tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post328375006417396242..comments2024-03-29T02:22:59.827-04:00Comments on the daily howler: The nature of the American discourse!<b>bob somerby</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02963464534685954436noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-66044459270511883472014-05-13T22:10:17.298-04:002014-05-13T22:10:17.298-04:00Yet the moral of Benghazi still stands.
BertoYet the moral of Benghazi still stands.<br /><br />BertoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-18311798132512006412014-05-13T19:44:20.166-04:002014-05-13T19:44:20.166-04:00Generosity, charity, altruism, are all nice and sh...Generosity, charity, altruism, are all nice and should be encouraged even, but they don't drive the economy. Selfishness drives the economy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-89868494083138489192014-05-13T17:45:46.232-04:002014-05-13T17:45:46.232-04:00And we will NEVER figure it out with that extremel...<i>And we will NEVER figure it out with that extremely selfish attitude.</i><br /><br />Exactly! Human beings are too selfish to cut fossil fuel emissions adequately so that atmospheric CO2 actually reduces. That's the reality. What should be do about this reality? Here are five possible approaches:<br /><br />1. Hold conferences, make pronouncements, exaggerate the danger, and criticize other people.<br /><br />2. Spend vast resources on efforts that we know are too puny to actually result in reducing atmospheric CO2<br /><br />3. Deal with various impacts of climate change as they occur. E.g., build dikes, improve infrastructure, add air conditioning, adapt agriculture to a changing climate, etc.<br /><br />4. Commit resources to finding practical geo-engineering approach to cooling the planet.<br /><br />5. Commit resources to finding a source of vast amounts of cheap energy, so that people will be happy to switch away from fossil fuels.<br /><br />We are mostly doing #1 and #2. IMHO #3, #4, and #5 make more sense.<br /><br />P.S. Even if all human beings were all unselfish angels, we wouldn't know what to do, since the rate of the climate change is entirely unknown. Most of the consequences are also still speculative. Nobody can way what actions today would be sufficient to deal with climate problems that might arise at some unknown time far in the future.David in Calnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-29661831750206582962014-05-13T16:41:44.042-04:002014-05-13T16:41:44.042-04:00I've been reading it every day for 14 years.I've been reading it every day for 14 years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-44978788317051082062014-05-13T16:29:20.582-04:002014-05-13T16:29:20.582-04:00"voted to reduce overseas security funding&qu..."voted to reduce overseas security funding"<br /><br />There are much better angles to try. 3 out of 4 pinnochios:<br /><br />http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/barbara-boxers-claim-that-gop-budgets-hampered-benghazi-security/2013/05/15/d1e295cc-bdb0-11e2-97d4-a479289a31f9_blog.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-85973934779784064822014-05-13T13:52:13.722-04:002014-05-13T13:52:13.722-04:00"Go familiarize yourself with the history of ..."Go familiarize yourself with the history of the planet."<br /><br />Which involves looking at evidence for events that have *already* occurred. <br /><br />I ask again: Is there generally such a thing as evidence of events that have not yet occurred? Are there any specific examples? This may be no more than Anonymous May 12, 2014 at 3:42 PM using a poor choice of words. Just curious.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-78214169504870685742014-05-13T13:41:42.842-04:002014-05-13T13:41:42.842-04:00"If temperature keeps rising at that pace, th..."If temperature keeps rising at that pace, the earth will eventually have a problem, but the problem is hundreds of years away. We have plenty of time to figure out how to deal with the slow-paced global warming."<br /><br />And we will NEVER figure it out with that extremely selfish attitude.<br /><br />Yeah, David. Let future generations worry about it, as we go on our merry way burning up carbon that the earth locked up millions of years agoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-78483873884184703692014-05-13T13:39:40.311-04:002014-05-13T13:39:40.311-04:00Go familiarize yourself with the history of the pl...Go familiarize yourself with the history of the planet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-36210182147766746012014-05-13T12:59:17.335-04:002014-05-13T12:59:17.335-04:00"there will be mass extinctions"
"..."there will be mass extinctions"<br /><br />"it will be on a much, much different planet"<br /><br />"And there is plenty of evidence of that"<br /><br />Is there generally such a thing as evidence of events that have not yet occurred? Just curious.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-21841644322842208832014-05-13T12:36:46.043-04:002014-05-13T12:36:46.043-04:00"Also, sadly, profiling is not entirely unrea..."Also, sadly, profiling is not entirely unreasonable. In the real world, the burglary rate among young black men wearing hoodies is higher than the burglary rate among Asian Americans wearing tuxedos."<br /><br />Assume all bankers have committed fraud!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-90784362829621339822014-05-13T11:47:22.518-04:002014-05-13T11:47:22.518-04:00"This is a blog about media."
Uh, no.
..."This is a blog about media."<br /><br />Uh, no. <br /><br />This blog is about whatever random thought crosses Somerby's mind while reading the work of other people so he can rush to the board and show his sheep how much smarter he is.<br /><br />Interspersed with endless retellings of his "greatest hits" and he thinks his take on Benghazi is one of them. So be prepared to keep reading about it as long as you read this blog.<br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-60386133715090393042014-05-13T11:36:42.048-04:002014-05-13T11:36:42.048-04:00OMB (Question for fans of the OTB)
BOB sez: "...OMB (Question for fans of the OTB)<br /><br />BOB sez: "Have you ever seen a major journalist or major news org criticize McCain for what he said and did?"<br /><br />What McCain said and did occurred on a press program on September 16, 2012. What he said or did was prompted by and advanced by Bob Schieffer of CBS on that program, according to BOB.<br /><br />When did BOB first criticize McCain or Scheiffer? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-80366373115574997232014-05-13T11:10:06.816-04:002014-05-13T11:10:06.816-04:00Greg - can't both ideas coexist? 1. Republica...Greg - can't both ideas coexist? 1. Republicans bad 2. Understanding the origins of the fake Benghazi scandal and media's (including liberal media's) part in letting the false narrative take hold<br /><br />This is a blog about media.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-10950340160344527252014-05-13T10:05:54.287-04:002014-05-13T10:05:54.287-04:00You're welcome, AnonymousMay 12, 2014 at 9:08 ...You're welcome, AnonymousMay 12, 2014 at 9:08 PM. Being retired, I've used my spare time to follow climate science as best I can. There are several blogs that follow the science, particularly <a href="http://judithcurry.com/about/" rel="nofollow">Dr. Judith Curry, Professor and Chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology</a> Dr. Curry is not on either side of the debate. She presents current climate news from a scientific POV. Many of her commenters are also scientists, so one can learn from the discussions.<br /><br />Another blog that presents quite a bit of science is <a href="http://wattsupwiththat.com/" rel="nofollow">Watts Up With That? </a> The moderator of this blog is a skeptic, but he presents lots of scientific papers on all sides of the question and he allow full discussion by commenters who disagree with him.David in Calnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-37109163355342365102014-05-13T09:59:50.969-04:002014-05-13T09:59:50.969-04:00But David certainly has a cousin or an in-law who ...But David certainly has a cousin or an in-law who just happens to be a climate scientist. As well as cousins or in-laws who are constitutional attorneys, computer software designers, career educators, and second basemen for the New York Mets if the subject ever turns to baseball.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-83948743805785289612014-05-13T09:48:46.925-04:002014-05-13T09:48:46.925-04:00Amen.Amen.Geoffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-81353126869287302572014-05-13T09:02:06.085-04:002014-05-13T09:02:06.085-04:00". . . that wouldn't justify anything Mar...". . . that wouldn't justify anything Martin did."<br /><br />And how do you know what Martin did? Oh, that's right. You got Zimmerman's story.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-90118540852356852082014-05-13T02:37:56.066-04:002014-05-13T02:37:56.066-04:00As deadrat points out, Taafe wasn't a witness,...As deadrat points out, Taafe wasn't a witness, and even if Zimmerman racially profiled, that wouldn't justify anything Martin did. <br /><br />Two other points to consider: Even if Taafe had been a witness, Taafe still wouldn't know how Zimmerman would have reacted to a non-black person behaving as Martin did. Taafe calls Zimmerman's hypothetical behavior a "fact", but it's purely a conjecture.<br /><br />Also, sadly, profiling is not entirely unreasonable. In the real world, the burglary rate among young black men wearing hoodies is higher than the burglary rate among Asian Americans wearing tuxedos. David in Calnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-57841484770053030632014-05-13T00:58:55.755-04:002014-05-13T00:58:55.755-04:00Anonymous @3:17,
TDH won't have any comment, ...Anonymous @3:17,<br /><br />TDH won't have any comment, but why would he? Taffe's changing tales of Zimmerman's prejudices didn't figure in what TDH thought was journalistic bumbling of the story.<br /><br />And no, it's unlikely that Martin's family will file a wrongful death suit against Zimmerman on the basis of testimony from someone who changed his story. The law in Florida makes that a potentially very expensive move.deadratnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-49506254956575041372014-05-13T00:54:26.859-04:002014-05-13T00:54:26.859-04:00Zimmerman's credibility was shaky from day one...Zimmerman's credibility was shaky from day one. That's not the issue. Read carefully:<br /><br /><i>Former George Zimmerman defender now says he was guilty, racially profiled black men</i><br /><br />Taafe, the former Z defender, was not a witness to the tragedy, so his change of opinion on Z's guilt means nothing today and would have meant nothing during trial. Since private citizens may profile as they please, even if we take Taafe's word for this and even if his word had been timely, it wouldn't have affected the trial either.deadratnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-83655918602387534402014-05-13T00:15:32.918-04:002014-05-13T00:15:32.918-04:00To understand the Benghazi hearings by ringing our...To understand the Benghazi hearings by ringing our hands over the collective inability of our country to hold a genuine debate, and to claim it is as simple as understand the silliness of the flap itself is a rather dishonest attempt to avoid the sharp, easily recognized design of the big picture: our conservative party, utterly bereft of tangibles to offer voters and sporting a rancid record on foreign and domestic programs, has embraced scandal politics by default. <br /> Obviously, the great Republican moment of the last generation was Monica Lewinsky. What else are they going to talk about, how they brought Democracy to the Middle East? How wonderful it will be when they take the concentration of wealth even further? A scandal was needed and Benghazi was the best they had. Jesus would have them turn a Democratic President out of office, just like they did to poor Dick Nixon, and they have to play the hand they were dealt. They have the even worse IRS scandal waiting in the wings. For them, this is the only game in town. <br /> So, we don't need to rehash the morning show nonsense once more<br />or pretend that it is all McCain's fault, idiot that he is. One of our parties is much, much worse and more broken than the other, it has been that way since at least the end of WWII. And this is what Bob can't accept. So, may we call the next witness? Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288008924419574934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-26169739764817003972014-05-12T22:16:44.092-04:002014-05-12T22:16:44.092-04:00Yes, Drum just makes stuff up so he can slime his ...Yes, Drum just makes stuff up so he can slime his political enemies. Congrats on finally noticing this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-33785339141236084342014-05-12T21:27:07.889-04:002014-05-12T21:27:07.889-04:00David is an actuary not a climate scientist.David is an actuary not a climate scientist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-36708397146254068472014-05-12T21:08:25.096-04:002014-05-12T21:08:25.096-04:00David you seem to know your stuff really well. I&#...David you seem to know your stuff really well. I'm guessing you are a scientist, and a darn good one. I thank you for your service, true experts are rare indeed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-78403544119907862612014-05-12T20:47:14.335-04:002014-05-12T20:47:14.335-04:00812: They may. However, Zimmerman denied doing tha...812: They may. However, Zimmerman denied doing that numerous times, so his credibility is suspect.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com