On Ted’s Montana-size carbon footprint . . . and mouth
Ed Driscoll has a nice, succinct take-down of Ted Turner’s recent rants about everyone adopting a one-child policy in light of our “life and death” fight against climate change:
If it’s life and death, then act that way, Ted. Time to retire the private jet. Since self-described climate experts have claimed that “meat [is] making global warming worse,” time to close the giant bison ranch and restaurants. There’s a stadium in Atlanta with your name on it. Demand that they disable their lights. Although you no longer own the TV networks you built, your word still likely carries some sway there as their founder. Demand that they go off the air and close down their Websites to eliminate their carbon footprint.
And it’s some footprint.
Here are seven more things I’d like to see, to prove that you’re serious about this “life and death” issue.
Because, to paraphrase the Professor, I’ll believe that global warming is a matter of life and death when the people who tell me that it’s a matter of life and death start to act that way themselves. (links original)
Now, you could apply that take-down to lots of limousine liberals. But this one is for Ted alone:
“Now the father of five, who has often publicly regretted having so many children, [Turner] wants to extend China’s policy to the rest of us.”
I wonder if the Ted’s kids — or his ex-wives — ever ask him which child he regrets the most?
– By Kyle Wingfield
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129 comments Add your comment
Darwin
December 8th, 2010
3:46 pm
“If a conservative doesn’t like a talk show host, he switches channels.” Or he invents Fox News.
Grasshopper
December 8th, 2010
3:48 pm
‘It’s funny that conservatives think something liking owning a gun should be a right extended to everyone, but that the basic healthcare needs of people should not be guaranteed. Yeah, that makes a whole hell of a lot of sense.’
Dumbest post of the day Kevin.
Conservatives aren’t enacting laws that demand everyone buy a gun from a private company or else pay a fine to the IRS.
Shame On You
December 8th, 2010
3:50 pm
@ randy
“conservative christians are the devil in drag…”
Most conservative christians are actually black evangelicals. You just made a racist comment!
Mental Floss
December 8th, 2010
3:52 pm
“If a conservative doesn’t like a talk show host, he switches channels.” Or he invents Fox News.
That’s great for you liberals since you make up a very large portion of the Fox News audience and conservative talk radio. Way to go libs for making conservative media #1!
Linda
December 8th, 2010
4:00 pm
Hank@3:23, Jefferson was a man of deep religious conviction. In his own words in his letter to the Danbury Baptists, he said, “…I contemplate with sovereign reverence…I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection and blessing of the common father and creator of man…”
kevin
December 8th, 2010
4:07 pm
Grasshopper,
I am not entirely happy with the proposed healthcare initiative, but the uninsured cost the healthcare system billions of dollars, thereby driving up healthcare costs, insurance costs, etc. By making people be insured, you regulate the out of control system.
On a moral note, I think it’s reprehensible to live in a society with the resources we have, and not provide our fellow citizens with healthcare. Only conservatives in this country think otherwise–the rest of the western world subscribes to my view.
randy
December 8th, 2010
4:09 pm
jesus just left chicago and he’s bound for new orleans…
kevin
December 8th, 2010
4:11 pm
Linda,
Perhaps you should read a bit more about Jefferson on religion:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson_and_religion
JF McNamara
December 8th, 2010
4:12 pm
Yes, Turner’s a hypocrite, but he’s also known to be quite eccentric. No on is listening to him, so there is no need to be mean about it.
SaveOurRepublic
December 8th, 2010
4:18 pm
Jefferson was spot on regarding the bank$ters, our individual liberties, states’ rights & one of the greatest founding fathers. He wavered religously between Episcopalism, Unitarianism, & Deism. However, many other Founding Fathers were more ardent in Christianity…like John Jay who stated “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest, of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”.
Linda
December 8th, 2010
4:22 pm
Anti-Wooten @ 3:27, Our procreators & our Creator are not one in the same & without the latter, the former would not be possible. Students who can’t spell attitude don’t deserve the HOPE. My belief that the universe was created by a higher power seems more credible than those who believe they simply fell off a turnip truck. For your sake, I hope that you are right.
kevin
December 8th, 2010
4:30 pm
Linda,
I believed that some version of the big bang is correct, that human being are part of the evolutionary chain and that the earth is millions of years old. It’s called science, not falling off a turnip truck. You believe a story that could be swapped out for a children’s book story, and to someone unfamiliar with the bible, he/ she would not know the difference between your story and the children’s book story.
kevin
December 8th, 2010
4:31 pm
That should have read, “I believe that some version of the big bang is correct, that human beings are part…”
randy
December 8th, 2010
4:38 pm
Aslan is on the move
Linda
December 8th, 2010
4:55 pm
Kevin @ 4:11, Wikipedia is an unreliable source for any topic. My quotes above were from Jefferson himself. Here are more:
“The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time.”
“The constitutional freedom of religion (is) the most inalienable & sacred of all human rights.”
“Religion, as well as reason, confirms the soundness of those principles on which our govt. has
been founded & its rights asserted.”
Jefferson believed that religion was of a private nature & was as much against govt. meddling in religion as religion meddling in govt.
kevin
December 8th, 2010
5:07 pm
Linda,
There are 42 footnotes referencing primary texts on that wikipedia page. Sure, some wikipedia pages can have misses, but come on…check the primary sources if you wish.
Jefferson was a skeptical deist at best. Your citing quotes out of context is pretty unconvincing as evidence of anything Jefferson believed.
Linda
December 8th, 2010
5:09 pm
Kevin @ 4:30, There still has to be a beginning. What was it? What did you evolve from & what did it evolve from, etc. If the earth is millions of yrs. old, what did it evolve from trillions of yrs. ago? What was the beginning? Was it all an accident?
kevin
December 8th, 2010
5:13 pm
As I said piror, I believe some version of the big bang theory which simply defined is:
The theory that the universe originated sometime between 10 billion and 20 billion years ago from the cataclysmic explosion of a small volume of matter at extremely high density and temperature
kevin
December 8th, 2010
5:18 pm
Linda,
If you believe there was an intelligent designer–some all good, all knowing, all powerful God, then how do you account for all of the evil in the world, e.g. homocide, infant death, genocide, and on and on? Either your God is not who you think he is or does not exist. But, the problem of evil in the world makes it logically impossible for your God to be all powerful, all good, and all knowing.
Linda
December 8th, 2010
6:07 pm
Kevin, You still have not explained the beginning. This explosive material, matter & temperature had to originate from something & somewhere & some reason.
Science is responsible for many things but it’s difficult to explain love, beauty, conscience, compassion, hope, etc. as resulting from an accident/explosion millions of years ago.
Our Creator gave us self-will. That’s what makes us a little higher than animals (sometimes). We are free to kill & steal from each other, envy our neighbors, lie & cheat. It’s up to us to decide how to live our lives, not God.
People ask God for stuff & outcomes but we don’t always know the whole plan. I have always prayed for challenges & problems to come my way because, in my line of work, if I or other people didn’t have them, I would not have had a job.
BS Aplenty
December 8th, 2010
6:28 pm
Linda, while I can’t solve your philosophical problem with Kevin, I agree with you that the precepts of Christianity permeated society at our country’s founding and continues through today. I, therefor, must give Christianity, as practiced by its best adherents, high marks for it’s many moderating and beneficial effects on our country.
Now, I must deploy…
Ghetto Grandpa
December 8th, 2010
7:56 pm
Its cold outside, ergo there is no such thing as global warming.
Although record hot summers are not proof that the climate is getting warmer, a cold, snowy day is absolute proof that global warming is all based on junk science. Just ask Kyle – he’s an expert.
kevin
December 8th, 2010
9:41 pm
Linda,
I am not sure why explosive matter needs explanation. It does not follow from the fact that science cannot adequately explain every cause sufficiently, that an extraneous cause must exist. That’s the formula for conspiracy theory, i.e. because something is not fully explained there must be something strange behind it. In any case, the bible says nothing about explosive matter. On the contrary, it has a story about “on this day, God made such and such”, and then finally made woman, for man, out of his rib.
As far as love, a conscience, compassion, etc., you do not need God to explain these things. Societies, the nature of human beings and their interaction breeds these things (at least sometimes).
By self-will, I presume you mean freewill. If God is all knowing, how are we free? He knows all that will happen; so, it follows or freewill is merely a figment of our imagination. And even if you do not buy that, God, being all powerful, could have made the world any way he chose. Why not make a world in which everyone acts kindly, lovingly and compassionately vs. the world he created filled with conflict and unnecessary death and drastically unfair circumstances?
One final thought. When someone might thank God for his son being saved from illness, I thank a doctor. When someone thanks God for someone who recovers from drugs and poverty, I thank the people that helped him. Giving God credit for the things human beings achieve not only thwarts our value as human beings, but reaffirms the idea that all good things come from God and all evils come from us. But again, this is bunk since God could have created any world he wanted; namely, a world in which no evil existed.
Linda
December 8th, 2010
9:45 pm
Ghetto Grandpa, Did you read Kyle’s article before you commented? He did not say that global warming is based on junk science. He has never held himself out as an expert. Are you? Kyle quoted another author who seems to be accusing Turner of hypocrisy, like most of the global warming alarmists. Do you disagree?
kevin
December 8th, 2010
9:50 pm
Ghetto Grandpa,
“Its cold outside, ergo there is no such thing as global warming.
Although record hot summers are not proof that the climate is getting warmer, a cold, snowy day is absolute proof that global warming is all based on junk science.”
Clearly, you show a commanding knowledge of the effects of global warming. Congrats on having the most uninformed, vapid post of the day.
Linda
December 8th, 2010
10:54 pm
Kevin @ 9:41, The Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Christians believe that the universe, the planets & mankind are not here by accident, that they are here by the specific design & plan of God.
Your explanation is that an explosion occurred, that science can’t explain it nor doesn’t need to explain it nor where it came from or why.
Do you really think we went from a “cataclysmic explosion of a small volume of matter at extremely high density & temperatures” (your words) to a people of “love, beauty, conscience, compassion & hope” (my words) for no apparent reason? Do you think that “societies, the nature of human beings & their interaction breed these things” (your words) by evolution & by accident?
God gave us free will. He does not know what we will do or what will happen. He told us what we should do, but we have freedom of choice.
You are getting the world & Heaven mixed up. Our life on earth, whether it’s a few days or decades, is merely a test to reach Heaven.
Yes, there are doctors who do not believe in God/a higher being. However, most believe their talents are God-given & I thank God for them.
Christians believe earth & Heaven are
Our life on earth is temporary, be it days or decades.
Linda
December 8th, 2010
10:58 pm
Kevin @ 9:50, Why do you believe in global warming? Did you believe in global cooling in the ’70’s?
Hank Reardon
December 9th, 2010
11:11 am
Linda gets the hypocrite prize of the day.
Believe in the word of god, but pick and choose as necessary.
cripes…
you choose ignorance, missy
kevin
December 9th, 2010
5:52 pm
Linda,
One fundamental difference we have is that you refer to natural processes like evolution as accidents in the absence of God. I see things like evolution as examples of the way nature works–end of story. I do not need to think it was planned or created and I cannot understand why anyone would. In sum, you suggest God is necessary to give reason to way nature works. I just accept that’s the way nature works.
You say “Most [doctors] believe their talents are god-given” — how in the world could you possibly know that.
As far global warming is concerned only the likes of Fox News morons like Glen Beck, Sean Hannity and their listeners deny it’s existence and man’s role in it. There is over 90% consensus in the scientific community that global warming is, at least in part, a man made problem. Like evolution, it’s scientific fact.