Well, ok--not just to me. But Jim Hansen--renowned climate scientist and patriot--came to a little community meeting down the street from me to talk about the climate crisis.  

The Lexington Global Warming Action Coalition hosted a tremendous event.  Mark Bowen, author of Thin Ice and Censoring Science, and Jim Hansen spoke to a room full of (mostly) interested, aware, active, and informed neighbors of mine.  I love to go to events like this, because it reminds me that there are a lot of people paying attention.  And, of course, there were a couple of trolls.  But most people were eager to hear this message.

Great news: the whole thing was taped by CSPAN, and is slated to appear on BookTV one of these days.  I'll keep an eye out for that so you can see the whole thing.

Censoring Science: Inside the Political Attack on
Dr. James Hansen and the Truth About Global Warming
Author Mark Bowen, Ph.D. B & N Order ~ $21.00
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)

As the title implies, Censoring Science by Mark Bowen takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the nexus of a scientific and ideological minefield that any political junkie will find gripping. The highly readable, intertwined narratives expose the frustration of honest actors at all levels, as they stand up ‘against one of the most powerful political machines ever constructed.’ The book is also brimming with nuggets of scientific gold, broken down and deftly conveyed through specific political contexts with a literary flair for good old-fashioned story-telling I have rarely witnessed this side of Carl Sagan.

You can’t come away from the book without acquiring profound respect for the integrity of dozens of stewards of the public trust in GISS and NASA. But several I’d like to briefly praise upfront are Gretchen Cook-Anderson and Leslie McCarthy: both these women literally risked their livelihood, first by standing up for their bosses -- you the taxpayer -- against all the might and political influence Big Energy backed by a sympthetic Adminstration staffed with oilmen and energy cronies could bring to bear, and then again by telling their stories in the book. And of course the book's namesake, Dr. James E. Hansen, who provided several exclusive statements for Daily Kos and this review:

The increasing powers concentrated in the executive branch prove convenient for new administrations, so they do not give them up. It is perhaps more subtle in Democratic administrations, but they do not want or expect a scientist to present evidence that contradicts what they want people to believe. Our Founding Fathers would have tears in their eyes if they saw how the democratic process has been distorted.