Society of Environmental Propagandists

Mark Tapscott:

...For at least one question at the annual conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ), [former Vice President Al] Gore was presented with an opportunity to address his critics and defend his views.  Unfortunately, as the video of the encounter shows, not only did Gore do what politicians usually do - evade the question - but his SEJ buddies made sure there would be no followup questions by turning off the microphone and forcing the questioner to leave.

In doing so, the SEJers demonstrated that they are the environmental beat’s equivalent of sports reporters who never say anything critical of the home team.  That’s why they are referred to by real sports journalists as “homers.”  The home team for SEJ is the environmental movement and its friends and allies in government who can do no wrong.

So, tell me again: Why are we supposed to believe anything these guys write?

Via: IP (also)

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Clipfile - October 9, 2009

“...Personal prejudices are not Natural Law and they ought not be the laws of the land, either.  Not yours, not mine, not that guy over there.” - Roberta X

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Clipfile - October 8, 2009

“Majorities don’t have rights.  Individuals have rights...  Majorities may attain power, but that’s the opposite of rights.” - Michael F. Cannon

HT:  Daily Pundit

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Clipfile - October 7, 2009

“If it’s “settled,” then it ain’t “science.” - Tam K.

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Re-zoning petition

Our Coweta County correspondent announces a new domain.
(And no, the blogroll isn’t updated yet.)  Now it is.

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Someday, somebody will discover this opportunity...

Jonah Goldberg reviews the ratings:

Fox News had more people in the all important A[dults]25-54 demographic watching their channel at three in the morning (east coast time) than CNN had for the show that leads off their prime time.

...crickets...


UPDATE 091008 17:25:  Wow!  A Daily Pundit link!  Thanks, Bill!
Via: Ace

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Because $4.2 trillion down this rat hole isn’t enough

Forbes:

Take a law that has led to the writing of an enormous amount of bad mortgages and expand it.  Then take enforcement away from bank examiners and give it to housing activists.

Sound like a poisonous cocktail?  Well, it is what the Obama administration and Democrats are currently stirring up on Capitol Hill.

Housing Bubble, here we go again!


Elsewhere:

HT:  “clarice,” in a comment at Just One Minute

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Numbers, numbers...

This morning’s Indy Star has a front-page story covering the he-said she-said over the city’s animal control (a.k.a. “dog pound”) department.^[1]

Two sidebars of statistics accompany the article.  The first:

Animal control

City officials say the service suffered during the nine months Douglas Rae ran the Animal Care and Control division this year -- January through September -- compared with the same period last year.

» 7% more calls for service
» 41% fewer animals impounded
» 29:36:00 average response time this year, an increase of more than nine hours, from 20 hours, 7 minutes last year.

and...

Animal care

The officials say Rae's focus on animal welfare put the public at risk.  These numbers look at the first eight months of this year -- under Rae -- compared with the same period last year.

» 25% increase in adoptions, from 1,331 to 1,658

» 56% increase in returns of animals
» Or 44 more animals were returned to the shelter under Rae; 14 of those returns were because the animal was aggressive, including 3 that reportedly bit their owners.

As you can see from the image, the sidebars emphasized the percentages; the figures all came from the city.

The first sidebar appears relatively straightforward, but the second contains an interesting example of how the way a statistic - here, animals returned to the shelter - is presented can affect the reader’s reaction.  The 56% jump in the return rate sounds horrible (unsurprising for a number provided to bolster the mayor’s case against the fired director), but if we drill down a bit we discover that the “56% jump” represents 44 animals returned, out of 1,658 placed.  Figuring backward, that means last year’s returned number (for the same period) was 28.

IMO, a more reasonable metric would be one that measured placement success.  (Let’s call the successful ones “adoptions.”)  That is: What percentage of placements don’t work?  So grab the calculator, and...


IOW, under the new regime, despite a 25% increase in animals placed, the rate of failures - animals that were returned, for whatever reason - only increased by a bit more than 1/2 of one percent.  Or how about this:


So, despite a 25% increase in animals placed, the likelihood of any adoption being successful dropped only 1/2 of one percent, and remained above 97%.  Not too shabby for an operation that doesn’t require extensive one-on-one interviews for prospective adopters.

’Sall in how you say it, innit?  And, were I reporting this story, I would hope that my spidey-sense would be acute enough to spot the slant in that oh-so-attractive 56% number.

Here endeth today’s lesson in spinnery.

(BTW, I got the Star image from Newseum.org’s Today’s Front Pages, which, disconcertingly enough, hosts a clearer front-page image than the Star’s own Indystar.com site.  Go figure.)


Elsewhere, piling on:

Are you listening Gannett?  The only reason we are still subscribing to your local rag is to give the cat a place to pee, and you can’t even do that job right.

-----

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Be Prepared!

The University of Florida will be! 
Disaster Preparedness Simulation Exercise #5 (DR5): ZOMBIE ATTACK

...Part 2 of the exercise will be a discussion of how the overall impact of a zombie outbreak will affect use of and support for the course management system and will address such issues as:

1. In general, zombified users will be inarticulate and unable to clearly describe technology problems and use cases;
2. Some support staff may be infected and unable to effectively and efficiently carry out their support responsibilities;
3. The rapid breakdown of civil society and declining numbers of uninfected users may have adverse budget impacts resulting in a reduction in staffing levels;
4. The spread of ZBSD to institutional administration may complicate policy making;
5. Conversely, the spread of ZBSD to institutional administration may simplify and streamline policy making resulting in dramatic improvements in administrative responsiveness and service delivery...

There’s also a convenient form to be filled out by those required to “dispatch” their afflicted co-workers.

(Because, on top of everything else, gawdknoze what kind of a mess you’d have to deal with if the paperwork’s incomplete...)

Elsewhere:

Via (appropriately enough!): doubleplusundead

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Coming to the IOC: “cement schooze”?

• Reynolds sets the tone:

That’s too bad.  I was kinda looking forward to seeing President Palin speak at the opening ceremonies. . . .

(More IP here.)

• Tam:

...but then I realized they just meant “...from Olympic contention”, and not “...by flying saucers.”

Well, that’s in act II.  After all the sacrifice.

• The gang at Hot Air reacts to CNN’s reaction.

• And shucks, not there’ll be no chance to witness the Chicago-specific events.  (Via: VFTP, who mentions two that Exurban missed.)

• Shootin’ Buddy:

Barack left behind Health Care, Amnesty for Illegal Aliens, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan to fly to Denmark and torpedo Mayor Daley.

I have never been prouder of my country than now!

• Oh, and it’s all Bush’s fault.  Really!


(And let it be noted that the sentiment of this establishment regarding Chicago hosting the Olympics is indifference as to whether it did (or not), but strong feelings that any city seriously entertaining the prospect needs its collective head examined.)

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