Bush meets Michael Crichton, both agree global warming is a myth

[Grimmlok]

By MICHAEL JANOFSKY
NYEW YORK TIMES

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 — One of the perquisites of being president is the ability to have the author of a book you enjoyed pop into the White House for a chat.

Over the years, a number of writers have visited President Bush, including Natan Sharansky, Bernard Lewis and John Lewis Gaddis. And while the meetings are usually private, they rarely ruffle feathers.

Now, one has.

In his new book about Mr. Bush, "Rebel in Chief: Inside the Bold and Controversial Presidency of George W. Bush," Fred Barnes recalls a visit to the White House last year by Michael Crichton, whose 2004 best-selling novel, "State of Fear," suggests that global warming is an unproven theory and an overstated threat.

Mr. Barnes, who describes Mr. Bush as "a dissenter on the theory of global warming," writes that the president "avidly read" the novel and met the author after Karl Rove, his chief political adviser, arranged it. He says Mr. Bush and his guest "talked for an hour and were in near-total agreement. The visit was not made public for fear of outraging environmentalists all the more."

And so it has, fueling a common perception among environmental groups that Mr. Crichton's dismissal of global warming, coupled with his popularity as a novelist and screenwriter, has undermined efforts to pass legislation intended to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, a gas that leading scientists say causes climate change.

Mr. Crichton, whose views in "State of Fear" helped him win the American Association of Petroleum Geologists' annual journalism award this month, has been a leading doubter of global warming and last September appeared before a Senate committee to argue that the supporting science was mixed, at best.

"This shows the president is more interested in science fiction than science," said Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, after learning of the White House meeting. Mr. O'Donnell's group monitors environmental policy. "This administration has put no limit on global warming pollution, and has consistently rebuffed any suggestion to do so," he said.

[ourmaninBusan]

And I suppose after the meeting, Bush asked Crichton about his views
on which dinosaurs would be the best to clone so American soldiers
could ride them into combat in Iraq....

In all seriousness, Crichton's consistent theme in his books is that
scientists are merely fallible humans and not avatars of godlike knowledge,
and this is certainly a creditable theme for an author to write on.
But the idea that Bush sought out a meeting with him "to hear his ideas"
on global warming is ludicrous.

But this part is balderdash:

[Fred Barnes] says Mr. Bush and his guest "talked for an hour and
were in near-total agreement. The visit was not made public for
fear of outraging environmentalists all the more."

Bush has never been afraid of outraging environmentalists; judging
by what I've read, he thrives on it. Why do neocon columnists
write such inane stuff that's so easy to contradict?

[buttmunch]

I'm sorry, a novelist was asked to appear before a Senate committee to air his views on global warming? I have to go and think very hard about how THAT one works.

[Mr. Authority]

Bush and Critchton obviously have'nt seen the reports lately about the polar ice-caps melter or the predictions of a new ice age in Europe (the water from the melted ice will freeze the water around Europe from what I heard). And did'nt Bush touch upon "taking care of the environment" in his State of the Union address? Talk about not being consistent.

[Sojiita]

They are both fucking tards apparently.