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You are here: Home / Open Threads / CBS Sunday Morning

CBS Sunday Morning

by John Cole|  April 19, 20099:47 am| 88 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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My apologies- completely forgot to throw one up.

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Previous Post: « What fucking bullshit
Next Post: The cult of tough decisions »

Reader Interactions

88Comments

  1. 1.

    Dennis-SGMM

    April 19, 2009 at 9:59 am

    Democrat widens lead in NY-20 to 168

    Democrat Scott Murphy has taken a 168-vote lead in the special election for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D-N.Y.) former House seat on the strength of absentee ballots in a pair of friendly counties…

    …Most other counties have plenty of totals left to report, though, and the outcome remains uncertain. So far, Murphy is getting a higher percentage of absentee votes than Election Day votes, which would likely lead to victory.

    This could meant that once Murphy wins the vote count he’ll only be three or four lawsuits away from being seated. I’d bet the farm that, going forward, Republicans will mount court cases even in decisive elections just to gum up the Dems.

  2. 2.

    Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse

    April 19, 2009 at 10:07 am

    John, did you find any potential FoT at the shelters yesterday?

  3. 3.

    passerby

    April 19, 2009 at 10:15 am

    Boehner on This Week looked like a fool trying to explain to GS how CO2** comes out when people exhale and cows ” do what they do”.

    GS repeatedly tried to get Boner to put forth the republican plan for energy but they have no plan so Boner essentially had nothing to say.

    My fantasy: George Will using his extensive vocabulary and over the top intellectual smugness to point this out.

    (Of course he does not. But he does blast the JFK administration for planning to fire flares into the sky to get the Cuban people to believe they were seeing the second coming of Christ back in the 60s. Really, he did.)

    Boehner and Will must be profiting wildly for them to maintain their allegiance to conservatism. It’s hard work.

    ** but what about carbon monoxide?

  4. 4.

    Dennis-SGMM

    April 19, 2009 at 10:23 am

    @passerby:
    The well-informed Boehner seems to be unaware of the fact that cow farts are mostly methane – not CO2. Facts never get in the way of the party whose most-revered leader once explained that trees cause pollution.

  5. 5.

    aimai

    April 19, 2009 at 10:23 am

    Man, I read that as “apologies…I completely forgot to THROW UP.” Then I politely assumed that I’d simply missed the weekly post hangover edition of baloon juice.

    aimai

  6. 6.

    passerby

    April 19, 2009 at 10:31 am

    @Dennis-SGMM:

    Makes me wonder what they mean by “greenhouse gases”. It gets thrown around a lot. The trees and vegetations NEED the CO2–a greenhouse gas.

    What living things DON’T NEED are the exhaust fumes from a gazillion internal combustion engines that are burning fossil fuels.

    p.s. Boehner and Will are weenies.

  7. 7.

    MH

    April 19, 2009 at 10:32 am

    When I think of CBS Sunday Morning, the metaphor that comes to my mind is also of vomiting.

  8. 8.

    Comrade Jake

    April 19, 2009 at 10:36 am

    I’m sure we’re going to see all sorts of stupid on the torture memos this weekend. Personally, I’m beginning to wonder just what we would have had to have done to these dudes to warrant the NYT describing it as “torture”. We’re currently up to just “brutal interrogation techniques”. I’m assuming if we learn that we cut off one of their heads and shit down their throats, this will rise to “deadly interrogation techniques,” but not torture.

    Because we all know, the US does not torture.

  9. 9.

    geg6

    April 19, 2009 at 10:36 am

    Sam Donaldson actually yold the unvarnished truth just now. And then Cokie concern trolls the GOP talking points as Nooner insists the tea parties were really anti-GOP. And that FOX ran them so that’s obvious somehow. Will bravely stands up for the valiant successfuls against the unreasoning rage of all us LOSERS. I hate myself for watching this.

  10. 10.

    gnomedad

    April 19, 2009 at 10:40 am

    I’m sure Tunch knows how to throw one up.

  11. 11.

    Dennis-SGMM

    April 19, 2009 at 10:40 am

    @Comrade Jake:
    And the Killing Fields were actually “mass life-expectancy adjustments.”

  12. 12.

    geg6

    April 19, 2009 at 10:42 am

    Okay, they are all pro for ending the embargo. And Donaldson is a Kennedy assassination conspiracy theorist. Hm. Who knew?

  13. 13.

    Bill H

    April 19, 2009 at 10:52 am

    Okay, open thread. How about a 50-year-old dude winning a NASCAR race? I know they aren’t driving real cars, and aren’t actually driving them at all, but 50! Us old guys like that shit.

  14. 14.

    Punchy

    April 19, 2009 at 10:54 am

    Try sticking a finger down your throat

  15. 15.

    joe from Lowell

    April 19, 2009 at 10:58 am

    @ passerby

    GS repeatedly tried to get Boner to put forth the republican plan for energy but they have no plan so Boner essentially had nothing to say.

    He said, “We’re going to put out an alternative plan, just like the alternative plans we put out for the stimulus bill and the budget.”

    Ho-kay then. Bust out the little circles and lines.

    “Drill here drill now

    Vibrant economy

    Republican Plan for America’s Energy Future

    Climate Change Addressed”

  16. 16.

    passerby

    April 19, 2009 at 11:01 am

    @geg6:

    And Donaldson is a Kennedy assassination conspiracy theorist. Hm. Who knew?

    Heh, I caught that too. It flew by the panel virtually unnoticed. I couldn’t believe my ears. Daring for Donaldson.

  17. 17.

    Chuck Darwin

    April 19, 2009 at 11:02 am

    Seriously, is Boehner ill? Not only did he look incredible foolish in his responses to just about every question George S. asked, he he seemed even more out of breath, uncomfortable and shiny than usual. It struck me that any reasonably informed Democrat could have given better GOP talking points than Boehner rasped out. As for the tea parties? Why was the Human Tanning Bed out in Bakersfield for a tea party? What, none in Ohio? It was a truly awful, dispiriting performance, and I loathe the guy.

  18. 18.

    passerby

    April 19, 2009 at 11:03 am

    @joe from Lowell:

    “We’re going to put out an alternative plan, just like the alternative plans we put out for the stimulus bill and the budget.”

    And we all remember what a clown act that was.

  19. 19.

    The Grand Panjandrum

    April 19, 2009 at 11:07 am

    @Chuck Darwin: Boehner continues to show his intellectual prowess on a daily basis. After all, he is the same genius who hadned out tobacco lobby checks to members on the floor of the Congress a few years ago.. That is some kind of special stupid, no?

  20. 20.

    Montysano

    April 19, 2009 at 11:13 am

    I can’t believe Obama is making overtures to the existential Red Menace that is Cuba.

    “There is a gathering storm, and I… am afraid.”

    /snark

  21. 21.

    Brick Oven Bill

    April 19, 2009 at 11:16 am

    Re: Energy Plans

    World temperatures peaked in 2001. Since then, any honest assessment of world temperature trends shows the world to be cooling. Global warming dogma states that increasing concentrations of Carbon Dioxide will make temperatures accelerate upward. Temperature is a second order function in this argument.

    Global warming dogma is BS. The goal seems to be to make it expensive to operate machinery. I cannot determine for sure the reasons behind it.

  22. 22.

    JenJen

    April 19, 2009 at 11:19 am

    Good CBS Sunday Morning. Something is “off” about Eric Cantor. I can’t quite put my finger on it, though.

  23. 23.

    Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist

    April 19, 2009 at 11:19 am

    “We’re going to put out an alternative plan, just like the alternative plans we put out for the stimulus bill and the budget.”

    We’re going to need more April Fools’ Days in the year if this keeps up.

  24. 24.

    JenJen

    April 19, 2009 at 11:22 am

    Watching George Snuffleupagus now. I would like to propose a piece of legislation that forces Sam Donaldson to retire. Any takers?

  25. 25.

    passerby

    April 19, 2009 at 11:24 am

    @Brick Oven Bill:

    any honest assessment of world temperature trends shows the world to be cooling.

    That presumes, BOB, that the data is pure and unadultrated by industry and politics. And ignores other indicators such as polar ice melting.

    I cannot determine for sure the reasons behind it.

    This statement is true and therefore a safe one to make. Who actually has any facts? Why is it so hard, that is, why are we so afraid to use our brains to reason things out?

    Could the reason be that reliance on oil makes a lot of money for the oil plutocrats?

  26. 26.

    Dennis-SGMM

    April 19, 2009 at 11:27 am

    @JenJen:
    Seconded only if he takes George Will with him. They can sit on the front porch with onions tied to their belts and reminisce about the non-existent times when they were journalists.

  27. 27.

    GSD

    April 19, 2009 at 11:31 am

    Boehner is taunting cancer with his lifestyle. Daily bakings in a tanning bed and hourly trips to the patio or lounge for cigarette breaks.

    He’s slowly turning himself into an enormous hunk of brainless rightwing smoked jerky.

    -GSD

  28. 28.

    passerby

    April 19, 2009 at 11:36 am

    @JenJen:

    JenJen, I can’t get CBS on TV cuz I’m not fully digital-ready so I’ll watch on-line later. But I think Cantor is “off” because he’s just a water boy for a failing agenda. He lacks the intelligence of a Newt or Pat Buchanan. But he’s a real wannabee and, like Boehner, not afraid of looking stupid.

    I’m continually amazed that politicians will speak a bald faced lie and/or spew bullshit in order to hang on to political power.

  29. 29.

    Svensker

    April 19, 2009 at 11:37 am

    OK, this site is now officially TMI. You with the throwing up, Laura with the dingleberries, Fuckhead with lord knows what new perversion. Cheez.

    GSD — jerky is exactly right. Brilliant.

  30. 30.

    valdivia

    April 19, 2009 at 11:45 am

    I love that you all watch it and summarize so I don’t have to. A little OT but did anyone catch this NYT article and get annoyed as much as I did? I pretty much thought the underlying argument was that Obama is a wimp. Or was it just me?

  31. 31.

    LD50

    April 19, 2009 at 11:46 am

    Why was the Human Tanning Bed out in Bakersfield for a tea party? What, none in Ohio? It was a truly awful, dispiriting performance, and I loathe the guy.

    Bakersfield??? WTF? Please don’t tell me Boehner is the latest Republican toying with the idea of running for President in 2012.

  32. 32.

    WereBear

    April 19, 2009 at 11:46 am

    Ummm… everything is wrong with Eric Cantor.

  33. 33.

    Balconesfault

    April 19, 2009 at 11:47 am

    @Brick Oven Bill: Good luck with that particular pitch, BOB.

    http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs/Fig.A2.lrg.gif

  34. 34.

    Comrade Jake

    April 19, 2009 at 11:54 am

    @Brick Oven Bill:

    You seem to have a very basic misunderstanding of global warming theory. It does not predict, for example, that each year will have a mean temperature that is greater than the previous year. It’s only predicting what the long-term trends will be.

    You have to be pretty fucking dense to pretend otherwise.

  35. 35.

    Laura W

    April 19, 2009 at 11:54 am

    @Svensker: I demand a retraction! They were NOT dingleberries.
    Edit: On second thought…no need to revisit any of those topics. It’s a new day.

  36. 36.

    John H. Farr

    April 19, 2009 at 11:56 am

    You know how when you study history, and you see such OBVIOUS, stupid, self-destructive mistakes on the part of those who made the critical decisions, and you shake your head and wonder how in the ever-lovin’ bloody hell anyone could EVER have been so stupid??

    Welcome to 2009. Or 2008, 2007, 1959, whatever. It’s all around us, happening all the time. The only thing for it is to grow more smart people, and you can’t do that unless you’re smart yourself. Creeps like Boehner will never change (or go away). The only thing we can do is displace them over time, if there’s any time to spare.

    But I don’t think we have the answers, either. So many progressives seem to think that all we need to do is replace a few bad eggs, punish a few crooks, and pass some sensible laws, and then we can all go on living in our nice houses and watching teevee and having a high old time.

    Weird, that…

  37. 37.

    Svensker

    April 19, 2009 at 11:56 am

    @Laura W:

    Yeah, and the U.S. doesn’t torture either, lady.

    Edit: And now you go stepping on my lines. New day, it is. It’s Greek Easter — Christos Anesti!

  38. 38.

    pragmatic idealist

    April 19, 2009 at 11:57 am

    Take a statistics course, Bill. Temps are trending up. 2001 was hot. The insurance companies are all planning for global warming because no serious analyst in science or business lets a single data point overrule all the others. Politicians and hacks however do it all the time; it’s called spin.

  39. 39.

    Balconesfault

    April 19, 2009 at 11:58 am

    Another guy (this time Maryland) shoots the family and then himself.

    – how is it that neighbors don’t notice the small arms fire going off that many times and check what’s going on?

    – when is the tipping point for the gun issue to get taken up by women’s advocacy groups?

  40. 40.

    Brick Oven Bill

    April 19, 2009 at 11:58 am

    The key words were ‘since 2001’, and ‘dogma’, and ‘accelerating’. Balconesfault’s chart shows the 5-yr mean dropping from 2000-2005, and if you were to do a 4-yr mean from 2005-2009, you would note that the cooling trend is actually accelerating.

    I concur that the data indicates that from 1940-1975, the world cooled by 0.1 degree C, and from 1975-2000, the world heated by 0.5 degree C, but we should be honest that from 2001 to present, the trend has reversed and the world has cooled by 0.1 degree C, and that this trend is mathematically accelerating.

    These are the numbers, and they run counter to the dogma. The dogma would have the temperatures accelerating upward, not downward.

  41. 41.

    Charity

    April 19, 2009 at 12:02 pm

    Hope you all are enjoying your weekend. Some work friends and I visited with the parents of a young man we worked with. He died in a car accident ten years ago this month. His parents come to New York from Tokyo for a visit every year. This pink cherry blossom tree is dedicated to both him and his brother, who died of cancer in 2004. It was actually a really nice visit and a perfect day for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Hope you like the pictures.

  42. 42.

    kay

    April 19, 2009 at 12:04 pm

    @valdivia:
    I’m not annoyed as much as I am confused. There’s two anti-Obama arguments, and they’re polar opposites. He’s a scary leftist dictator, and he’s a calculating pragmatist who leans right.
    As far as I’m concerned, they both rely on the same premise, “we wuz duped”. I don’t really buy the “duped” line of thought. I didn’t believe it when lefties used it against Bush, either. I think Bush voters knew exactly what they were getting, certainly by 2004.
    What they really mean, I think, is ‘we can’t really get a handle on Obama, because we’re relying on stale comparisons based on recent history, and we have no capacity for original analysis or thought”.

    They’re just flailing around. Why not wait a bit, and, God forbid, judge him on results?

  43. 43.

    JenJen

    April 19, 2009 at 12:06 pm

    @GSD:

    Boehner is taunting cancer with his lifestyle. Daily bakings in a tanning bed and hourly trips to the patio or lounge for cigarette breaks.
    He’s slowly turning himself into an enormous hunk of brainless rightwing smoked jerky.

    Although my Congressional Rep is this loon, I live just adjacent to Boner’s district here in Cincinnati, Ohio. And it just occurred to me that you guys might not know what we call him down here.

    “Beggin’ Strip.”

    :-)

  44. 44.

    JenJen

    April 19, 2009 at 12:08 pm

    @Svensker: Alithos Anesti!!

    And I thought I was the only one. :-)

  45. 45.

    Charity

    April 19, 2009 at 12:08 pm

    @Charity: Crap, it stripped out my link to the gallery. Here you go.

  46. 46.

    flounder

    April 19, 2009 at 12:08 pm

    Was Boehner drunk? My wife said he was, and as I watched, I came to agree with her.

  47. 47.

    Comrade Jake

    April 19, 2009 at 12:09 pm

    @Brick Oven Bill:

    Bill, just look at the 5-year trend around 1988 to 1995. Using your type of argument, we could have concluded at that time that the world was in a global cooling phase.

    Turns out, not so much.

  48. 48.

    valdivia

    April 19, 2009 at 12:11 pm

    @kay:

    thanks kay for writing about this, I totally agree about why it is that these articles come out this way, they have no idea what to do with Obama, how to judge him so they write this stuff. These are the same guys who just a couple of weeks ago said Obama was taking on too much, now he is a sissy who does not fight (sound like the campaign all over again). Another thing that bothered me a lot was the ‘some think’ this formulation is lazy journalism of the Politico kind. And this is the NYT?

  49. 49.

    Library Grape

    April 19, 2009 at 12:14 pm

    did you guys happen to catch George Will’s characterization of anyone making under $250k as “unsuccessful”?

    I think there’s a radical sense of dislocation. They like we have adopted an economic model of Lemon Socialism, transferring wealth from the successful to the unsuccessful. That is not a long-term recipe for national success.

    i wrote a post on it here: http://www.librarygrape.com/2009/04/george-will-considers-95-of-american.html

  50. 50.

    JK

    April 19, 2009 at 12:21 pm

    @Brick Oven Bill: Bill, don’t forget to curb your dogma.

  51. 51.

    joe from Lowell

    April 19, 2009 at 12:23 pm

    @ passerby

    And we all remember what a clown act that was.

    OK, fellas, here’s the plan: We’ll release The Republican Plan for America’s Energy Future by driving up in one of those Prius cars, and then we’ll all get out one after another – the whole Republican leadership team, we’ll all get in there, to show how much we care about conservation – holding copies of the plan. Yes, Eric, you have a suggestion?

    Yeah, I think there should organ music playing the background.

    Oooh, EXCELLENT idea!

  52. 52.

    joe from Lowell

    April 19, 2009 at 12:27 pm

    That’s funny, BOB used to talk about 1998 being the peak warming year, and the trend being ever-downward from there. Now it’s 2001.

    Funny how the peak of the warming trend gets getting moved forward, while we’re seeing a cooling trend. It’s almost as if this argument doesn’t make any sense.

  53. 53.

    joe from Lowell

    April 19, 2009 at 12:30 pm

    Balconesfault’s chart shows the 5-yr mean dropping from 2000-2005, and if you were to do a 4-yr mean from 2005-2009, you…

    would be an idiot, because the year-to-year variation in global temperatures demonstrate so much variability, regardless of the longer-term, underlying warming trend, that looking at four years of data makes about as much sense as predicting a baseball player’s final batting average based on four games he played in May.

  54. 54.

    kay

    April 19, 2009 at 12:42 pm

    It’s because we’re reaching 100 days, I guess, and the conventional wisdom says that Democrats are weak and Republicans are strong.

    That’s how bad their political analysis is, in my opinion. They never stray from the frame. They’ll bicker back and forth within the frame ( is he as weak as Carter or less weak, like Clinton?) but they accept the frame.

    This is the paper that thought George W Bush was a tough guy, and took orders from Cheney, remember. They mistook a bullying coward for an authentic tough guy. Maureen Dowd still thinks Bush is the best example of authentic American male courage, as far as I can tell.

  55. 55.

    passerby

    April 19, 2009 at 12:42 pm

    @joe from Lowell:

    Yeah, I think there should organ music playing the background.
    Oooh, EXCELLENT idea!

    Perhaps they may want to opt for an organ grinder and monkey with a tin cup. That can signify that donations are welcome.

  56. 56.

    Comrade Darkness

    April 19, 2009 at 12:46 pm

    @Dennis-SGMM: methane, only 40 times worse than co2 as a greenhouse gas.

    Another huge contributor of methane to the atmosphere is rice production. As certified DFH we’ve switched to eating potatoes, which frankly, taste better and don’t have to come all the way from cali. Bonus on top of bonus.

  57. 57.

    Comrade Darkness

    April 19, 2009 at 12:59 pm

    @Montysano: I can’t believe Obama is making overtures to the existential Red Menace that is Cuba.
    “There is a gathering storm, and I… am afraid.”

    It’s the backyard rum. Drink lots of ions and the effect will pass.

  58. 58.

    valdivia

    April 19, 2009 at 1:22 pm

    @kay

    yes Bush=Macho, republicans=tough guys. dems=girly men.
    The funny thing is that this view has totally transformed the way journalists analyze diplomacy, and it is crucial to note that the present day American journalistic frame about diplomacy and toughness is completely ahistorical. See for example today’s outrage dujour from the King interview on CNN with a rep that Obama should not have shook Chavez’s hand. Does this guy want us to buy Venezuelan oil but not shake the guy’s hand? Or just not buy his oil? Or invade him? and the media reports it this as if the Republicans are insightful.

  59. 59.

    AkaDad

    April 19, 2009 at 1:25 pm

    My karma ran over Bill’s dogma.

  60. 60.

    Balconesfault

    April 19, 2009 at 1:34 pm

    @Comrade Jake:

    Bill, just look at the 5-year trend around 1988 to 1995. Using your type of argument, we could have concluded at that time that the world was in a global cooling phase.

    Exactly. That’s why we look at long term data trends before making conclusions. Seasonal variability is normal – the current rate of temp increase over the long term isn’t.

  61. 61.

    Brick Oven Bill

    April 19, 2009 at 1:42 pm

    By the nature of data, there is scatter. Thus by using single data points like 1950, 51, 52, and 53; one can argue that the globe is warming while the globe is actually cooling. Or by using 1984, 85, and 86; one can argue that the globe is cooling while the globe is actually warming. But use of these datapoints would be mis-leading. This manner of use would be ‘spin’.

    But arguing the dogma that the global temperatures should be accelerating upward, when 8 independent data points indicate that temperatures are actually accelerating downward, is silly. This is why the poo-bahs now have changed the dogma to ‘Climate Change’.

    But by claiming that rising greenhouse gas concentrations is the reason that global temperatures are now going down, is sillier still. History will not look well upon these practitioners. This is up there with flat earths, or rotating suns.

  62. 62.

    JenJen

    April 19, 2009 at 1:49 pm

    Is this today’s open thread? The story below is creating a lot of buzz in my little hamlet:

    The Cat Killer of Cincinnati

    Grrrrrrrrrrrrr. Look, I’m not all pro-cat-colony or anything, but you just don’t take this kind of shit into your own hands, you know?

    Hey, speaking of cat colonies, did anyone watch “Grey Gardens” last night? It was fucking awesome.

  63. 63.

    Laura W

    April 19, 2009 at 2:00 pm

    @JenJen:

    did anyone watch “Grey Gardens” last night? It was fucking awesome.

    Yes, yes, yes. I’m just about to watch it again! Wasn’t paying total attention and want to really follow the storyline this time.
    (Can’t read your link ‘cuz I’ll get all crazy and obsess over it for the rest of the day and probably into tomorrow.)

  64. 64.

    JenJen

    April 19, 2009 at 2:13 pm

    @Laura W: Yeah, I’m kinda sorry I read the link, so I thought I’d just spread the pain around! I’m such a mensch.

    Drew Barrymore blew my mind in “Grey Gardens.” It’s as though all of a sudden, she became an actress. Always knew Jessica Lange could act, but she really became Big Edie. Both performances were kind of heartbreaking.

    It was masterful, so much better than I expected. I just didn’t see how anyone was ever gonna pull off playing Little Edie. That woman was an American Original, and I just adore her.

  65. 65.

    poopsybythebay

    April 19, 2009 at 2:49 pm

    @Brick Oven Bill:

    If you do not understand the difference between weather and climate then you should not be talking about it.

    They say and I have read that global warming or climate change will cause the East River to be frozen solid for most of the winter That means that Climate Change causes erratic weather not hot weather. Why is that so hard for you to get? It will cause Alabama and Florida to have snow storms in April.

    That is why when the Rush Limbaugh’s of the world start talking about how it is bad for Al Gore every time it snows in March–they are retarded. It is exactly what he has been saying all along, but these people have obviously never listened.

    I feel comfortable in my assessment that Al and the real scientist are right and you my dear sir are wrong.

    Also, Grey Gardens was awesome and I cried a lot.

  66. 66.

    toujoursdan

    April 19, 2009 at 2:51 pm

    One thing to keep in mind regarding global temperatures and climate change is the Sun’s 11 year cycle.

    We just reached the solar minimum in 2008, which means the Sun itself was cooler than anytime in the past 11 years, and consequently, the earth is too. The fewer number of sun spots and the less magnetic activity on the sun during its cycle, means less solar energy being radiated into space which translates to less warming on earth.

    (A prolonged low in solar activity is what caused the Little Ice of the mid 2nd millennium.)

    Now the sun will start growing warmer to maximum in 2012-2013.

    I have never read a critique of climate change that didn’t ignore some aspect of the science. It’s like critiques of evolution. The fact that temperatures have fallen since 2001 isn’t a surprise to anyone, nor does it mean that global warming isn’t a serious problem that must be curbed. Climate change will never, ever be a straight trend line.

    See: NASA.gov: Solar Minimum

  67. 67.

    JK

    April 19, 2009 at 2:58 pm

    Musical Interlude
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FdWPeHFAMk

  68. 68.

    DanSmoot'sGhost

    April 19, 2009 at 3:04 pm

    @Brick Oven Bill:

    Bill, just to test your knowledge of temperature ….

    What is the difference between an oral thermometer and a rectal thermometer?
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    answer: The taste.

  69. 69.

    DanSmoot'sGhost

    April 19, 2009 at 3:10 pm

    Grey Gardens was awesome and I cried a lot.

    Are those two things related?

    And by the way, you look great in that gown.

  70. 70.

    Zuzu's Petals

    April 19, 2009 at 3:16 pm

    @Laura W:

    It was interesting how they showed their stuff gradually accumulating over the years . A plate of food left by the phone, newspapers scattered by the reading chair…pretty soon it’s old cans all over the kitchen counter…

    I looked over at my dining room table covered with old mail, books, and assorted junk. Spare room … more of the same, will get to it one of these days.

    Oh my God.

  71. 71.

    poopsybythebay

    April 19, 2009 at 3:22 pm

    @DanSmoot’sGhost:
    Actually they are related. If something makes me cry it usually means it was pretty good. (That can also apply to other things- not just a movie)

  72. 72.

    JenJen

    April 19, 2009 at 3:29 pm

    @Zuzu’s Petals: That’s exactly what I was thinking. Through the years, anyone who ever saw “Grey Gardens” had to have thought, “How does it get to that?”

    And in the HBO version, they showed us exactly how. I think I’m going to go straighten up a little now. :-)

  73. 73.

    JK

    April 19, 2009 at 3:29 pm

    Even Larry King has had enough of Norm Coleman

    LARRY KING: I’m not a sore loser.

    ASHTON KUTCHER: No, you’re not.

    LARRY KING: I’m not gonna pull a Norm Coleman and take this to the courts.

    ASHTON KUTCHER: You have been gracious, very gracious.

    While Norm Coleman sore-losers it up, Democracy for America and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee have introduced a new effort: NormDollar.com, “A Dollar a Day to Make Norm Go Away.” Very simply put, commit to contributing just one dollar per day for every day that sore loser Norm Coleman refuses to concede.
    http://www.mnprogressiveproject.com/diary/3045/dfa-pccc-a-dollar-for-every-day-coleman-keeps-it-up

  74. 74.

    Corner Stone

    April 19, 2009 at 3:35 pm

    @joe from Lowell: This may be the only thing you’ll ever post that I agree 100% with.
    Nice.

  75. 75.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    April 19, 2009 at 3:36 pm

    The Bouvier-Beales were fucking pigs. The only thing sad about ’em is they were too fucking lazy to clean up after themselves. The sons were assholes for not taking care of the house and property, or arranging for it to be done.

    The whole family shoulda been taken out and stoned.

  76. 76.

    Corner Stone

    April 19, 2009 at 3:38 pm

    I’m confused. Is Balconesfault the same as Balconespolitics?

  77. 77.

    Laura W

    April 19, 2009 at 3:40 pm

    @Zuzu’s Petals: Without going into a lot of detail, can I just say “Amen”? I’ve got stacks of books and magazines in the kitchen I pass by 98x/day, each time, thinking: “I need to go through that and throw away or file away.” For like months now, I do this. I’ll be moving this summer, so I’ll be forced to. If I were not so embarrassed, I’d go take a photo of my recycling for you. I had to move it out of the laundry porch yesterday and into the carport, it had gotten so cumbersome. Problem is, I now drive a small car and it’s piled up so much, it will mean TWO trips to the recycling center (which is 5 min from me, tops.) Seriously lame.

    I’ve not watched it again yet but was just thinking that Jean Tripplehorn was excellent as Jackie O.

    Edit: I see Fuckhead is here. He will prolly think far less of me than he already does when he reads this. HA!

  78. 78.

    Drive by Wisdom

    April 19, 2009 at 3:47 pm

    I see that Bill was trying to educate the doom eco-echo-mob again.

    Here is another reality they can deny:

    Australian Antarctic Division glaciology program head Ian Allison said sea ice losses in west Antarctica over the past 30 years had been more than offset by increases in the Ross Sea region, just one sector of east Antarctica.

    …

    Ice core drilling in the fast ice off Australia’s Davis Station in East Antarctica by the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Co-Operative Research Centre shows that last year, the ice had a maximum thickness of 1.89m, its densest in 10 years. The average thickness of the ice at Davis since the 1950s is 1.67m.

  79. 79.

    JenJen

    April 19, 2009 at 4:12 pm

    @Just Some Fuckhead: Oh, no doubt. But considering the times and the mores and their “class” and the social graces and other such sundry bullshit, these two women were simply abandoned. The sons and the husband and the gilded relatives were the true assholes in this fable. I always thought their eccentricity cast a horrible light upon high society, and I kind of love the Edies for that.

  80. 80.

    Zuzu's Petals

    April 19, 2009 at 4:55 pm

    @Laura W:

    Yes, and I’m a little more fortunate than the Beales. Unlike them I was raised to pick up after myself, but it still gets away from you.

    I also have someone who comes in and does the heavy cleaning for me, and an attentive son who would never let things get out of hand.

  81. 81.

    Zuzu's Petals

    April 19, 2009 at 4:57 pm

    @JenJen:

    I’m not so sure. Don’t know what the sons’ personal circumstances were, but having an aging parent who refuses to move or make changes to lifestyle is something people of all castes and incomes have to deal with.

  82. 82.

    JK

    April 19, 2009 at 5:11 pm

    RIP J.G. Ballard
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/apr/19/jg-ballard-author-dies-aged-78
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2041260.stm

  83. 83.

    JenJen

    April 19, 2009 at 5:44 pm

    @Zuzu’s Petals: Oh, it’s definitely not a class issue. My grandmother lived in her own home until age 94, and we spent decades trying to get her to move into assisted living. I’m certain it’s a common story across generations.

    I shouldn’t jump to conclusions about the Beale sons; they’ve been silent for years and I have no idea of their current financial situation. Grey Gardens was eventually sold after Big Edie’s death, and of course it just bled value as it wasted away before that, but given the rarity of the location I’m sure it still fetched an attractive price that Big Edie’s heirs shared in. Still, I can’t imagine allowing my sister and mother to go without heat, electric, and groceries, regardless of the conditions they had chosen to live with, you know?

    As a condition of its sale, Little Edie insisted the original house never be torn down. The current owners of Grey Gardens are Ben Bradlee and Sally Quinn, in case anybody didn’t know that yet. I have no idea why that makes me giggle, but it does.

  84. 84.

    Comrade Darkness

    April 19, 2009 at 6:59 pm

    @Drive by Wisdom, yeah, tell it to my mulberry tree which has flourished (it started as a volunteer in my shrubs). We are WAAAY outside the range for that tree.

    Now when I plant I plant for 2 zones off from what the maps said when we moved here 10 years ago. The stuff that belongs here, is doing really bad. I have to rip out a row of pathetic shrubs this summer and replant with something that “does not belong”.

    Plants don’t give a shit about politics.

  85. 85.

    Laura W

    April 19, 2009 at 7:08 pm

    Here goes 60 Minutes with another sobering lead story.
    Gak.
    401ks decimated. Should-be retirees looking for work.

    (I’m gonna guess John got Tunch an exercise buddy and has spent the whole day protecting said buddy from Tunch’s wrath.)

  86. 86.

    Brachiator

    April 19, 2009 at 7:14 pm

    @Brick Oven Bill:

    By the nature of data, there is scatter. Thus by using single data points like 1950, 51, 52, and 53; one can argue that the globe is warming while the globe is actually cooling. Or by using 1984, 85, and 86; one can argue that the globe is cooling while the globe is actually warming.

    BOB, you seem to be unaware of something as basic as moving averages. There is a very simple and elegant graph that shows how temperatures have been rising since the 1800s (Global Temperatures Are Rising).

    There are valid criticisms of global warming, but trying to make … points … about individual data points and “scatter” on graphs is just uninformed.

  87. 87.

    joe from Lowell

    April 19, 2009 at 7:32 pm

    I’m just going to link to thischart again.

    Brick Oven Bill can spin all he wants – and he seems to want to spend a lot of time spinning.

    I’m perfectly happy to just say “Look at the data.”

    There really isn’t a whole lot of room for dispute.

  88. 88.

    Zuzu's Petals

    April 19, 2009 at 7:58 pm

    @JenJen:

    Here’s an interesting piece Gail Sheehy wrote back in the day, which sheds a little light on things.

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