Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

R. J. Samuelson, a Newsweek contributing editor, calls Sharon Begley, Eve Conant and Eleanor Clift’s “Denial Machine” article “Highly contrived.”

Samuelson goes on to put some reality in perspective by pointing out the prohibitive costs of ‘immediate and positive measures’ to control the ‘runaway greenhouse effect.’

The Senate EPW Minority Blog posted an article on Newsweek’s quasi-retraction:

Washington DC – Robert J. Samuelson, a contributing editor of Newsweek, slapped down his own Magazine for what he termed a “highly contrived story” about the global warming “denial machine.” Samuelson, writing in the August 20, 2007 issue of Newsweek, explains that the Magazine used “discredited” allegations in last week’s issue involving a supposed cash bounty to pay skeptics to dispute global warming science and he chided the Magazine for portraying global warming as a “morality tale.” (LINK) Samuelson’s article titled “Greenhouse Simplicities,” also characterized the “deniers” cover story as “fundamentally misleading.”

“Unfortunately, self-righteous indignation can undermine good journalism. Last week’s Newsweek cover story on global warming is a sobering reminder,” Samuelson wrote.

Who would have thought that Newsweek would debunk its own embarrassing cover story a week later in the very next issue? This kind of reversal does not happen very often in journalism. [Note: It previously took Newsweek 31 years to admit its 1970’s prediction of dire global cooling was completely wrong. See October 24, 2006 article: Senator Inhofe Credited For Prompting Newsweek Admission of Error on 70’s Predictions of Coming Ice Age – (LINK)]

Speaking of prohibitive costs, NRO’s Planet Gore notes that higher taxes such as those proposed by Greenbat Congressman John Dingell, D – Michigan, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, when he released his plan to fight global warming: a 50 cent gas tax increase and elimination of the mortgage deduction for homes over 3,000 square feet – the average American home is 2,400 sq. ft.

Dingell’s proposal was met by a deafening silence from the climate alarmists, since they know that reckless taxation damages their already weak chances of winning their arguments about climate change.

As for Dingell, he self-righteously wants to pass the costs on to consumers and in typical Democrat fashion, wants to punish success by laying more taxes on people who work hard to succeed. Why, you ask? Because Dingell represents Detroit’s automotive workers and manufacturers, and would rather that you and I pay for cleaning up their act.