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What do you get when you cross a puzzle-maker with a lawyer?

Apparently, in Kentucky at least, you get a legislative hearing by climate change "experts."

Last week a committee meeting of the Kentucky Agricultural and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on the science of climate change.

Problem was, there were no scientists.

According to Kentucky State Rep. Jim Gooch (D-Providence), [7] who chairs the committee, there was no need to call any actual scientists to the hearing because, "You can only hear that the sky is falling so many times."

So instead, Rep. Gooch invited a British puzzle-maker [8] named Christopher Monckton (who regular DeSmog readers know all to well [9]) and Chris Taylor a lawyer and "senior fellow" at the Exxon-backed "thank you for smoking" [10] Heartland Institute.

According to a story in Kentucky's Lexington-Herald [11] newspaper, "Gooch said he called the Heartland Institute once he decided to address global warming and asked for any skeptical experts it might send. Scientists weren't necessary, he said."

Well of course not, what a preposterous idea to host scientists at a hearing on an issue of science.

I wonder if Gooch uses an OBGYN [12] when he needs to get a haircut, or calls a mechanic when he needs an opinion on the most recent developments in coal mining?

And speaking of coal mining (drum-roll please)… Gooch and his brother own a company called West Kentucky Steel Construction Co [13]., which sells mining equipment to Peabody Energy, Arch Coal and other coal companies that would rather see the entire of issue of global warming go away.

What is even more surprising is that Gooch's fellow Democrats do not feel that this apparent conflict of interest and complete disregard for climate science is much of a worry. The strongest rebuke uttered [14] by Gooch's Democrat colleagues was from House Speaker Jody Richards (D-Bowling) who stated that she"didn't like it very well."

Fortunately though, some Kentucky bloggers are taking the issue a little more seriously than House Speaker Richards:

The Now NATIONAL Embarrassment Of State Rep. Jim Gooch (D) [15]

Rep. Gooch on Good Morning America [16]