Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/09/14/noaa-hires-climate-change-deni.html
…
2 Likes
this is so far beyond “out of control”. all of the dismantling of government agencies that we actually need!
it just has to stop
21 Likes
Another Bizarro World agency appointment. Only one way to stop this.
24 Likes
I keep thinking about how a Biden administration will go about resetting the country back to 2016. Will they go through each agency and kick these Trump creeps out one by one or just issue a mass edict cleansing the departments en mass?
Has anything like this ever been done before?
18 Likes
not in my near 60 years on this planet
8 Likes
Welcome, David Legates. Your name has been noted for when there is nothing left for people to save except some sense of justice. We have a nice seat for you over here, next to this wall. It’s convenient that you come with a built-in blindfold.
12 Likes
“No efforts to stabilize the climate can possibly be successful.”
We almost have some area of agreement here. 
2 Likes
So first job of the NOAA, educate the deputy assistant secretary of Commerce for observation and prediction?
Second job - get this guy a hair cut that doesn’t look like he did it himself?
So another question - who hired him and how does that work? It wasn’t clear in the article.
3 Likes
(Hint: it didn’t work so well)
2 Likes
This comparison is so wrong on so many levels I’m not sure where to begin.
De-Baathification took place after decades of them being in control and when nobody else had any idea how to exercise power democratically and nobody really knew where the levers of power were and where they mostly needed to be created anew, anyway.
In the US everyone knows what the relevant institutions are and what they are for and how unsuited many current incumbent leaders of those institutions are for their role.
10 Likes
How, exactly, do you choose which role is filled with an “unsuitable” person? Is it because they don’t believe in climate change? Or don’t believe in abortion? Or are they members of the Republican party? Or they cheated in college?
It’s not as easy as you’d think, because you can’t just use a wide brush and say “we’re going to get rid of the unqualified people”
1 Like
It’s not on the list
But, who’s the nondeputy “Assistant Secretary—Environmental Observation and Prediction—NOAA”?
What a beguiling shade of ochre you have there. Acting this, Acting that.
1 Like
#thisisfine
2 Likes
4 Likes
Yes, it seems Trump has learned at least one thing while in office.
1 Like
you choose them based on two things–
do they have expertise in some part of the agency they are appointed to?
do they have any executive experience running an organization approximately the size of the one they are being asked to run?
it really isn’t that hard. chris christie had a slate of qualified, republican-approved people ready to appoint but the trump team trashed the list and hired the grifters, non-entities, and wreckers we have running things.
the most frightening book i read in 2017 was the fifth risk by michael lewis. it details most of the issues we’re struggling with still.
8 Likes
“Climate has always changed, and weather is always variable, due to complex, powerful natural forces,” Legates said. “No efforts to stabilize the climate can possibly be successful.”
And yet most of the infrastructure necessary for Legates to have lived a modern life with excess calories and soft hands is quite fragile and was built for a very stable climate that no longer exists.
3 Likes
I’ve seen it happen on a state level. Appointees to high level offices give their resignations when a new governor is elected. The governor decides which ones to accept or refuse. More tend to be accepted when the governor and officials are members of different parties. However, I’ve worked in administrations when there was more bi-partisanship - during the Before 45 Times, when the most important criteria was experience and ability to do the job.
4 Likes
I’m not thrilled with the wording in the headline or in Science. The position was appointed and needs senate confirmation, I believe. He wasn’t “hired” by the NOAA.
2 Likes
I’m sure he will enjoy his 4 months in the job.
I’m also sure that he will somehow mange to steal any cash in the department, then later turn it into a book denouncing Trump. Maybe a Fox News talking head job, too.
If he gets famous enough, however temporarily, look for him on Dancing With The Stars.
6 Likes
