Hansen drops the N word

James Hansen's bark is apparently just fine. The NASA researcher, who recently claimed the Bush administration was trying to muzzle him because of his dire global warming projections, showed up unannounced last week at a seminar in New York called "Politics & Science: How their interplay results in public policy".

Hansen apparently came to the dais and issued his stock disclaimer (I’m not speaking for Uncle Sam--[he forgot to instruct everyone to ignore his status as a NASA department head-ED]) then accused our favorite political pinata of fiddling while the planet burns.

But what would a Bush-bash be without a Bushitler moment, speaking about his colleagues at NOAA:

"It seems more like Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union than the United States," he said, then disappeared moments after his panel concluded.

At least give him credit for diversity--he's insinuating Bush might be some kind of weird fascist-communist hybrid.

Alison McCook of the New Scientist Blog was in attendance and points out a possible blowback from using such imagery:

However, in a subsequent round table discussion, David Goldston, the chief of staff of the House committee on science, took Hansen to task for making such an extreme comparison between the US and these nefarious regimes. Goldston said he normally defends the NASA scientist, but using inflammatory language keeps the debate about global warming polarized, running the risk of alienating people in "the middle."

Ya think? The way I see it Hansen officially stepped onto the Moonbat express by making that reference, which tanks his credibility to persuade about two-thirds of the citizenry. It's clear now why some in the administration didn't want him running loose. The debate simply must be more civil.