More Fun With Manhattan Declaration "Qualified Endorsers", or: Joe Bastardi Makes His Brudder Deny

UPDATE: Tom Harris himself offers the following correction:

...the two Bastardis are father and son, both meteorologists.

Apologies to all involved. Of course this still doesn't explain why Brenda Murray, a coal industry consultant, is stuck on the "Citizen Endorsers" list while the rest of her family, also in the coal industry, are somehow judged to be "qualified".

This

Joe Bastardi, BSc, (Meteorology, Pennsylvania State), meteorologist, State College, Pennsylvania, U.S.A."

...is not a surprise. Accuweather's expert senior forecaster has always been skeptical of the science behind AGW, and you would suspect that he would endorse the Manhattan Declaration against climate change alarmism.

But who is this fellow?

Matthew Bastardi, BSc (Meteorology, Texas A and M University), Florida, U.S.A.

Thanks to some lunch-hour sleuthing by John Cross, we find that he is almost certainly Joe's brother:

Coach, Great column as usual but your last piece on the abuse that men inflict upon women on Super Bowl Sunday was a bullseye with me! In my full time job I verify that the numbers are correct for over 3.5 million tax returns. It is equivalent to interpreting votes on a punched paper ballot without the politicalization!

Also, my brother is a prominent meteorologist specializing in long range forecasting- he goes nuts on the global warming- ista's and the data they cite to back up their half cocked notions. The point is, figures can lie and liars can figure!

The stories you presented today are a classic example of how, with all the data collection we have today in our lives, we have less and less truth because of the ability of people to manipulate it for their own intent. With 800 news outlets, it gets put out to the public, becomes "truth" and then never gets straightened out when someone digs and proves that it was bent to serve the purpose of some ideologue! Matt Bastardi, Skillman, New Jersey

Note that a "tax guy" is considered a "qualified" endorser, but Charles E. Murray's wife/daughter, Brenda L. Murrary, a mining consultant, only makes the cut as a "citizen endorser" of the Manhattan Declaration. Note too that

Juliet, Viscountess Monckton of Brenchley, U.K.

...is also relegated to "citizen endorser". How she could possibly be more unqualified to express an opinion on climate change issues than our tax man, or her astoundingly clueless husband, for that matter, is beyond me.

So, are the folks behind the Manhattan Declaration both shady and sexist?

Update: When I wrangled my way onto the Oregon Petition (by lying about my qualifications), they were willing to send a fistful of extra petition cards to pass around to all my scientist buddies. Signing the The Manhattan Declaration is even easier, as it is all on-line. Just make up some shit about your scientific credentials (something about "de-glaciation rates" usually works) and join the team of experts against the AGW consensus.

DeSmog has more on this story here.