Why Are These People So Proud to Be Dumb on Television?
We live in the dumbest time in history. Certainly, there were times when human beings had less knowledge. But now we have more information at our fingertips than our ancestors could possibly have imagined, and we have chosen instead to promote stupidity in general, and our society's biggest dipshits specifically. Ignorance is a virtue, expertise is elitism, and the president's favorite teevee show features professional morons tasked with making sure the elderly caucasians tuning in each morning are all jumped up on resentful liberal-bashing so they'll stay tuned in for more resentment programing throughout the day. Anything is fair game if it Owns The Libs.
Friday's addition to the oeuvre was a real doozy.
Fox's Ed Henry: "We know it's cold outside. Now the left is actually using new terms for global warming, like 'extreme weather.' Why do they keep changing the language? Are they just pushing the same old agenda with new words?" pic.twitter.com/hRL1M5Oooo
- Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) February 1, 2019
Weather is not the same thing as climate. Weather is not the same thing as climate. Weather is not the same thing as climate.
Here, the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration can explain:
Whereas weather refers to short-term changes in the atmosphere, climate describes what the weather is like over a long period of time in a specific area. Different regions can have different climates. To describe the climate of a place, we might say what the temperatures are like during different seasons, how windy it usually is, or how much rain or snow typically falls.
When scientists talk about climate, they're often looking at averages of precipitation, temperature, humidity, sunshine, wind, and other measures of weather that occur over a long period in a particular place. In some instances, they might look at these averages over 30 years.
Imagine going on television to discuss something having proudly refused to learn a single goddamn thing about it. Most people would be embarrassed. These people just have that smirk etched across their faces, knowing this will get the viewers juiced up. You may have noticed that conservative "comedy"-what makes these folks laugh, or at least prompts that leering smile-mostly consists of needling other people with bad-faith talking points or outright cruelty.
Meanwhile, that liberals get "owned" or "triggered" every time you make an ass of yourself disputing the scientific consensus that this is happening does not, in fact, mean the world will be spared what awaits us if we do not act on climate change. This is pure reactionary stupidity. You may also have noticed that this stuff is making a lot of people a lot dumber-including Ed Henry, who used to be a respected White House reporter but now fills in for Brian Kilmeade on the dumbest show on television.
The subsequent segment was just as dumb as you'd expect:
Because the left is “losing the argument,” radio host Mike Slater says its now “extreme weather” instead of “climate change” (weather and climate are not the same fucking thing), just like how they now say “dreamers” instead of “undocumented immigrants” (also not the same thing) pic.twitter.com/ZdPdt4ngFY
- Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) February 1, 2019
You might have noticed that this genius-a talk-radio host with, presumably, zero scientific training, much less a degree in any field related to climate science-also suggested DREAMers are the same thing as undocumented immigrants. Actually, DREAMers are a specific group of people who were brought here as children by undocumented parents who, in many cases, don't know any other country. They are American in every way except on paper, which is why President Obama sought to protect them from deportation using an executive order. This guy would know that if he knew shit about shit. He does not.
But funny enough, that first graphic in the segment was almost useful. The arrows there aren't far off: warming global temperatures have led to changes to the climate-just ask NASA-which in turn leads to more extreme weather. Previously, we focused on the increased ferocity of hurricanes and wildfires and drought, but there's growing evidence that the increasing frequency of the polar vortex-the arctic winds that have swirled south to plunge the American midwest to incredibly low temperatures-could also be linked to climate change. The Guardian explains:
There’s some evidence that the jet stream, a meandering air current that flows over North America and Europe, is slowing and becoming wavier as the planet warms. The jet stream interacts with the polar vortex, helping bring numbing temperatures further south.
Scientists also point to a complex sequence of events involving sea ice, which is rapidly diminishing in the Arctic. As the ice retreats, summertime heat is absorbed by the dark ocean that lies underneath. This heat is released into the atmosphere during winter, spurring winds that can disrupt the polar vortex.
“We aren’t entirely there yet but there’s more and more support for this concept,” said Francis. “It’s a new and developing hot research topic.”
See how they are honest about their level of certainty, and are waiting until they study the area further to come to a full conclusion? That is, rather than jump on cable news to crow about how climate change isn't real because it's cold outside? The reason the terms keep "changing" is that, through research, scientists are continually broadening our knowledge of what is happening out in the world. As our knowledge of the full ramifications of climate change grows, so does the lexicon we use to describe it. As my colleague, Charles P. Pierce, would say: Jesus, these people.
Anyway, this would just be run-of-the-mill American idiocy if it didn't exactly mirror what the President of the United States said earlier in the week. And once again, we will all just have to explain to our children that we couldn't do anything about this because everyone, and everything, was just too fucking dumb.
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