Funny Thing about Steven Goddard's Conspiracy Paranoia...

Steven Goddard is the author of a blog called Real Science, and a conspiracy theorist nutcase. He believes that, because the GISS surface temp records for the US have been updated since 1999 (something that's done quite often and openly with good reason and clear public disclosure), the Obama administration is sending in the Matrix agents to make it happen. From his batshit insane blog post:

"These alterations are being made by government employees with a strong vested interest in global warming, who should recuse themselves because of their overt conflict of interest. Their boss, the President of the United States, has made it clear that he will not accept any data which does not promote global warming theory. That is pretty strong motivation to generate warming data."

Yup, you read that right, folks. NASA-GISS is generating false warming data because Obama likes that. I guess Bush liked false surface temps, too, hence the 2001 updates included in his animated gif image above.

Once again here at whac-a-troll, you probably find yourself, like me, regretting having only one face to palm.



And the evidence Goddard offers to prove that this conspiracy exists...?



When Goddard says a conspiracy exists, PRESTO!, it exists. Nice superpower, if you can develop it. Musta been bitten by a radioactive ufologist, or something.

Weird thing about this conspiracy-declaring superpower of his is that NASA corrects its data all the time in other areas of research, and, in these instances, Goddard never reaches for his cape to swoop in, rescue everyone from the evil presidential mind control and puppet-mastery at work behind them, and save the paranoid day.



Why, the diabolical research agency once had the temerity to attempt updating precipitation data too!

The GPM mission will provide unprecedented data on rain and snowfall. The science instruments on the GPM Core Observatory will provide data that will yield the greatest clarity on rain and snow yet gathered from orbiting spacecraft.

And the supervillains at NASA also threatened the safety of the world by drastically altering X-ray astronomy data!

The Legion of Aeronautics and Space Doom once even dared to embark upon improving data and understanding of space weather!

SDO is the most advanced spacecraft ever designed to study the sun and its dynamic behavior. It will provide better quality, more comprehensive science data faster than any NASA spacecraft currently studying the sun and its processes.

My goodness, the shockingly dishonest and deceptive manipulation of data at NASA never ends! And, gosh, I wonder why these other examples of data correction bother Goddard not at all. Hmmmm, I'm oh so terribly stumped about that.

On a less sarcastic note, Texas state climatologist, John Nielsen-Gammon provides a rather plain and obvious explanation which requires no conspiracy theory at all.

“It is reasonable to expect the adjusted data record to change over time as the technology for identifying and removing artificial changes improves. If there are any biases, they are caused by the quality of the underlying data, not by any biases intentionally introduced into the adjustment process.”

But, don't worry, I imagine Goddard explains away all of the experts who disagree with him by saying they are just unwitting (and sometimes witting) agents of the vast climate change conspiracy. Obama's little foot soldiers. Gee, where have we heard such circular argumentation before?

This data-cooking delusion really is Goddard's personal Roswell or Area 51.



There are strange craft flying around out there, so...so aliens! The US surface temperature numbers have changed, so...so evil government forces! In both cases, the logical, pedestrian explanation is discarded, because it doesn't fit the cockamamie conspiracy narrative.