Sallie Baliunas and the Dangers of Think Tanks
Public policy makers increasingly rely on the research of think tank scholars to guide their policy decisions. But who checks the accuracy of think tank scholar research? Unlike academic journal publishing, which follows a rigorous system of peer review and editorial oversight, think tanks publish opinion pieces without regard to the peer review process. Their policy publications are not based on pure academics, but on a complex interaction between academic, political, and economic interests. In Washington, there is no time to focus on the academic details. As Eric Altermann points out in his book What Liberal Media?, think tank scholars “are expected to spend at least as much time networking with reporters and government staffers as on research.”1 Efficient dissemination of information is as important as the information itself in the think tank business of knowledge.
Sallie Baliunas of the Marshall Institute fits Altermann’s think tank scholar profile well. Regarding her involvement in the global warming debate, she has spent less time on the scholarship of global warming and more time advocating the idea that it is simply a myth. She is a senior scientist at the Marshall Institute, which supports her writing of articles against the Kyoto treaty (“Bush right to oppose [Kyoto] treaty”)2 and the promotion of the idea that global warming is a natural process caused by increased radiation from the sun (“The Sun Also Warms”).3 Though she has published relatively little in academic journals on the issue, articles such as these are numerous in conservative political forums, such as the website TechCentralStation.com, “where free markets meet technology.”4 Though she is not considered a global warming expert by professional climate scientists, she is oft quoted by the anti-Kyoto folks as the expert voice that proves global warming is a hoax (see any article by Charli Coon of the Heritage Foundation5 or by Chris de Freitas6). Her global warming research has been funded, in part, by corporate oil interests.
Think Tanks
Baliunas’s association with think tanks does not make her scholarship automatically suspect. However, think tanks dwell in the grey area between scholarship and advocacy, and one must ask in which category Baliunas belongs. Think tanks cannot claim to be completely unbiased, because the majority of their funding comes from corporations, whose interests are not usually only academic, but also economic. Baliunas is an “Enviro-Sci Host” for TechCentralStation.com, a website sponsored by AT&T, ExxonMobil, General Motors Corporation, Intel, McDonalds, Microsoft, Nasdaq, National Semiconductor, PhRMA, and Qualcomm.
John Wesley read Isaac Watts at Oxford and was familiar with his writings and theology Further, there can be no doubt that Wesley greatly respected Watts as a theologian. In a 1765 journal entry Wesley wrote of his positive relationship with the Dissenters, although, "... many of them did, however, differ from me both in opinions and modes of worship. I have the privilege to mention Dr. Doddridge, Dr. Watts, and Mr. Wardrobe." (1) Wesley thought so highly of some of Watts' theology that he included forty-four pages of Watts' text on original sin, The Ruin and Recovery of Human Nature, in his own volume titled, On Original Sin. (2) That Watts and John Wesley had a relationship of mutual respect, and that Wesley recognized Watts' preeminent reputation
Wesley thought there was "nothing of greater consequence" than the doctrine of atonement. Without belief in the atonement, religion becomes merely deism, Wesley feared
Ehrlich, P. R., & Ehrlich, A. H. (1996). Betrayal of science and reason: How anti-environmental rhetoric threatens our future. Washington, D.C: Island Press.
To fully evaluate the role of the sacraments in the journey of the Scripture way of salvation according to John Wesley’s sermons, we must achieve a few important understandings. We must examine and work to understand Wesley’s Scripture way of salvation. We must also work to understand Wesley’s views on the sacraments of baptism and communion. Finally, after completing both of these crucial steps, we can then move on to finally understanding the relationship that Wesley has established between these two through his preaching.
wonderful quick meal right in front of you. They show you hands on how to prepare and cook
...nd by our position. However, the battle against global warming, GMOs and DDT alarmism is unfortunately far from the end. The alarmist environmental movements have been endorsing these swindles for many years that include some influential groups in the government, science, business and liberal media. Up to this point, the majority of the debates were based on predictions and now we are at the point where the actual facts are showing that the predictions are incorrect. The real picture of these debatable topics are becoming more clear and unless something major occurs in the near future it is going to be difficult for the environmental groups to continue to support their untruthful stories. Solomon’s article proves that today’s governments that used to support the idea of global warming are reconsidering their position and aiming to steer in a different direction.
They use facts and logic to provide evidence of climate change being a process of Earth and not of man. For example, Eric Bolling states:
The Spanish eating, drinking and dancing culture steps up a gear (if that's possible), when there's a festival on. Every town or village has a local fiesta, at which point the locals don't just eat and drink because it's fun, they do so because it would be un-Spanish not to.
On the issue of predestination Wesley held that “God has decreed that those who believe will be saved; those who do not believe will not be saved” (p. 174, Abraham). Wesley went ever farther in the “God makes the decree, but the decree does not exclude genuine human agency and freedom; indeed, it builds the exercise of such freedom into the very content of the decree” (p. 174, Abraham). He held that if one would come to God that they should have no doubts about their salvation. God has a drive for our salvation but it is an active choice that we must make, even those God knows what the decision will be from the very beginning.
The Web. The Web. 04 Feb. 2014 -. Chaszeyka, Michael A. & Co. The "Objections On Climate."
Policymaking is a political process which is affected by various social and economic factors (Hofferbert, 1974) and media systems play an integral role in shaping the social context in which policies are developed. Through the media, citizens learn how government policies will affect them, and governments gain feedback on their policies and programs. Media systems act as the primary channels between those who might want to influence policy and the policymakers '' controlling the scope of political discourse and regulating the flow of information. Textbook policymaking follows an orderly sequence where problems are identified, solutions devised, policies adopted, implemented, and lastly evaluated (Mazamanian & Sabatier, 1989). In reality, the policy process is more fluid, where policies are formed through the struggle of ideas of various advocacy coalitions (Sabatier, 1991) in what has been described as a policy primeval soup (Kingdon, 1995). The policies, on which the media focuses can, and often does, play an important part in determining the focal issues for policymakers.
Collins, Kenneth J. The Scripture Way of Salvation: The Heart of John Wesley's Theology. Nashville:
“Paying attention” is not only about observation, but also actively questioning and intervening in the inner workings of authority. As suggested by Stengers, paying attention is a radical political act in that it resists the enclosure of knowledge and the cult of scientific expertise that alienates the “common” population. The act of paying attention is also one of the first steps to subverting the esoteric machinations of Science and Politics which work together to keep knowledge and power out of the laypeople’s reach. Ultimately, Stengers’ book addresses how to resist the forthcoming “barbarism” in the anthropocene. Among her recommendations of “naming Gaia” and confronting stupidity is paying attention; an act that may not necessarily satisfy the apathetic entity that is Gaia, or the natural world, but one that mitigates the sometimes harmful economy of information that exists today. For example, Stengers cites the phenomenon of open source programs, such as Linux, and the struggle of programmers against corporations and intellectual property laws as an example of knowledge that was brought into the common domain. Another occurrence that Stengers comments on is the “GMO event,” which in her view is one of
“How to Be a Climate Hero” by Audrey Schulman is an article published by the Orion Magazine that portrays the importance of taking care of the climate. Schulman utilizes rhetorical devices and real life examples throughout the article to support her idea that the climate will affect us negatively if we continue harming the climate. Schulman does this while also trying to create an emotional base that will appeal to the readers. The author believes that taking a stand against climate change is what this world needs. Through Schulman’s use of different rhetorical techniques, such as analogies and tone, she is able to make an effective argument regarding climate change.
Al Gore mentions Mark Twain’s quote, “what gets us into trouble is not what we don’t know, it’s what we know for sure that just ain’t so”; we sometimes think we know what something is but we have no clue about what’s true and what’s not. Many people know what global warming is but when asked to go in depth they just say “oh it has to do with heat and it affecting our environment”. “Even if humans were causing global warming, and we are not, this could be maybe the greatest hoax ever perpetrated.”- Senator James Inhofe. How ignorant must this senator be? There is evidence supporting the fact that global warming is occurring. It’s not until the world is ending that people that have the same mind set as this man will finally understand that global warming is happening. Yet, they will still have the audacity to say “I didn’t think global warming was THAT important.” “If a frog jumps into a pot of boiling water, it jumps right out again because it senses the danger. But the very same frog if it jumps into a pot of lukewarm water that is slowly brought to a boil, will just sit there and it won’t move. It’ll just sit there even as the temperature continues to go up and up. It’ll stay there, until it’s rescued. People are like the frog, we’ll jolt sometimes before we become aware of a danger; however, if it seems gradual even if it’s happening quickly, we’re capable of just sitting there and not