The Bengtsson affair continues to generate outrage from normal people and a curious mix of insanity and bigotry from upholders of the global warming consensus.

The story is being widely reported in the MSM as well as on news aggregators like Drudge. The Times has an important new angle:

In an echo of the infamous “Climategate” scandal at the University of East Anglia, one of the world’s top academic journals rejected the work of five experts after a reviewer privately denounced it as “harmful”. ... Professor Bengtsson’s paper ... suggested that the climate might be much less sensitive to greenhouse gases than had been claimed by the IPCC in its report last September, and recommended that more work be carried out “to reduce the underlying uncertainty”. ... A scientist asked by the journal to assess the paper under the peer review process wrote that he strongly advised against publishing it because it was “less than helpful”. The unnamed scientist concluded: “Actually it is harmful as it opens the door for oversimplified claims of ‘errors’ and worse from the climate sceptics media side.”

Meanwhile, this is the response of Bart Verheggen:

Would it be McCarthyism if evolutionary biologists expressed dismay about a colleague joining the Creationist Institute?

It's amazing when you think about it: Verheggen is in essence saying that if you disagree with him about climate sensitivity (which is in essence the only scientific difference between him and GWPF) then you are equivalent to a creationist. If ever someone damned themselves out of their own mouths as a close-minded bigot then this is it.

And he is in good (if that's the correct term) company. Peter Gleick's view is this:

Sailor joins flat earth society; doesn't understand why shipmates won't sail with him?

...while Roddy Campbell points us to the charming views of Andrew Dessler:

Lennart Bengtsson resigns from @TheGWPF . He seems confused, which is consistent with him joining in the first place. That's emeritus!

And Graham Linehan, a much-followed woolly-liberal commentator has this to say:

Aren't Times journalists embarrassed? It's like they're still publishing David Irving. A proud history of denialism they've got going there

These people have completely lost the plot. Their minds are so closed that there is nowhere for the conspiracy theories to get out.