You mean "scientific debate" is corrupted by politics right? Academic scientists receive both direct monetary rewards in the form of grants as well as boosts to their reputations and ego when they discover threats like global warming in the entrails of their computer models.

The earth is an extremely complex system which has undergone tremendous cooling and warming cycles in the past. Predicting global temperatures decades in the future is an extremely difficult problem. Predicting the effect of human activity, given the rapid changes in technology and economic development created by free markets, is impossible.

To be sure.

But I just took it as a general joke about a lot of people who have been posturing about how shocked they are that [fill in the blank] is suddenly tainted with politics.

It seems to be more common on the Left right now, perhaps because they are losing ground in many areas, and like to pretend that the previous situation, when they were calling all the shots, was "apolitical" and neutral and fair.

While we're doing movie clips, does this bit from Airplane! remind anyone of anyone?

Striker : You know I haven't been able to get near a plane since the war. Even if I could, they wouldn't hire me because of my war record.
Elaine : Your war record? You're the only one keeping that alive. For everyone else, its ancient history.
Striker : You expect me to believe that?
Elaine : Its the truth. What's hurt you the most is your record since the war....

Haha. This makes me think of Kerry:

"Over Macho Grande?"

"I'll never get over Macho Grande..."

Ahem.

Fr_ae_ring.

Thank you very much.

pgf

And now that I look at the quote, I meant "The scientific process" rather than "the political process." I think I'm having a typo sort of week. Could you change it so it makes sense? (Scary thought: it already makes sense... just slightly different than what I meant).

Name changed.

I think the quote should stay the way it is; it's very funny...

I put in in as a seperate post because I couldn't figure out which post you were referring to—now I understand...