Religious zealots and wacko experts with their wacko evidence-based thinking ...

It is of course, a delicious placement.

Sexy Jacinta and sexy expert climate scientist Miranda the Devine juxtaposed together, and the crazed Catholic Devine cheek by jowl on that digital opinion carousel with that other expert climate scientist Cardinal Pell.

These are the tabloid treasures a digital Sunday offers.

The Devine once worshipped at the feet of that other expert climate scientist Lord Monckton, though it seems her ardour cooled after the "Lord" joined creationist Danny Nalliah to launch a fundamentalist political party (Climate Science Denior Lord Monckton Joins Creationist Pastor To Launch Extremist Political Party).

Even for a fundie like Devine it was a fundie step too far.

But the pond fondly remembers the good old days, and you too can do the same by taking a trip back to the good old Fairfaxian days of January 2010 and Climategate gives lord of the sceptics plenty of ammunition. (forced video at end of link)

The visit to Australia this week of Lord Christopher Monckton - the world's most effective global warming sceptic - couldn't have been better timed. 

And so and so forth, and what a hoot to read now that Monckton has managed to discredit himself, and Devine is left holding the melting ice cream of misplaced faith.

Now you know that anyone who called the "Lord" the world's most effective global warming sceptic has to be barking mad, right, and you need to carry that thought with you when you read Devine's effort today, Change is in the wind on climate.

The piece is a reminder - for anyone who doesn't understand political dog whistling - that the crony commentariat is wildly excited at Greg Hunt being too busy to go to Poland for talks ...

Not because they take the wimp Greg Hunt seriously when he says that the Australian government is taking climate science seriously, and that they'll do a better job at reduction emissions than Labor ...

No, it's because they know Tony "crap" Abbott is their crony commentariat mate, and he's done the perfect dog whistle, and he believes climate science is nonsense, and so he'll do a little window dressing but otherwise it's business as usual, Poland can get lost, and Hunt can amuse himself pissing billions against the wall on government-selected schemes...

What's interesting is the new gang that Devine has press ganged into service to replace Monckton.

There's an apologetic John Howard, brave bold Nigel Lawson, expert climate scientist David Murray (well he was the chair of the Future Fund and that must count for something), and at the end of it all, the Devine still banging the alarmist drum.

Yep, the Devine is expert at being alarmist about the alarmists:

The danger remains that the political climate could turn again, as Howard described in 2006-07. Already climate alarmists are seizing on this year's early bushfires to rev up another panic in the public mind, and will use a hot summer, or any unusual weather, to prosecute their case for a renewed jihad on cheap coal-fired electricity, which is, of course, the source of Australia's competitive advantage. 

Don't you worry about unusual weather events. Keep digging that coal.

They are not troubled by the ­appalling illogic of their position, in which, even if Australia retreated to the Stone Age and reduced carbon dioxide emissions to zero, there would be precisely zero effect on bushfire behaviour or summer temperatures or sea levels.

And the Devine isn't troubled by the appalling illogic of her position, or in the old days, sharing her intellectual bed with Monckton.

That's because she thinks climate science is all bunkum, that the scientists are just part of a vast international conspiracy, and anyway she's off to heaven with the Pellists in due course, and never mind if she has to spend a few thousand years in purgatory for her rabid ratbag tabloid scribbling of endless stupidities ...

That's why the Devine isn't troubled by the appalling logic of supporting a government which is proposing to dish out billions to its mates on a direct action plan to solve a problem she thinks is bunkum.

How does she live with the inherent contradictions arising from her endless stupidity? Thank the long absent lord that religion must help ...

Meanwhile, the pond had the great misfortune to hear several speeches beamed directly from Western Australia yesterday.

Someone on 24 had decided to waste the taxpayers' money on direct televisual streaming, and the pond was working, and the TV had been left on - slack bastards everywhere - and the sound boomed into the pond's study, and exercised a trance-like, compelling charm, no doubt much the same as when radio came to play a part in the politics of Germany (a fine for the Godwin's Law swear jar? Cheap at half the price - we just wanted Greg Hunt to look it up, since he's such a wiki lover).

First up came Julie Bishop, and please forgive the pond if we loosely transcribe a couple of her points.

(1) Isn't it great that as a democracy we have a free and sceptical media.

(2) The next time the media asks me a question about our relationship with Indonesia, please don't ask me a difficult question about any tricky areas. Please bowl me underarm some Dorothy Dixers that I can swat to the boundary. Enough of this free and sceptical nonsense. Do the right thing, and tug the bloody forelock.

Cue robust applause from gathered Liberal party hacks, sheep and functionaries, dutifully tugging the forelock, or tugging something.

Well it went something like that, and it made the pond think again of the interminable terminal stupidity of politicians, saying one thing and then immediately contradicting the spirit of one bit of the speech in another bit, and all sides guilty of the crime.

Next up was Tony Abbott explaining how his greatest honour was to be PM of Western Australia, a typical bit of sucking up due for immediate revision the moment it became clear his greatest honour was to be PM of Tasmania, South Australia, or indeed Woop Woop.

I know, I know, it's formalities and nonsense of the parochial kind, but once you start on this sort of suckworthiness, you never know when to stop.

Is there a more nauseating sight than a gaggle of politicians gathered together to crow, and to celebrate their uniqueness?

It comes with a lack of shame,  as in a throway line in which Abbott said that being in opposition was "all theatre".

That's to say, all humbug, bullshit, lies and deception - not that we have anything against the theatre-eh, or actors imitating the lies of others or Paul Keating invoking vaudeville - we have loved and been loved by the dearies.

But how cheeky is it for Abbott to freely acknowledge his three years in opposition was a farce or a tragedy, played by a clown?

And yet having admitted to being a theatrical ham, he went on to say that the adults were now back in charge, as childish and as theatrically hammy a remark as you could find in any speechifying.

This while accusing the former government of political exhibitionism, having confessed that his work as opposition leader was theatrical exhibitionism.

It was a breathtakingly smug performance, and it reminded the pond of another Abbottonian WA speech available here for your pleasure.

For all those who try to play down Abbott's B. A. Santamaria craziness, think again:

Look, I'€™ve seen some bad government policy in my time but this honestly takes the cake. In the words of my great and original political mentor, B. A. Santamaria, '€˜it is a moon beam from a larger lunacy,' ladies and gentlemen, that'€™s what it is. And that's why, that'€™s why Julie Bishop and I, George Brandis and Mathias Cormann and Luke Simpkins and Michaelia Cash and Judith Adams and Dennis Jensen and Nola Marino and all the other distinguished federal parliamentary colleagues of yours that we have in this room will fight this tax every day. 

The chutzpah of including Jensen, a renowned and vociferous climate science denialist, is breath-taking.

Even more astonishing was his mocking of the Labor party's pink bats, while proposing the Liberals good produce all the emissions reductions being proposed by following Linfox and getting its drivers to take their feet off the accelerators and Visy burning garbage, and farmers shifting from chemical or organic fertilisers or power stations growing algae.

Addle-headed, but where was the Devine in all this? Gone missing in Monckton Murdoch la la land ...

Meanwhile, back at the new speech to the 'gropers, there was Abbott talking up how the new parliament will be a fading memory:

The Prime Minister said the parliament wouldn't impugn the motives of opponents or trash their reputations. 
If anyone tried to go over the top, new Speaker Bronwyn Bishop would sort them out, he added. “And I am confident that after just a few weeks of the new parliament - that parliament that diminished our policy and embarrassed our citizens over the last three years - will soon seem like just a bad memory,'' Mr Abbott said. 
 “Rob Oakeshott? Who is he? Tony Windsor? He was part of our system once but not anymore.'' (here)

Parliament will be there to discuss issues rather than abuse individuals?

And he abuses Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott in the very same breath?

This from the man who demeaned and diminished the parliamentary process more than anyone ... Mr Ditch the Witch, Bob Brown's Bitch himself? What signs? Did someone mention a sign? It must have been in my blind spot ...

If Abbott had the class of Windsor's big toe nail, what a good day it would be for the country.

Never mind, there'll come a day.

Day by day the grind of politics and the conflicts of differing needs and desires will wipe the smirk off Abbott's face, though there's an abundance of smirk to wipe, in much the same way that Obama's hair is now much greyer than when he set out on his journey.

Day by day, the pond will enjoy seeing that smirking dial being given a good wipe.

Funnily enough in the speech Abbott was also back to deploying his three word slogans, because that's all he's got, slogans and abuse, boasting how it was all about "stopping the boats", at the very moment that it was being reported that his government had folded at the first hint of conflict with Indonesia.

Yep, the bully blinked, as recorded in Prime Minister Tony Abbott backs down in asylum seeker stand-off with Indonesia.

The arrival will be seen as a loss of face for the Coalition, which vowed before the election that Australian authorities would not act as a taxi service for refugees. It may also encourage other people smuggling syndicates to try their hand. 
Indonesia had refused to take the asylum seekers whose boat had got into trouble off the coast of Java, raising question about the government's turn back the boats policy.

Abbott can continue to humbug the WA faithful - the deep west portion, that is - and be worshipped by the crony commentariat, but he's just had the shortest honeymoon of recent times, and now he's heading back to the bear pit where he's always played the bull terrier ...

Can the pugnacious pug become statesman-like and stop abusing opponents and stop gloating and turn the past into a bad memory?

Sure, and Miranda the Devine is a climate scientist right up there with 'Lord' Monckton...

(Below: more Cathy Wilcox here).