SOCORRO, New Mexico (STPNS) -- Did you notice that Al Gore is bringing his dog-and-pony show to New Mexico? Yep, Santa Ana Star Casino is taking its impersonator series to the next level. They have had Elvis impersonators, Michael Jackson impersonators and Bette Midler impersonators and now they are bringing us (in my opinion) the greatest impersonator of them all ? Al Gore. His impersonations include ?the creator of the internet, the elected President of the United States and now, a scientist ? get a job, dude!

If you buy into any of the global warming hoax, this is your opportunity to press the flesh with the Gore for a paltry $200 a ticket. If you are going to go to the casino with a couple of C-notes in your hand, you might consider squandering it on the $100 slot machine instead.



It will be quicker, much less painful and you have a lot better chance of getting something for your money. I imagine some folks are wondering why I am so critical of the Gore person. Simply, this is another in a long and destructive line of pseudo-environmental agendas that all end up costing us a fortune and creating lots of collateral damage.

Historically, in the money category, look at the cost of the CFC ban. In the devastating loss of life category, look at the DDT ban. There are several common links in these hoaxes, not the least of which is Al Gore. More about that in the coming installments?

First, let?s jump on global warming. I have come to the point (in my cynical view of ?movements?) that every time I hear that some issue is beyond questioning, my anti-railroading radar goes on full alert.

Global warming is just one of those issues. If you question the legitimacy of the supposed science or (gasp) the credibility of its promoters you are labeled with statements like ?global warming deniers are now on a par with Holocaust deniers.? I?m sure that particular insult is very deliberate in its allusion to a real mass death for the promotion of this fantasy-fear of a coming global heat holocaust.

When promoting a false agenda, vilifying the critics in order to camouflage your own lack of credibility is important. Like a lot of high profit agendas, global warming is driven by fear, ignorance and junk science. Aside from the direct financial benefits of book profits and movie rights, which I don?t begrudge, because I can choose to not participate in them, we as taxpayers and consumers will pay huge costs for this charade.  

Is truth important anymore? If truth will set you free, do lies imprison you? According to Gore?s ?documentary? movie, Himalayan glaciers are shrinking because of global warming.

Fact, the American Meteorological Society?s Journal of Climate reports, ?Glaciers are growing in the Himalayan Mountains, confounding global warming.? Oops!

In Gore?s book he rails, ?We must stop tolerating the rejection and distortion of science? intentionally clouding the public?s ability to discern the truth.?

I wonder if he saw his movie. Gore claims global warming is causing expansion of African deserts. Fact: The New Scientist reports, ?Africa?s deserts are in spectacular retreat  ... making farming viable again in ? the most arid parts of Africa.? Oops!  

Gore says Greenland is in ?rapid meltdown? and that this will raise sea levels by 20 feet. Fact: ?the Greenland ice sheet is thinning at the margins and growing inland, with a small overall mass gain,? according to the Journal of Glaciology.

The Danish Meteorological Institute reports that the past two decades were the coldest for Greenland since the 1910s. Gore claims the Antarctic ice sheet is melting because of global warming.

Fact: Nature magazine reports Antarctica has been ?dramatically cooling for decades.? ?satellite measurements of the Antarctic ice sheet showed significant growth between 1992 and 2003, according to the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.

Even the U.N. Climate Change panel reported in February 2007 that ?Antarctica is unlikely to lose any ice mass during the remainder of the century.? What?s the importance of all this?

Truth: Better stated, it?s the importance of truth versus political agendas and societal manipulation. We need to think for ourselves and not buy into these Chicken Little charades.

Next, week I will tie the package together with some historical hysteria manipulations and look at the very real human costs of this brand of crowd control. Stay tuned.

Rick Coddington is a third-generation native New Mexican. He attended UNM and studied political science. He has lived in Socorro since 1974. His opinions do not necessarily represent the Mountain Mail.