Topic: NewsBusters
We suspect that NewsBusters' resident global warming denier, Noel Sheppard, would not take the Newsweek article about the big money behind the global-warming-denial industry very well.
Sure enough, in an Aug. 5 post, he goes to work attacking it, using the word "disgraceful" four times (plus "disgrace" in the headline) and "disgusting" twice, accusing the article of hypocrisy and complaining that it "painted a picture of an evil cabal whose goal is to thwart science at the detriment of the environment and the benefit of their wallets."
But Sheppard makes no effort to disprove any of the article's claims. And he engages in his own set of hypocrisies; as we've documented, he has cared little about the backgrounds of the deniers he has quoted -- indeed, this may be the first time he has been confronted with such evidence. Sheppard has also baselessly attacked Gore as a "charlatan who doesn't believe in anything but himself and attaining power" -- in other words, an evil cabal whose goal is to thwart (right-wing) science at the detriment of the environment and the benefit of their wallets.
We're verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves.
Sheppard followed up with an Aug. 6 post touting an attack on the Newsweek piece by Marc Morano, anti-global warming Sen. James Inhofe's communications director (and former CNSNews.com reporter). Again, Sheppard uses the word "disgraceful" to describe the article (twice), as well as "thoroughly offensive" and "piece of detritus."
Sheppard highlighted Morano's assertion that he gave Newsweek "the documentation showing that proponents of man-made global warming have been funded to the tune of $50 BILLION in the last decade or so, while skeptics have received a paltry $19 MILLION by comparison." Sheppard added: "Unlike Newsweek, Morano presented actual hard dollar numbers contributed by various groups to fund global warming research and the advancement of climate change hysteria. How was this information ignored by Newsweek which presents itself as a member of the media, and not a political action group?"
Perhaps because Morano is a paid shill who has a history of making misleading claims, both at CNS and as Inhofe's flack. Morano has shown that there's good reason not to trust him any farther than one than throw him. Perhaps Newsweek figured that Morano's numbers were gamed and unreliable -- a not-unreasonable assumption considering Morano's track record.
The overall tone we get from Sheppard's attacks is that no one is permitted to question him or his fellow global-warming deniers (yes, we know he hates that term). That's probably more disgraceful than anything Newsweek has done.
