CBC: Keeping Canadian Voters Confused by Paying Rex Murphy to Spout Nonsense on Climate Change
Flick off, Rex. Just flick off
How can we expect Canadians to vote in an informed manner when the CBC provides a platform – on the news, no less – to a nutter who chooses to believe paid oil company shills rather than Canada’s own climate scientists? Rex Murphy proudly notes that he gets his climate science from two guys who are not climate scientists; one is a former mining stock promoter and the other is an economist. Like Murphy, the economist is tight with the Libertarian Fraser Institute, which receives funding from ExxonMobil.
At best, this calls into question Murphy’s sense, and at worse, his integrity. Is he receiving money from Big Oil? Why else would any sane person believe two uncredentialed shills rather than Canada’s own scientists? Perhaps, like Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Rex Murphy believes this whole ‘global warming thing’ is a socialist conspiracy to take over the world?
Surely the CBC fact-checkers and editors are well aware that Murphy is spewing nonsense, and dangerous nonsense at that. It must grind the gears of journalists who labour to produce factual stories on climate change to then see Murphy given free rein to dribble absolute rubbish, contradicting the facts they had to dig to find and then verify, on the basis of…his opinion.
I have written in more detail about this here, along with some suggestions for shutting Rex Murphy down. At the least, if he is going to appear on the news he should be held to the same standards of truth as the rest of the CBC crew.
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Tags: climate change, fraser institute, global warming, rex murphy
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December 7th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
I hold David Suzuki and Rex Murphy in equally high regard and it has pained me that Rex has consistently focused on the way the argument for climate change has unfolded rather than using his considerable persuasive powers and just get on-side – our side! Despite that disappointment, I have never known Rex to deny that climate change may be happening or, if it is, that human activity might be contributing to it. Instead his thrust has always been to point out that the treatment of climate change dissenter’s smacks of the kind of denial that Galileo and Copernicus faced at the hands of the church. He has consistently stood up for the right of those on the other side of the argument to at least be able to have their arguments considered. I firmly believe that climate change is happening and that we humans are contributing to that change but I totally reject the arguments presented in Brian’s posting about Rex’s message. The fact of the matter is that the actions of the scientists involved in “climatgate” do represent a set-back for the arguments supporting the science of climate change. The content of the e mails released by the hackers, whistleblowers, or whoever, does reveal a disturbing picture of petty politics and premeditated distortions on the “pro” side of the argument. And it’s clear that good science has been the victim of what appears to be a total loss of neutrality on the part of the scientists involved. To my reading that’s all Rex really said. What does it matter who he uses to support his arguments when those rebuttals are aimed only at improving the integrity of the science? I personally think that Mr. Gordon has done our cause a disservice by missing, or choosing to miss, the point of Rex’s “Point of View” as delivered on the National. And by resorting to innuendo and un-truths to support his case, he lost all credibility with this reader.
December 7th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Gary – I beg to disagree. Here are some statements from the transcript of Rex Murphy’s show:
“Let’s hear no more talk of “the science is settled”…”
“…separating alarmism from investigation, ideology from science, agenda from empirical study, is well nigh impossible”
“…neutrality, openness, and absolute disinterest that is the hallmark of all honest scientific endeavour has been abandoned”
That clearly says to me that he does not believe that the science is real, which is rubbish. Ask any climate scientist and they will tell you that climate change is real and dangerous. That’s why Murphy has to rely upon discredited shills rather than real scientists.
If you read about his “heroes,” you will be further enlightened and disillusioned:
http://www.cbc.ca/thenational/indepthanalysis/rexmurphy/story/2009/12/03/thenational-rexmurphy-091203.html
December 8th, 2009 at 1:58 am
[...] CBC: Keeping Canadian Voters Confused by Paying Rex Murphy to … [...]
December 8th, 2009 at 9:51 am
Well Brian, I’m not likely going to convince you otherwise but my interpretation of Rex’s little diatribe was very different from yours. And quoting selected phrases out of the context in which they were expressed does nothing to convince me otherwise. The position that Rex has taken in the example we are discussing is no different than the one he’s stuck to over the last few years. He has always been sceptical of any cause that gets so caught up in its religious zeal that no other perspective can be tolerated. You can see that same approach in his assessment of “Obamamania”. It’s not the existence of climate change or President Obama that he rails against. It’s just the idea that once the machinery for a “just cause” gets in gear, it can too easily be steered by its acolytes.
December 8th, 2009 at 10:47 am
You’re not going to convince me with that logic. Mr. Murphy is not talking about a few “acolytes,” but about climate scientists. He is saying that the worlds’ climate scientists have it wrong and that an ex-stock promoter and an economist have the climate science right. That is ridiculous, and is irresponsible journalism.
I suspect it is because Rex Murphy is a Market Fundamentalist, meaning he has made Libertarianism his church and worships the Almighty Dollar, but in reality I don’t know his reasons. I don’t have to. His words tell me that he is dangerous and that the CBC should not be airing his segment without fact-checking – although that might not leave Rex much to say.
December 8th, 2009 at 11:57 am
I guess Brian, we’ll just have to agree to disagree on this one.
December 8th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
I find it ironic that Diefenbaker’s quote about freedom of speech is written on this website – just above your post about “shutting down” an opinion you happen to disagree with. Interesting to see leftists getting more in touch with their authoritarian streak.
I resent having to pay for the Toronto Broadcasting Corporation with my tax dollars. But I must say, the pain is lessened considerably by the fact that an insightful and independent thinker like Mr. Murphy is providing at least one perspective that doesn’t simply regurgitate eco-socialist talking points.
December 9th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Mr. Hicks – I said that Rex Murphy’s rants should be fact-checked, same as the rest of the news. If that means he has nothing left to say and is therefore shut down, then good riddance.
December 9th, 2009 at 11:19 am
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/11/24/the_fix_is_in_99280.html
Shocking as it might be for you, intelligent people can and do disagree how facts ought to be interpreted. And any “public” broadcaster should not be in the business of stifling debate and dialogue on important issues.
December 9th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
I find it ironic that you’re trying to discredit Rex Murphy as being in bed with big oil and you fail to mention that you were a presenter for Al Gore’s Climate Project. How honest of you.
Murphy’s commentary has nothing to do with big oil or Canadian climate scientists. I would be surprised if you could find a Canadian climate scientist who doesn’t agree with what he’s saying. To my knowledge, he didn’t get any facts wrong, so I’m not sure what you’re ranting about. I think it’s called denial.
As it turns out, the voices you’ve been taught to ignore, the one’s supposedly in bed with big oil, were not trying to deceive you at all. That’s the inconvenient truth.
December 9th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Dave – I was a **volunteer** presenter for the Climate Project. Big difference between that and being paid to push a position, no? Also, I ended up being a presenter, a Green Party of Canada candidate, and an activist generally **after** doing the research and discovering that global warming is real and dangerous.
As to your other point about climate scientists agreeing with Murphy, that is ridiculous. Keep telling that lie often enough and it will still never be true. I have interviewed many climate scientists on my radio show, and they all are very concerned about the danger posed by global warming. If Murphy could find real scientists who agree with him, he wouldn’t need the services of the shills McIntyre and McKitrick, would he?
December 11th, 2009 at 9:27 am
By coincidence Rick Salutin’s column in the Globe this morning provided a good perspective on how the debate on climate change has become so polarized. Rick is clearly not a climate change denier so hopefully we can avoid “pillarizing” him as some did with poor Rex. The salient quote from his column was: “people with a passionate political cause often think all those that disagree with them are crazy (or evil). They believe their issue is uniquely critical to the future or to survival.” You can read the whole article at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/climategates-not-evil-its-just-unhinged/article1396256/
December 11th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
[...] a recent post, I pointed out that Rex Murphy is spouting climate denial based on the testimony of two [...]
December 21st, 2009 at 10:03 pm
Rex has every right to voice his opinion. Just because you don’t agree with him does not mean the rest of us are not allowed to hear what he has to say. We are not children for God’s sake.
You should rename your site. Being informed with only one point of view is a joke!
And in lieu of climategate, I’m all for fact checking.
December 22nd, 2009 at 1:19 am
Hi Mike,
Actually, one of our other writers has openly criticized some of the views expressed in this post.
You can read on here: http://informedvote.ca/2009/12/19/the-so-called-problem-of-rex-murphy-holocaust-deniers-and-the-cbc-–-why-we-need-free-speech/
And if you have any more thoughts on the topic, send us a blog post and we’ll publish it.
February 3rd, 2010 at 4:15 pm
Why does the left want to shut down debate and the right welcome it? Did Rex say shut up the Soozoo’s of the world? No. Sooz said that as did many of the free speech fakes posting their hate here.
Denying free speech won’t deny the truth.