From Outta Nowhere

Does it seem like the seasons have moved back a month to anyone else? Summer seemed to start a month later than normal and there’s a possibility we’re going to get snow tonight. It’s mid-April. But, luckily, there’s no such thing as climate change so there’s nothing to worry about.

It amazes me how so many people simply refuse to acknowledge that human activity has anything to do with our changing environment. I probably shouldn’t be surprised but I am. Well, maybe surprised isn’t the right word. Saddened or disgusted may be better descriptors. Of course, enraged comes into play at times, too.

I’ve had to roll back my political media consumption a bit over the past few months. After the presidential campaign and election, I had to take a break. My brain was numb from the insanity of the candidates – presidential and congressional. I’m still amazed at how stupid and/or ill informed politicians and the American public are. How some of these people haven’t blown themselves up while going through daily life is a miracle.

Has there been a time in history when anti-intellectualism was this rampant? Maybe Mao’s Cultural Revolution? So many Americans are proud to not be all educationafied. And they want their politicians to be just as uneducated as they are. The whole “I’m a votin’ for somebody I want to have a beer with, not some snooty intellecshal” is terrifying to me. Because Jim Bob from the bait shop is just the type of guy we need dealing with complex, diplomatic, economic, and environmental issues. Or Michelle Bachmann.

“Carbon dioxide is portrayed as harmful. But there isn’t even one study that can be produced that shows that carbon dioxide is a harmful gas.” -Rep. Michelle Bachmann, April, 2009

Or Rick Santorum.

“The reason that we fought the [American] Revolution in the 16th century — was to get away from that kind of onerous crown, if you will.” —Rick Perry, getting the date of the American Revolution wrong by two centuries