This is one of thee most bizarre stories in public policy at the moment if you ask me. Patrick Michaels is the "current" State Climatologist for the state of Virginia. He has been for the past 26 years. He's also the only State Climatologist in the country to disagree with the global warming theory and he routinely takes large scale funding from utility/energy companies. His $90K per year paycheck from the state has been on the chopping block before by Governors but defended by Sen. George Felix Allen and saved. But guess what? He was NEVER appointed as Virginia's State Climatologist.

Part I
Part II

So how does someone get to influence public policy with junk arguments for 26 years without ever having to answer for it and without ever producing a piece of original research disproving global warming all the time collecting a paycheck from John Q Taxpayer?