Because The Bible Says So...

...that's why.

Via Alan Colmes:

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK): Well actually the Genesis 8:22 that I use in there is that ‘as long as the earth remains there will be seed time and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night,’ my point is, God’s still up there. The arrogance of people to think that we, human beings, would be able to change what He is doing in the climate is to me outrageous.

The arrogance! Outrageous, I tells ya!

...Seriously, you can't make this shit up. Parody is dead. DEAD I TELLS YA!

Give Romney Credit/Dismiss Huntsman

Mitt Romney has decided to skip the Donald Trump debate on December 27th. Regardless of his reasons, you have to give Romney credit for not falling into the trap of kissing the Trump ring. According to reports, the only candidates committed to attend the Trump debate are Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich... although there is plenty of time for Mitt to flip-flop on his decision.

In other news however, what seemed like the only other "reasonable" Republican nominee decided to give a little reach-aroud of the right wing nutjobs by casting doubt on the science of global warming. No, really.

"The scientific community owes us more in terms of a better description or explanation about what might lie beneath all of this," [Jon Huntsman said], "but there's not enough information right now to be able to formulate policies in terms of addressing [global warming] overall -- primarily because it's a global issue. We can enact policies here, but I wouldn't want to unilaterally disarm as a country. I wouldn't want to hinder job creators during a time when our economy is flat."

Not enough information? So much for the "reasonable" one.

Mitt Romney Doesn't Know How Video Works...

...or else he'd probably try not contradicting himself at such a dramatic rate.

Mitt Romney, June 3rd, 2011: "I don’t speak for the scientific community, of course," Romney said. "But I believe the world’s getting warmer. I can’t prove that, but I believe based on what I read that the world is getting warmer. And number two, I believe that humans contribute to that … so I think it’s important for us to reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that may well be significant contributors to the climate change and the global warming that you’re seeing."

And there's video to verify his quote.

Mitt Romney, July 18th, 2001, just 6½ weeks later: "...I support reasonable standards. … Do I support the EPA? In much of its mission yes, but in some of its mission no. The EPA getting into carbon footprints, and… [APPLAUSE] I think we may have made a mistake, we have made a mistake is what I believe, in saying that the EPA should regulate carbon emissions. I don’t think that was the intent of the original legislation, and I don’t think carbon is a pollutant in the sense of harming our bodies."

And there's video to verify his quote.

What happened between June 3rd and July 18th that made Mitt Romney hedge his original statement?

Rush Limbaugh took Mitt Romney to task today for saying he believes in man-made global warming. After playing the clip of Romney’s comments, Rush said, “Bye, bye nomination. Another one down.”

Now, technically, are Romney's two statements different? Yes. But are they significantly linked? Of course.

If you believe greenhouse gases are in fact causing the earth to warm, causing oceans to rise, causing weather patterns to become more and more severe, causing natural disasters like tornadoes and hurricanes to become fiercer and more frequent as a result, then the "harm to our bodies" may come in the form of houses crashing down on us or hurricanes flooding out towns and causing mass drowning, and not a conflation between "pollutants and greenhouse gases."

Romney knows this and is trying to make it all nuance-y to walk back his statement (his correct statement) that man contributes to climate change, but hey, Mitt's gotta keep his GOP masters happy, right?

Dumbass Quote of the Day

"Mankind, is it responsible for global warming? Well I'll tell you something. I have seen evidence on both sides of it. I'm skeptical -- I'm skeptical. And you know, I think at the at the end of this, I think we're going to need more science to prove something one way or the other. But you know - cause I've seen arguments on both sides of it that at times - like I'll watch something about man made global warming, and I go wow, that's fairly convincing. And then I'll go out and watch the other side of the argument, and I go huh, that's fairly convincing too. So, I gotta be honest with you, I don't know. And that's probably one of the reason's why I became a lawyer, and not a doctor, or an engineer, or a scientist, because I can't figure this stuff out. But I would say at this point, that has to be proven, and I'm a little skeptical about it. Thank you."

~New Jersey Governor Chris Christie at a town hall meeting catering to the wingnuts.

Climate Change Denier Fail

...Heh...

Senator James Inhofe in Copenhagen:

...Inhofe’s aides eventually rustled up a group of reporters, and the Oklahoman — wearing black snakeskin cowboy boots — held forth from the top of a flight of stairs in the conference media center.

“We in the United States owe it to the 191 countries to be well-informed and know what the intentions of the United States are. The United States is not going to pass a cap and trade,” he said. “It’s just not going to happen.”

A reporter asked: “If there’s a hoax, then who’s putting on this hoax, and what’s the motive?”

“It started in the United Nations,” Inhofe said, “and the ones in the United States who really grab ahold of this is the Hollywood elite.”

One reporter asked Inhofe if he was referring to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Another reporter — this one from Der Spiegel — told the senator: “You’re ridiculous.”

For this, Inhofe made an 18-hour round trip flight.

Ballsy Greenpeace Protest

Greenpeace activists scaled Mt. Rushmore today to issue a challenge to President Obama. "Our brave climbers rappelled down the face of Mt. Rushmore today to issue a challenge to President Obama: If he wants to get his face on this monument, he needs to be a true leader on global warming, not a politician," said one Greenpeace member.

PizzaGate? Seriously?!

In yet another example of "We Got Nothin', So We'll Try To Make Anything a Scandal," the fringe zanies are trying to hang an environmental / I'm the president and therefore can request anything hypocrisy moniker on President Obama by insisting that he ordered pizza. From St. Louis. On the taxpayers' dime.

One problem. It's all wrong.

Is this what the wingnuts have come to? Pizzagate? This is what we're going to have to contend with for the next four, and most likely eight, years. Pathetic.

Global Warming: Mass Neuroses?!

This is why I don't watch "Morning Joe." Listen to this list of substitute hosts sitting with Mika Brzezinski: Mike Barnicle, Pat Buchanan and guest GE CEO Jack Welch! And he's asking people to read an article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal which "makes an interesting case" that global warming is really just mass neuroses and is more of a movement than anything else. Mika states that at some point this is going to come back to haunt us if it is ignored, to which Welch responds, "We'll see." What does he care? He's got one foot in the grave anyway.

And now Pat Buchanan is dumbfounded as to why Barack Obama isn't 20 points ahead in the polls. The ol' "why can't he seal the deal?" argument again. Now Tucker Carlson is shrieking about it as well. This is an awful, awful show.

My wife just called across the room and said he sounded like Bill O'Reilly. I said, "No, O'Reilly has a lower voice. Tucker Carlson is a little girl."

Arnold Sues Federal Government

CNN: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to sue the federal government over its decision not to allow a California plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, he announced Thursday.

Environmental Protection Agency chief Stephen Johnson announced the decision Wednesday, refusing the state's request for a waiver that would have allowed it to cut emissions faster than a new federal plan the president signed into law Wednesday.
"It's another example of the administration's failure to treat global warming with the seriousness that it actually demands," the governor said at a news conference Thursday. ..."Anything less than aggressive action on the greatest environmental threat of all time is inexcusable," he said.

How insane is it that a former bodybuliding Austrian immigrant turned action movie actor turned Republican Governor of California understands the importance of this issue, and the morons running this administration don't get it?

Bolton's At It Again - What Global Warming?

Crooks and Liars: When asked about mandatory limits on climate change, Bolton had this to say [on Fox News]:

Well, it’s not unusual for Vice President Gore to be wrong, either, as he is in this case. Of the G8 industrialized democracies, four — the United States, Japan, Canada, and Russia –share our view…If you look at the developing countries, Brazil, India, and China all oppose these targets as well. So, the notion that this is the fault of the U.S. is wrong.

If anybody’s isolated here, I think it’s the Europeans and Al Gore…

Isolation? How about the US being the only country out of 184 that haven't signed the Kyoto treaty? At least the White House is starting to back down lest everyone in the world regards us as lunatics. Too little, too late for this administration.

Following gruelling all-night talks, the conference of 190 nations finally launched a process to negotiate a new treaty for when the UN Kyoto Protocol's commitments expire in 2012.

...The United States, the only major industrialised nation to reject the Kyoto treaty, reached a compromise with the European Union to avoid mentioning any figures as a target for slashing greenhouse gas emissions.

[The senior US negotiator, Paula] Dobriansky was loudly booed by other delegations, and a US environmental activist representing Papua New Guinea said to rousing cheers: "If you're not willing to lead, please get out of the way."

...After repeated verbal lashings, Dobriansky again took the microphone and said that Washington would "go forward and join consensus," to the cheers of the conference.

Unbelievable. Is that what it takes? Being heckled? I suppose tar and feathering was next.

G'Day Mate!

SYDNEY, Australia - Conservative Prime Minister John Howard suffered a humiliating defeat Saturday at the hands of the left-leaning opposition, whose leader has promised to immediately sign the Kyoto Protocol on global warming and withdraw Australia's combat troops from Iraq.

Labor Party head Kevin Rudd's pledges on global warming and Iraq move Australia sharply away from policies that had made Howard one of President Bush's staunchest allies.

Rudd has named global warming as his top priority, and his signing of the Kyoto Protocol will leave the U.S. as the only industrialized country not to have joined it.

Bush loses another suck up. I still feel my spidey senses tingling for November, if and when Bush tries to pull a Musharraf in the guise of national security.

Kucinich at the Global Warming Conference

Clinton Heckled at Global Warming Conference

MyFox Los Angeles:

Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York and Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio detailed their positions on global warming, energy conservation and other environmental issues -- and occasionally talked about other issues, including the war in Iraq -- before an invitation only audience at the Wadsworth Theater in Westwood.

The forum was sponsored by Grist, an environmental journalism magazine and Public Radio International's Living on Earth.

Candidates from both the Democratic and Republican parties were invited, but only Kucinich, Edwards and Clinton accepted.

During the conference, a Code Pink protester rose and yelled at Clinton because of her pro war Iraq vote. Clinton took it in stride and continued with her talk after asking, "Were you invited to speak here this afternoon?"

Now whether or not the protester chose the right forum (global warming) to voice his opinion is one thing, but it does bother me that when a protester gets ushered out of whatever forum he decides to attend, that the audience cheers at he exits. Don't they care to listen to what he/she is protesting about? Have Americans become so blasé, that the sight of a struggling protester flanked by security is something to cheer or laugh about?

Watch the video.

Climate Change Benefits? Less Colds!

Dana Perino: " ...this is an issue where I'm sure lots of people would love to ridicule me when I say this, but it is true that many people die from cold-related deaths every winter. And there are studies that say that climate change in certain areas of the world would help those individuals... "

...Say what now?... Well she got the "ridicule" part right.

Also check out: Max and the Marginalized - "Dana Dana"

The Thirty Percenters

Every time I see Curious George walking on the White House lawn waving as he exits his helicopter, I wonder, who is he waving to? What person in their right mind would stop and wait for a glimpse of Chimpy during their trip to DC? You never see these people on camera. My guess is that they are either protesters, although they'd probably be arrested, or that people are sitting there and staring, much like someone at a hideous car accident from which you can't look away. They just stand there and can't believe that this clown is the leader of the free world.

But lately, as a new Newsweek poll shows Bush's approval rating at an all time low of 28%, I think not of the 72% of the people who disagree with President Half Wit, but of the 28% that think he's doing a good job; the 28% who approve of his job performance. Who are these people? Sad to say, I think about this every day. Every... single...day. And it really starts wearing me down. It starts to frighten me when I walk into a room and I can tell just by scanning the room that I'm probably in the top 10% when it comes to intelligence. Me... top 10%. ... Jesus...

Still, where do these people come from? And how do they come to the conclusion that Chimp in Charge is doing so well as to receive their approval. Then (courtesy of Mike Malloy) I came across this letter to the editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. I know, I know, it's Arkansas, but Arkansans are people too, some of whom think Bushie is doing a great job. (Perhaps I should call them Arkansites for a religious twist.)

Anyway here's the letter:

Daylight Exacerbates Warning

You may have noticed that March of this year was particularly hot. As a matter of fact, I understand that it was the hottest March since the beginning of the last century. All of the trees were fully leafed out and legions of bugs and snakes were crawling around during a time in Arkansas when, on a normal year, we might see a snowflake or two. This should come as no surprise to any reasonable person.
As you know, Daylight Saving Time started almost a month early this year. You would think that members of Congress would have considered the warming effect that an extra hour of daylight would have on our climate. Or did they ?
Perhaps this is another plot by a liberal Congress to make us believe that global warming is a real threat. Perhaps next time there should be serious studies performed before Congress passes laws with such far-reaching effects.

CONNIE M. MESKIMEN / Hot Springs

Oh, Connie, Connie... you know what? You're right. You caught us red-handed. We know global warming is a fluke, but can't just sit here with pie on our faces making Al Gore look bad and not have a cause, so we secretly petitioned the Democrats in Congress to extend the day by one hour, making it a 25 hour day. This extra hour is wreaking havoc on our temperatures and causing massive climate change and extreme weather conditions across the US. The rest of the world, however, remains unaffected because they do not choose to use daylight savings time. It's all a liberal political plot.

Mike Malloy's musings on Connie were that she was probably a Republican Election Committee member in her community, went to church every Sunday and perhaps thinks that liberals are spawn of the devil and eat fetuses.

But there they are, the thirty percenters. These are the people at the shallow end of the gene pool that we must deal with, and overcome at every election for their own good, whether they know it or not. The worst part of it all is that George W. Bush is one of them.

UPDATE (5/11/07)

Snopes.com, a website dedicated to urban legends and things of a dubinking nature, has pointed out that although MISTER Meskimen's letter to the editor is authentic, Meskimen is indeed a Little Rock lawyer who has a penchant for writing sarcastic, "tongue-in-cheek" letters, and that it was not intended to be taken seriously. He is now getting barraged with phone calls by helpful people who want to help him understand how Daylight Savings Time works. Good for you, Connie!

A word of advice for Mr. Meskimen: if you plan on writing a letter of this nature, the satire needed to show that you are indeed trying to make a valid point needs to be way over the top for it to be received as satire, sarcasm or tongue-in-cheek. But as a friend pointed out, he supposes you are so smart and were so subtle in your sarcasm that it actually backfired and blew up in your face.
Oh, and maybe you should use a nom de plume so your law firm doesn't get inundated with calls to correct you on your oh so subtle, humorous letter.

By the way, I believe that this new finding does not discredit my previous opinion of the thirty percenters. I'm just guessing that most of them can't write.

Bribing Scientists

The Guardian Unlimited's new article is accusing AEI of bribing scientists to contradict new global warming reports.

The United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is publishing a report today emphasizing "international negotiations on new emissions targets to succeed the Kyoto agreement."

But "scientists and economists have been offered $10,000 each by a lobby group funded by one of the world's largest oil companies to undermine" the report. The American Enterprise Institute, a lobbying group for ExxonMobil, sent letters to scientists and economists offering "payments for articles that emphasise the shortcomings" of the report.

The AEI has close ties to the Bush Administration. These people will stop at nothing.

EXCERPT: "Climate scientists described the move yesterday as an attempt to cast doubt over the 'overwhelming scientific evidence' on global warming. 'It's a desperate attempt by an organisation who wants to distort science for their own political aims,' said David Viner of the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia."