorney General Martha Coakley filed the lawsuit today in federal court in Boston. It says the federal Defense of Marriage Act interferes with the right of Massachusetts to define marriage as it sees fit.

The 1996 federal law denies federal recognition of gay marriage. Massachusetts was the first state to allow the practice.

The Boston-based Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders has already sued over the federal law. It says it discriminates against gay couples and is unconstitutional because it denies them access to federal benefits that other married couples receive.

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12778977?source=rss

[Prickley Heat]

G8 Summit Leaders commit to achieve a 50% reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 (80% reduction by developed countries)

[James Ard]

Al Gore is the deniers best weapon. More appearances, Al, please.

[Prickley Heat]

"Grow up, the world is not out to get you."

Maybe not, but the politicians sure as fuck are.

[Seamus]

Al Gore can call me a Nazi all he wants to, but these temperatures are definitely below normal for us at this time of year.

See? The climate is changing.

[Saul Alinsky]

"But this whole argument is indicative of the left vs right (us vs them) mentality in this country. Is there no room for open honest debate?"

Nope. Hee, hee, hee.

[brotherben]

I would suggest that the lack of open and honest debate between the left and right is one reason why folks on the left are telling Obama "go ahead, just do whatever you think will work."

[Isaac Bartram]

Grow up, the world is not out to get you.

Maybe not. But I'm certainly not going to take your word for it. 🙂

[Tulpa]

Meanwhile, it's July 8, and here in Washington D.C. we're still topping out at around 82-83 degrees, with lows in the mid 60s.

Al Gore can call me a Nazi all he wants to, but these temperatures are definitely below normal for us at this time of year.

The temperature changes that global warming would bring would not be noticeable just by looking at daily temperatures. Even assuming the mean global temperature rises by 5 degrees, you're still going to have cooler years and warmer years (and cooler areas of the world and warmer areas of the world) in about the same proportion as usual.

Of course Gore was quick to offer the unusually warm December and January we had in the eastern US back in '06-07 as evidence of global warming, but we shouldn't stoop to his level.

[Tulpa]

I would suggest that the lack of open and honest debate between the left and right is one reason why folks on the left are telling Obama "go ahead, just do whatever you think will work."

And whose fault is it that we don't have such a debate?

[Clay Modeling]

Al's analogy means not that the AGW skeptics are Nazis, instead they are the pacifists who opposed going to fight Europe's war.

Actually, global warming is more like WMDs in Iraq, some evidence of existence, but not convincing. (Except Saddam's WMDs really did exist at some time).

Surely not enough evidence to waste billions of dollars in a demonstratably hopeless fight.

[brotherben]

"And whose fault is it that we don't have such a debate?"

I have no idea.

[monkey on juice]

"Gore and his fat ass mutton jowl lip flapping retardary is like watching a clown fuck a monkey fucking a greased football. Fucking silver spoon dipshit seeking a legacy because he didn't get to be president." - hmm

Best rant of the day.

[Isaac Bartram]

Al Gore can call me a Nazi all he wants to, but these temperatures are definitely below normal for us at this time of year.

Well, here in Central Florida they're above normal but there has not been a record setting day yet.

I get tired of tell AGW believers that a hot summer or a mild winter is not proof of their theory.

Unfortunately the converse is likewise true.

Me, this week I am of the opinion that meeting any local costs of damages or disruptions due to climate change as they occur will likely be cheaper than destroying the foundation of industrial production.

And I haven't seen any argument to convince me that a the schemes to counter GW won't end up destroying the foundation of industrial production.

[Clay Modeling]

Global Warming is becoming the Great Cause that keeps ousted politicians working, writing books, giving speeches, and basically stroking themselves in public while raking in the cash.

I hear Tony Blair is about to jump in, too.

It's greater than a silly little famine somewhere in Bumfuk, or those pesky leftover landmines. It's Global! Even better, it's perpetual, it will never be solved!

[Major Utility]

""And whose fault is it that we don't have such a debate?"

The MSM.

[Major Utility]

"Global Warming is becoming the Great Cause that keeps ousted politicians working, writing books, giving speeches, and basically stroking themselves in public while raking in the cash."

Just like the Palestinian / Israeli conflict.

[Mike Laursen]

Most charitable interpretation I can think of is that he is saying that greenhouse gases are Nazis and all global warming deniers are isolationists.

[Mike M.]

The temperature changes that global warming would bring would not be noticeable just by looking at daily temperatures. Even assuming the mean global temperature rises by 5 degrees, you're still going to have cooler years and warmer years (and cooler areas of the world and warmer areas of the world) in about the same proportion as usual.

I know, I'm kind of being a wiseguy, because I'm doing exactly what guys like Al Gore do.

One of the big problems with the temperature numbers is that you can make this data appear almost any way you want to, simply by selectively picking and choosing your time endpoints.

I honestly don't believe that there's even a single person in the world who truly knows what the "ideal" temperature at any given location in the world at any given time of year is supposed to be, and whether we're above or below that right now. For that matter, I'm not even fully convinced that the idea of the "mean global temperature" has any true importance or relevance whatsoever.

All we're really getting from Al Gore and his ilk are a bunch of hysterical, apocalyptic predictions that are spectacularly failing to pan out.

[R C Dean]

Were it not for Gore's noble efforts, we'd all be speaking German Eskimo whatever they speak where it's several degrees warmer by now.

Um, that would be Mexican.

Release the LoneWacko!

fluffy, the existential threat comes when the slow uptick in temperature triggers a catastrophic rise in other global warming causes. There's a word that's used for this.

The words you're looking for are "speculative and unproven assumption."

[Stretch]

Dammit Isaac, you stole my point about using anecdotal evidence. It was hot here last weekend so, GW is true. It's cool here today so, it must not be true.

Sean, your obvious interpretation was made by you and your Godwinning brethren. I wouldn't have gone there without the word Nazi being in the title of the post.

I love the posts that run along the lines of: "Al Gore can call me a Nazi all he wants..." Al Gore doesn't know who the hell you are, he didn't call you a Nazi, you aren't that significant. That guy in the TV isn't talking to you.

[hmm]

I love the posts that run along the lines of: "Al Gore can call me a Nazi all he wants..." Al Gore doesn't know who the hell you are, he didn't call you a Nazi, you aren't that significant. That guy in the TV isn't talking to you.

Making a sweeping statement or inference about a population by definition means each and every person in that population.

If all isn't talking to me, and others with the same opinion as myself, who the fuck is he talking to? The Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and the Tooth Fairy?

You troll like old people fuck. Slow, sloppy, and a little to the left.

[hmm]

all = AL

preview fail

[Scammington]

Al Gore is Churchill? Ward Churchill, maybe.

[SugarFree]

hmm is on fire today.

[shit out of thorazine]

That guy in the TV isn't talking to you.

What about the guy in the blender? He calls me by name so I know he's talking to me.

[douglas_hofstadler]

technically, you can't CALL a godwin. The mention of Nazis silently invokes Godwins law and ends the thread. Calling a godwin cancels out the effect. For example, I mentioned nazis in this post, that should signify the end of meaningful dialog and anybody with any sense would leave the thread. I would assume that trolls and noobs may continue with the thread even after the invocation of Godwins law. If i call a Godwin, I could be flamed. I suppose this application could be acceptable in the case of the speech, given that you're referring to it in the past tense, but no one left the speech (metaphoric thread) so by definition they are trolls and noobs. If you extrapolate from this logic, it applies in a greater sense to both the speaker and audience. To mention Nazis in this context, the speaker is a troll and misappropriating a hero like Churchhill is offensive, confirming the troll status of the speaker we've already established that the audience is made up (at least the majority) of trolls and noobs. The idea of these trolls making any decisions that affects me is much bleaker than the prospect of the Earth warming 1 degree over the next hundred years.

[Cracker]

Reduce greenhouse gas missions.
Shut Al Gore up.

[JW]

So, if Gore is Churchill and the fight against climate change is like World War II then...climate change skeptics in this scenario are like the Nazis?

Oh! I get it now. This is IRONY.

[brotherben]

R C Dean, negative feedback I think is what I was looking for.

[Jeff]

I have no time for Gore, but calling this a Godwin is weak; Gore compared his fight to Churchill's which was an example of tenacity in attempting to rouse his nation to taking action which they were ambivalent about. Nothing to do with the nature of the foe.

[John C. Randolph]

Al has jumped the shark. I'm going to celebrate by watching the video where he excoriated Bush senior for leaving Saddam in power:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JE48XHKG64

In his standard "listen to me, you fucking peasants" drone.

-jcr

[JW]

Gore compared his fight to Churchill's which was an example of tenacity in attempting to rouse his nation to taking action which they were ambivalent about. Nothing to do with the nature of the foe.

Sure. He just used a metaphor, in which his side is seen as unquestionably just and righteous and the "other" side is that ultimate evil thingy, by happenstance.

It didn't mean anything such thing at all, which is why he chose it. Sure.

[Jim Treacher]

So Godwinning is now any allusion to World War II in any setting and in any context.

"As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1."

Good point: The long-running discussion in which Al Gore made a comparison between global warming and the fight against Nazi Germany did not occur on Usenet.

Gore compared his fight to Churchill's which was an example of tenacity in attempting to rouse his nation to taking action which they were ambivalent about. Nothing to do with the nature of the foe.

So Al Gore isn't clueless and insane, just inept at analogies?

[jtuf]

...political will is a renewable resource.[...]We can berate politicians for not doing enough, and compromising too much, and not being bold and addressing this existential threat to civilization. But the reason they don't is that the level of concern among populations has still not risen to cross the threshold to make the political leaders feel they must address it.

So basically, Al Gore sees fearful Americans the way a hydrologist sees water, as a force of nature that he should wield to do his bidding.

[Larry Hastings]

Mike M. says:

"Meanwhile, it's July 8, and here in Washington D.C. we're still topping out at around 82-83 degrees, with lows in the mid 60s.

"Al Gore can call me a Nazi all he wants to, but these temperatures are definitely below normal for us at this time of year."

IF THE TEMPERATURE IS WARMER THAN NORMAL: You see? The earth is heating up! We're killing our Mother Earth!

IF THE TEMPERATURE IS COOLER THAN NORMAL: You see? Global Warming is causing perverse weather conditions! We must stop this cycle before it's too late--too late for us ALL!

IF THE TEMPERATURE IS EXACTLY AVERAGE FOR THE TIME OF YEAR: That's not telling us anything. But look at this graph of Antarctic ice sheet thickness! And these pictures of polar bears! Oh, those poor polar bears!

And that's how we play: Global! Warming! Debate! Tactics!

[Professor Ervine]

So, is that everybody? No, I see. Would the hipster slouching in the back seat who hasn't paid attention since the first day of class like to state his opinion?

Both the post and the responses have been weak.

Speak up, son, you are mumbling.

Grow up, the world is not out to get you.

You got a little snot running down your chin. There you go. Clean that right up. Now as you were.

I love the posts that run along the lines of: "Al Gore can call me a Nazi all he wants..." Al Gore doesn't know who the hell you are, he didn't call you a Nazi, you aren't that significant. That guy in the TV isn't talking to you.

We owe you so much for your intelligent and thoughtful comments, it is a shame I'm going to have to flunk you this quarter.

[Mike G]

Gore is like a reverse Churchill who did nothing in office about the Nazis, only to become an indefatigable fighter of them once he was a backbencher again.

[Tony]

So most of you guys believe in a global conspiracy of the vast majority of the scientists and governments on the planet in what is easily the most convoluted scheme ever devised (by that moron Al Gore!). Yeah Al Gore is such a wacko...

[polar bears are cute!]

"So most of you guys believe in a global conspiracy of the vast majority of the scientists and governments on the planet in what is easily the most convoluted scheme ever devised (by that moron Al Gore!)"

No. Just a stupid bandwagon started by a few scientists and jumped on like crazy by bandwagon-loving politicians and hyped to infinity by ignorant hype-loving fact-checking-gets-in-the-way-of-a-good-story press... Gore was actually quite late to the game...

[roy]

"global conspiracy of the vast majority of the scientists"

I call bullshit on the scientist part. The conspiracy calling is a huge strawman. There was no "conspiracy for geocentric astronomy" before Copernicus... just a consensus of the lazy.. not rare at all in science.

Simple fact: the vast majority is always trend-following. Skeptics and naysayers get fewer grants...

[Tony]

Ah so the fact that the vast majority of relevant scientists agree on an empirical question is now a liability for that point of view. THAT makes sense.

Ever consider the possibility that it's you, and not science, that is wrong? Perish the thought, I know, but the north pole is sorta melting before your eyes...

[The Vaunted \"Medieval Warm Pe]

Al Gore made fun of me in his movie. Is that how you win a Nobel Prize? Make fun of historical events? What a Nazi.

[Anonymous Crank]

I'll start to buy into this anthrogenic gloal warming when one, ONE of these alarmists who are raking in the cash stirring up hype can explain this one to me: Each year, volcanoes release more "green house" gasses into the atmosphere than humans have produced IN OUR ENTIRE EXSISTENCE. Why then, does Earth not resemble Venus in surface temp? This is one huge power grab, and that is ALL.

[duderman]

I think Gore is saying that his bold leadership resembles that of Winston Churchill, Prius drivers are as brave as Allied Soldiers, and CO2 molecules are nano-nazis bent on conquering the world.

[Amy]

Ignore it. It will go away.

[????? ??????]

Thanks