Fox News Stokes the Climate Change Denial Machine

Environment • Views: 33,624

Fox News continues promoting anti-science rubbish to the rubes, with an article about Eight Botched Environmental Forecasts.

What do you notice about these “botched forecasts?” The most recent one they could find dates back to 2000, and all the others are much older. Here are the dates of these 8 “mistaken” predictions (all of which are among the constantly repeated talking points of climate change deniers):

2000
1990
1972
1989
1970
1970
1971
1970

The fact that Fox News writer Maxim Lott couldn’t find anything more recent than ten years ago for this hackneyed list (and had to reach back 40 years for 5 of his examples) strongly suggests that climate scientists’ predictions are improving — which is, after all, how science is supposed to work. In fact, improving climate predictions is a major priority among scientists, and a subject of serious study. (Not that anyone at Fox News understands or cares about that.)

Lott is trying to denigrate the reliability of climate science, a typical denier’s tactic; but the real lesson of his list of “botched forecasts” is that climate predictions are becoming increasingly accurate as scientific knowledge accrues, and techniques and models are refined.

This deceptive crap is a big hit with right wing blogs, of course.

Jump to bottom

217 comments
1 blueraven  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 11:50:05am

Well I guess they are proud of the dubious award for the most misinformed viewership of 2010...carrying forward the tradition for the new year.

2 (I Stand By What I Said Whatever It Was)  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 11:52:47am

[Link: xkcd.com...]

3 (I Stand By What I Said Whatever It Was)  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 11:54:19am

re: #2 000G

[Link: xkcd.com...]

Also: [Link: xkcd.com...]

4 Kilroy01  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 11:59:23am

Read the comments. There are 1959.
Be warned: The stupid... it burns..

5 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:00:01pm

Classic misrepresentation. The Denials will love it, though, the Stalkers especially. They'll go into their "BILLIONS WILL DIE!!1 Hur Hur Hur!" schtick as usual. It's as predictable as it is pathetic.

6 Killgore Trout  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:03:05pm

re: #4 Kilroy01

Read the comments. There are 1959.
Be warned: The stupid... it burns..

Conservatives have transformed science into a communist anti-Christian conspiracy.

7 makeitstopghazi  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:04:35pm

But...but...it's cold here! /////

8 jc717  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:10:33pm

It took what? 40 years to convince the masses that smoking causes cancer.
Climate science is much more complicated and easier to misrepresent.
By the time its reality becomes obvious to most, it'll be too late.
Over 50% of the US are young earth creationists. Major educational/cultural fail.

9 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:11:51pm

re: #1 blueraven

Well I guess they are proud of the dubious award for the most misinformed viewership of 2010...carrying forward the tradition for the new year.

I can't wait for 2012 when republicans run on the "airplanes are witches" and "where are the tiny minstrels inside the television" platform

Perhaps they'll call for the repeal of everything we've learned since the Renaissance. Copernicus wuzza liburul he wernt no baptist, yeehaw

10 Kilroy01  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:12:29pm

re: #6 Killgore Trout

Conservatives have transformed science into a communist anti-Christian conspiracy.

I wish they would reject medical science. Faith healing all the way. Then the problem would take care of itself.

11 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:14:24pm

re: #8 jc717

It took what? 40 years to convince the masses that smoking causes cancer.
Climate science is much more complicated and easier to misrepresent.
By the time its reality becomes obvious to most, it'll be too late.
Over 50% of the US are young earth creationists. Major educational/cultural fail.

We have a country teeming with dumb people, we don't value education, or infrastructure, or critical thought, or science.

Shit's got consequences! Pass the popcorn, I've got a front row seat at the freakshow

12 wrenchwench  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:14:25pm

re: #8 jc717

It took what? 40 years to overcome the industry lobbying that helped to convince the masses that smoking causes cancer.

FTFY.

Let's start continue by exposing the industry connections to the denialists.

13 Interesting Times  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:15:56pm

Here's a perfect comment on this subject I came across on a different discussion thread:

"There are two real threats to the entire species. Nuclear war and Climate Change. Both these things need to be addressed. It is my understanding that the Billionaires and Killionaires of the world really don't care about Climate Change. They care about quarterly profits and if a few billion peasants die it is of no consequence to them.

We can organize and agitate vs the fossil fuel corporations, do what we can locally to get green and spread the truth about the situation. I don't know how much good it will do. I prefer to think it will help but the Billionaires and Killionaires really don't pay attention to things unless it hurts their pocket book. The propaganda unleashed upon Americans regarding Climate Change has convinced nearly 25% of our citizenry that it is a hoax. Very sad."

"Killionaires" is the perfect term for the Saudi oil ticks and their Fox News enablers.

14 wrenchwench  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:17:02pm

re: #11 WindUpBird

We have a country teeming with dumb people, we don't value education, or infrastructure, or critical thought, or science.

Shit's got consequences! Pass the popcorn, I've got a front row seat at the freakshow

Really, people aren't all that dumb, IMHO. They are pawns in the propaganda machine. It doesn't take "dumb" to accomplish that, just paying attention to the wrong things.

My evidence is that there are smart people on the dumb side of many issues.

15 Charles Johnson  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:18:04pm

Hurr hurr! Right! Excuse me while I go shovel the global warming out of my driveway! Al Gore! Derf.

/

16 freetoken  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:19:22pm

That the image they provided for their site article is a screen cap from very wildly fictional (and poor quality) "The Day After Tomorrow" says quite a bit.

Then, for them to add:

Many weather forecasters and scientists wonder whether a coming period of "global cooling" may be on the way.

... is classic. "Many" - how many and who? "Period" - what, 24 hours?

That is pure trash journalism at its purest. That is the substance of "tabloid journalism."

17 PhillyPretzel  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:21:53pm

re: #16 freetoken
That is pure trash journalism at its purest. That is the substance of "tabloid journalism."

I could not have said it better myself. Thank you.

18 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:23:34pm

re: #14 wrenchwench

Really, people aren't all that dumb, IMHO. They are pawns in the propaganda machine. It doesn't take "dumb" to accomplish that, just paying attention to the wrong things.

My evidence is that there are smart people on the dumb side of many issues.

You may be more optimistic than me ;-) The stuff I've heard NURSES say, people with education, bizarre and completely shocking quackery that people in health care believe.

When I say dumb I don't mean so much genetically stupid in terms of brain horsepower, I mean dumb as in not valuing knowledge, education or thought, not putting resources into education.

Some people commenting on this very blog don't understand how proggresisve taxation works. And argue from that position! A concept so simple a child with a bit of math aptitude could easily grasp it. I don't know what to call that except dumb, or perhaps wantonly, brazenly proudly ignorant. Which looks identical to "dumb" from here.

19 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:25:26pm

Holy hell I botched the word progressive

Oh well, typing on mom's keyboard in another state, whaddayawant

20 PhillyPretzel  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:27:36pm

re: #19 WindUpBird
Spell Checkers work wonders. :)

21 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:29:06pm

re: #15 Charles

Hurr hurr! Right! Excuse me while I go shovel the global warming out of my driveway! Al Gore! Derf.

/

That's exactly how the Stalkers sound. It's like a moronic broken record. They just claimed I'm LGF's "biggest sycophant" and now they're doing a "Best Flounce" vote. I'm up for a Biggest Stalker Fail of 2010 page if you're OK with it.

22 brookly red  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:29:27pm

re: #19 WindUpBird

Holy hell I botched the word progressive

Oh well, typing on mom's keyboard in another state, whaddayawant

Progresso! make a nice soup...

23 What, me worry?  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:29:36pm

re: #9 WindUpBird

I can't wait for 2012 when republicans run on the "airplanes are witches" and "where are the tiny minstrels inside the television" platform

Perhaps they'll call for the repeal of everything we've learned since the Renaissance. Copernicus wuzza liburul he wernt no baptist, yeehaw

I'll drink to that! *clink*

24 freetoken  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:30:47pm

Here is part of the article:


5. "By 1985, air pollution will have reduced the amount of sunlight reaching earth by one half." Life magazine, January 1970

Life Magazine also noted that some people disagree, "but scientists have solid experimental and historical evidence to support each of the following predictions."

Air quality has actually improved since 1970. Studies find that sunlight reaching the Earth fell by somewhere between 3 and 5 percent over the period in question.

This is another classic.

First, air quality in manh major American cities has improved since 1970, but the question is why?

The writer Maxim Lott ignores that the significant extension of the Clean Air act was a Federal law, passed afterwards!! That's right, the government, the Federal government, forced private America to clean up their act. And, it was because of the warning such as the one given that the government paid attention.

25 wrenchwench  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:31:45pm

This Fox article was written by the guy who put much effort into smearing Kevin Jennings.

26 Charles Johnson  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:31:48pm

It's pretty clear that the author, Maxim Lott (John Lott's son), knew he was peddling crap. Most of those examples are 40 years old, and he had to have known it as he was hacking together this garbage.

Maxim Lott is also a gay-baiter, of course.

[Link: mediamatters.org...]

27 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Tears  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:32:28pm

re: #9 WindUpBird

I can't wait for 2012 when republicans run on the "airplanes are witches" and "where are the tiny minstrels inside the television" platform

Perhaps they'll call for the repeal of everything we've learned since the Renaissance. Copernicus wuzza liburul he wernt no baptist, yeehaw

Probably more appropriate for the mindset would be a campaign to fix the infrastructure issues plaguing many areas by building the new bridges *out* of witches...

28 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:34:41pm

re: #26 Charles

It's pretty clear that the author, Maxim Lott (John Lott's son), knew he was peddling crap. Most of those examples are 40 years old, and he had to have known it as he was hacking together this garbage.

Maxim Lott is also a gay-baiter, of course.

[Link: mediamatters.org...]

John Lott needs to have talk with his son, then.

29 moderatelyradicalliberal  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:35:02pm

re: #18 WindUpBird

wantonly, brazenly proudly ignorant

Yeah, I think its this one.

30 Interesting Times  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:35:55pm

re: #15 Charles

Hurr hurr! Right! Excuse me while I go shovel the global warming out of my driveway! Al Gore! Derf.

They only come out of the woodwork in winter. Where were they when this past summer was breaking records all over the place? (e.g. 113 degree October day in LA) Oh, that's right, only the cherry-pickable stuff that supports their ignorance counts as a "fact."

31 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:36:01pm

re: #27 oaktree

Probably more appropriate for the mindset would be a campaign to fix the infrastructure issues plaguing many areas by building the new bridges *out* of witches...

Well, witches float so you could use them for pontoons.

32 Charles Johnson  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:36:34pm

About Maxim Lott's father: John Lott's Unethical Conduct.

33 Killgore Trout  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:39:09pm

re: #32 Charles

About Maxim Lott's father: John Lott's Unethical Conduct.

Some Glenn Greenwald style sockpuppetry too. Lovely.

34 freetoken  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:40:42pm

Oh look, who was it pushing the dreaded Mao Christmas Tree Ornament meme at Foxnews website? Why, the same author, Maxim Lott:

White House Christmas Decor Featuring Mao Zedong Comes Under Fire

Of course, he's merely reporting what some bloggers have written, certain no doubt that the discriminating Fox audience will differentiate between the truth and wacko claims.

Certainly.

35 lostlakehiker  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:44:16pm

The next installment will surely be "8 Spot-On Climate Predictions", featuring the work of investigators from Arrhenius to Pierrehumbert. Top of the list would be the retreat of alpine glaciers, and the decline in volume of the Arctic sea ice.


[still waiting]

...

36 What, me worry?  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:46:21pm

Maybe we should establish a drinking word(s) for later in the evening... (or now :p it's 12:00a somewhere).

Science
wingnut
climate change

??

37 researchok  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:46:47pm

re: #36 marjoriemoon

Greenwald

38 Fozzie Bear  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:47:54pm

There is a direct causative connection between bullshit stories like this on on Fox, and my future safety and prosperity. Stupid populations make stupid decisions, and we all have to live with those decisions.

This kind of story is like a big "fuck you" to future generations. Fox News is a serious threat to humanity.

39 Amory Blaine  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:49:40pm

re: #38 Fozzie Bear

There is a direct causative connection between bullshit stories like this on on Fox, and my future safety and prosperity. Stupid populations make stupid decisions, and we all have to live with those decisions.

This kind of story is like a big "fuck you" to future generations. Fox News is a serious threat to humanity.

I have the same concerns.

40 wrenchwench  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:49:44pm
rmbdfw

(Logged in)
Registered since: Oct 1, 2004 at 6:26 am
No. of comments posted: 0
No. of Pages posted: 0

How does such a one remember its nic?

41 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:50:45pm

re: #40 wrenchwench

How does such a one remember its nic?

Long term lurker.

42 tigger2005  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:51:10pm

I live in Kansas City, Missouri. Yesterday I went to see a movie wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. I was quite comfortable... it was a balmy 63 degrees, in December. I've lived here all my life, and I can't ever remember wearing shorts outside in December.

43 What, me worry?  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:52:00pm

re: #40 wrenchwench

How does such a one remember its nic?

Tricksie sockies are they.

44 brookly red  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:53:29pm

I guess this is as good a time as any to ask...

where is Ludwig?

45 lostlakehiker  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:55:17pm

re: #18 WindUpBird

You may be more optimistic than me ;-) The stuff I've heard NURSES say, people with education, bizarre and completely shocking quackery that people in health care believe.

When I say dumb I don't mean so much genetically stupid in terms of brain horsepower, I mean dumb as in not valuing knowledge, education or thought, not putting resources into education.

Some people commenting on this very blog don't understand how proggresisve taxation works. And argue from that position! A concept so simple a child with a bit of math aptitude could easily grasp it. I don't know what to call that except dumb, or perhaps wantonly, brazenly proudly ignorant. Which looks identical to "dumb" from here.

There is, you know, such a thing as genetically stupid in terms of brain horsepower. The ruinously inbred nobility of Europe, pre WW1, is one instance. And surely we've all run into people who just never seem to catch on to much of anything, and what they do get, only with painful labor.

It's inevitable: given that there is a range of intelligence, (and we've all run into people who catch on to almost anything almost instantly and excel at games, wordplay, math, computer programming, and music, before lunch), the other end of this spectrum must also exist.

//As to progressive taxation, progress is good, so of course, progressive taxation is good too. The more progressive, the better. If those making 100K should pay 10%, then those 200K should pay 20%, and those making 1000K should pay 100%. It's simple, logical, and just downright fair. Progress! Who could object? //

Or if you want the serious take, the higher your income, the higher a fraction of it you should pay in taxes. But just how high is an empirical question. Platonic logic will not provide an answer. Different rate structures will have to be tried, to see which system gives the best long term results for society as a whole.

46 BishopX  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:56:45pm

re: #44 brookly red

Taking a break? I believe his time out has expired.

47 What, me worry?  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:57:29pm

re: #44 brookly red

I guess this is as good a time as any to ask...

where is Ludwig?

Maybe he'll return. I hope he's having a good new year.

48 wrenchwench  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 12:58:18pm

re: #41 Dark_Falcon

Long term lurker.

Since we've been able to watch loggings in and out on the Spy, I've noticed there are some really regular folks who visit all the time and never comment. This isn't one of them.

I don't assume all non-commenting registered members are hostile, but they pique my interest.

49 Killgore Trout  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:00:38pm

re: #48 wrenchwench

Since we've been able to watch loggings in and out on the Spy, I've noticed there are some really regular folks who visit all the time and never comment. This isn't one of them.

I don't assume all non-commenting registered members are hostile, but they pique my interest.

I think a lot of people are intimidated. We can be pretty tough at times.

50 What, me worry?  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:00:55pm

re: #48 wrenchwench

Since we've been able to watch loggings in and out on the Spy, I've noticed there are some really regular folks who visit all the time and never comment. This isn't one of them.

I don't assume all non-commenting registered members are hostile, but they pique my interest.

What would be odd about it? It's not like there's a blog out there where they talk about us incessantly or anything?

:)

51 wrenchwench  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:01:41pm

re: #49 Killgore Trout

I think a lot of people are intimidated. We can be pretty tough at times.

I agree.

I try to be nice....

52 Renaissance_Man  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:01:56pm

re: #40 wrenchwench

How does such a one remember its nic?

His initials are RMB, and he's from Dallas-Fort Worth. No doubt.

53 brookly red  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:02:27pm

re: #46 BishopX

re: #47 marjoriemoon

OK, thanks. just wondering...

54 What, me worry?  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:02:53pm

re: #49 Killgore Trout

I think a lot of people are intimidated. We can be pretty tough at times.

Registering 4 months after registration and never posting? I'm the last to discourage newcomers, but really...

55 brookly red  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:05:15pm

re: #48 wrenchwench

Since we've been able to watch loggings in and out on the Spy, I've noticed there are some really regular folks who visit all the time and never comment. This isn't one of them.

I don't assume all non-commenting registered members are hostile, but they pique my interest.

some folks just like to watch ;) what can I say?

56 Fozzie Bear  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:05:24pm

re: #54 marjoriemoon

Why is it hard to imagine that there are people who like to read, and aren't as interested in speaking?

This is a peculiarity of the culture here at LGF which I must say is disconcerting.

57 Alexzander  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:08:21pm

I saw a good talk earlier this year in the field of the philosophy of science. Specifically, the talk was about the challenges of long term climate models, and how some of the best differ in their modelling strategy. Overall however, they provided a very consistent picture of a steadily increasing global temperature over the next century.

58 Killgore Trout  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:08:25pm

re: #56 Fozzie Bear

Why is it hard to imagine that there are people who like to read, and aren't as interested in speaking?

This is a peculiarity of the culture here at LGF which I must say is disconcerting.

It's kinda like radio callers. The vast majority of people just listen, very few actually call in to the station and get on the air.

59 albusteve  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:09:21pm

re: #54 marjoriemoon

Registering 4 months after registration and never posting? I'm the last to discourage newcomers, but really...

they can do whatever they want, no big deal....if they are waiting in ambush, then strike, Stinky will take them out....I can understand registering then no t posting...it's their business

60 brookly red  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:09:51pm

re: #58 Killgore Trout

It's kinda like radio callers. The vast majority of people just listen, very few actually call in to the station and get on the air.

/mega dittos! er, I mean, yeah sounds about right...

61 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:10:31pm

re: #56 Fozzie Bear

Why is it hard to imagine that there are people who like to read, and aren't as interested in speaking?

This is a peculiarity of the culture here at LGF which I must say is disconcerting.

It seems to be a permenent feature here, Fozzie. As long as I've been here we've had a good number of people who mostly lurk. It's just a feature of the blog.

62 PhillyPretzel  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:10:52pm

re: #60 brookly red
mega dittos ROFL

63 Fozzie Bear  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:11:55pm

re: #58 Killgore Trout

It's kinda like radio callers. The vast majority of people just listen, very few actually call in to the station and get on the air.

Exactly my thinking.

64 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:12:09pm

re: #45 lostlakehiker

I'm not talking about tax policy.

I'm talking about people who don't understand that only the income in a bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate.

Anyone who peddles this fiction that you inch up a bracket and suddenly all your money is taxed at that bracket is A) stupid B) ignorant or C) lying.

65 Interesting Times  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:12:36pm

re: #61 Dark_Falcon

It seems to be a permenent feature here, Fozzie. As long as I've been here we've had a good number of people who mostly lurk. It's just a feature of the blog.

You may have misunderstood him - I believe Fozzie meant that suspicion of lurkers is the "peculiarity" of LGF culture.

66 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:12:44pm

re: #63 Fozzie Bear

Exactly my thinking.

DITTOS FOR ME RUSH HARGL BARGL

67 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:13:20pm

re: #65 publicityStunted

You may have misunderstood him - I believe Fozzie meant that suspicion of lurkers is the "peculiarity" of LGF culture.

exactly

I can see being pissed off at the mystery lurkey downdinger types, we don't seem to have many of those these days

68 Fozzie Bear  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:13:31pm

re: #65 publicityStunted

You may have misunderstood him - I believe Fozzie meant that suspicion of lurkers is the "peculiarity" of LGF culture.

This is what I meant. I re-read my post, and yeah, I wasn't clear about that. Ambiguous wording FTL.

69 albusteve  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:15:49pm

okay, for the benefit of all, I'll delurk and post this universal plea....dig it

Youtube Video
70 HypnoToad  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:16:39pm

re: #48 wrenchwench

Since we've been able to watch loggings in and out on the Spy, I've
noticed there are some really regular folks who visit all the time and
never comment. This isn't one of them.


I don't assume all non-commenting registered members are hostile, but they pique my interest.


I read a lot at work, where I can't post from. The times I'm on at home, either the threads that I could contribute something useful to are dead, or someone else has already said it better.

71 reine.de.tout  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:17:18pm

re: #56 Fozzie Bear

Why is it hard to imagine that there are people who like to read, and aren't as interested in speaking?

This is a peculiarity of the culture here at LGF which I must say is disconcerting.

It has a bit to do with a few folks who seemed to log in, for the sole purpose of downdinging, and never expressing their opinion or stating WHY the downdings. It's not so much suspicion, as it is curiosity about the folks.

And then there are the few who lurk for ages and ages and ages, and then suddenly flounce without having ever really tried to participate; it's just weird.

And then, IIRC, there have actually been one or two who read the blog, and finally register for the sole purpose of writing a flounce, mega-weird.

Again, not so much suspicion, just curiousity, IMO.

72 albusteve  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:19:42pm

re: #71 reine.de.tout

It has a bit to do with a few folks who seemed to log in, for the sole purpose of downdinging, and never expressing their opinion or stating WHY the downdings. It's not so much suspicion, as it is curiosity about the folks.

And then there are the few who lurk for ages and ages and ages, and then suddenly flounce without having ever really tried to participate; it's just weird.

And then, IIRC, there have actually been one or two who read the blog, and finally register for the sole purpose of writing a flounce, mega-weird.

Again, not so much suspicion, just curiousity, IMO.

for the record....
Albusteve has no patience for mercenary dingers...may they lay in ding limbo with their dongs in a knot

73 reine.de.tout  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:22:37pm

re: #72 albusteve

for the record...
Albusteve has no patience for mercenary dingers...may they lay in ding limbo with their dongs in a knot

Oh, they're harmless, but strange!

There was a registered user with the nic "kulhwch" or something similar, who very rarely made any comments, but would downding every comment I posted, almost, including the "Good night" ones. I guess I did something to him once he didn't like.

74 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:22:38pm

re: #34 freetoken

Oh look, who was it pushing the dreaded Mao Christmas Tree Ornament meme at Foxnews website? Why, the same author, Maxim Lott:

White House Christmas Decor Featuring Mao Zedong Comes Under Fire

Of course, he's merely reporting what some bloggers have written, certain no doubt that the discriminating Fox audience will differentiate between the truth and wacko claims.

Certainly.

I just came across that while looking through Maxim Lott's Twitter account.

Fox News has nearly zero credibility.

75 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:22:57pm

re: #1 blueraven

Well I guess they are proud of the dubious award for the most misinformed viewership of 2010...carrying forward the tradition for the new year.

Wait a minute, and someone will be here to passively-aggressively whine that we're stereotyping Fox viewers.

76 reine.de.tout  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:23:29pm

re: #72 albusteve

for the record...
Albusteve has no patience for mercenary dingers...may they lay in ding limbo with their dongs in a knot

'course, that's a picture I really don't need in my head.

77 Interesting Times  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:24:16pm

re: #72 albusteve

Albusteve has no patience for mercenary dingers...may they lay in ding limbo with their dongs in a knot

I remember one who did nothing but downding Killgore's pages - lonevoice, I believe it was. Thankfully, he was silenced by Stinky's boot ;)

78 reine.de.tout  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:24:59pm

re: #75 SanFranciscoZionist

Wait a minute, and someone will be here to passively-aggressively whine that we're stereotyping Fox viewers.

I get an occasional glimpse of Fox.
I'm not misinformed.
wah-wah-wah, I've been stereotyped!11ty

(there, got it over and done with, we can just go on now)

79 Kilroy01  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:25:49pm

re: #74 Gus 802

Fox News has nearly zero credibility.

Nearly?

80 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:26:05pm

re: #21 Dark_Falcon

That's exactly how the Stalkers sound. It's like a moronic broken record. They just claimed I'm LGF's "biggest sycophant" and now they're doing a "Best Flounce" vote. I'm up for a Biggest Stalker Fail of 2010 page if you're OK with it.

Myself, I'd say no. I don't really want to validate their crazy-ass behavior. Raise an eyebrow and move on, while we raise a glass to your victory.

(Really, it's an honor just to have been nominated.)

81 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:26:50pm

re: #79 Kilroy01

Fox News has nearly zero credibility.

Nearly?

Well. Sometimes they just use AP reports or whatever else is coming in on the news feed. But that's just online.

82 albusteve  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:27:59pm

re: #75 SanFranciscoZionist

Wait a minute, and someone will be here to passively-aggressively whine that we're stereotyping Fox viewers.

it's not Fox, it's the idiot viewers who are content with this destructive, symbiotic relationship....they vote, Fox doesn't

83 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:28:31pm

Repost of sorts:

Three months after humiliating retraction, Fox gay-baiter Maxim Lott has a new smear
December 14, 2009 8:06 pm ET by Jeremy Schulman

Three months ago, Fox News was forced to issue a humiliating retraction of the false allegations it had leveled against Department of Education official Kevin Jennings. Now, Maxim Lott, the FoxNews.com reporter at the center of those falsehoods, has re-emerged with more smears of Jennings.

This time, in an article headlined "Obama's Safe Schools Czar Tied to Lewd Readings for 7th Graders," Lott reported that Jennings "is under fresh attack after it was revealed that the pro-gay group he formerly headed recommends books his critics say are pornographic." In the article, Lott grossly distorts the contents of books recommended by GLSEN for grades 7-12 and waits until the 13th paragraph to disclose that the list of books included the disclaimer that they "contain mature themes" and the recommendation that "adults selecting books for youth review content for suitability."

And just who are the "critics" who apparently inspired Lott's article? In short: anti-gay bigots.

There's Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council, who last year announced his desire "to export homosexuals from the United States" -- a comment for which he later apologized (sort of). FRC's website states: "Family Research Council believes that homosexual conduct is harmful to the persons who engage in it and to society at large, and can never be affirmed. It is by definition unnatural, and as such is associated with negative physical and psychological health effects."

Continues.

Looks like ol' Maxim Lott has all his wingnut angles covered.

84 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:29:16pm

60 degrees today. Nice.

85 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:29:59pm

re: #24 freetoken

Here is part of the article:


This is another classic.

First, air quality in manh major American cities has improved since 1970, but the question is why?

The writer Maxim Lott ignores that the significant extension of the Clean Air act was a Federal law, passed afterwards!! That's right, the government, the Federal government, forced private America to clean up their act. And, it was because of the warning such as the one given that the government paid attention.

We CLEANED SHIT UP, and therefore BAD SHIT DIDN'T HAPPEN.

I remember what the air quality used to be like in LA when I was a little kid. Unbelievable. The smog lay like solid brown gunk on the horizon.

Things can be improved. London and other British cities had horrible, horrible air quality for a long time because of the amount of coal burned. The air is still filthy, but it's getting better. England's rivers were polluted to hell and back during the Industrial Revolution, but they've worked hard to bring them back.

We're a thick species, but we can learn, and some of the damage we do can be undone.

86 reine.de.tout  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:30:27pm

re: #21 Dark_Falcon

That's exactly how the Stalkers sound. It's like a moronic broken record. They just claimed I'm LGF's "biggest sycophant" and now they're doing a "Best Flounce" vote. I'm up for a Biggest Stalker Fail of 2010 page if you're OK with it.

Oh, congrats!
Or, condolences.
Take your pick.

87 Stanghazi  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:30:35pm

re: #74 Gus 802

I just came across that while looking through Maxim Lott's Twitter account.

Fox News has nearly zero credibility.

21 followers! Ha, even I have more. What an idiot.

88 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:31:29pm

re: #34 freetoken

Oh look, who was it pushing the dreaded Mao Christmas Tree Ornament meme at Foxnews website? Why, the same author, Maxim Lott:

White House Christmas Decor Featuring Mao Zedong Comes Under Fire

Of course, he's merely reporting what some bloggers have written, certain no doubt that the discriminating Fox audience will differentiate between the truth and wacko claims.

Certainly.

My non-FOX-watching, Democrat-for-life, Commie-hatin' dad nearly choked over the Mao ornament, although he calmed down once he had some context. And he liked the Hedda Lettuce one.

89 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:32:57pm

re: #40 wrenchwench

How does such a one remember its nic?

It probably stands for something.

When I worked in offices, I had a file called ADDFN, for "A Deliberately Dull File Name". I used it to jot down bits of stories and journal entries during breaks. The file name was so no one would ever think it was the information on something they needed.

90 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:33:24pm

re: #44 brookly red

I guess this is as good a time as any to ask...

where is Ludwig?

We dunno. And even Buck is worried about him.

91 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:34:21pm

re: #21 Dark_Falcon

That's exactly how the Stalkers sound. It's like a moronic broken record. They just claimed I'm LGF's "biggest sycophant" and now they're doing a "Best Flounce" vote. I'm up for a Biggest Stalker Fail of 2010 page if you're OK with it.

How's that for derangement no? I mean, you're one of our conservative members. Of course the big difference is that you're sane as opposed to insane. Meh, fuck 'em. They're going to be doing their little circle jerk routine over at DoD for a long time.

92 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:34:52pm

re: #73 reine.de.tout

Oh, they're harmless, but strange!

There was a registered user with the nic "kulhwch" or something similar, who very rarely made any comments, but would downding every comment I posted, almost, including the "Good night" ones. I guess I did something to him once he didn't like.

Pity, it's a good nic. Hero from a medieval Welsh romance.

93 Killgore Trout  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:35:56pm

Lol-Hitchens
Image: JdGyc.jpg

94 wrenchwench  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:38:49pm

{post delayed by customer interruption}

re: #68 Fozzie Bear

This is what I meant. I re-read my post, and yeah, I wasn't clear about that. Ambiguous wording FTL.

I actually find myself feeling somewhat friendly to the regularly visiting non-commenters. (I could name a few, but I'm afraid I'd scare them off! They know who they are.) But when someone who registered a number of years ago and never commented suddenly shows up, there's always some controversial issue I can suspect has set them off, and further suspect they've come to flounce or something.

95 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:38:49pm

re: #91 Gus 802

How's that for derangement no? I mean, you're one of our conservative members. Of course the big difference is that you're sane as opposed to insane. Meh, fuck 'em. They're going to be doing their little circle jerk routine over at DoD for a long time.

At least two conservatives on the list they came up with. They hate the liberals here, but they really hate the idea that a conservative could post here, and talk to people, and not flounce because of how nasty and liberal it is. Hence the bitter resentment of DF and Reine.

Oddly, since I have never been anything but a bleeding-heart liberal, I come in for some of it as well, since they assume that anyone identifying as a Zionist needs-must subscribe to their particular take on all things political.

96 kirkspencer  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:39:04pm

re: #58 Killgore Trout

It's kinda like radio callers. The vast majority of people just listen, very few actually call in to the station and get on the air.

Well, some of them are possibly like me. Notice I'm replying to comment 58 almost 100 posts later. I don't live on LGF, so when I get on I have to plow through a few hundred posts to catch up.

Add to this first that there are some topics of which I have no interest. Add second that there are some in which I have interest and even sometimes a different point of view, but I've not got the time to continue a discussion -- and I'm not fond of drive-by posting. (Guilty, sometimes, because I think the point needs made, but I don't like doing it.)

97 Charles Johnson  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:39:41pm

re: #65 publicityStunted

You may have misunderstood him - I believe Fozzie meant that suspicion of lurkers is the "peculiarity" of LGF culture.

Unfortunately, that suspicion arises out of a lot of experience. Since I publicly split with the right, the number of really nasty trolls that have come out of the woodwork at LGF is pretty amazing.

However, I certainly don't suspect all lurkers of being trolls, and I don't think most LGF readers do either.

98 wrenchwench  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:40:05pm

re: #70 HypnoToad

I read a lot at work, where I can't post from. The times I'm on at home, either the threads that I could contribute something useful to are dead, or someone else has already said it better.

See, you would never qualify for my suspicion. You have a searchable comment history, and you're almost always funny.

99 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:40:21pm

I know many people would at least frown on the climate denial/Holocaust denial analogy. I understand why, but my personal opinion is that if it walks like a duck and illustrates the point, it's a good analogy. Note that many Holocaust deniers are also AGW deniers and they don't shy away from the comparison. Oh no, they don't.

So what this crock of an argument amounts to is if some denier listed miscellaneous estimates of victims of different Nazi camps that varied greatly throughout the 65 years for various reasons, mostly because of deficient/rough methods of estimation. E.g. the Soviet commissions were fond of estimating the number of victims through the (assumed) capacity of crematoria, which is a very faulty method for so many reasons. So we have a Soviet estimate of 1,500,000 victims (not only Jewish) of Majdanek, that then was reduced by the Polish commission on the Nazi crimes to 360,000, then to 250,000 by the Majdanek Museum researcher Czeslaw Rajca, and recently to 80,000 (most of them Jews) by the Museum director/researcher Tomasz Kranz. (This later estimate, by the way, converges with Raul Hilberg's very old estimate of 50,000 Jewish victims in Majdanek).

Auschwitz estimates history was just as complex, with the Iron Curtain countries mostly accepting the Soviet estimate of 4,000,000 victims (of all "nationalities"), while Western historians were all around the place, some accepting earlier estimates by the Auschwitz commandant Hoess, others accepting his later (and lower) estimates from his memoir, yet others having their own estimates based on the transportation data, which, by the way, were closer to the mark, with the convergence being around 1,000,000 victims, as confirmed by the Auschwitz Museum director F. Piper in his book dedicated to the issue.

So by the standards of Fox News, since there were some of those botched estimates in the first place, the Holocaust is in doubt.

100 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:40:22pm

re: #97 Charles

Unfortunately, that suspicion arises out of a lot of experience. Since I publicly split with the right, the number of really nasty trolls that have come out of the woodwork at LGF is pretty amazing.

However, I certainly don't suspect all lurkers of being trolls, and I don't think most LGF readers do either.


Every list or blog I've ever been on has lurkers. Some people simply don't care to join in.

101 Vicious Babushka  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:44:45pm

Happy New Year, and Shabbat Shalom!

102 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:45:01pm

re: #74 Gus 802


Fox News has nearly zero credibility.

Nearly, you say? I think you're being far too kind. :P

103 wrenchwench  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:45:02pm

re: #96 kirkspencer

Add to this first that there are some topics of which I have no interest.

Troll! Start your own blog!

/oh, wait...

104 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:46:02pm

re: #102 Slumbering Behemoth

Nearly, you say? I think you're being far too kind. :P

You know me. I'm always striving to be kind. ;)

105 PhillyPretzel  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:46:05pm

re: #101 Alouette
And the same to you. :)

106 Interesting Times  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:47:20pm

re: #91 Gus 802

How's that for derangement no? I mean, you're one of our conservative members. Of course the big difference is that you're sane as opposed to insane. Meh, fuck 'em. They're going to be doing their little circle jerk routine over at DoD for a long time.

When it comes to old-style stalking, the standard advice I've heard from those in law enforcement is to document every instance of unwanted contact and harassment, but not engage the stalker in any way (i.e. after giving them a clear, unambiguous, "do not contact me ever again" statement, say nothing more - if they call, hang up immediately, if they write/email, don't respond - just document the communications for law enforcement purposes).

When it comes to cyberstalking, I'm not entirely sure how to modify that advice - though I confess to finding the posts entertaining at times, generally, I feel it's not a good idea to engage the stalkers here - only eggs them on, and makes them feel they still have a "mutual" relationship with LGF. But ignore them completely? If they're making threats, planning something seriously disruptive, or actively spamming other sites with things such as nic-jacking, cyber-vandalism, etc, I do think that should be documented in case the US ever gets a cyberstalking law with teeth.

107 Killgore Trout  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:51:44pm

Bad news for wingnuts.....

U.S. stocks end 2010 with strong gains

U.S. stocks ended 2010 with strong gains, advancing for the second year in a row, as stimulus measures from the Federal Reserve and the government and recent signs of improvement in the economy encouraged investors' spirits. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the year at 11,577.51 on Friday, up 7.8 points for the session, and less than 10 points below a two-year high it reached on Wednesday. The Dow jumped 5.2% in December and is up 11% for the year.

108 palomino  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:52:19pm

The standard denial argument has been that since 1997 was even hotter than the subsequent 12 years, we are now in a cooling trend. This is akin to saying that one day of 100 followed by 6 days of 99 doesn't qualify as a weeklong heatwave.

I know the analogy is weak, but it seems appropriate given that the deniers don't even understand the difference between climate and weather.

109 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:52:27pm

Just an observation: every short list of any kind is always, and always has been, a "Top Ten" or "Bottom Ten" list. Always ten.

Would this be different if we had evolved to have twelve fingers?

110 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:53:24pm

It's a little bit over an hour till 00:00 where I am, and I wish all the Lizards all the best in the New Year!

111 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:53:29pm

re: #109 Slumbering Behemoth

Just an observation: every short list of any kind is always, and always has been, a "Top Ten" or "Bottom Ten" list. Always ten.

Would this be different if we had evolved to have twelve fingers?

Would be counting to 144 instead of 100?

/

112 (I Stand By What I Said Whatever It Was)  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:54:17pm

re: #109 Slumbering Behemoth

Just an observation: every short list of any kind is always, and always has been, a "Top Ten" or "Bottom Ten" list. Always ten.

Would this be different if we had evolved to have twelve fingers?

I dunno, did they have those list in ancient base-60 cultures? "Bottom 60 Deities of 900 BC"?

113 wrenchwench  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:54:17pm

re: #111 Gus 802

Would be counting to 144 instead of 100?

/

That would be gross.

114 PhillyPretzel  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:54:30pm

re: #110 Sergey Romanov
Happy New Year to you and your family and friends.

115 palomino  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:55:06pm

re: #107 Killgore Trout

Bad news for wingnuts...

U.S. stocks end 2010 with strong gains

This is the kind of horrible thing that happens when a socialist becomes president!

As the tea partiers and alleged intellectuals like Gingrich say, God save us from the Kenyan Marxist menace.

Seriously, though, if he were anything close to a true socialist, would the stock market (which is very sensitive to the economic climate) be growing at such a clip?

116 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:56:36pm

re: #114 PhillyPretzel

Happy New Year to you and your family and friends.

Thank you, and the same to you and your dearest people!

117 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:56:47pm

re: #86 reine.de.tout

Oh, congrats!
Or, condolences.
Take your pick.

re: #91 Gus 802

How's that for derangement no? I mean, you're one of our conservative members. Of course the big difference is that you're sane as opposed to insane. Meh, fuck 'em. They're going to be doing their little circle jerk routine over at DoD for a long time.

Thanks, guys. Mostly it seems to be the fact that I blow the whistle on some of their nastiness that gets their man-panties in a twist. Eh, it doesn't bother me, let 'em spew.

BBL

118 Interesting Times  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:57:09pm

re: #115 palomino

Seriously, though, if he were anything close to a true socialist, would the stock market (which is very sensitive to the economic climate) be growing at such a clip?

Wingnuts will just claim it's due to free-market ecstasy for the incoming GOP House /

119 What, me worry?  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:58:01pm

re: #118 publicityStunted

Wingnuts will just claim it's due to free-market ecstasy for the incoming GOP House /

Wingnuts! Drink!

120 the west is the best  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 1:58:55pm

I'm one of those lurkers that you speak of. Between work and bandwith problems (the kid eats up the satallite bandwith playing WOW and such) I don't get out much, cyber speaking. I do enjoy this site and this topic in particular. I have a BA in Geology from a school that does a lot of glaciology and paleoclimate research.

121 calochortus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:00:06pm

re: #96 kirkspencer

Well, some of them are possibly like me. Notice I'm replying to comment 58 almost 100 posts later. I don't live on LGF, so when I get on I have to plow through a few hundred posts to catch up.

Add to this first that there are some topics of which I have no interest. Add second that there are some in which I have interest and even sometimes a different point of view, but I've not got the time to continue a discussion -- and I'm not fond of drive-by posting. (Guilty, sometimes, because I think the point needs made, but I don't like doing it.)

What he said.

122 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:00:20pm

re: #118 publicityStunted

Wingnuts will just claim it's due to free-market ecstasy for the incoming GOP House /

Hey! Now that Obama helped extend the Bush tax cuts is it OK if we call them the Obama tax cuts for the next two years?

//Obama tax cuts = Splodey heads!

123 bratwurst  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:00:38pm

re: #15 Charles

Hurr hurr! Right! Excuse me while I go shovel the global warming out of my driveway! Al Gore! Derf.

/

You forgot to make reference to the hilarious concept that farting has something to do with the increase in greenhouse gases.

124 Interesting Times  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:01:00pm

re: #119 marjoriemoon

Wingnuts! Drink!

Aren't they bad enough sober? :P

125 calochortus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:01:40pm

How about someone puts together a list of the top ten horribly wrong Fox Business predictions about the economy from around 2006-2007? No? I thought not.

126 wrenchwench  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:01:41pm

re: #120 the west is the best

I'm one of those lurkers that you speak of. Between work and bandwith problems (the kid eats up the satallite bandwith playing WOW and such) I don't get out much, cyber speaking. I do enjoy this site and this topic in particular. I have a BA in Geology from a school that does a lot of glaciology and paleoclimate research.

Greetings, and Happy New Year!

It's good to have people knowledgeable on this topic hanging around.

127 palomino  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:02:12pm

re: #118 publicityStunted

Wingnuts will just claim it's due to free-market ecstasy for the incoming GOP House /

Which would make sense except that the market's been going up for well over a year, beginning when the speakership was just one more tear drop in Boehner's eye.

128 the west is the best  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:02:57pm

re: #123 bratwurst
Bovine flatulence should be considered, but it may have the relative impact of a fart in a hurricaine.

129 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:03:04pm

re: #107 Killgore Trout

Bad news for wingnuts...

U.S. stocks end 2010 with strong gains

Thanks to the Obama tax cuts. ;)

130 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:03:34pm

re: #93 Killgore Trout

Read this page today. Made me happy.

131 albusteve  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:04:41pm

re: #127 palomino

Which would make sense except that the market's been going up for well over a year, beginning when the speakership was just one more tear drop in Boehner's eye.

the market has a way of ignoring politics after a point

132 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:04:57pm

re: #120 the west is the best

I'm one of those lurkers that you speak of. Between work and bandwith problems (the kid eats up the satallite bandwith playing WOW and such) I don't get out much, cyber speaking. I do enjoy this site and this topic in particular. I have a BA in Geology from a school that does a lot of glaciology and paleoclimate research.

Let me guess. Paleoclimate Glaciology U!

133 SteelGHAZI  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:06:29pm

I honestly don't have a lot to say. Or if I do, there isn't much I can add that hasn't already been said.

I am a man of few words.

134 the west is the best  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:07:29pm

re: #132 Fat Bastard Vegetarian
U Maine. Course work in the Quarternary Institute, glacial geology, etc.

135 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:07:34pm

Meanwhile Russian police cracks down on a sanctioned protest demonstration, arrests some of the opposition under false pretenses.

[Link: yashin.livejournal.com...]

136 palomino  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:07:40pm

re: #122 Gus 802

Hey! Now that Obama helped extend the Bush tax cuts is it OK if we call them the Obama tax cuts for the next two years?

//Obama tax cuts = Splodey heads!

The GOP thinks this is a winning issue for them in 2012. Why, I'm not exactly sure. Polls suggest otherwise, as do the impact of debates over top 2% tax rates on the elections of 1996 and 2008. This was hardly the defining issue of the 2010 blowout.

Particularly if Obama is willing to raise the threshold to 500k or even 1 mil, it's gonna be kinda hard for the GOP to argue that an increase from 36% to 39% is some punitive program designed to tear down capitalism.

137 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:08:00pm

re: #134 the west is the best

Whassamatta U?

138 Kilroy01  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:08:56pm

re: #128 the west is the best

Bovine flatulence should be considered, but it may have the relative impact of a fart in a hurricaine.


Besides. Farts aren't made of sequestered carbon.

Which means that each fart is just putting the CO2 back in the air that the plant the animal ate took out.

139 palomino  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:08:59pm

re: #131 albusteve

the market has a way of ignoring politics after a point

Maybe so, but if Obama really were the love child of Emma Goldman and V.I. Lenin, then it's very doubtful the markets would have been so bullish over the last year plus.

140 wrenchwench  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:09:07pm

Happy New Year, lizards. I'm outta here, probably until Monday. Or maybe I'll stop in tomorrow when I come down to check the buckets under my roof leaks....

141 the west is the best  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:09:28pm

re: #137 Fat Bastard Vegetarian
My cousins from Medford, MA went there.

142 Charles Johnson  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:09:52pm

re: #140 wrenchwench

Happy New Year to you and to all!

143 bratwurst  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:09:55pm

re: #128 the west is the best

Bovine flatulence should be considered, but it may have the relative impact of a fart in a hurricaine.

It is a standard method of climate change minimization, even used around here on a fairly regular basis...often followed by "I don't listen to Limbaugh".

144 the west is the best  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:12:22pm

re: #143 bratwurst
That was a jokelike reply, I guess I should have completed the comment with a slashie.

145 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:12:38pm

re: #138 Kilroy01

Farts aren't made of sequestered carbon.

That should be on a t-shirt, or a rotating title.

146 the west is the best  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:14:17pm

re: #145 Slumbering Behemoth
Excellent point. We should name it the shallow bean cycle or some such.

147 Ojoe  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:14:35pm

re: #145 Slumbering Behemoth

The carbon WAS momentarily sequestered.

Also: What causes ice ages?

148 Kilroy01  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:21:41pm

re: #147 Ojoe


Also: What causes ice ages?

Here you go

149 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:23:23pm

I see today nontroversy is about Janet Napolitano's trip to Afghanistan regarding DHS border security, etc. I'm looking for previous trips in the region by DHS and came across one already:

A Visit to the Middle East

In Iraq, Chertoff Leads 178 Servicemembers in Oath of AllegianceThis past weekend, I traveled to the Middle East to participate in several events with our servicemen and women and to meet with a number of our allies throughout the region. I visited Iraq, Bahrain and Jordan, and on the way back, met my European counterparts in London.

[...]

After Iraq, I went to Bahrain and met with several U.S. Coast Guard members who are assisting in Operation Iraqi Freedom. There, a small unit is doing a tremendous job securing ports in the North Arabian Gulf, augmenting U.S. Navy security forces, training Iraqi sailors and marines, and protecting Iraq’s oil infrastructure, which is crucial to overall reconstruction efforts. In addition to Coast Guard forces, DHS has Customs and Border Protection personnel stationed in and around Iraq to help train Iraqi soldiers and strengthen their border security efforts.

DHS personnel deployed overseas are directly enhancing our security at home. By working closely with Iraqi, American, and Coalition Forces, they are helping to stabilize a fledgling democracy, creating a safer Iraq and therefore a safer Middle East. And a safer Middle East means a safer world for us and our allies. These young men and women are also goodwill ambassadors, setting an example and forging relationships that enhance America’s reputation in Iraq and the Gulf.

[...]

Thanks for reading.

Michael Chertoff

So to recap, Chertoff visited Iraq and stated: DHS personnel deployed overseas are directly enhancing our security at home. By working closely with Iraqi, American, and Coalition Forces, they are helping to stabilize a fledgling democracy, creating a safer Iraq and therefore a safer Middle East.

DHS being involved in Iraq and Afghanistan is nothing new. I don't think those afflicted with BDS will see the logic in this. Obama is merely continuing Bush's policies.

150 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:26:02pm

re: #149 Gus 802

DHS MEMOS!!!
OLIGARHY!!!
/

151 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:26:49pm

re: #149 Gus 802

I see today nontroversy is about Janet Napolitano's trip to Afghanistan regarding DHS border security, etc. I'm looking for previous trips in the region by DHS and came across one already:

A Visit to the Middle East

So to recap, Chertoff visited Iraq and stated: DHS personnel deployed overseas are directly enhancing our security at home. By working closely with Iraqi, American, and Coalition Forces, they are helping to stabilize a fledgling democracy, creating a safer Iraq and therefore a safer Middle East.

DHS being involved in Iraq and Afghanistan is nothing new. I don't think those afflicted with BDS will see the logic in this. Obama is merely continuing Bush's policies.

Further driving my point home. From 2007:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Team Helps Secure Iraq’s Borders
(Tuesday, February 01, 2005)

Washington, D.C. – This week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) deployed another team of CBP officers and Border Patrol agents to Iraq and the surrounding region in an effort to help secure Iraq’s borders. The CBP team, deployed prior to the Iraqi national elections, will support current border security efforts. The support and additional training of Iraqi border police will continue beyond the elections. The focus is to keep saboteurs, terrorists and armaments from crossing into or out of Iraq.

“U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and Border Patrol agents are fighting the war on terror, and we’ve taken it to the borders of Iraq. Our people are on a vital mission to train Iraqis to protect their own borders and build Iraqi institutions that will safeguard the new freedoms and democratic principles being established there. There is no more important mission,” said Commissioner Bonner.

This latest effort by CBP is an enhancement to the already ongoing commitment to develop and help institutionalize Iraq’s border security strategy. The CBP team began training Iraqis at the Jordanian International Police Training Center (JIPTC) in Amman, Jordan in August 2004. Since that time, over 2100 Iraqi border control officers have been trained. The training began with basic classroom instruction and progressed to field exercises. The courses taught include border security tactics, human rights, defensive tactics training, weapons training, vehicle searches, as well as basic customs and immigration activities. The Iraqi officials CBP trained are now putting these skills to use at their country’s ports of entry.

The next class at the JIPTC is due to commence on February 7. Upon graduation, the CBP team is expected to return to the United States while graduates will follow rank in securing their border.

“Border security is critical to defeating terrorists – whether at U.S. borders or the borders of Iraq,” said Commissioner Bonner. “I commend the CBP officers and Border Patrol agents who volunteered their expertise and sacrificed the comforts of home to help institute Iraqi border security.“

CBP’s priority mission is preventing the entry of terrorists and terrorist weapons into the United States. This effort is undertaken domestically and abroad. Over 1,000 CBP officers and Border patrol agents are stationed around the world working to defeat terrorism.

CBP is part of DHS. What they did in Iraq is almost exactly what they were doing in Iraq in 2007.

152 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:27:13pm

re: #151 Gus 802

2005 not 2007. Can't wait for the edit button. ;)

153 lawhawk  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:27:28pm

re: #115 palomino

That would discount the possibility that the markets have already factored in the GOP ascendancy in the House and that the divided political situation in Congress will mean that a major shift isn't likely - and the 2 year extension indicates that the Administration is willing to wheel and deal with the GOP (undermining the whole Obama as socialist meme, but igniting the RINO revenge fantasies by the far right who thinks that any deal is a bad one).

Obama is looking more pragmatic with his decision making but the true believers on the extremes wont tolerate that kind of situation.

154 shiplord kirel  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:28:57pm

It's certainly regrettable that Fox has chosen to pillory Col. Bernt Balchen, DFC, in this article, since most of their readers will not have heard of him otherwise.
Balchen was a great explorer and aviator who was crucially involved with Richard Byrd's attempt to fly over the North Pole in 1926. Balchen received great credit for this but had the integrity to state publicly that he had doubts about whether Byrd had actually reached the Pole. Later, in 1929, Balchen was the lead pilot on the first flight over the South Pole. During World War 2, he was this country's leading Arctic flyer. He virtually invented the standard techniques of Arctic search and rescue. His work saved many lives at the time and continues to do so to this day.

He made the 1972 statement less than a year before he died and was obviously referring to a worst case scenario. Besides, at the risk of belaboring the obvious, all these statements are, or should be, prefaced with "if present trends continue..." Given the situation in 1972, with an exponential increase in pollution of all kinds, this might well have happened without the very environmental legislation that naysayers bitched about at the time.

155 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:29:09pm

More from memory lane:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Disbands Known Iraqi Smuggling Ring and Apprehends Terrorists
(Monday, December 06, 2004)

Amman, Jordan— Today U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Robert C. Bonner met with officials from the Iraqi Department of Border Enforcement (DBE), and Cathy Freibel, Jordanian International Police Training Center Director to discuss CBP’s role in training Iraqi border police. The Commissioner commended the CBP Officers and Border patrol agents who, in partnership with the Iraqi DBE, apprehended 41 terrorists at the Iraqi border. These insurgents were operating a weapons route effectively arming the insurgency violence within Iraq. The CBP and Iraqi DBE are also responsible for breaking up a known Iraqi smuggling ring also operating at one of the borders...

156 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:30:45pm

Yet we have many comments like this over at Fox News:

jan1977 [Moderator] 6 minutes ago
So,since when did Afghanistan become part of the United States or is that idiotic President Barack Hussein Obama had too much sun on this latest Hawaiian Vacation that he sent his incompetent worthless Sec of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to Afghanistan to secure the US and Mexico Border,and got his geography and wrong homeland for Napolitano to secure all messed up or what? Hey Barry and Janet wrong border to securehere as Afghanistan doesnot border on Mexico & USA!!

157 Sionainn  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:31:00pm

re: #122 Gus 802

Hey! Now that Obama helped extend the Bush tax cuts is it OK if we call them the Obama tax cuts for the next two years?

//Obama tax cuts = Splodey heads!

Excellent idea. That's what I'll call 'em from now on.

158 shiplord kirel  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:32:48pm

re: #156 Gus 802

Yet we have many comments like this over at Fox News:

Good farking grief, what a maroon! Napolitano would be completely derelict in her duty if she did not send people overseas to monitor the origin points of many of the threats we face.

159 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:36:13pm

So here's the Fox News report regarding Napolitano and DHS/CBP:

Napolitano Visit Aimed at Beefing Up Afghan Border Security, Customs

[...]

In January 2010, a "Customs Academy" opened in Kabul, training as many as 200 recruits in an effort to turn the Afghanistan Customs Department into "a modern service," as the U.S. embassy put it in a press release.

In addition to the Homeland Security officials already on the ground in Afghanistan, several more are expected to land there over next month. Those ranks don't include the more than 50 former CBP officials hired privately to support the DHS mission there.

Napolitano was expected to ring in the New Year with U.S. personnel at the embassy in Kabul. A bonfire was being prepared as of early Friday evening.

This of course leads to a great deal of derangement by the commentators. Again, I find another similar situation from 2005:

CBP trains Iraqi’s to secure their borders

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and Border Patrol agents are helping Iraq to secure its war torn borders. Classroom training for the Iraqi Department of Border Enforcement is being provided at the Jordan International Police Training Center (JIPTC) in Amman, Jordan. The Center is generally used by coalition forces to train Iraqi police, but is currently being used to train personnel on customs, immigration, and border security.

Read the whole thing.

160 palomino  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:37:19pm

re: #153 lawhawk

That would discount the possibility that the markets have already factored in the GOP ascendancy in the House and that the divided political situation in Congress will mean that a major shift isn't likely - and the 2 year extension indicates that the Administration is willing to wheel and deal with the GOP (undermining the whole Obama as socialist meme, but igniting the RINO revenge fantasies by the far right who thinks that any deal is a bad one).

Obama is looking more pragmatic with his decision making but the true believers on the extremes wont tolerate that kind of situation.

He's really a center-left pragmatist, who has often bucked the left wing of his own party, and in some cases simply continued Bush policies.

Obama's a liberal, but he clearly doesn't want to be remembered as a do-nothing idealist ideologue. Oh yeah, and he wants to get re-elected.

161 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:37:38pm

re: #158 shiplord kirel

Good farking grief, what a maroon! Napolitano would be completely derelict in her duty if she did not send people overseas to monitor the origin points of many of the threats we face.

They're a bunch of idiots. That's all I can think of for the time being.

162 Stanghazi  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:38:16pm

re: #161 Gus 802

They're a bunch of idiots. That's all I can think of for the time being.

900+ commenting idiots at that.

163 shiplord kirel  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:39:37pm

re: #161 Gus 802

They're a bunch of idiots. That's all I can think of for the time being.

Indeed. I guess "jan" and the other Faux News commenters would be ok with it if Osama bin Laden and his whole army of terrorists moved to Juarez, so long as Napolitano made a good faith effort to keep them on that side of the border.

164 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:40:14pm

re: #162 Stanley Sea

900+ commenting idiots at that.

Did Big Sis forget where teh border was? Wats she doin in Afanistan when they r suppos to be defendin our bor-der with Mexeco?

//

165 BishopX  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:40:39pm

re: #160 palomino

Not to be pedantic, but I think you misspelled center-right.

//

166 NJDhockeyfan  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:45:34pm

I just took the Spiegel Pub Quiz : One Radioactive End of Year Quiz

I got 9 out of a possible 16 points.

167 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:56:45pm

FACT SHEET: United States Humanitarian Assistance for Displaced Iraqis
December 5, 20072007/1102 Fact Sheet Update

• UNHCR announced its intention in February to refer approximately 20,000 Iraqis to resettlement countries during calendar year 2007, with over half that number to the USRAP. In February, the U.S. Government had virtually no refugee processing infrastructure in the two major asylum countries, Syria and Jordan. Since then, USRAP entities have established processing facilities, hired and trained local and international staff, and prepared cases for presentation to adjudicators from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

• The Department of Homeland Security’s Citizenship and Immigration Services (DHS/USCIS) completed interviews of approximately 6,000 Iraqis to date. Interviews are continuing at an accelerated pace in FY 2008, with the cooperation and support of host governments.

168 lostlakehiker  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 2:57:45pm

re: #64 WindUpBird

I'm not talking about tax policy.

I'm talking about people who don't understand that only the income in a bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate.

Anyone who peddles this fiction that you inch up a bracket and suddenly all your money is taxed at that bracket is A) stupid B) ignorant or C) lying.

(A) is most unlikely. If you're rich enough to even be worrying about that, you've got decent tax advice or you can fill out the forms yourself.

I think the main dynamic is that when deciding whether to take overtime, (and almost always, earning more money takes more work), it's the last and highest bracket that applies to all the money that might, or might not, be earned through that extra work.

Anyone who says something along the lines of "what's the point, they'd take it all anyway" is thinking in terms of the marginal tax rate, which can top 50 percent once all taxes, federal, state, and city, are rung up.

They're not so much stupid, or liars, or ignorant, as they are focused on that portion of the tax law that is relevant to the decision that lies before them.

There have been quite a few instances of tax hikes that brought in reduced revenue, so this way of thinking is evidently at work in the real world.

169 (I Stand By What I Said Whatever It Was)  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:03:32pm

Happy New Years from Germany, Lizards!

170 albusteve  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:03:53pm

re: #160 palomino

He's really a center-left pragmatist, who has often bucked the left wing of his own party, and in some cases simply continued Bush policies.

Obama's a liberal, but he clearly doesn't want to be remembered as a do-nothing idealist ideologue. Oh yeah, and he wants to get re-elected.

so did Bill, and he had to move toward the center to do it....that's when I become sorta fond of the old scallywag...I don't hate BO and I'll change with him....you nailed it with the do-nothing idealogue angle

171 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:05:12pm

re: #106 publicityStunted

When it comes to old-style stalking, the standard advice I've heard from those in law enforcement is to document every instance of unwanted contact and harassment, but not engage the stalker in any way (i.e. after giving them a clear, unambiguous, "do not contact me ever again" statement, say nothing more - if they call, hang up immediately, if they write/email, don't respond - just document the communications for law enforcement purposes).

When it comes to cyberstalking, I'm not entirely sure how to modify that advice - though I confess to finding the posts entertaining at times, generally, I feel it's not a good idea to engage the stalkers here - only eggs them on, and makes them feel they still have a "mutual" relationship with LGF. But ignore them completely? If they're making threats, planning something seriously disruptive, or actively spamming other sites with things such as nic-jacking, cyber-vandalism, etc, I do think that should be documented in case the US ever gets a cyberstalking law with teeth.

I generally agree that we should ignore them, although I sometimes fall down on that advice--sorry for bringing up the contest on Dorkulous, but it was just too hysterical for me to resist.

People posting over there have, at different times, threatened me with bodily harm, and threatened to try to 'ruin my life' if various demands of theirs were not met. I think it's reasonably prudent for me to keep an eye on what they're talking about, with the clear understanding that if they ever cross the line into what I could get law enforcement involved with, law enforcement will get involved.

Meh, I don't think either attention or ignoring will make them go away--they're having too much fun.

172 albusteve  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:05:18pm

re: #161 Gus 802

They're a bunch of idiots. That's all I can think of for the time being.

she needs to improve the border situation....seems to me that's the priority, but my head is still in one piece

173 Walter L. Newton  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:05:26pm

re: #160 palomino

He's really a center-left pragmatist, who has often bucked the left wing of his own party, and in some cases simply continued Bush policies.

Obama's a liberal, but he clearly doesn't want to be remembered as a do-nothing idealist ideologue. Oh yeah, and he wants to get re-elected.

He won't be.

174 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:05:54pm

re: #172 albusteve

she needs to improve the border situation...seems to me that's the priority, but my head is still in one piece

This is continuing policy for the region.

175 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:06:19pm

re: #123 bratwurst

You forgot to make reference to the hilarious concept that farting has something to do with the increase in greenhouse gases.

Because we fart more than previous generations?

176 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:07:35pm

re: #139 palomino

Maybe so, but if Obama really were the love child of Emma Goldman and V.I. Lenin, then it's very doubtful the markets would have been so bullish over the last year plus.

If he were really the love child of Emma Goldman and V.I. Lenin, then he would be the first Jewish president.

177 albusteve  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:08:26pm

re: #174 Gus 802

This is continuing policy for the region.

I know that...I hold every admin going back responsible for the border...I'm no fan of some prez because he's a certain party member...screw that

178 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:08:37pm

re: #149 Gus 802

I see today nontroversy is about Janet Napolitano's trip to Afghanistan regarding DHS border security, etc. I'm looking for previous trips in the region by DHS and came across one already:

A Visit to the Middle East


So to recap, Chertoff visited Iraq and stated: DHS personnel deployed overseas are directly enhancing our security at home. By working closely with Iraqi, American, and Coalition Forces, they are helping to stabilize a fledgling democracy, creating a safer Iraq and therefore a safer Middle East.

DHS being involved in Iraq and Afghanistan is nothing new. I don't think those afflicted with BDS will see the logic in this. Obama is merely continuing Bush's policies.

Shouldn't this be encouraging to those who worry that Farsi-speaking terrorists are sneaking across the border and ending up in U.S. jails?

179 lostlakehiker  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:09:04pm

re: #166 NJDhockeyfan

I just took the Spiegel Pub Quiz : One Radioactive End of Year Quiz

I got 9 out of a possible 16 points.

I'm a 10.

Well done! You clearly spend far too much time reading SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL -- keep it up!

Nah. Just guessing. In retrospect, some of my wrong guesses were wrong-headed. The good guesses, of course, can be put down to [wonder woman's truth lasso descends] blind luck.

180 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:09:59pm

re: #160 palomino

He's really a center-left pragmatist, who has often bucked the left wing of his own party, and in some cases simply continued Bush policies.

Obama's a liberal, but he clearly doesn't want to be remembered as a do-nothing idealist ideologue. Oh yeah, and he wants to get re-elected.

My take too, although certain folks keep returning hopefully to the idea that he won't want to run again because being president is teh hard.

181 albusteve  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:11:37pm

re: #178 SanFranciscoZionist

Shouldn't this be encouraging to those who worry that Farsi-speaking terrorists are sneaking across the border and ending up in U.S. jails?

it's the Farsi speaking terrorists that waltz over the border that are not in jail that I worry about...there is little reason to believe that only a few have come over....why wouldn't they exploit the border?...they would be stupid not to....I'm livin in FEAR!

182 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:11:50pm

re: #174 Gus 802

This is continuing policy for the region.

And, all kidding aside, it makes sense. Border security is tied to overseas security in this day and age.

183 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:12:09pm

re: #177 albusteve

I know that...I hold every admin going back responsible for the border...I'm no fan of some prez because he's a certain party member...screw that

It's just inter-agency cooperation. They theory being that since DHS is a civilian organization they are better suited for training transitional governments. Think about it. The US Army and Marines are a fighting unit. They are not the best agency with regards to training those for normal border security procedures. Nor do we want to divert our fighting men and women to take part in this training. The DHS/CBP are the best agency for this task.

184 Cannadian Club Akbar  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:12:17pm

Happy New Year Honcos. It's been a while.

185 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:12:58pm

re: #184 cannadian club akbar

Happy New Year Honcos. It's been a while.

Hey! Happy New Year!

186 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:14:08pm

re: #182 SanFranciscoZionist

And, all kidding aside, it makes sense. Border security is tied to overseas security in this day and age.

I don't know why they're complaining now. You know who was the one that created the giant agency known as Homeland Security.

187 reloadingisnotahobby  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:14:10pm

re: #184 cannadian club akbar

Happy New Year Honcos. It's been a while.

Who the hell are you??
/
Where the hell ya been?
;-)

188 Cannadian Club Akbar  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:15:16pm

re: #187 reloadingisnotahobby

Who the hell are you??
/
Where the hell ya been?
;-)

Been digging a hole for myself. My new shovel broke, though.
//

189 Stanghazi  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:15:32pm

Confession time. I am reading over at the stalker blog. They now have the best flounces. If you can ignore their asinine comments, the flounces are pretty funny to re-visit.

190 albusteve  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:15:59pm

re: #183 Gus 802

It's just inter-agency cooperation. They theory being that since DHS is a civilian organization they are better suited for training transitional governments. Think about it. The US Army and Marines are a fighting unit. They are not the best agency with regards to training those for normal border security procedures. Nor do we want to divert our fighting men and women to take part in this training. The DHS/CBP are the best agency for this task.

another reason to farm out airport security....private companies would likely be more efficient and relieve DHS of that friggin ball and chain

191 lostlakehiker  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:16:12pm

re: #107 Killgore Trout

Bad news for wingnuts...

U.S. stocks end 2010 with strong gains

Proof that optimism about Tea Party results is in the driver's seat.

//

But while we're on the topic of tea, here's another spot of news: Now we've GOT to do something about AGW.

192 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:18:24pm

re: #190 albusteve

another reason to farm out airport security...private companies would likely be more efficient and relieve DHS of that friggin ball and chain

I don't have an "answer" but I really don't see a problem. TSA agents are following federal guidelines. If you privatize those agents they would have to follow the same guidelines. To be honest, I really don't see any major problem with the way the TSA is running things right now.

193 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:19:17pm

re: #186 Gus 802

I don't know why they're complaining now. You know who was the one that created the giant agency known as Homeland Security.

I think the Bush years created a weird disconnect between "Goverment is always bad and evil and out to get me" and "Government can do any damn thing it wants to protect me from terrorists" for some people. Their priorities are shifting as the memory of the shock of 9/11 recedes into the past, and a Democrat is in the White House.

(This is not to say that other people's priorities aren't moving in different directions for other partisan reasons. Just to be clear.)

194 Cannadian Club Akbar  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:19:54pm

re: #192 Gus 802

I don't have an "answer" but I really don't see a problem. TSA agents are following federal guidelines. If you privatize those agents they would have to follow the same guidelines. To be honest, I really don't see any major problem with the way the TSA is running things right now.

[Link: forums.jetcareers.com...]

195 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:21:39pm

re: #194 cannadian club akbar

[Link: forums.jetcareers.com...]

That's nice. I don't expect everything to be perfect either. I could always point to the privatization of prisons as an example.

196 albusteve  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:21:57pm

re: #192 Gus 802

I don't have an "answer" but I really don't see a problem. TSA agents are following federal guidelines. If you privatize those agents they would have to follow the same guidelines. To be honest, I really don't see any major problem with the way the TSA is running things right now.


too cumbersome and inefficient with regard to dumping bad checkers and responding to complaints and threats...Joe's Security would do better when you absolutely, positively have to get it done....lots of airports are considering this very idea

197 albusteve  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:24:15pm

re: #195 Gus 802

That's nice. I don't expect everything to be perfect either. I could always point to the privatization of prisons as an example.

welcome to Billy Bob's Lockup and Fruit Orchard

198 Stanghazi  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:24:21pm

Any Notre Dame fans here?

199 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:24:28pm

re: #193 SanFranciscoZionist

I think the Bush years created a weird disconnect between "Goverment is always bad and evil and out to get me" and "Government can do any damn thing it wants to protect me from terrorists" for some people. Their priorities are shifting as the memory of the shock of 9/11 recedes into the past, and a Democrat is in the White House.

(This is not to say that other people's priorities aren't moving in different directions for other partisan reasons. Just to be clear.)

Yes. The big differences being that Janet Napolitano is a) a liberal; b) a Democrat; c) a woman; and d) they all think she's a lesbian.

200 wee fury  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:25:03pm

A happy and safe new years eve to everyone.
Hooray for 2011!

201 Cannadian Club Akbar  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:25:28pm

re: #198 Stanley Sea

Any Notre Dame fans here?

My brother is. I am a USF fan. We beat Clemson. Woot!!

202 Gus  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:25:31pm

re: #196 albusteve

too cumbersome and inefficient with regard to dumping bad checkers and responding to complaints and threats...Joe's Security would do better when you absolutely, positively have to get it done...lots of airports are considering this very idea

If it works it works. Some faction will still complain.

203 Digital Display  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:28:15pm

re: #201 cannadian club akbar

My brother is. I am a USF fan. We beat Clemson. Woot!!


CCA! good to see you..Happy New Year!

204 Cannadian Club Akbar  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:29:26pm

re: #203 HoosierHoops

CCA! good to see you..Happy New Year!

Nice to see ya Hoops!! And back at ya.:)

205 Stanghazi  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:30:44pm

re: #201 cannadian club akbar

My brother is. I am a USF fan. We beat Clemson. Woot!!

Reading on my twitter feed that Muschamp/UF is hiring Charlie Weis for the offensive coordinator spot. hmmm. Anyone than Addazio I guess.

206 Stanghazi  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:31:29pm

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

CBSNews

Republican Joe Miller ending legal fight, conceding Alaska's US Senate race to Lisa Murkowski

207 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:31:30pm

re: #199 Gus 802

Yes. The big differences being that Janet Napolitano is a) a liberal; b) a Democrat; c) a woman; and d) they all think she's a lesbian.

But she's so cute!

208 Cannadian Club Akbar  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:31:46pm

re: #205 Stanley Sea

Reading on my twitter feed that Muschamp/UF is hiring Charlie Weis for the offensive coordinator spot. hmmm. Anyone than Addazio I guess.

Good add, IMO.

209 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:32:20pm

re: #206 Stanley Sea

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

CBSNews

Republican Joe Miller ending legal fight, conceding Alaska's US Senate race to Lisa Murkowski

But did she get to keep the six votes from people who spelled her name Merkowsky?

210 Walter L. Newton  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:32:46pm

re: #207 SanFranciscoZionist

But she's so cute!

She could be Sarah Palin's big sister.

211 Stanghazi  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:33:22pm

re: #209 SanFranciscoZionist

But did she get to keep the six votes from people who spelled her name Merkowsky?

Or: Lisa Murkowski, Republican

He contested that one.

212 Daniel Ballard  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:39:42pm

re: #120 the west is the best

Good to hear from you. I lurked for a year after I registered. Seems to have worked out OK.

Happy New Year to all, may things continue to improve.

213 albusteve  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 3:52:16pm

re: #198 Stanley Sea

Any Notre Dame fans here?

not me, Hell no....I hate those guys
GO BLUE!

214 Dancing along the light of day  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 4:30:21pm

re: #93 Killgore Trout

Lol-Hitchens
Image: JdGyc.jpg

You gotta warn me before you post something like that!
LOL!

215 compound idaho  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 4:31:00pm

The non-science left is not totally without blame in the global warming debate either.

The left has successfully stunted nuclear energy research and development in this country. Say what you will regarding safety, waste, etc. The nuclear industry has a stellar safety record in this county and in most of the world. It seems we kill dozens? of coal miners every year from accidents and health consequences and we pump countless tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. Oil wells explode and foul the coastline. This world needs energy, lots of it. More than I would argue most people understand. We have squandered 40 years of opportunity for research and development.

216 Marek Bage  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 4:46:55pm

The depth of ignorance out there is breath-taking.
Whilst it can be found on both sides of the divide, the denialist camp has a certain talent at creating fluorescent examples of stupidity and broadcasting them with no apparent self-awareness.

My favourite current example from Australia comes from an ignorant liar who must surely be an acolyte of Tim Blair.
I welcome readers to observe and be rendered speechless by the offerings of Anthony Pisano.
**Warning: Link not to be clicked by people with high blood pressure**

I can't decide if this digital media guru is willfully telling lies or if he really does believe the sputum that he offers.
Either way, I've done the research and not a single claim he makes is supported by the available data.

Cheers.

217 dragonfire1981  Fri, Dec 31, 2010 5:27:48pm

I think the major problem is a lack of good science education.

I am college educated, I have two degrees, but I really don't know much about science. In Canada when I was in high school we were required to have only TWO science credits (and two math and five English) out of 30 to graduate high school. That means I didn't have to take science courses past grade 10 and the ones I did take didn't touch on climate science at all.

I took a geography course in Grade 11 that dealt with some climate science but that was it. I did not have a single required science course in college (I studied media and business).

We need to put more emphasis on science in the schools, BIG TIME.


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