... for the benefit of those, such as Peter Winkler, who comments on this post of mine, Glenn Reynolds's Advice to Al Gore Defenders. I should have thought an attentive reading of the original defenses would have been enough. This one, for instance - which argues, simply that people like Gore are better than others and should be allowed to behave accordingly.
There is also this: More Global Warming Hypocrisy.
Finally, there's this link to and quote from The Economist.
Update: Why the Gore story matters and related items.
I don't know, Frank. I think Glenn Reynolds has many good points to make on other matters, and makes a good contribution, but I find his carping at these people like Al Gore distasteful. He isn't marshalling any serious argument about Gore in the posts to which you link, he seems to be jeering. (As does Peter Winkler, but more so, in his comments which are somewhat unhinged but that's what I would expect from that quarter.).
ReplyDeleteIt is all very well jeering at Diane F for her private jet, etc, but this is not very relevant to the issues that face us all: we have to live in a less energy-abusing way. Yes, there are always hypocrites, especially among politicians, but because someone does not practice what they preach does not mean that what they preach is wrong "by definition" -- but that is the style of argument Glenn R. uses.
I have noticed in a previous thread to which you linked, he does the same thing about gun ownership. At the end of the day, guns are about one thing, which is killing people.
They should be more reasonable, like you are, Frank.
The following from Greg Palast, a news journalist worthy of the name, on Gore's's credentials:
ReplyDeleteNYI: What do you think about Al Gore’s recent return to environmentalism?
GP: ... most importantly, the biggest single blow to the struggle against global warming was the institution of “crud credits” — pollution trading credits. Whose idea was that?
Well the idea came from a guy named Boyden Gray, who was the top lobbyist for the industrial polluters. And who was the No. 1 promoter of that idea within the Clinton Administration? Al Gore. He took the idea straight from the polluters and then polluted the environmental agency with it. So the No. 1 threat of global warming was engineered by Al Gore, and that’s an inconvenient truth that he’s got to deal with."
So the big polluters get to buy pollution credits from poor nations asnd carry on as before. Good work, Al. I really believe in the integrity of your mission. I really do.
Hi Maxine,
ReplyDeleteWhat Glenn is doing really is monitoring news coverage. If Gore were a Republican, the media would be all over this. (Bear in mind that Glenn and Gore both hail from Tennessee, so Glenn - who I believe once worked for Gore in some capacity - has seen the great man up close for years.) In my view, Gore is not only one of the biggest horse's asses in American politics, he is also a world-class hypocrite, given to shedding tears publicly over his sister's death from lung cancer while conveniently ignoring that he and his father before him were for decades among the tobacco lobby's most reliable votes in Congress. The President actually paid to have an environmentally sound house built (this before he became President). Gore has paid a huge amount for nothing more than his own luxurious lifestyle. And the house being written about isn't the only one he owns. The man is a fraud.
Oh, Maxine, I forgot - Glenn, like me, is a libertarian. His position on gun control is in accordance (I believe) with the second amendment, which itself derives from English common law. The U.S. Constitution protects the citizen's right to bear arms. Glenn is a law professor. That's what he is arguing about.
ReplyDelete