Puterbac News Network and Political Discussion Thread

[Jungle Rat]

I'm just glad Bush is not running for prez again.

So is the rest of America. We're still trying to fix his fuck ups. Or were those Cheneys?

[Hacksaw]

First Half of 2012 Warmest 6 Month Stretch Ever Recorded

Yet another thing Obama promised he would fix, but didn't.

[Jungle Rat]

Thank God you're still alive.

[Hacksaw]

Aw...I knew you cared.

[Jungle Rat]

No you didn't because I don't.

[Op Ed]

Ed,

Please define (exactly) what "wealthy" is and then (for bonus points) define "the rest of us."

plsthx

Think of a pareto chart, showing wealth by percentage of society. Where you draw the line is not critical.

[Op Ed]

Ummm state vs Federal there bud. Huge difference. It's socialist.

GM became Gubment Motors with the bailout. It's socialist.

The UN Gun treaty is socialist, he supports it and is actually pushing to ratify it. It's socialist.

He actually made it easier and intentionally increased the roles of food stamps etc. Socialist.

He is openly for wealth redistribution, has openly stated the tax code should be for punnishing people and redistribution of wealth instead of just to collect needed funds. Socialist.

It's easy to keep going, but there is no way anyone can seriously deny he is a socialist.

Never mind, I can have a better discussion with the wall.

You sir, are an idiot beyond reasoning with.

[innocentbystander]

Ed,

Please define (exactly) what "wealthy" is and then (for bonus points) define "the rest of us."

plsthx

Think of a pareto chart, showing wealth by percentage of society. Where you draw the line is not critical.

it is critical to me because I need to know what wealthy means to you. you were the one who made the original remark. i am just taking this to the logical conclusion.

[Professor Tiger]

Excellent question, IB.

Welcome back, Hack. We were worried.

[Jungle Rat]

No we weren't

[THE_WIZARD_]

If Rat was on fire I'm not even sure I would piss on him to put it out.

Hopefully there would be a full gas can nearby though.

[Jungle Rat]

As much as you drink there wouldn't be much of a difference.

[billy bob bocephus]

July 10, 2012
Hottest Ever?
Randall Hoven

Maybe you've seen the headlines: "Hottest year on record" and "Feeling the heat: First half of 2012 is the warmest on record."

"It's been a hot year. In fact, the first six months of 2012 accounted for the warmest January-through-June period on record for the contiguous U.S., the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Monday."

Aha! Note the phrase, "contiguous U.S." You know how big the contiguous US is? Its area is just 1.5% of the planet's surface. Brazil is bigger.

So how did the planet do this year? NASA/GISS has the data, but only through May so far. Here is where 2012 global temperatures stand (Combined Land-Surface Air and Sea-Surface Water).
•2nd warmest May.
•6th warmest spring (Mar-May).
•10th warmest Jan-May.
•14th warmest winter (Dec-Feb).
•21st warmest January.

In fact, every single month of 1998 was warmer than that same month in 2012 so far.

And how much about an entire year can we tell from its first five months? Not all that much, actually. Since 1881, the whole year average could differ from the first-five-month average by up to +0.16 degrees Celsius. If 2012 stays within that range, it could turn out to the hottest on record (by about 0.01 degrees), or only the 20th hottest.

Despite the alarmist headlines, the underlying data are consistent with the conclusion that global warming has been in hiatus for the last 15 years or so.

If anything, one might be curious why the contiguous US reads hotter than the rest of the planet. Could it have something to do with where we put the thermometers?


Randall Hoven can be followed on Twitter.

[bluetick]

Aha! Just because it's hotter than ever here doesn't mean it's necessarily that hot in Timbuktu. Or it could be as hot in Timbuktu later on.. or not.

See. The point Randall is making is that we're only a small part of the world. Brazil is bigger!!

Randall Hoven can be followed on Twitter.

Hell yeah, man.

[Professor Tiger]

1. About 20,000 years ago, the earth was hotter than it is now.

2. Then came the most recent Ice Age, when the earth's temperature plummeted for a long period of time.

3. Then, the earth's temperature warmed up again, and the glaciers melted.

4. These huge fluctuations in the earth's temperature had absolutely nothing to do with with human activity.

5. If the earth is now experiencing tiny fluctuations in its temperature, there is no rational proof that human activity is causing it.

6. We cannot all go back to living like Amish because of the apocalyptic religious beliefs of Al Gore and his cultic followers.

[bluetick]

Tragic that you squandered those PH.Ds in Climatology and Atmospheric Physics all those years.

At least now yer bustin' loose..

[Professor Tiger]

If the earth's temperature has fluctuated wildly for tens of thousands of years with no human cause, then why are some Climatologist or Atmospheric Physicists so utterly sure that the microscopic recent changes in the earth's temperature are caused by man? (Other than getting a lot of lucrative pro-MMGW research grants.)

If they want us to live in the 19th century, they'd better come up with a LOT more proof than they have so far. For starters, they'd better completely eliminate the abundant possibility of post hoc ergo propter hoc.

Second, the pope of the whole MMGW religion - Al Gore - had better stop personally burning more fossil fuels than some third world countries before he tells the rest of us how to live.

[bluetick]

You play at being skepthick but your heart ain' init.

[bluetick]

The Job Creators took their tax cuts 10 years ago but unfortunately forgot to add jobs. Recently someone reminded them what the Bush tax cuts were for and they said "Oh Yeah! We Forgot!" and word is out that they're getting ready to start the process of thinking about hiring. Except oprama is going to repeal their portion of the BTCs. So now they say they will not think about hiring after all. And that really stinks.

[Toemeesleather]

Here's a peak at the future....based on the current administration's model.


San Bernardino on Tuesday became the third California city in less than a month to seek bankruptcy protection, with officials saying the financial situation had become so dire that it could not cover payroll through the summer.

The unexpected vote came at the suggestion of the interim city manager, who said the city faces a $46-million deficit and depleted coffers.