Camille Paglia shows her fellow atheists how it’s done:
I have been highly skeptical about the claims for global warming because of their overreliance on speculative computer modeling and because of the woeful patchiness of records for world temperatures before the 20th century. In the 1980s, I was similarly skeptical about media-trumpeted predictions about a world epidemic of heterosexual AIDS.
Not just skeptical, “highly skeptical”. I do so love that woman! The amusing thing is that just yesterday, the New York Times was trumpeting a pro-vaccine book… by a man who has made millions of dollars from his vaccine royalties. Imagine that! As a general rule, it’s always best to be extremely skeptical of the “science” or the “truth” pushed by those who have a tremendous personal incentive to convince you of it.
It’s completely fair for disbelievers to question the motivations of members of the priestly caste in all its modern forms. More believers should, in fact, I believe a statistically significant percentage of televangelists are little more than money-grubbing hucksters. I also suspect a fair number of pastors are more inspired by their desire to be on stage and perform than they are by their purported faith or love of God. The thing is, I’m confident that similarly base motivations apply just as often to politicians, lawyers, journalists, and yes, scientists too.
UPDATE – Speaking of skepticism, I note that the overheated ravages of AGW continue apace:
The cold wave that stunned the nation’s midsection expanded into the Northeast on Wednesday with subzero temperatures and biting wind that kept even some winter sports fans at home. The wind chill hit 33 below zero during the night at Massena, N.Y., and the National Weather Service predicted actual temperatures nearly that low in parts of the region by Thursday night.