CNBC Climate “Expert” Compares “Demonization of Carbon Dioxide” to the Holocaust

The right wing war on climate science
Environment • Views: 34,344

Media Matters

Here’s today’s example of the absolutely horrible anti-science propaganda relentlessly pushed out there by right wing groups, as CNBC promotes an Exxon-funded physicist as an expert on climate change despite the fact that he has no demonstrated expertise on the subject, and he launches into a bizarre rant comparing the “demonization of carbon dioxide” to the Nazi holocaust. Arrrgh.

Physics Professor William Happer has published no peer-reviewed research on climate change, yet co-host Joe Kernen introduced him as an “industry expert” on the July 14 edition of Squawk Box. After a softball interview with Kernen, co-host Andrew Ross Sorkin challenged Happer for “not believ[ing] in climate change” — to which Happer responded by telling Sorkin to “shut up.” Sorkin then asked Happer about comments he made to The Daily Princetonian in 2009 comparing climate science to Nazi propaganda. Happer doubled down on his comments, stating that “the demonization of carbon dioxide is just like the demonization of the poor Jews under Hitler. Carbon dioxide is actually a benefit to the world, and so were the Jews.”

Sorkin also noted that Happer, who has suggested that people should be “clamoring for more atmospheric carbon dioxide,” is the chairman of the Marshall Institute, which received $865,000 from ExxonMobil from 1998 to 2011.

The influence of carbon dioxide on the “greenhouse effect” has been well understood by scientists for more than 100 years, by the way. This isn’t “demonization,” it’s scientific fact — and it’s incredibly irresponsible of CNBC to promote this kind of nonsensical bad craziness.

UPDATE at 7/15/14 11:34:15 am by Charles Johnson

Happer’s group, the Marshall Institute, was also one of the right wing think tanks that labored to create public doubt about the health risks of tobacco.

Naomi Oreskes states that the institute has, in order to resist and delay regulation, lobbied politically to create a false public perception of scientific uncertainty over the negative effects of second-hand smoke, the carcinogenic nature of tobacco smoking, the existence of acid rain, and on the evidence between CFCs and ozone depletion.

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242 comments
1 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator  Jul 15, 2014 11:28:28am

Offensiveness aside, anybody who employs such a stunning logical fallacy -

“the demonization of carbon dioxide is just like the demonization of the poor Jews under Hitler. Carbon dioxide is actually a benefit to the world, and so were the Jews.”

- has automatically lost.

2 Dr. Matt  Jul 15, 2014 11:30:01am

Our librul media at its finest allowing such an unqualified idiot on air.

3 Timothy Watson  Jul 15, 2014 11:31:18am

re: #2 Dr. Matt

Our librul media at its finest allowing such an unqualified idiot on air.

Hell, they still let Rick Santelli on that channel. What can we expect from them?

4 Tor  Jul 15, 2014 11:31:25am

WHY IS EVERYTHING THE FUCKING HOLOCAUST TO THESE IDIOTS

5 Kragar  Jul 15, 2014 11:31:26am
6 Dr. Matt  Jul 15, 2014 11:32:08am

re: #4 Tor

WHY IS EVERYTHING THE FUCKING HOLOCAUST TO THESE IDIOTS

If it’s not holocaust, it’s slavery.

7 Eventual Carrion  Jul 15, 2014 11:32:34am

If he feels CO2 deprived he can always tie a plastic bag around his head.

8 jaunte  Jul 15, 2014 11:33:19am
In a 2009 essay, former Marshall Institute Executive Director Matthew B. Crawford, wrote that after he commenced with the group in September 2001

“…certain perversities became apparent as I settled into the job. It sometimes required me to reason backward, from desired conclusion to suitable premise. The organization had taken certain positions, and there were some facts it was more fond of than others. As its figurehead, I was making arguments I didn’t fully buy myself. Further, my boss seemed intent on retraining me according to a certain cognitive style — that of the corporate world, from which he had recently come. This style demanded that I project an image of rationality but not indulge too much in actual reasoning.”sourcewatch.org

9 aagcobb  Jul 15, 2014 11:33:28am

The world stood by and allowed the Eco-Nazis to march the innocent carbon dioxide molecules into the camps as the final solution to the to the global warming problem. Never forget!

10 Charles Johnson  Jul 15, 2014 11:34:20am

Happer’s group, the Marshall Institute, was also one of the right wing think tanks that labored to create public doubt about the health risks of tobacco.

Naomi Oreskes states that the institute has, in order to resist and delay regulation, lobbied politically to create a false public perception of scientific uncertainty over the negative effects of second-hand smoke, the carcinogenic nature of tobacco smoking, the existence of acid rain, and on the evidence between CFCs and ozone depletion.

11 Shiplord Kirel  Jul 15, 2014 11:34:48am

Is there anything these tone-deaf doofi won’t compare to the Holocaust and the Third Reich in general?

Sane person: “Have you seen the damned crazy traffic lights in Lubbock?”
Doofus: “Yeah, as bad as the Holocaust.”

Sane person: “Those TSA lines are sure a pain in the ass.”
Doofus: “Yeah, worse than the Holocaust.”

Sane person: “That idiot singing the national anthem was sure bad.”
Doofus: “Yeah, listening to it was like being sent to Buchenwald.”

12 jaunte  Jul 15, 2014 11:35:41am
“…In 1989, the George C Marshall Institute released a report arguing that “cyclical variations in the intensity of the sun would offset any climate change associated with elevated greenhouse gases”. [8] Although it was refuted by the IPCC, the report was used by the Bush Sr. Administration to argue for a more lenient climate change policy. [9] It has since published numerous reports and articles attacking the Kyoto protocol and undermining the science of climate. It is a member of the Cooler Heads Coalition.

The Institute has two main climate sceptics involved, William O’Keefe and Sallie Baliunas who works with a colleague Willie Soon. Baliunas argues that carbon dioxide is not the reason for global warming, but the sun.”
powerbase.info

13 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator  Jul 15, 2014 11:36:02am

re: #11 Shiplord Kirel

Well, these very same people do seriously employ “twittergulag” Gah.

14 KerFuFFler  Jul 15, 2014 11:37:44am

re: #4 Tor

WHY IS EVERYTHING THE FUCKING HOLOCAUST TO THESE IDIOTS

Because on every single issue they are projecting their own evil tactics and motives onto others———and deep down they know they’re fascist.

15 Timothy Watson  Jul 15, 2014 11:37:54am

First they came for the carcinogens, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a carcinogen.

Then they came for the lead, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not lead.

Then they came for the carbon dioxide, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not carbon dioxide.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

16 nines09  Jul 15, 2014 11:38:06am

I’ll bet this nimrod is glad breathing is an involuntary action. If he had to think about it, he would most likely suffocate. SCIENCE!

17 jaunte  Jul 15, 2014 11:38:11am
“…William O’Keefe is the the President of George C Marshall Institute. O’Keefe is the ex-Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the American Petroleum Institute. He has also held positions on the Board of Directors of the Kennedy Institute, the U.S. Energy Association and the Competitive Enterprise Institute and is Chairman Emeritus of the Global Climate Coalition[38].

Even though the GCC is currently not active, O’Keefe is still active for the fossil fuel industry. In the United States Senate lobbying records for 2003 and 2002, O’Keefe is listed as a lobbyist for Exxon Mobil and for Ada Consulting Services.[40] In the 2002 listing the “specific lobbying” issues worked on included “climate change[41]”. In 2001 O’Keefe was listed as a lobbyist for Exxon Mobil and the American Petroleum Institute.
powerbase.info

18 wrenchwench  Jul 15, 2014 11:38:22am
absolutely horrible anti-science propaganda

Also:
anti-historic
anti-moral
anti-human
anti-logic
anti-planet
anti-progress

uh oh

ANTS

19 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator  Jul 15, 2014 11:39:09am

What’s that with myrmecophobia lately?!?!? /

20 Bulworth  Jul 15, 2014 11:40:32am

Because an elemental byproduct of stuff, carbon dioxide, is just like a people.

First they came for the carbon dioxides. But I was not a carbon dioxides so I said nothing….

21 Charles Johnson  Jul 15, 2014 11:40:42am

re: #18 wrenchwench

Also:
anti-historic
anti-moral
anti-human
anti-logic
anti-planet
anti-progress

uh oh

ANTS

Yes, they tried to come back this morning, but I mercilessly slaughtered them. I don’t know what they’re after — all the food has been put away and the counters totally scrubbed. I think they’re just trying to annoy me.

22 aagcobb  Jul 15, 2014 11:40:53am

re: #15 Timothy Watson

First they came for the carcinogens, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a carcinogen.

Then they came for the lead, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not lead.

Then they came for the carbon dioxide, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not carbon dioxide.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.and there was no one left to speak for me which was no biggie, since, like, lots of people who can actually talk were still here to speak for me.

Fixed it for you.

23 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator  Jul 15, 2014 11:41:21am

re: #21 Charles Johnson

Big or small ants?

24 Decatur Deb  Jul 15, 2014 11:42:26am

re: #19 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator

What’s that with myrmecophobia lately?!?!? /

Them

Image: Them-Opening-Shot.png

25 Archangelus  Jul 15, 2014 11:42:43am

Seems fitting

Seriously, wtf is wrong with these people…

26 Bulworth  Jul 15, 2014 11:42:56am

re:
#17

This group of know-nothings is also besmirching the fine name of a legitimate American hero in George C. Marshall.

27 jaunte  Jul 15, 2014 11:44:18am

William Happer:

“We know that carbon dioxide has been a much larger fraction of the earth’s atmosphere than it is today, and the geological record shows that life* flourished on land and in the oceans during those times. The incredible list of supposed horrors that increasing carbon dioxide will bring the world is pure belief disguised as science.”

*(maybe not the life you’re interested in, but it might be interested in you)

28 aagcobb  Jul 15, 2014 11:44:29am

re: #21 Charles Johnson

Yes, they tried to come back this morning, but I mercilessly slaughtered them. I don’t know what they’re after — all the food has been put away and the counters totally scrubbed. I think they’re just trying to annoy me.

After wasting my money with RAID baits, which the ants went out of their way to avoid, I bought Terro liquid baits. They ate it up and disappeared. Sorry to sound like ad spam, but this stuff really does work.

29 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance  Jul 15, 2014 11:44:58am

re: #21 Charles Johnson

I am guessing Argentine Ants. There’s no stopping them just trying to keep them out. We have a barrier of spray around the house and they still manage to find a way in.

What’s worse, when we came back from El Salvador we discovered our backyard had become infested with Fire ants. They were far easier to deal with though.

30 Backwoods_Sleuth  Jul 15, 2014 11:46:07am

re: #21 Charles Johnson

Yes, they tried to come back this morning, but I mercilessly slaughtered them. I don’t know what they’re after — all the food has been put away and the counters totally scrubbed. I think they’re just trying to annoy me.

Actually, they are probably looking for water first. Any food they find is a bonus.

31 Gus  Jul 15, 2014 11:47:32am

What. In. The. Fuck?

“[T]he demonization of carbon dioxide is just like the demonization of the poor Jews under Hitler.”

32 Bulworth  Jul 15, 2014 11:48:10am

re:
#10

Happer’s group, the Marshall Institute, was also one of the right wing think tanks that labored to create
public doubt about the health risks of tobacco

You know, I have to say I’m a bit surprised we have not seen an effort by these hacks to restore the habit and business of smoking to Amercia. Damn libtard liberals took away our smoking and now we don’t have a Constitutional republic anymore….
//

33 Gus  Jul 15, 2014 11:48:27am

You see my Jewish friends. You’re just like a chemical compound.

34 Decatur Deb  Jul 15, 2014 11:48:44am

re: #31 Gus

What. In. The. Fuck?

“[T]he demonization of carbon dioxide is just like the demonization of the poor Jews under Hitler.”

Forget it, Gus. It’s the Internet.

BBL

35 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator  Jul 15, 2014 11:48:47am

re: #31 Gus

If we were to use their fallacy, we would be all like “You’re defending a gas! That means you’re trying to defend gas chambers!”

36 jaunte  Jul 15, 2014 11:50:50am

The Demonization of CO2
William O’Keefe

“CO2 is a nutrient that some refer to as the elixir of life.”

Sure they do.

37 Backwoods_Sleuth  Jul 15, 2014 11:50:58am

re: #28 aagcobb

After wasting my money with RAID baits, which the ants went out of their way to avoid, I bought Terro liquid baits. They ate it up and disappeared. Sorry to sound like ad spam, but this stuff really does work.

Yep, can’t beat Terro.
You can make homemade Terro by mixing water, sugar/honey, and Borax. Some people put the liquid mix into a shallow dish or jar cap. Since I have feline overlords, I put a small amount (a couple of tablespoons) in smallish water bottle laid on its side and set on the counter or in the sink. Ants are gone in a couple of days because they drink the stuff, take it back to the main colony to share and that’s that.

38 Charles Johnson  Jul 15, 2014 11:51:00am
39 Gus  Jul 15, 2014 11:52:46am

re: #36 jaunte

The Demonization of CO2
William O’Keefe

“CO2 is a nutrient that some refer to as the elixir of life.”

Sure they do.

Step right up folks and get yourself this bottle of electronic elixir oil! Cures everything!

40 Feline Fearless Leader  Jul 15, 2014 11:53:02am

BEES!

nbcnews.com

41 Charles Johnson  Jul 15, 2014 11:53:32am
42 Gus  Jul 15, 2014 11:53:38am

Weird.

43 AntonSirius  Jul 15, 2014 11:53:53am

re: #24 Decatur Deb

44 jaunte  Jul 15, 2014 11:54:26am

Fixed the link, but here it is again:
marshall.org

45 Gus  Jul 15, 2014 11:55:36am

re: #34 Decatur Deb

Forget it, Gus. It’s the Internet.

BBL

I had to take a break from Twitter this morning. So much stupid everywhere.

46 Backwoods_Sleuth  Jul 15, 2014 11:56:35am

re: #45 Gus

I had to take a break from Twitter this morning. So much stupid everywhere.

47 GlutenFreeJesus  Jul 15, 2014 11:58:02am

Let’s hook his oxygen tank to my car exhaust. CO2 is harmless, right?

48 Backwoods_Sleuth  Jul 15, 2014 11:58:04am

Forget about horses in the house…

49 Kragar  Jul 15, 2014 11:58:05am
50 Backwoods_Sleuth  Jul 15, 2014 11:59:04am

and then, this happened…

51 Feline Fearless Leader  Jul 15, 2014 11:59:08am

re: #43 AntonSirius

[Embedded image]

If Charles needs James Whitmore with a flamethrower to deal with his ant problem we’re in a world of hurt.

52 AntonSirius  Jul 15, 2014 11:59:21am

Hey, if corporations can be religious, then gases could be Jewish, right?

I expect Big Tony Scalia to be weighing in on this persecution any day now.

53 GeneJockey  Jul 15, 2014 11:59:24am

In a world full of asinine analogies, comparing CO2 to Jews in Nazi Germany has to be the most asinine.

I mean, most other Holocaust analogies at least involve some level of human suffering, even if it’s only inconveniencing or occasional discomfort, but to equate the Holocaust with saying there’s too much of a particular gas in the atmosphere? That’s so far around the bend you can’t even see the bend in the rearview anymore. Hell, the bend has even disappeared from the Nav display.

54 Kragar  Jul 15, 2014 12:01:35pm

re: #50 Backwoods_Sleuth

and then, this happened…

[Embedded content]

They already had Thor be an alien.

55 Charles Johnson  Jul 15, 2014 12:02:06pm

Greenwald is trying to bully Erik Wemple into issuing a retraction, when they have not shown a single shred of evidence that the Justice Department “trash-talked” their article before publication. Not a shred! The chutzpah is amazing.

56 Gus  Jul 15, 2014 12:02:18pm

First, they came for the DDT.
Then, they came for CO2…

57 GeneJockey  Jul 15, 2014 12:02:32pm

re: #50 Backwoods_Sleuth

and then, this happened…

[Embedded content]

Gonna have to do a little work with Mjolnir on that breastplate.

58 Gus  Jul 15, 2014 12:03:00pm

re: #52 AntonSirius

Hey, if corporations can be religious, then gases could be Jewish, right?

I expect Big Tony Scalia to be weighing in on this persecution any day now.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of chemical compounds peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

59 GeneJockey  Jul 15, 2014 12:03:29pm

re: #55 Charles Johnson

Greenwald is trying to bully Erik Wemple into issuing a retraction, when they have not shown a single shred of evidence that the Justice Department “trash-talked” their article before publication. Not a shred! The chutzpah is amazing.

If it wasn’t for chutzpah, he wouldn’t have no pah at all.

60 Backwoods_Sleuth  Jul 15, 2014 12:06:16pm

re: #57 GeneJockey

Gonna have to do a little work with Mjolnir on that breastplate.

yep. And no bare belly. Do they know nothing about lady armor?

61 Pie-onist Overlord  Jul 15, 2014 12:07:42pm

re: #60 Backwoods_Sleuth

yep. And no bare belly. Do they know nothing about lady armor?

Boob-plate armor can actually kill you.

62 Pie-onist Overlord  Jul 15, 2014 12:08:52pm

Queen Elizabeth I and Joan of Arc wore armor that protected, not emphasized their breasts. But they weren’t comic-book characters.

63 Rightwingconspirator  Jul 15, 2014 12:09:26pm

“”CO2 is a benefit to the world.””

Okay but so is water. How many people drown each year?

64 Feline Fearless Leader  Jul 15, 2014 12:10:18pm

(Looks at last few comments.)

(Wonders how long until there is a comparison between dihydrogen monoxide and the Holocaust.)

65 Backwoods_Sleuth  Jul 15, 2014 12:10:49pm

re: #64 Feline Fearless Leader

(Looks at last few comments.)

(Wonders how long until there is a comparison between dihydrogen monoxide and the Holocaust.)

waterboarding!!!111!!!!

66 Franklin Brewsevelt  Jul 15, 2014 12:12:02pm

re: #46 Backwoods_Sleuth

67 Backwoods_Sleuth  Jul 15, 2014 12:14:04pm

re: #66 geoffm33

heh…good one!

68 Kragar  Jul 15, 2014 12:14:59pm

MEIN GOTT, THIS IS BRILLIANT!

Youtube Video

69 sagehen  Jul 15, 2014 12:15:45pm

re: #33 Gus

You see my Jewish friends. You’re just like a chemical compound.

Hmmm. We are carbon-based….

70 Backwoods_Sleuth  Jul 15, 2014 12:17:57pm

ancient feline overlords.

71 Gus  Jul 15, 2014 12:22:57pm

First they came for the DDT, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not DDT.

Then they came for the carbon dioxide, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not carbon dioxide…

72 Ace-o-aces  Jul 15, 2014 12:23:45pm

…and banning lead from gasoline is just like the Trail of Tears.

73 AntonSirius  Jul 15, 2014 12:24:34pm

re: #69 sagehen

Hmmm. We are carbon-based….

That’s just what you want us to think.

74 wrenchwench  Jul 15, 2014 12:26:32pm

re: #72 Ace-o-aces

…and banning lead from gasoline is just like the Trail of Tears.

They just banned plastic bags here. I have no words.

/

75 Bulworth  Jul 15, 2014 12:27:07pm

re:
#74

Amecia used to be a free country….

///

76 Charles Johnson  Jul 15, 2014 12:27:38pm

Wemple retweeted Greenwald’s rant. I have a bad feeling he’s going to give in to the bullying.

77 Ace-o-aces  Jul 15, 2014 12:29:30pm

re: #74 wrenchwench

They just banned plastic bags here. I have no words.

/

Banning plastic bags is just like the Spanish Inquisition!

78 allegro  Jul 15, 2014 12:30:04pm

So I hit quite a milestone yesterday: I bought my first power tool. A jigsaw. I used it, too and did so without injury to myself or any non-target objects. I cut an untreated pine board into blocks for Blossom the Destroyer. She’s already joyfully turned 4 of them into mulch.

Yes, I am proud of this accomplishment.

Blossom Smash!

79 Bulworth  Jul 15, 2014 12:31:21pm

re:
#74

How fondly I remember the days when I could go to the store and get all the plastic bags I wanted, without stigma. Now I have to ask for them. Or I have to have the person behind the counter ask me if I want one. It’s so demeaning. It’s like I’m hardly human anymore. It’s much worser than losing our precious cheap but inefficient lightbulbs. Tyranny is what it is.

////

80 Backwoods_Sleuth  Jul 15, 2014 12:32:02pm
81 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator  Jul 15, 2014 12:32:38pm

re: #78 allegro

So I hit quite a milestone yesterday: I bought my first power tool. A jigsaw. I used it, too and did so without injury to myself or any non-target objects. I cut an untreated pine board into blocks for Blossom the Destroyer. She’s already joyfully turned 4 of them into mulch.

Yes, I am proud of this accomplishment.

Blossom Smash!

More like “Blossom Chomp!”

82 allegro  Jul 15, 2014 12:33:45pm

re: #81 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator

More like “Blossom Chomp!”

Just didn’t have the same ring to it. :)

83 Romantic Heretic  Jul 15, 2014 12:34:59pm

re: #16 nines09

I’ll bet this nimrod is glad breathing is an involuntary action. If he had to think about it, he would most likely suffocate. SCIENCE!

Something like this?

Youtube Video

84 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator  Jul 15, 2014 12:36:02pm

re: #77 Ace-o-aces

Banning plastic bags is just like the Spanish Inquisition!

Like Hitler. And here’s Goebbels propagandizing by singing a Nazi anthem:

Youtube Video

85 Eventual Carrion  Jul 15, 2014 12:36:14pm

re: #80 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

“And if those bitches can’t see that they are just stupid women”

86 Backwoods_Sleuth  Jul 15, 2014 12:37:00pm
87 Ace-o-aces  Jul 15, 2014 12:38:40pm

re: #86 Backwoods_Sleuth

Welcome to America. Stay low and don’t make any sudden moves.

88 Eclectic Cyborg  Jul 15, 2014 12:40:00pm

re: #63 Rightwingconspirator

“”CO2 is a benefit to the world.”“

Okay but so is water. How many people drown each year?

Yeah just ask the people of New Orleans how awesome an overabundance of water can be…

89 Kid A  Jul 15, 2014 12:40:41pm

Happer should shut his yapper.

90 Eclectic Cyborg  Jul 15, 2014 12:40:46pm

re: #80 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

Neither do men Mitch. Neither do Men.

91 Eclectic Cyborg  Jul 15, 2014 12:41:20pm

re: #89 Kid A

Happer should shit his yapper.

Derp on,
Derp off.

The Happer!

92 Kid A  Jul 15, 2014 12:42:12pm

re: #91 Eclectic Cyborg

Derp on,
Derp off.

The Happer!

LOL

93 Tigger2  Jul 15, 2014 12:42:21pm

The Teabagger experiment in Kansas for a Utopian no tax state isn’t going to well. Looks like some big name Republicans decided to throw their support behind the Dem’s running for Gov and Lt Gov.

,In an unprecedented move, more than one hundred Republican current and former elected officials announced today their endorsement of Paul Davis for Governor and Jill Docking for Lt. Governor.

davisforkansas.com

94 Kid A  Jul 15, 2014 12:43:15pm

re: #91 Eclectic Cyborg

Derp on, derp off, Daniel son.

95 CriticalDragon1177  Jul 15, 2014 12:43:43pm

Charles Johnson,

Wow, carbon dioxide is so “persecuted!”

96 CriticalDragon1177  Jul 15, 2014 12:44:09pm

re: #63 Rightwingconspirator

“”CO2 is a benefit to the world.”“

Okay but so is water. How many people drown each year?

Excellent point!

97 Eventual Carrion  Jul 15, 2014 12:44:51pm

re: #86 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

That sucks. That is a nice campus. My son went there for pipe organ camp years ago. There are like 8 churches around campus with huge, beautiful pipe organs. At end of camp each kid did a song on one of the organs. We walked to each church and listened to their recitals.

98 aagcobb  Jul 15, 2014 12:44:54pm

re: #80 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

I hope Allison Lundergan Grimes proves him correct in November.

99 lawhawk  Jul 15, 2014 12:49:01pm

Wait, I thought the GOP was going to switch from being climate change denialists to climate optimists (hey, the change isn’t going to be so bad).

The view from inside Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, however, is considerably rosier. That’s where scientists, activists, and bloggers have assembled this week for the Heartland Institute’s 9th International Conference on Climate Change, which I’ve been following via live stream. It’s the world’s largest gathering of “climate skeptics”—people who believe, for one reason or another, that the climate change crisis is overblown.

It’s tempting to find irony in the spectacle of hundreds of climate change deniers staging their convention amid a drought of historic proportions. But, as the conference organizers are quick to tell you, they aren’t actually climate change deniers. The majority of this year’s speakers readily acknowledge that the climate is changing. Some­ will even concede that human emissions are playing a role. They just think the solutions are likely to be far worse than the problem.

“I don’t think anybody in this room denies climate change,” the Heartland Institute’s James M. Taylor said in his opening remarks Monday. “We recognize it, but we’re looking more at the causes, and more importantly, the consequences.” Those consequences, Taylor and his colleagues are convinced, are unlikely to be catastrophic—and they might even turn out to be beneficial.

Don’t call them climate deniers. Call them climate optimists.

They aren’t an entirely new phenomenon. Fossil-fuel advocates have been touting the advantages of climate change since at least 1992, when the Western Fuels Association put out a pro­-global warming video called “The Greening of Planet Earth.” (It was a big hit with key figures in the George W. Bush administration.) Naomi Oreskes, co-author of Merchants of Doubt, traces this line of thinking even further back, to a 1983 report in which physicist Bill Nierenberg argued that humans would have no trouble adapting to a warmer world.

Heartland. Another one of those outlets who tried to cover for the tobacco industry and the carcinogens in tobacco smoke.

They’re climate denialists. Anything else is just spin. And they’re real good at spin.

100 Bulworth  Jul 15, 2014 12:49:55pm

re:
#93

RINOs!!!!111

Maybe award-winning journalist Charles C. Johnson can journamalism about this. /

101 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator  Jul 15, 2014 12:50:29pm

102 Gus  Jul 15, 2014 12:52:24pm

re: #101 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator

[Embedded image]

Crazy person “X” supports your scientific theory. Therefore, you are just like crazy person “X.”

103 Bulworth  Jul 15, 2014 12:52:54pm

re:
#102

“You can’t explain that!!!”

104 thecommodore  Jul 15, 2014 12:53:54pm

This kind of BS is worthy only of mockery. It should never be discussed or debated. Only mocked.

This stuff is on the level of whether or not Michelle Obama is transgendered, or even a cross dressing man named Michael.

105 CriticalDragon1177  Jul 15, 2014 12:54:12pm

re: #101 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator

[Embedded image]

Yes, because if a bad person believes something its automatically wrong. Gravity is a lie! Hitler, Stalin, Moe and Pol Pot all believed in Gravity.

106 CriticalDragon1177  Jul 15, 2014 12:55:17pm

re: #102 Gus

Like I pointed out in my previous comment you could use that line of reasoning to argue that gravity isn’t correct.

107 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator  Jul 15, 2014 12:55:56pm

;)

108 lawhawk  Jul 15, 2014 12:57:15pm

re: #95 CriticalDragon1177

Charles Johnson,

Wow, carbon dioxide is so “persecuted!”

Free CO2! No sleep til free CO2!

109 wrenchwench  Jul 15, 2014 12:57:49pm

re: #99 lawhawk

Wait, I thought the GOP was going to switch from being climate change denialists to climate optimists (hey, the change isn’t going to be so bad).

Heartland. Another one of those outlets who tried to cover for the tobacco industry and the carcinogens in tobacco smoke.

They’re climate denialists. Anything else is just spin. And they’re real good at spin.

Las Vegas has to be the easiest place on the planet to imagine the worst climate catastrophes. Especially if you see Lake Mead on your way in.

110 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator  Jul 15, 2014 1:00:39pm

111 lawhawk  Jul 15, 2014 1:02:06pm

re: #109 wrenchwench

Las Vegas has to be the easiest place on the planet to imagine the worst climate catastrophes. Especially if you see Lake Mead on your way in.

Drudge was touting the record cold today in Kansas City, where the overnight temp was in the 50s. Let’s just ignore the severe storm outbreak over the Northeast that included several tornado reports (one down near AC, others being in upstate NY). Record heat across the West combined with drought conditions.

More weather extremes. And warmer polar temperatures than average.

112 Swift2991  Jul 15, 2014 1:05:05pm

I remember when CNBC came on. It was billed as “business.” It was right-wing politics from the beginning. Pro-Wall-Street, not pro-Main-Street. And nut job conspiracy theories and all kinds of number kooks.

113 Backwoods_Sleuth  Jul 15, 2014 1:05:52pm

re: #109 wrenchwench

Las Vegas has to be the easiest place on the planet to imagine the worst climate catastrophes. Especially if you see Lake Mead on your way in.

Lake Mead reservoir drops to record low

Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the country, has dropped to its lowest level since it was filled in the 1930s, a decline that reflects 14 years of drought and a growing imbalance between the Colorado River’s flows and the demands of cities and farms across the Southwest.
The white band left on the lake’s rocky banks by minerals in the receding water now stretches more than 130 feet below a high-water mark last reached in 2000. And as the reservoir continues to ebb, water managers from across the region have begun negotiating steps they could take jointly to avert a serious shortage that would trigger cutbacks in water deliveries to Arizona, Nevada and Mexico.

114 CriticalDragon1177  Jul 15, 2014 1:06:10pm

re: #107 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator

re: #110 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator

hey, if they’re going to attack climate science by pointing out that Ted Kaczynski accepted the scientific fact of climate change…

115 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator  Jul 15, 2014 1:07:11pm

re: #114 CriticalDragon1177

hey, if they’re going to attack climate science by pointing out that Ted Kaczynski accepted the scientific fact of climate change…

We won’t stoop to their level of course, but why not have a lil’ internet fun? :)

116 Backwoods_Sleuth  Jul 15, 2014 1:07:49pm
117 Backwoods_Sleuth  Jul 15, 2014 1:14:33pm

I’m still amazed that these climate “experts” conveniently forget about acid rain. That was huge in the 1970s when we saw huge swaths of forest killed, not to mention erosion of limestone and marble building facades and other things. But it’s been around and documented since the 1700s (oh gee, what happened around that same time? Ah, the Industrial Revolution! Just a coincidence…)

sigh…..

118 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Jul 15, 2014 1:15:59pm

Theories about global warming were based on years of research into voluminous collections of data.

Theories denying global warming are based on gut feelings and a few stray facts.

119 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator  Jul 15, 2014 1:17:16pm

re: #118 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)

Theories about global warming were based on years of research into voluminous collections of data.

Theories denying global warming are based on gut feelings and a few stray facts.

Necessary reading on the bolded part.

120 wrenchwench  Jul 15, 2014 1:17:26pm

re: #117 Backwoods_Sleuth

I’m still amazed that these climate “experts” conveniently forget about acid rain. That was huge in the 1970s when we saw huge swaths of forest killed, not to mention erosion of limestone and marble building facades and other things. But it’s been around and documented since the 1700s (oh gee, what happened around that same time? Ah, the Industrial Revolution! Just a coincidence…)

sigh…..

I think “forget” deserves scare quotes too. Really, who is threatening human life and well-being here? Climate deniers. And they rush to defend a gas they can’t see. It’s anti-human propaganda almost worthy of Godwinning.

121 Mattand  Jul 15, 2014 1:18:26pm

re: #21 Charles Johnson

Yes, they tried to come back this morning, but I mercilessly slaughtered them. I don’t know what they’re after — all the food has been put away and the counters totally scrubbed. I think they’re just trying to annoy me.

If you look close enough, they probably have tiny little smartphones and tablets all tuned to the stalker blog.

122 lawhawk  Jul 15, 2014 1:19:29pm

re: #111 lawhawk

And the fact that global warming is about the warming of the globe. Not a cherry picked data point from a single reporting station.

We’ve got decades of data that shows the climate warming, and warming that can be attributed to human activities. That includes dumping tremendous amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere.

It’s leading to higher concentrations of CO2, and scientists are worried not only about airborne concentrations, but ocean and water concentrations of CO2 that leads to acidification of the oceans.

123 RealityBasedSteve  Jul 15, 2014 1:24:42pm

I tend to get ants under two conditions, when it’s been very dry and they are looking for water, and when it’s rained for extended periods and the ground is saturated.

I’ll have to try the DIY No-Toxic stuff listed upthread. I have no patience for Ants, I’m not NOAH!!!

And don’t even get me started on Flying Ants…. OHHHHHHH

RBS

124 RealityBasedSteve  Jul 15, 2014 1:25:49pm

re: #21 Charles Johnson

Yes, they tried to come back this morning, but I mercilessly slaughtered them. I don’t know what they’re after — all the food has been put away and the counters totally scrubbed. I think they’re just trying to annoy me.

you can find them on Twitter at #CharlesAntGulagDefense

125 Franklin Brewsevelt  Jul 15, 2014 1:28:33pm

re: #124 RealityBasedSteve

I clicked the hashtag link half expecting there to be tweets :)

126 wrenchwench  Jul 15, 2014 1:29:58pm

re: #125 geoffm33

I clicked the hashtag link half expecting there to be tweets :)

Only half?

: )

127 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Jul 15, 2014 1:30:10pm

re: #122 lawhawk

And a snowball effect when tundra starts melting and releasing the C02 trapped there.

It is all contained in the The Protocols of the Elders of Ozione

128 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator  Jul 15, 2014 1:31:47pm

The Wizard of Ozone.

129 wrenchwench  Jul 15, 2014 1:36:10pm

I just got a telephone solicitation from Wink Martindale! He sounded much better than he looks, which is why he’s working the phones now, I guess.

130 lawhawk  Jul 15, 2014 1:38:17pm

Well, the latest round of storms have come through NYC proper, and they’ve left a proper mess. Forget about getting in/out at the GWB; it’s a mess due to flooding closing the Cross Bronx at Jerome Avenue in both directions. It’s completely backed up the NJ Turnpike to the 80/95 split heading North, and the Cross Bronx all the way back to the Bruckner Interchange.

And there’s significant flooding on the FDR/Harlem River Drive, West Side Highway, and other major roads.

Trains? Doing marginally better for now (not counting the angst from the potential LIRR strike that could start Sunday morning)… Flights are also a mess due to weather issues.

131 Varek Raith  Jul 15, 2014 1:41:56pm

Ok, CO2 is good for you!
Now, go live on the shores of Lake Nyos. Wait for a landslide. Breathe in all that wonderful CO2!

Actually, don’t. It’ll kill you.

132 Feline Fearless Leader  Jul 15, 2014 1:43:52pm

Big black cloud over New Jersey right now. Might be the weather, or it could just be something following Gov. Christie around.

133 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance  Jul 15, 2014 1:50:30pm

re: #132 Feline Fearless Leader

Big black cloud over New Jersey right now. Might be the weather, or it could just be something following Gov. Christie around.

could just be his shadow.

134 Feline Fearless Leader  Jul 15, 2014 1:53:03pm

re: #133 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance

could just be his shadow.

Looks like his “fix” for the budget issue is going to be to gut the public service pensions and other benefits.

135 Jordy LuhPhorj  Jul 15, 2014 1:53:05pm

In a 2009 essay, former Marshall Institute Executive Director Matthew B. Crawford, wrote that after he commenced with the group in September 2001
“…certain perversities became apparent as I settled into the job. It sometimes required me to reason backward, from desired conclusion to suitable premise.

This all you need to know right there. It’s just like the creationists, the anti-vaxxers, inpeechers, and even all these weird GOP state platforms. The conclusion comes first, then the premise. That’s why they all look so crazy to logical people. The amount of effort to squeeze a fucked up premise into an already decided conclusion requires a certain mindset. And logic isn’t really involved.

136 BeenHereAwhile  Jul 15, 2014 1:56:12pm

re: #29 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance

I am guessing Argentine Ants. There’s no stopping them just trying to keep them out. We have a barrier of spray around the house and they still manage to find a way in.

What’s worse, when we came back from El Salvador we discovered our backyard had become infested with Fire ants. They were far easier to deal with though.

This is what Florida did about Fire Ants:

In South America, female phorid flies have developed a bizarre reproductive strategy: They hover over fire ants (pictured in a file photo), then inject their eggs into the ants with a needle-like appendage.

The egg grows and the resulting larva generally migrates to the ant’s head. The larva lives there for weeks—slurping up the brain and turning the ant into a “zombie,” in some cases compelling the ant to march 55 yards (50 meters) away from its colony to avoid attack by other fire ants.

Finally, the baby fly decapitates its host and hatches, exiting through the ant’s head, as shown in the pictures in this gallery.

news.nationalgeographic.com

137 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Jul 15, 2014 1:56:39pm

re: #135 Jordy LuhPhorj

The amount of effort to squeeze a fucked up premise into an already decided conclusion God’s Biblical Truth requires a certain mindset. And logic isn’t really involved.

138 Eclectic Cyborg  Jul 15, 2014 1:58:36pm

That’s why I refuse to live anywhere in the Southwest. The water crisis there is NOT something I want to have to deal with.

139 Pie-onist Overlord  Jul 15, 2014 2:02:06pm

re: #85 Eventual Carrion

“And if those bitches can’t see that they are just stupid women”

WHO NEEDS WORKPLACE EQUALITY I CAN HAZ GLOCK!!!!!

140 freetoken  Jul 15, 2014 2:02:35pm

Happer has been traipsed out for years by the obfuscationists, because he has a Ph.D. in physics and because he’s one of the few who has so willingly sold out for money.

He’s also immune from any one correcting, being tenured at Princeton for a long time and ignores any colleague who would correct him.

He’s been brought in by various Republican Reps and Senators to hearings as one of their favorites.

141 Dr. Matt  Jul 15, 2014 2:03:29pm

142 wrenchwench  Jul 15, 2014 2:03:50pm

re: #140 freetoken

Where you been, dude?

143 CuriousLurker  Jul 15, 2014 2:03:51pm

re: #140 freetoken

Hey, welcome back from wherever you were! Good to see you. ;)

144 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance  Jul 15, 2014 2:04:17pm

re: #136 BeenHereAwhile

I used this. Sprinkled it on the active holes and even the vents they made and watched them all die and then track the poison back into the nest. Only took one treatment and haven’t seen any since.

145 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator  Jul 15, 2014 2:04:25pm

Free beer for freetoken!

146 wrenchwench  Jul 15, 2014 2:04:50pm

re: #136 BeenHereAwhile

That’s so horrible, and at the same time, so cute!

147 freetoken  Jul 15, 2014 2:05:10pm

re: #142 wrenchwench

re: #143 CuriousLurker

Thanks.

A long journey, from which I’m trying to recover.

re: #145 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator

Free beer for freetoken!

If only I drank the stuff!

148 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Jul 15, 2014 2:05:28pm

re: #146 wrenchwench

That’s so horrible, and at the same time, so cute!

[Embedded image]

potato bug?

149 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance  Jul 15, 2014 2:06:27pm

re: #138 Eclectic Cyborg

That’s why I refuse to live anywhere in the Southwest. The water crisis there is NOT something I want to have to deal with.

The first time I went to Kings Canyon was about 10 years ago. This year we camped where I first camped and I remember the water level then compared to now and was telling my buddy that where we were standing (on sandy parts) used to be deep as hell, now it’s just dry. There is still a good amount of water but to get it back to how it used to be is going to take a LOT of water.

150 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance  Jul 15, 2014 2:07:06pm

re: #148 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)

potato bug?

nope, the fly they used in florida to combat fire ants.

151 CuriousLurker  Jul 15, 2014 2:08:35pm

re: #146 wrenchwench

That’s so horrible, and at the same time, so cute!

[Embedded image]

Man, nature can be soooooo gruesome.

152 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator  Jul 15, 2014 2:09:25pm

re: #151 CuriousLurker

Man, nature can be soooooo gruesome.

Creationists have some ‘splaining to do… /

153 Dr. Matt  Jul 15, 2014 2:10:43pm

re: #152 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator

Creationists have some ‘splaining to do… /

Isn’t the answer always: “It’s part of God’s plan”?

154 Timothy Watson  Jul 15, 2014 2:11:03pm

re: #136 BeenHereAwhile

This is what Florida did about Fire Ants:

In South America, female phorid flies have developed a bizarre reproductive strategy: They hover over fire ants (pictured in a file photo), then inject their eggs into the ants with a needle-like appendage.

The egg grows and the resulting larva generally migrates to the ant’s head. The larva lives there for weeks—slurping up the brain and turning the ant into a “zombie,” in some cases compelling the ant to march 55 yards (50 meters) away from its colony to avoid attack by other fire ants.

Finally, the baby fly decapitates its host and hatches, exiting through the ant’s head, as shown in the pictures in this gallery.

news.nationalgeographic.com

Wait, those things actually existed? They were mention years ago (1997 it looks) on an episode of King of the Hill, I thought it was it a joke.

155 CuriousLurker  Jul 15, 2014 2:11:39pm

re: #148 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)

potato bug?

No, it’s a baby fly emerging from the decapitated ant head where its mother injected it as an egg and where it grew into a larva and then turned into a fly. *gag*

156 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator  Jul 15, 2014 2:11:45pm

re: #153 Dr. Matt

Isn’t the answer always: “It’s part of God’s plan”?

Well, they can’t use it for this, can they? All creation is supposed to be perfectly planned ;)

157 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator  Jul 15, 2014 2:13:39pm

It is conceivable that a God-started evolution would lead to this and God still wouldn’t be evil.

It is hardly conceivable that this thing (as well as many others) was intentionally so designed by an omnibenevolent creator.

158 William Barnett-Lewis  Jul 15, 2014 2:13:49pm

So… I spent the day having so much fun. Not.

It seems I make too much money per month to be on BadgerCare any more. But I won’t make enough this year money to qualify for a tax credit for the Health Insurance Marketplace… Unless I wish to cough up about $400 a month I don’t get to have health insurance as things stand. I finally got the number for the Advocate here in town so I’ll call her tomorrow. Right now is sleeping time since I have to work tonight.

We really need single payer.

159 alpuz  Jul 15, 2014 2:16:45pm

re: #158 William Barnett-Lewis

Yep. It snagged us too. That’s Walker saying no to federal $ again.

160 Decatur Deb  Jul 15, 2014 2:17:54pm

re: #158 William Barnett-Lewis

So… I spent the day having so much fun. Not.

It seems I make too much money per month to be on BadgerCare any more. But I won’t make enough this year money to qualify for a tax credit for the Health Insurance Marketplace… Unless I wish to cough up about $400 a month I don’t get to have health insurance as things stand. I finally got the number for the Advocate here in town so I’ll call her tomorrow. Right now is sleeping time since I have to work tonight.

We really need single payer.

Sounds like you might be in the hole that expanded state Medicaid is supposed to fill. Unless your governor is an asshole and turned down the federal expansion money.

161 William Barnett-Lewis  Jul 15, 2014 2:18:02pm

re: #159 alpuz

Yep. It snagged us too. That’s Walker saying no to federal $ again.

If I said even a minimal amount of what I think of Walker I’d probably get banned…

162 Dr. Matt  Jul 15, 2014 2:18:39pm

re: #156 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator

Well, they can’t use it for this, can they? All creation is supposed to be perfectly planned ;)

But, “God works in mysterious ways”, and, “Everything happens for a reason”, and, “God is in control”, and, “Jesus was a Republican”.

163 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator  Jul 15, 2014 2:18:41pm

re: #157 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator

So in some sense evolution is necessary for any successful theodicy.

164 William Barnett-Lewis  Jul 15, 2014 2:19:15pm

re: #160 Decatur Deb

Sounds like you might be in the hole that expanded state Medicaid is supposed to fill. Unless your governor is an asshole and turned down the federal expansion money.

Asshole is Scooter’s middle name.

Wisconsin’s dream - Scott Walker having to file for unemployment.

165 Varek Raith  Jul 15, 2014 2:19:22pm

re: #155 CuriousLurker

Reminded of this;
Youtube Video

166 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator  Jul 15, 2014 2:19:29pm

re: #162 Dr. Matt

Nope, that doesn’t address the fact of an apparently evil design.

167 RealityBasedSteve  Jul 15, 2014 2:20:01pm

re: #155 CuriousLurker

No, it’s a baby fly emerging from the decapitated ant head where its mother injected it as an egg and where it grew into a larva and then turned into a fly. *gag*

Yea… I think my dreams tonight are now pre-programmed. When I wake up screaming “They are in my head” at 2 am I’m blaming LGF.

RBS

168 GeneJockey  Jul 15, 2014 2:20:03pm

re: #122 lawhawk

And the fact that global warming is about the warming of the globe. Not a cherry picked data point from a single reporting station.

We’ve got decades of data that shows the climate warming, and warming that can be attributed to human activities. That includes dumping tremendous amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere.

It’s leading to higher concentrations of CO2, and scientists are worried not only about airborne concentrations, but ocean and water concentrations of CO2 that leads to acidification of the oceans.

Here’s the funny thing - when you point to all the surface air temperature data, they say that the thousands of datapoints taken every day, covering the land surface of the Earth aren’t enough to REALLY tell you if it’s warming.

BUT a single cold day in a single city is enough to prove it’s not.

169 Dr. Matt  Jul 15, 2014 2:20:22pm

re: #166 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator

Nope, that doesn’t address the fact of an apparently evil design.

SINNER!!!!!11111

170 Targetpractice  Jul 15, 2014 2:22:27pm

re: #164 William Barnett-Lewis

Asshole is Scooter’s middle name.

Wisconsin’s dream - Scott Walker having to file for unemployment.

Oh, no doubt the Kochs will be happy to give him a job. After all, can’t let good lackeys go to waste.

171 Stanley Sea  Jul 15, 2014 2:23:47pm

re: #146 wrenchwench

That’s so horrible, and at the same time, so cute!

[Embedded image]

You are following that Jose Antonio Vargas has been detained by Ice?

172 GeneJockey  Jul 15, 2014 2:26:02pm

re: #146 wrenchwench

That’s so horrible, and at the same time, so cute!

[Embedded image]

Awww! It’s a BABY!!! How cute!

Don’t you just LOVE nature? And after all, it’s fire ants fer chrissakes. It’s not like they don’t deserve it.

173 GeneJockey  Jul 15, 2014 2:27:54pm

re: #170 Targetpractice

Oh, no doubt the Kochs will be happy to give him a job. After all, can’t let good lackeys go to waste.

Be funnier if they kicked him to the curb - “You LOST, you stupid bastard! What good is an EX-Governor to us! We already HAVE one of those, and she’s struggling to stay relevant as it is!”

174 CuriousLurker  Jul 15, 2014 2:28:39pm

re: #165 Varek Raith

Reminded of this;
[Embedded content]

Video

Speaking of scary, in the wee hours of the morning today Twitter led me to this story at the NY Daily News: Creepy clown ‘haunts’ Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery. I couldn’t help LOL at the guy in the second video (below) ‘cause he was freaking out (language NSFW):

Youtube Video

Clowns are pretty creepy though, especially in a cemetery. Especially if it looks like Pennywise…

175 alpuz  Jul 15, 2014 2:29:34pm

re: #161 William Barnett-Lewis

Compare & contrast to what’s going on right across the river. It’s night and day.

Now look at the $ his WEDC has blown on companies(where he did PR stunts) shipping jobs down to Mexico, and laying off Wisconsinites after receiving grants from the WisGoP. Then the ultimate slap in the face(there’s a laundry list of them) is the hiring of C. Archer with a raise.

I hear ya, man. It boggles my mind.

176 Decatur Deb  Jul 15, 2014 2:29:41pm

re: #172 GeneJockey

Awww! It’s a BABY!!! How cute!

Don’t you just LOVE nature? And after all, it’s fire ants fer chrissakes. It’s not like they don’t deserve it.

Bad news: We’re saturated with fire ants here.
Worse news: Their competition is starting to show up at the border.

newswatch.nationalgeographic.com

177 CuriousLurker  Jul 15, 2014 2:31:48pm

re: #176 Decatur Deb

Bad news: We’re saturated with fire ants here.
Worse news: Their competition is starting to show up at the border.

newswatch.nationalgeographic.com

E gad. O_O

178 GeneJockey  Jul 15, 2014 2:34:49pm

re: #176 Decatur Deb

Bad news: We’re saturated with fire ants here.
Worse news: Their competition is starting to show up at the border.

newswatch.nationalgeographic.com

1. When I was at Cornell, a bunch of us were talking about how amazing the fireflies around Ithaca were. We asked a grad student from the Deep South if they had fireflies there.

She said, “I don’t think so. We have fire ANTS, are they anything like that?”

2. When the two types of ant battling it out to dominate your area are FIRE and CRAZY, it’s time to move.

179 CuriousLurker  Jul 15, 2014 2:35:03pm

re: #174 CuriousLurker

Speaking of scary, in the wee hours of the morning today Twitter led me to this story at the NY Daily News: Creepy clown ‘haunts’ Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery. I couldn’t help LOL at the guy in the second video (below) ‘cause he was freaking out (language NSFW):

[Embedded content]

Video

Clowns are pretty creepy though, especially in a cemetery. Especially if it looks like Pennywise…

He’s like the idiot guy in the movies who goes to investigate [insert scary thing] and you’re yelling at him, “NO, don’t!!” but he does anyway and gets killed.

180 GeneJockey  Jul 15, 2014 2:36:55pm

re: #179 CuriousLurker

He’s like the idiot guy in the movies who goes to investigate [insert scary thing] and you’re yelling at him, “NO, don’t!!” but he does anyway and gets killed.

“There’s something dangerous in these woods. Let’s split up and find it!”

“I thought I heard a noise in the cellar like a long knife being sharpened. I know the light’s out, but I’m gonna go investigate.”

“You stay here, honey. I’ll go for help!”

181 CuriousLurker  Jul 15, 2014 2:37:39pm

re: #180 GeneJockey

“There’s something dangerous in these woods. Let’s split up and find it!”

“I thought I heard a noise in the cellar like a long knife being sharpened. I know the light’s out, but I’m gonna go investigate.”

“You stay here, honey. I’ll go for help!”

Yeah, that guy. LOL

182 GeneJockey  Jul 15, 2014 2:39:07pm

re: #181 CuriousLurker

Yeah, that guy. LOL

In our family, we call him “Ensign Deadmeat.”

183 Dr Lizardo  Jul 15, 2014 2:40:50pm

re: #174 CuriousLurker

I guess people are afraid of clowns because deep down, we all know they look like this once the calliope music stops.

You’re welcome.
MWAHAHAHAHAHA!

184 Rightwingconspirator  Jul 15, 2014 2:42:44pm

re: #177 CuriousLurker

re: #172 GeneJockey

Every heat wave we get hit where i live. One year it was so bad we put all our dishes and such in big ziploc bags so when they came back into the cabinets the dishes were still clean. This year our front yard got dug up for replanting and they swarmed up like something out of a SyFy show. The ground looked alive.

The very same “no personal items outside’ landlord that wants my hummingbird feeders put away apparently hesitated to call a pro exterminator. Well lets just say my next actions fell under the “easier to get forgiveness than permission” moment in modern household/insecticide chemistry. The ants seem to be severely depleted.

185 CuriousLurker  Jul 15, 2014 2:45:12pm

re: #183 Dr Lizardo

I guess people are afraid of clowns because deep down, we all know they look like this once the calliope music stops.

[Embedded content]

You’re welcome.
MWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Heh, my little brother was terrified of clowns, and my son (at age 30 and 6’ tall) still gets majorly creeped out by scary monster masks. When he was little all you had to do was show him a mask and he’d start shaking & burst into tears.

186 BeenHereAwhile  Jul 15, 2014 2:46:51pm

re: #154 Timothy Watson

Wait, those things actually existed? They were mention years ago (1997 it looks) on an episode of King of the Hill, I thought it was it a joke.

No more fire ants.

And since fire ants are the reproductive vessel of choice for that species of phorid fly, as the fire ant population crashes, the number of phorid flies does likewise.

187 CuriousLurker  Jul 15, 2014 2:47:03pm

re: #184 Rightwingconspirator

Fire ants are one of the things I do NOT miss about Texas. Those suckers wait until they’re all over you to start biting, then they all do it in unison. Ugh.

188 Dr Lizardo  Jul 15, 2014 2:49:51pm

re: #185 CuriousLurker

Heh, my little brother was terrified of clowns, and my son (at age 30 and 6’ tall) still gets majorly creeped out by scary monster masks. When he was little all you had to do was show him a mask and he’d start shaking & burst into tears.

Clowns never creeped my out; I don’t know why.

I found this one; this illustration always struck me because it seemed closer to the way Stephen King described Pennywise the Dancing Clown in It. I believe he’s also said that in his mind, when he visualized Pennywise, it was more like a Ronald McDonald-type clown.

189 Pie-onist Overlord  Jul 15, 2014 2:50:52pm

Michigan is one of the very few states that is not having a major environmental disaster. We’re fucked up enough as it is.

THE MOST FRESH WATER IN THE ENTIRE WORLD & people in Detroit can’t get their water turned on.

190 thedopefishlives  Jul 15, 2014 2:52:05pm

Evening Lizardim.

191 dog philosopher  Jul 15, 2014 2:52:12pm

There are some good reasons to believe that a Republican Congress and a Democratic president in his last two years in office could actually make progress on key issues of national policy.

The first of those reasons is this: When the Republicans take the Senate they will control half the operational side of the government.

They will no longer be able to claim the status of “victims.” They will actually be in charge.

The election of a Republican Senate will not be a signal from the hinterlands that people want more of the same. It will be a directive to stop acting like peevish politicians and start governing for the good of the nation.

don’t count on it

If this instruction is ignored, it will almost certainly mean that the next time around — the 2016 elections — the Republican Congress will face stiff punishment from voters.

don’t count on that either

But there are other major policy issues available where agreement can be found, including tax reform, Medicare reform, student loan reform, education reform (generally, but especially in the area of use of the Internet), trade reform, disability reform and even Social Security reform. The opportunities are there.

“reform”

the inevitable word when republicans fantasize about destroying some part of the social contract

thehill.com

192 CuriousLurker  Jul 15, 2014 2:54:10pm

re: #188 Dr Lizardo

Clowns never creeped my out; I don’t know why.

I found this one; this illustration always struck me because it seemed closer to the way Stephen King described Pennywise the Dancing Clown in It. I believe he’s also said that in his mind, when he visualized Pennywise, it was more like a Ronald McDonald-type clown.

[Embedded image]

I’m uneasy (but not necessarily afraid) around things that you can’t read the emotions of—they call it something “valley”, can’t remember right now—clowns, masks of any kind, robots, etc.

193 Dr Lizardo  Jul 15, 2014 2:55:57pm

re: #192 CuriousLurker

I’m uneasy (but not necessarily afraid) around things that you can’t read the emotions of—they call it something “valley”, can’t remember right now—clowns, masks of any kind, robots, etc.

The Uncanny Valley effect. One of these days, when robots become all but human - and let’s be honest, it’ll be the Japanese who perfect that - I guess we’ll all see if the Uncanny Valley effect is real.

194 sattv4u2  Jul 15, 2014 2:58:39pm

re: #154 Timothy Watson

Wait, those things actually existed? They were mention years ago (1997 it looks) on an episode of King of the Hill, I thought it was it a joke.

C’Mon over

I’ll show you fire ant hills on my property that are 4-5 feet in diameter, over a foot and a half high

One word

AMDRO

195 CuriousLurker  Jul 15, 2014 3:00:14pm

re: #193 Dr Lizardo

The Uncanny Valley effect. One of these days, when robots become all but human - and let’s be honest, it’ll be the Japanese who perfect that - I guess we’ll all see if the Uncanny Valley effect is real.

Yes, that’s it—Uncanny Valley.

Robots are the worst of the three. *shudder*

196 Dr Lizardo  Jul 15, 2014 3:02:56pm

re: #192 CuriousLurker

I’m uneasy (but not necessarily afraid) around things that you can’t read the emotions of—they call it something “valley”, can’t remember right now—clowns, masks of any kind, robots, etc.

And now that I think about it, one of the reasons the antagonist of the 1978 film Halloween is so genuinely effective is because of the mask - which itself was actually just a Captain Kirk mask with the eyes cut out a little bigger and painted a whitish color.

You can’t read a single shred of emotion into it. And the character doesn’t talk. That makes him even more effective as a villain; he’s simply a presence.

197 alpuz  Jul 15, 2014 3:02:58pm

re: #161 William Barnett-Lewis

and…

rawstory.com

Okay, back to reading.

198 Teukka  Jul 15, 2014 3:03:39pm

re: #168 GeneJockey

re: #122 lawhawk

And the fact that global warming is about the warming of the globe. Not a cherry picked data point from a single reporting station.

We’ve got decades of data that shows the climate warming, and warming that can be attributed to human activities. That includes dumping tremendous amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere.

It’s leading to higher concentrations of CO2, and scientists are worried not only about airborne concentrations, but ocean and water concentrations of CO2 that leads to acidification of the oceans.

Here’s the funny thing - when you point to all the surface air temperature data, they say that the thousands of datapoints taken every day, covering the land surface of the Earth aren’t enough to REALLY tell you if it’s warming.

BUT a single cold day in a single city is enough to prove it’s not.

Not to mention that too much CO2 means more heat, more heat means less methane and other goodies can be stored in the vast hydrate deposits across the world (continental shelves, Sibreria, to name a few).
What most deniers don’t realize is that, in a sense, Ma Nature does pack heat. But you don’t even want to come close to her whipping out her Clathrate gun, because that piece is a monster yo.
To begin with, CH4 is a much more potent GHG than CO2. If the past is any indication of how much more potent, one of the last time events necessitated Ma Nature using a 2nd amendment remedy, during the P-Tr ELE,
it began with a modest 5°C increase, which made the clathrates go
“Fuck this man, I’m outta here” which resulted in another 5°C increase.
And before any numbskulls begin the calculations on how much they’d save on vacation to warmer latitudes, let me point out that those 10°C
caused an extinction pulse with a depth of 95% (not 95% of humans, 95% of every freaking living thing on the planet).
And don’t make me get started on how slow that extinction was.
And that is just part of the problems ma nature whipping out the clathrate gun will cause.
So say a big clathrate deposit decides to go “hasta la vista baby”. CH4 is released, yes. But the space formerly occupied by the clathrates will want to regain equilibrium, so it will move. Movement in continental shelf deposits is far from always a good thing (see Storegga Slide). It is at this juncture I am obliged to remind you where these clathrate deposits are located and how many there are.
Another is that CH4 is a volatile gas. Volatile, meaning that a flame or other suitable ignition source will make it go whoosh. And the more gas, the bigger the whoosh. All that is required is the right concentration of the stuff in air.

TL;DR: Real possibility of big kabloies and BIG tsunamis. On top of a very bad greenhouse effect.

The suitability of CH4 as a gas for human inhalation is tonights homework for y’all.

Any more questions, class?

199 Pie-onist Overlord  Jul 15, 2014 3:03:40pm

This was already debunked but it’s viral out in Wingnuttia:

200 Targetpractice  Jul 15, 2014 3:06:51pm

re: #191 dog philosopher

Didn’t we hear all that back in 2010? “If the Republicans take the House, then they’ll be forced to work with the Senate Democrats, and we’ll get meaningful legislation and work towards reform!”

Come 2011, what happened? The GOP started out with their scorched earth policy of opposing anything the President supported and we’ve been stuck in gridlock ever since.

But now we’re supposed to believe that, if they take the Senate, then they’ll be more inclined to work with the President towards meaningful legislation and reform, instead of just continuing to oppose him or remaining gridlocked. HA!

201 CuriousLurker  Jul 15, 2014 3:07:43pm

re: #199 Pie-onist Overlord

This was already debunked but it’s viral out in Wingnuttia:

[Embedded content]

Moonbattia is just as bad right now over Israel. Been saving this one for you in case it’s been more than an hour since you flipped a desk. //

From the article (video & transcript at the link):

It is widely thought that the flare-up in Israel and the Occupied Territories began with the kidnapping of three Israeli teens in the West Bank just more than a month ago. But our guests — author Norman Finkelstein and Palestinian political analyst Mouin Rabbani — argue that such a narrative ignores the broader context of decades of occupation and recent events highlighting the expansionist goals of the Israeli government in the Palestinian land under its control. “Whenever the Palestinians seem like they are trying to reach a settlement of the conflict — which the [Fatah-Hamas] unity government was — at that point Israel does everything it can to provoke a violent reaction, in this case from Hamas, break up the unity government, and then Israel has its pretext,” Finkelstein says. Rabbani and Finkelstein are co-authors of the forthcoming book, “How to Solve the Israel-Palestine Conflict.” […]

democracynow.org

It’s like, “Um, you guys aren’t helping.” *SIGH*

202 CuriousLurker  Jul 15, 2014 3:09:24pm

re: #196 Dr Lizardo

I’ll be darned. I never would’ve guessed it was a Captain Kirk mask.

203 Romantic Heretic  Jul 15, 2014 3:09:26pm

re: #146 wrenchwench

That’s so horrible, and at the same time, so cute!

[Embedded image]

At least it’s cute. Nothing cute about this ant killing fungus.

Ot this mermethid nematode. Warning: this one is kinda gross.

Ot that perennial favourite, the ant lion.

204 RealityBasedSteve  Jul 15, 2014 3:12:50pm

re: #199 Pie-onist Overlord

This was already debunked but it’s viral out in Wingnuttia:

[Embedded content]

again… they can’t let truth stand in the way of the pre-scripted narrative. I try to avoid doing anything political on my FB, but I swear if anybody posts this I’m going to give them both barrels full.

RBS

205 Eclectic Cyborg  Jul 15, 2014 3:13:11pm

re: #201 CuriousLurker

Again with the darn Statue of Liberty graphics.

At this rate, France is going to want that thing back before long.

206 Dr Lizardo  Jul 15, 2014 3:14:37pm

re: #202 CuriousLurker

I’ll be darned. I never would’ve guessed it was a Captain Kirk mask.

Yep. The original Halloween was a pretty low-budget indie film. In its initial run, it grossed the 2014 equivalent of $200 million plus; not bad for a film that was shot for about $1.5 million in today’s money.

Quite profitable, and not only that, it spawned a tsunami of horror films starting in the 1980s. It’s even in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.

207 CuriousLurker  Jul 15, 2014 3:17:09pm

re: #206 Dr Lizardo

Yep. The original Halloween was a pretty low-budget indie film. In its initial run, it grossed the 2014 equivalent of $200 million plus; not bad for a film that was shot for about $1.5 million in today’s money.

Quite profitable, and not only that, it spawned a tsunami of horror films starting in the 1980s. It’s even in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.

Yep, I remember that well. I was was a teenager in the late ’70s to early ’80s.

208 wrenchwench  Jul 15, 2014 3:17:26pm

re: #171 Stanley Sea

You are following that Jose Antonio Vargas has been detained by Ice?

Barely. Been busy. I thought I saw a tweet that he’d been released (the tweet was actually a nasty one about prominent figures being treated better).

209 Varek Raith  Jul 15, 2014 3:19:38pm

re: #176 Decatur Deb

Bad news: We’re saturated with fire ants here.
Worse news: Their competition is starting to show up at the border.

newswatch.nationalgeographic.com

Lol. Crazy Ants and Clowns.
Wheee!

210 GeneJockey  Jul 15, 2014 3:19:53pm

re: #199 Pie-onist Overlord

This was already debunked but it’s viral out in Wingnuttia:

[Embedded content]

Link to the debunking, in case my wingnut cousin in West ‘Oh For Fuck’s Sake!’ Virginia posts it on FB?

211 RealityBasedSteve  Jul 15, 2014 3:21:30pm

I’ve gone and posted over on GatewayDroolingIdiot that the organization that posted that video has now stated that they were legal farmworkers, and the farm owner charters with the schools system for the buses. I’m sure that will go over well….

Yea, and next come the flying rainbow farting unicorns.

212 Romantic Heretic  Jul 15, 2014 3:21:31pm

re: #183 Dr Lizardo

I guess people are afraid of clowns because deep down, we all know they look like this once the calliope music stops.

[Embedded content]

You’re welcome.
MWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Which brings us to this.

Youtube Video

213 CuriousLurker  Jul 15, 2014 3:22:25pm

Okay, my posterior has gone numb from sitting too long. Time to get up and move around. Later, lizards.

214 wrenchwench  Jul 15, 2014 3:22:58pm

re: #213 CuriousLurker

Okay, my posterior has gone numb from sitting too long. Time to get up and move around. Later, lizards.

Wait! I had one more comment for you.

215 wrenchwench  Jul 15, 2014 3:23:37pm

re: #143 CuriousLurker

Hey, welcome back from wherever you were! Good to see you. ;)

You’re so much more polite than I am.

:)

OK, you can go now.

216 Dr Lizardo  Jul 15, 2014 3:23:46pm

re: #207 CuriousLurker

Yep, I remember that well. I was was a teenager in the late ’70s to early ’80s.

A friend and I snuck into a theater to see it. Scared the good old-fashioned beejesus out of both of us. :D

217 lawhawk  Jul 15, 2014 3:23:50pm

re: #201 CuriousLurker

*flips desk*

Yeah, nutters gotta nut. And that’s what they’re doing. Trying to find a conspiracy that somehow blames the latest fighting on Israel, even though Israel has endured near incessant attacks since the 2012 ceasefire (where Gazan terrorists have fired rockets or mortars at Israel every month save one).

218 CuriousLurker  Jul 15, 2014 3:24:08pm

re: #214 wrenchwench

Wait! I had one more comment for you.

*gives ww the side eye*

219 Decatur Deb  Jul 15, 2014 3:25:17pm

re: #212 Romantic Heretic

Which brings us to this.

[Embedded content]

Video

Cannibal Clowns are not unique to here and now:

Cannibals and Clowns of the Anishinabe and other North American Native groups

Scribd Document

220 wrenchwench  Jul 15, 2014 3:25:31pm

re: #218 CuriousLurker

*gives ww the side eye*

At least it’s not La Chancla!

221 Varek Raith  Jul 15, 2014 3:28:16pm

Another storm rolling through.
Thanks, Obama.

222 RealityBasedSteve  Jul 15, 2014 3:28:45pm

re: #211 RealityBasedSteve

I’ve gone and posted over on GatewayDroolingIdiot that the organization that posted that video has now stated that they were legal farmworkers, and the farm owner charters with the schools system for the buses. I’m sure that will go over well….

Yea, and next come the flying rainbow farting unicorns.

For what it’s worth, the post lasted appx 7 minutes before it disappeared. I think I’ll keep playing that game for a while.

223 CuriousLurker  Jul 15, 2014 3:29:02pm

re: #220 wrenchwench

At least it’s not La Chancla!

Next time it will be! //
~~~WHOOSH… GONE~~~

224 sattv4u2  Jul 15, 2014 3:35:00pm

re: #171 Stanley Sea

You are following that Jose Antonio Vargas has been detained by Ice?

And released

Hours later, he announced in a statement that he had been released. He did not provide more information.

nytimes.com

225 GeneJockey  Jul 15, 2014 3:36:09pm

Found it, on Alipac, of all places, one of the sites that promoted the lie in the first place - won’t link to them:

Video: migrant workers in school buses at NC Wal-Mart

Update: A local Tea Party group has confirmed that these are not part of Obama’s illegal immigrant surge being bused in from the border right now. The group contacted a local farmer and found out these are supposed to be H2A migrant workers. Many thanks to everyone that helped us quickly track down the source of this video and dig in to find out the details about what was captured in this film clip! While these are legal immigrants, please remain diligent for Obama’s drop offs of illegals in your communities. Great work team!

Okay, so our ONLY evidence that Obama is busing in illegals, giving them EBT cards, and taking them to Walmart turns out to be nothing of the sort. But that doesn’t mean it’s not happening! Watch the skies Walmarts, everywhere!

226 Eventual Carrion  Jul 15, 2014 3:37:33pm

re: #179 CuriousLurker

He’s like the idiot guy in the movies who goes to investigate [insert scary thing] and you’re yelling at him, “NO, don’t!!” but he does anyway and gets killed.

I know, those people are idiots. Hey gotta go get on my red shirt. Captain says I get to be part of the landing party today.

227 GeneJockey  Jul 15, 2014 3:45:54pm

re: #226 Eventual Carrion

I know, those people are idiots. Hey gotta go get on my red shirt. Captain says I get to be part of the landing party today.

“I thought, maybe I’m the guy who stays behind and gets killed. But now I think I’m the guy who goes on the landing party and gets killed!”

228 GlutenFreeJesus  Jul 15, 2014 3:49:46pm

This was posted awhile ago here. Fire ant colony casting.

Youtube Video

229 Decatur Deb  Jul 15, 2014 3:52:07pm

re: #228 GlutenFreeJesus

This was posted awhile ago here. Fire ant colony casting.

[Embedded content]

Going medieval.

230 Lancelot Link  Jul 15, 2014 3:53:34pm

re: #226 Eventual Carrion

Hey gotta go get on my red shirt. Captain says I get to be part of the landing party today.

231 Patricia Kayden  Jul 15, 2014 3:54:46pm

re: #15 Timothy Watson

Too funny!

How can someone think that it’s okay to compare human beings with an inanimate gas?

232 GeneJockey  Jul 15, 2014 3:55:12pm

re: #230 Lancelot Link

[Embedded image]

(Noticing Kirk) - “I see you got your shirt off.”

233 wrenchwench  Jul 15, 2014 3:55:24pm

re: #225 GeneJockey

Found it, on Alipac, of all places, one of the sites that promoted the lie in the first place - won’t link to them:

Video: migrant workers in school buses at NC Wal-Mart

Okay, so our ONLY evidence that Obama is busing in illegals, giving them EBT cards, and taking them to Walmart turns out to be nothing of the sort. But that doesn’t mean it’s not happening! Watch the skies Walmarts, everywhere!

I first saw it tweeted by FAIR, the other racist anti-immigration disgusting organization. Or one of the other ones.

234 GeneJockey  Jul 15, 2014 3:59:39pm

re: #233 wrenchwench

I first saw it tweeted by FAIR, the other racist anti-immigration disgusting organization. Or one of the other ones.

If you google ‘busloads illegal immigrants ebt’ the first two pages of results are the pride of wingnuttia, “You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.”

235 Patricia Kayden  Jul 15, 2014 4:04:57pm

re: #199 Pie-onist Overlord

Besides being brown, what exactly do “illegals” look like?

236 Decatur Deb  Jul 15, 2014 4:07:27pm

re: #235 Patricia Kayden

Besides being brown, what exactly do “illegals” look like?

The red-haired, green-eyed waitress at my favorite pub.

237 GeneJockey  Jul 15, 2014 4:14:51pm

re: #235 Patricia Kayden

Besides being brown, what exactly do “illegals” look like?

Brown and don’t speak English. Apparently those are the only criteria. Oh, and they should be obviously poor. So, poor, brown, and non-English speaking.

238 wrenchwench  Jul 15, 2014 4:32:58pm

re: #237 GeneJockey

Brown and don’t speak English. Apparently those are the only criteria. Oh, and they should be obviously poor. So, poor, brown, and non-English speaking.

Or just riding a bus. See next thread.

239 BongCrodny  Jul 15, 2014 4:47:44pm

I got a frigging hangnail.

I’m pretty sure it’s just like the Holocaust.

240 ObserverArt  Jul 15, 2014 4:49:16pm

re: #239 BongCrodny

I got a frigging hangnail.

I’m pretty sure it’s just like the Holocaust.

Have you blamed Obama yet?

/

241 7-y (Expectation of Great Things in Due Course)  Jul 15, 2014 6:42:24pm

re: #210 GeneJockey

Link to the debunking, in case my wingnut cousin in West ‘Oh For Fuck’s Sake!’ Virginia posts it on FB?

I have some of those WV relatives, too. One whole side of the family is not speaking to me right now because of the Bergdahl thing. I have a $100 bet out on FB that he’ll be absolved of any desertion charges—No takers. None.

242 jaunte  Jul 15, 2014 7:01:30pm

“…While these growths have taken on epic proportions, that’s not the only problem from kudzu. It’s already been shown that kudzu causes more nitric oxide (which is also a byproduct of burning fossil fuels) to be released from soils, which has caused an increase in ground-level ozone levels during summertime heat. In addition, as the plants continue to spread northward, especially with climate change, they are actually increasing the amount of carbon dioxide released from the soil into the atmosphere, introducing a feedback loop.

According to Malcolm Campbell, a professor and the vice-principal research at the University of Toronto, in his piece in The Conversation, the research of Nishanth Tharayil and Mioko Tamura, from Clemson University, shows that the plants choked out by the kudzu tend to lock more carbon into the soil. This is especially true in the case of pine forests. Pine needles are very resistant to being broken down by microbes, thus the carbon stored in the needles gets buried in the soil and locked away. Kudzu, on the other hand, has leaves that are broken down very easily, thus releasing their carbon just as easily. Not only that, but as these microbes (which were used to the rate at which the pine needles could be broken down) get a taste of the kudzu, it gets easier for them to break down other organic matter as well. So, the microbes can go after the buried organic matter as well, releasing that carbon along with what gets released directly from the kudzu litter. The study, published in New Phytologist, showed that despite a 22 per cent increase in soil litter (due to the abundant leaves the kudzu drops during winter), there was a 28 per cent decrease in soil carbon after a kudzu infestation invades an area.”


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