Comments Posted By Rick Moran
Displaying 211 To 220 Of 1317 Comments
CITIZEN SCIENTIST RE-IGNITES GLOBAL WARMING SKEPTICISM
You are naive if you believe some scientists do not have a political agenda in the global warming debate.
And yes, there is a sizable segment of advocates who wish to destroy capitalism, industrialization, and globalization.
Few skeptics (and I don't consider myself a skeptic as much as an agnostic on the subject)are saying the debate is over - as many advocates have done. It is stupid, silly, and unscientific to say so - especially since the body of opinion on global warming agrees on so little; only that temps are rising and that man has played an as yet unknown role in it. Outside of that, there is no agreement on the severity, or even what is causing the rise in temps. Mount Pinatuboa put more CO2 in the atmosphere in 3 months than man has generated over the last 100 years. Few advocates can agree on just how much man is to blame.
The solutions be advocated are draconian - forcing the US to reduce our output of CO2 to levels last seen in 1993 while allowing China and India - the two biggest poluters on the planet a free ride is stupid and smacks more of politics than policy based on science. The damage to our economy of reducing our emmissions to that level have been well documented by economists. Advocates say that is the price we have to pay. Fine. Most would be willing to pay that price if the necessity for it could be proven beyond models that don't work and now temps that were false to begin with.
The alarmists are shown to be wrong with this story. Not that global warming doesn't exist (as I say in my piece) but that the urgency of the Al Gores and his ilk is ill founded and not based on scientific fact.
Comment Posted By Rick Moran On 10.08.2007 @ 08:56
MAKING THE CASE FOR A LONG TERM COMMITMENT TO IRAQ
rene:
I know it's a novel idea and it might not have occurred to you, but maybe, just maybe, you might want to, you know, READ THE DAMN POST!
Cordesman is saying that we have a long term commitment to Iraq whether we have any troops there or not. Agree, disagree, throw up, or fall asleep - I don't care. But when someone is so eager to blather on with their talking points that they don't even bother to read what I write, it pisses me off.
Comment Posted By Rick Moran On 9.08.2007 @ 16:23
A RESPONSE TO CRITICS OF MY LAST POST
I wouldn't have taken your comment that way at all. You are stating a fact that we are from different cultures, if you will with a different perspective.
Despite my knowing many military people througout my life - some of them intimately - I acknowledge there are aspects that I might admire but not understand.
It kind of surprises me that you are the only military person I've heard from - I think. At least no one in the comments has identified himself or herself as such. I would be curious if your rather temperate reaction - disagreeing strongly, I understand - would be widespread among the milbloggers.
Comment Posted By Rick Moran On 7.08.2007 @ 20:11
RWS:
If they were all as nice as you, I'd look forward to posting controversial stuff.
This, I thought would get some strong disagreement but not the hate. I still don't know where that came from.
Comment Posted By Rick Moran On 7.08.2007 @ 19:59
Thanks Baldilocks.
There are times today when I've been genuinely amazed at the reaction to what I wrote. It is clear that you took the time to read and think about the post before commenting and I appreciate it. Others have not.
I don't know quite how to respond to military people on this because I realize their honor is at stake as well as them having an emotional investment in its outcome. If I have seemed to downplay the importance of vindication, I truly apologize. It was not my intent to slight or injure anyone - much less anyone who serves - by attempting to assign some proportion to something I see as out of control and injurious to this new medium.
I make no great claim to insight in this matter. This is still a new medium and I have invested a great deal of time and effort into my blog writing to say what I want to say and what I feel needs to be said. In that way, it is a very personal thing, this blog of mine (as I'm sure yours is to you).
This is the essence of blogs - saying what you want, when you want with no editor to tone you down (or save your ass if you screw it up). There are plenty of times I wish I hadn't punched that "Publish" button. This isn't one of them.
Where you and I differ (and where most others differ as well) is in how important we think this story really is. I agree that it is important. In essence, I am being raked over the coals for not agreeing hard enough. It isn't enough that I agree with the sentiment. I must agree in the same proportion or I'm some kind of liberal!
I must be tired, or dense, or just plain stupid because I can't for the life of me understand why that should elicit this kind of outrageous reaction from some people.
Live and learn. And I'll leave this comment at your site in case you don't see it here.
Comment Posted By Rick Moran On 7.08.2007 @ 19:42
Karl:
Kind of a stretch, isn't it? Especially when I make it clear I DON'T know (That's what "I doubt" and "maybe" mean. Look it up in a dictionary if you don't believe me.) if Ace has ever read me (he's linked me a couple of times in the past so I know he has in fact read my stuff on occasion).
Pretty dumb, kid.
Comment Posted By Rick Moran On 7.08.2007 @ 18:35
I would say by any reasonable standard, the term "scream" could easily apply to much of what Ace writes.
Feel free to disagree with the characterization that no one needs a window into his soul to see.
Comment Posted By Rick Moran On 7.08.2007 @ 14:19
"Victory in Iraq" and "fevered imginations" modify each other. Not "Decloaking Beauchamp" and "fevered imaginations."
I'm being dead serious when I ask if that is the problem? Is it that awkward a turn of phrase that this is what everyone misunderstood?
If so, I will post an update.
Comment Posted By Rick Moran On 7.08.2007 @ 14:12
T-Bone:
Thanks for the kind words.
I don't know how far "right" Ace really is. I think he just likes to scream.
Comment Posted By Rick Moran On 7.08.2007 @ 14:01
BigS:
Thanks for being civil. And I think Capt. Ed agrees with me to, although he also misunderstood my "winning the war" remark.
I reread that paragraph and can't figure out why it was so misunderstood. Again, I think it goes back to this idea of "all or nothing" on blogs in general. People seem to be quick to take things the wrong way or out of context.
Comment Posted By Rick Moran On 7.08.2007 @ 13:56
