Dana Blankenhorn

Getting better all the time

Think of this as Volume 12, Number 50 of A-Clue.com, the online newsletter I've written since 1997. Enjoy.

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For most of my life I have lived a little ahead of the curve.

I was early to the Internet, early to warning of the dot-bomb. I am a futurist by trade and inclination. Even in my mid-50s I care little for nostalgia. I'm always looking around the next corner.

The next corner looks pretty good.

(This illustration, and the one which follows, is from The New York Times' review of A Good Day, a childrens' book by the greatly-underestimated Kevin Henkes. Got a little tiny one on your Chistmas list? Amazon is open 24-7.)

While most people spent 2009 in the Great Recession, I managed to ride above the waves. My wife helped, but I found meaningful employment for the first time in a decade, with four blogs now owned by CBS, adding up to not only a tidy living but a fulfilling one that meets my strengths well.

My kids have both gotten better. One is in college in Texas right now, and I can hear the personal growth coming through the phone. She knows what she wants and what must be done to get it. My son starts college in January, a little more tentatively, living at home, but he is going to find his footing. And I can afford the bills.

While the Administration was pushing through its $800 billion stimulus plan I pushed through a more modest $150,000 plan. We added on to the house. It's now very energy efficient, and big enough so both my wife and I can work here without driving one another crazy. We're ready for what comes, even if that's a long, loving lifetime together, because the new bathroom is fitted with handicapped railings.

Argument Clinic

There are scientific arguments and there are political arguments.

They are different.

• Science proceeds from evidence. It often moves slowly. Minority views are respected, so long as they bring evidence to the party. Evidence is data. Without data there is no argument. Even after a consensus is reached, new evidence may still upset it. But without evidence the argument will not be re-opened.
• Politics proceeds from belief. It can move quickly. Minority views can be suppressed, and the smaller the minority the more possible this becomes. All is fair. You can argue based on anything you like. Consensus is rare, the majority rules. Well-organized minorities can beat loosely-organized majorities. Heat is often prized over light.

ClimateGate is politics. It is not science. It brings nothing new to the party, save for some wild charges based on a deliberate misreading of stolen e-mails. It alleges a grand "conspiracy" among the world's climate scientists, motivated by hope of financial gains, but even here its evidence is weak.

It is the big lie, meant to distract us from what must be done to save the lives of our grandchildren. It represents short-term values, which are powerful in politics.