I agree with a lot of the argument. But then you could say the "debate is over" according to the right on Economic Rationalism.

And yes there are still some people who think the earth is flat, despite that damned liberal Galileo declaring 600 years ago that the debate was over.

Great article!

Nominating Andrew Bolt a 'voice of sanity'rather dilutes your argument.

It's a good point, the debate should continue, and the science should extend.
However at some point one has to take what data one has, even if lacking, and make a decision and act. It is possible to get stuck in debate, in an endless stalemate of back and forth bickering or idle contemplation where nothing gets done. That is a worse state than taking an action that is unfruitful. Especially when there is urgency or danger involved, sitting and thinking or arguing about it is clearly not the smart thing to do.
It may be bad to declare the debate over when it is not and even worse to then suppress any counter-opinion, but it's also dangerous to be so extremely skeptical as to never take action.

"even the “capital punishment debate” is over (in spite of the fact that over 50 per cent of Australians support the death penalty). In other words, whenever the cultural left is lost for words, the debate is always over. Then, they pile on, and on, and on."

85 per cent of all Australians know that if you're going to toss a controversial statistic like that out there, you gotta back it up or have your audience assume it's either made up or from a biased source.

The author hammers a child's show, captain planet. I seem to recall that show. Is Mr Terpstra honestly advocating pollution? What the hell is so wrong about putting on a cartoon with conservation values? It was a commercial program that rated - if people didn't like it it wouldn't have. You can't fire that old 'ABC bias' argument at that one.

Mr Terpstra claims that the left just claims the argument's over when these things are brought up. I say, that the 'left' as a united entity is a myth that conservatives like to pummel their opponents with, and that these debates are always raging, but right wingers sulk when they lose.

By the same token, let's get pissed off at sitcoms. After all, the people on those programs live in cities buy things. They're clearly advocating capitalism, and need to be stopped.

Overanalysed bulldust from the disgruntled.