October 18, 2010

Drudge presents: "The Panic O."

Let's analyze today's Drudge juxtaposition of photographs:



The hidden headline "The Panic O" emerged as I framed the screen-grab. It actually says: "The Panic of 2010."

I'm thinking this is just a smattering of Obama pics and means nothing more than Obama is in the news that Matt Drudge found interesting. Aside from the really bizarre eyes in Photo #1, the key thing is a sequence of hand gestures that we might label: 1. goofy little fists, 2. it's about 2 inches long, 3. the big grab, 4. it's huge. I think that sequence was designed to move the eye across the page and to convey the message that Obama is really, really trying to talk us into something.

150 comments:

ricpic said...

Crazy Barry, his policies are I-N-S-A-A-A-N-E!!

charles.r.superstar said...

obama wama we love you! your our prez ! but damm sir, not to maney folks out here are into radical marxist ultra left wing policies like frisco.most americans think communism is bad sir.just thought you'd like to know.

traditionalguy said...

Hand gestures have always been a part of a speaker's attempt to mind control an audience. (See the Hitler speeches on U-tube) There can be a power transmitted by hands of a powerful person. The pointed finger has always been a guilt transmission at an accused. The little fists area threat to attack. The hands or finger apart measuring air are attempting to create walls of substance in existance out of what is only an abstract idea.

AllenS said...

Italian, he ain't.

Anonymous said...

He hasn't STOPPED trying to talk us into something since he arrived.

America isn't buying.

sunsong said...

Imagine driving the freeway and seeing this billboard:

link

AlphaLiberal said...

Keep catapulting that propaganda, Ann. You'll earn your "Republican Hack" medal yet.

AlphaLiberal said...

BTW, you can see some video of the thugs brought out by Republican/Tea Party candidate Joe Miller in Alaska to harass reporters.

Yeah, sure, they care about freedom in America. Except for reporters who won't write glowing stories about them. For them, they have handcuffs, threats of handcuffs, and physical intimidation.

Hypocrites.

garage mahal said...

Fox Security.

Pat said...

I think Drudge is doing something with the eyes more than the hands. Look at them, he looks almost demonic.

Anonymous said...
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Pat said...

Right after typing the demonic eyes comment, I went back to enlarge them and look again, and notice that Limbaugh said the same thing. I shoulda been in radio!

Anonymous said...

This is so sad, that is, this is not true at all.

Listen to me now or believe me on Nov. 3, there is no cause.

The Democrats will retain control of the House (224+ seats) and the Senate (54+ seats).

My polling is consistently showing this result.

Well, the GOP and Tea Party attempt to mis-characterize the success of the best President we have had since JFK is simply bizarre.

Well, folks, reject this lie and rumor. Support the Obama-Biden Administration with every breath, dollar, and hour you can spare.

This is a serious time for our country. We do not need the GOP or Tea Party. They have nothing. Nothing at all.

Roger J. said...

AP: geez man--you are the worst Moby I have ever seen--you gotta improve your schtick--its too blatent; be more subtle, inject wry humor--you really suck, man (or dudette).

coketown said...

The WSJ article featured in Drudge's current prime spot probably offers a hint: "...Obama's visits around the country, even if they energize lethargic Democrats, also raise intensity among core Republicans who dislike the president the more they are reminded of him."

Drudge is energizing Republicans by splashing so many unflattering images of Obama on the main page. "He looks like Herman Munster and makes my skin crawl. To the polls, Vivian!"

Synova said...

I was in a public place with televisions on this morning, one to CNN, and noticed that their pre-election coverage was something about motivating the political base. And, of course, they had Palin on representing Republican efforts and Obama on representing Democrat efforts.

There was something stark about the picture of the two of them side by side... and equivalency... that I'm pretty sure was unintended.

John henry said...

AP, where are you from?

It is obvious from your syntax and vocabulary that English is not your first language. Sounds like you learned as a teenager or an adult.

I'd bet your first language is not Spanish either. I suppose it might be but I am a pretty fluent Spanish speaker/writer and it doesn't feel like you would feel more at home in it.

So where are you from?

John Henry

Palladian said...

Is Obama running for re-election this year?

avwh said...

"Is Obama running for re-election this year?"

He's running from something this year, it seems...

Lincolntf said...

He's a howling loon.
I'm just hoping he can hold on for two more years without making a national disgrace of himself with some sort of public meltdown.

coketown said...

John: Ann should do a post on that! Solve this puzzle of his origins. My guess is Arabic: He commands articles and prepositions but his verb conjugation seems iffy and his adjectives seem limited. A buddy of mine who just got back from Iraq was complaining about how difficult it was for his translators to convey any sense of nuance to other Iraqis. Instead of saying, "He is satisfied," they translated it, "He finds it good." Everything was good. Not pleased, not satisfied, not exceptional. Always good. They had to find a senior translator to find an Arabic word for satisfied.

traditionalguy said...
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traditionalguy said...

Let me try that again. @Pat...with Bill Clinton we were told we got Hillary as a two for one deal. Just think that with Obama we get a hundreds for one deal. No wonder the dude smokes. Think about how many voices he hears all of the time.

D. B. Light said...

That guy in Drudge's pictures is really scary looking -- who is he?

Lincolntf said...

"Panic-O's, the new breakfast cereal from Post made with all-natural Honey Toasted Oats and two scoops of organic bullshit..."

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Drudge don't like news. Drudge like pictures! Mmmmm...! Pictures good. Analysis bad!

Try as you might, you can't watch Scaramouche's hands! It must suck to know that he'll never be the puppet you prefer in guys like W.

W. should be classed in a new breed of Republican leaders called "gut-puppets". All the bravado and showmanship is from the gut. All the direction in leading, from the elites controlling the marionette.

And then we've got the D.J. spinning the reactionary corners of the blogosphere to some truly horrid background music.

GMay said...

Ritty said: "Drudge don't like news. Drudge like pictures! Mmmmm...! Pictures good. Analysis bad!"

You're right, this is nowhere near your level of questioning your opponents' sexuality.

Keep up the hard hitting work, Champ.

(I'll predict 14 posts by Ritmo on this thread.)

Unknown said...

We've seen that topmost photo several times and, sad to say, I think it's going to become emblematic of this Administration for the next 2 years. "You've got to obey me. I know what's best. I am your Leader..."

That, and the Seal falling.

PS Alpha needs to check the Dumb Fight thread. The real story (like that of the 'murdered' census worker) has come out about the Miller incident.

If you're in a hole, the first thing is to stop digging.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

You'd do the same thing if you had an internet stalker fantasizing about spending intimate moments with you, GMay.

Unless you're into that sort of thing, I guess.

Keep up the stupid and I promise to keep up the posts debunking the stupid.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
mesquito said...

If you disagree with ritmo you probably like to sexually pleasure people of the same gender as you.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Drudge watch Obama hands because Republi-Whores require puppet handlers to tell them what to do!

But Drudge don't know that Obama not marionette like right-wing ciphers!

Mmmmmmm!1!!!! Pictures!!1!!!!!1 Eye candy!!

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

What's a matter, ripcord. Are you afraid of having fantasies about sharing intimate moments in front of a television set with me also?

You should really confess these things to a shrink.

Roger J. said...

Perhaps I am a bit dense, but Ritmo--can you please restate your 6:34 post in a language this old guy can understand?

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

That comment's for Mesquite Man, BTW.

GMay said...

Ritty, the only thing you're capable of debunking are your own delerious ramblings as evidenced by your 6:34 PM post.

(Keep going though, 8 more to go as of this writing. I have a bet on.)

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Well, I'm making fun of Drudge's reliance on sensationalism, image, and bluster, Roger - and in a way that shows how childish his approach really is.

But the message is that Obama is not the kind of puppet that W., Palin and the hand-picked TP candidates are. He does however seem to be pulling the strings when it comes to the larger political scene with actual ideas to which his opponents only react, rather than come up with any real, serious proposals of their own. Hence, I muse on the idea that Republicans might fear him the way they would the puppeteers who give the orders to their own candidates.

It's much better than Drudge's game, wouldn't you say?

GMay said...

Oops, 9 more. Damn, step it up Ritty.

GMay said...

OH, whew. Thanks Ritty. Keep going!

Fen said...

via Pogo:

"it's worth reposting a Ritmo comment from one earlier last week, displaying what he's up to at Althouse, and why he comments here:"

Ritmo Brasileiro said...It's good to know that the stupidest threads are just ripe for the threadjacking. I'll be sure to leave a trail of turds on every one of the brain droppings here that suit my fancy. Getting you shit-eaters to complain about the taste after opening your mouths wide and saying "Ahhhh..." to every bad idea under the sun is very satisfying, I must admit.
- 10/16/10 10:28 AM"

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

It's true. That was a good one, Fen. ;-). A bit vulgar - even for my tastes. But well-placed.

I would have posted it earlier if I'd had as much spare time on my hands during the day as some of you lackadaisical bastards seem to have.

Since Pogo sees it all as just a game anyway (i.e. "fetch"), why not? Enjoy!

AST said...

Personally, I find this analysis of Drudge's layouts a lot like reading bird entrails. They're all ugly and don't really don't tell you that much.

But did you follow the link to Reid's comparison of Obama to the Chilean miners?

Christy said...

I like the pic on Drudge of Harry Reid looking like he is hanging by the neck from the rafters. Except it now seems to be gone.

Roger J. said...

Mr Ritmo--wow--I think you may have over-analyzed that particular post.

IMO, Drudge is a news aggregator whose continued success is a function of getting hits. I dont think he is in the business on anyone's payroll. Given his ability to get hits and (I believe)) shape the political news of the day, he seems to do quite well. Who do you see as the puppeteers? My take is that Mr Drudge is in it for Mr Drudge and getting hits is all its about.

Your take may, of course differ.

yashu said...

May I inquire who, precisely, are the puppeteers you (RB) are referring to? That is, who is (or are) the agent(s), the nefarious power(s), the master puppeteer(s) pulling the strings on their marionettes W., Palin, and the "hand-picked TP candidates"?

Indulge me, I'm obviously very naive on this matter.

(At the same time, I see you you consider Obama something of a puppeteer himself. Who are his marionettes, I wonder.)

traditionalguy said...

Ritmo...Have you ever been in a talented ventriloquist's show with several different Dummies that argue and show outrageous personalities that the Ventriloquist cannot be responsible for...It was the Dummy that said it? The wife and I were taking a cruise and the first night's show was a ventriloquist from Atlanta named Mark Merchant. His act was very talented. He called my attractive wife up on stage to interview her and make us sound like dummies too ( we must have been the youngest looking ones on the ship--Crystal Cruises) anyway we made good friends over the next ten days and he gave us an autographed CD. No point here, but a straight line for you to riff of on us conservative dummies. See how funny you can be.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

I don't consider Obama a puppeteer. But I think it helps Drudge to stoke the fear of God into the minds of his minions by presenting him that way.

As for the puppeteers of the right, everyone should know that Dick Armey fronted the whole Tea Party movement. Yes, it's got populist appeal... with the same base that comprises the right in the first place. Giving them a different name shouldn't fool anyone. They are not serious about what they want to do, just loud. Armey knows this and it's his way of having another stab at power.

Ailes is the other one attempting to ride the wave astride this paper tiger.

Roger: I'm just having fun regarding what I said about Drudge. I'm sure you know what he tends to be up to much better than I do. If what I said implied that Drudge pulls the strings of the right, that's not what I meant.

Roger J. said...

Ritmo--thanks.

GMay said...

Ritty asserted: "everyone should know that Dick Armey fronted the whole Tea Party movement."

Cite?

"...with the same base that comprises the right in the first place."

Cite?

"They are not serious about what they want to do, just loud."

Examples?

"Armey knows this and it's his way of having another stab at power."

Cite?

"Ailes is the other one attempting to ride the wave astride this paper tiger."

Cite?

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

"The sky is blue".

Cite?

Dude, you can't be serious. Is this really the game you want to play?

GMay said...

Asking you to back up your assertions is a game?

How illuminating.

yashu said...

I have to say, it's news to me (that Armey & Ailes are the masterminds behind W., Palin, & the Tea Party, hand-picked candidates & all). I'd be interested to hear more, even if it is so obvious that it goes without saying.

KCFleming said...

Another dull Ritmo threadjack, truly a "trail of turds".

Time to change your name again, Montana.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

You prove to me that the sky is blue (or maybe that CO2 doesn't keep the planet's climate warm and stable for that matter) and then I'll take seriously your assertion that any of what I wrote is contested. In the meantime, try this on for size: FreedomWorks. Google is your friend. So is information. Slippery non-disclosure "penumbras" that Roberts' SCOTUS read into the Constitution: Not so much.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Someone whose father spends hours on JFK conspiracy websites and believes that a conspiracy is behind the need to change a car's oil, is really not in a good position to opine on what constitutes a "trail of turds".

Like father, like son. Extremism runs in the family, Pogo. The only difference is the choice of sides. Same game, different teams.

But I'm quite glad you decided to play with yourself from now on. That's progress.

KCFleming said...

Change your name to Trail of Turds.
That's the most accurate one yet.

Anonymous said...

I think Barack Obama might be Demonic, and anyone who believes in God had better think twice about voting for someone who might be demonic.

Would God forgive you if you voted for someone who turned out to be Demonic? I'm not sure ... but I'd be thinking hard about that once I got into a voting booth.

I mean, Barack Obama hasn't closed Gitmo ... that's demonic, isn't it, Alpha? When he promised he'd do that in his first 12 months in office?

And he's killing brown people in Pakistan with drone missiles with not so much as a court order. Isn't that demonic? Wouldn't Satan murder people like this with no due process? I think he might.

And Obama has ordered the US military to murder an American citizen without even allowing that person to have due process. Isn't that Demonic?

Isn't that something a Devil would do, Alpha?

And rather than bring the troops home, like he promised, instead Obama ... or "Satan" if you will ... put 30,000 more killing machines into action to murder innocent brown people. Isn't that Demonic?

Alpha, isn't that Demonic?

Isn't Barack Obama the Devil Incarnate?

Alpha, how can you support this murderer of Third World victims? Have you no shame, sir? Have you no shame?

Clyde said...

The pictures reminded me of the three-part series in the New York Post right before the 2008 election, with a gray-haired scowling Obama on the cover looking back from 2012 at his first four years. Unfortunately, the links no longer work, but it was a very prescient series by Jonah Goldberg, Nicole Gelinas and Ralph Peters, predicting disasters at home and abroad. I remarked at the time that anyone expecting an Obama administration to be sunshine, lollipops, rainbows and unicorns was going to be very disappointed.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

If you're really about truth in advertising, then why pick the name "Pogo" in the first place? Kelly's association with the humility of self-criticism and liberal politics is 180 degrees removed from your conspiratorial McCarthyite thinking, retrograde politics and never-ending blame-gamesmanship.

KCFleming said...

"whose father spends hours on JFK conspiracy websites "

Hilarious. Dad never touched a computer in his entire life. Conspiracies? More turds from the master, it appears. Jeez, my own stalker, too. You're some kind of child molester, right?

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Just quoting you, Pogo. Something you seem to like to do yourself.

But if you like to tell lies, you can't blame others for quoting you as if you told the truth.

You're like the little sh*t who cried "wolf"!

Was the oil change thing a lie, too?

These things have a way of catching up to you. Or maybe it's age. Have you had an MMSE yet?

KCFleming said...

Creepy, dude.

Really creepy.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

More games from the kid with a toy drum.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Pogo said... (but apparently forgot that he said)

My father, God love him, has forever kept to an obstinate refusal to perform simple car maintenance, especially oil changes.

This arises from a mixture of magical thinking, a pigheaded denial about the way the world actually works (as opposed to how he thinks it should), and a conspiracy theory involving greedy automakers and oil companies colluding against him.

So he will not, will not, will not change the oil.

On Christmas Eve some 20 years ago, he unexpectedly knocked on my door, at our little house in southern Minnesota, 4 hours from his home.

His arms full of presents, I bade him in from the falling snow. I noticed there was no car outside, though.

The car, it turns out, had suddenly stopped running out on the Interstate just south of town. And then it burst into flames. He was able to rescue the gifts, but the car burned down to nothing.

He is a Democrat, naturally, and long held a similar fervor for socialized medicine.

I fully expect US healthcare to meet a similar incandescent end.

12/24/09 12:54 PM


http://althouse.blogspot.com/2009/12/senate-finally-passes-health-care-bill.html

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Pogo (also) said (and then forgot)...
"Perhaps America will be better off because of these systemic health care changes."

Dad, is that you?

Shit Dad, change the goddamn oil and stay off the internet; you know you always end up at a Kennedy assassination site for six hours.

12/24/09 1:22 PM


Just playing your own game here, forgetful.

I thought elephants were supposed to have good memories.

traditionalguy said...

Ritmo...How can we prove to you that CO2 is not causing anything except plant growth? Will another colder than usual winter mean anything. The Russians are now certain we are in a 30 year cooling phase, which would make CO2 emissions our savior if they only helped to hold heat. The reason there is now a real scientific consensus that there never was any warming is that the model makers faked data to create that superstition. Their models have also been shown to show warming from any and all input data sets tested on them.They quite simply hid a lack of any current warming by a faked lowering of the old temperature data. There is no truth in them.

Blue@9 said...

It's kind of sad that people feel the need to bust on Drudge because of his politics. Whatever the case, he's been extremely successful at what he does because he's very good at it. I'm glad Althouse points out how Drudge is no noob piker. The guy has a really interesting way to speak to you through his page, even though he barely writes anything.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Guess whose views on AGW are available? Guess which one's differ from denialist claims. All of the following groups have position statements available which differ from denialist claims:

American Association for the Advancement of Science

American Chemical Society

American Institute of Physics

American Physical Society

Australian Institute of Physics

European Physical Society

European Science Foundation

American Geophysical Union

European Federation of Geologists

European Geosciences Union

Geological Society of America

Geological Society of Australia

American Meteorological Society

Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society

Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences

Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society

Royal Meteorological Society (UK)

World Meteorological Organization


BTW, TG. Thanks for coming to my defense in the other thread. You're a good guy and I'd do that for you as well. But we should be able to agree on what to make of all the above, no?

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Typical Democrat behavior, though, ain't you?
Creepy and evil, intrusive and, ultimately, sad.


What the hell is intrusive? You posted these comments on a public forum. It's called "the internet", Pogo. Sad? What? That I remembered what you wrote and could verify it through GOOGLE?

If you have to resort to calling "creepy" the ability to confirm what you said through publicly available information, then I don't know what to tell you. And "evil"?

Dude, you must stop playing these games. You are seriously losing your damn mind.

KCFleming said...

Weird and creepy.
Jeez. Ick.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Good. I'm glad to know that's what you think. Now go play (these games) with yourself, Mr. Icky.

KCFleming said...

"Confirm what I said"?
You researched some post I had about remembering my dad at Christmastime?

Sad and pathetic, dude.
Truly, you've outdone yourself in sheer creepitude.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

I actually, get this, remembered the post that you wrote. I looked it up after your memory failed you.

You really need a Mini-Mental Status Exam. And how creepy that you remembered these things about your dad! You're only supposed to remember that FDR was as bad as Stalin or whatever.

God Damn are you a weird one! Either that or your game on Fen's fantasies is getting old.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Arguing with Pogo while he experiences the throes of early onset dementia is like feeling I've been transported into a sitcom starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman.

It's really dreary and tedious.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Wow Ritmo, I am shocked that scientists tend to agree that there is a problem and it can only be fixed with massive infusions of taxpayer money [to the scientists]

Next, you'll try and convince me that drunks want free drinks and the nation's engineers & architects think we should spend bazillions more on roads.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

I know A.J. How shocking it is to know you believe that the most objective and transparent enterprise known to man, one that's been the driving force of our most powerful advances in knowledge ever, is just a socialist conspiracy.

Even the ancient Greek academies were just a warm-up exercise to the advent of Chinese communism.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sprezzatura said...

"drunks want free drinks"

I'm no drunk, but I'm in favor of free drinks!!!!

Where do I sign up?

traditionalguy said...

Ritmo...Try watchung the short interview of Dennis Rancort under "All Pain and No Gain" title on the website cfact.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Ritmo:

Grow up and follow the money why don't you! If Freedomworks is so eeeevvvil, then so is Move On [founded and funded by 2 far left internet billionaires]. If you don't believe fraternal industry groups don't color their concensus opinions by how much more money will gush into their industry, then you are a bigger idiot that I thought.

Do you think a narcotics cop would ever admit it if we actually won the war on drugs? Hell, no cause he'd put himself out of a job.

Follow the money- You Betcha !

Automatic_Wing said...

What's really bizarre about this whole global warming thing is how Al Gore just got suckered into buying a $9M beachfront home even though he totally knows that the seas are going to rise 20 feet and wipe out all our beaches and stuff.

I mean, WTF was Al thinking? He's supposed to be on top of this shit.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ritmo Re-Animated said...

I mean, WTF was Al thinking? He's supposed to be on top of this shit.

He's thinking of the short term, just like you are. But for different reasons.

Unlike Christine O'Donnell, who denies evolution on the basis that she can't see it happening before her very eyes, Gore probably realizes that some things take a long time.

yashu said...

Sigh. The point is precisely the shocking *lack* of transparency & objectivity which mars much of climate science-- e.g. demonstrably un-scientific behavior among its key figures, setting it apart in significant ways from scientific practice in other fields.

The point is precisely the extent to which AGW appears to be based not on science, but cargo cult science, ideology, political imperatives & incentives. (Look up: Lysenkoism.) It's not about 'denying' anything-- it's about demanding that AGWists act more like scientists, with the skepticism & transparency that you rightly laud as hallmarks of science.

It's about demanding, for example & at the very least, access to all the crucial data & the precise methodology used to analyze it-- the basis upon which all those layers of consensus, peer-reviewed papers upon peer-reviewed papers, are built. If the foundation is corrupt, excuse me if I am skeptical of the tower of consensus built upon it.

(GMay, you misunderestimated.)

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Scientists get money regardless of their conclusions. If there is a potential application to their line of research, then it might be easier to get certain kinds of grants. But there is no precedence of a moneyed interest warping scientific data to such a degree as the AGW consensus. There is, however, the fossil fuel industries' ample support and funding of the "skeptical" scientists upon whom denialists like you rely.

Scientists seem to be a less corruptible lot than the circles you find more familiar. Name me an instance where a scientist blew off what the peer review process would reveal about his sloppy findings simply so that he could make a quick buck?

That's not how the long-term game works. To have a career, you have to be credible among peers who will surely lack an ulterior motive.

When did I ever mention Move On?

Sprezzatura said...

"funded by 2 far left internet billionaires"

Is one of these Soros?

Are there any other investors more brilliant than Soros?

If so, who?

BTW, I get that Buffet (and others) has more dough. But, almost all of Buffet's bets are long the US. So, he's got a wind at his back (because the US is exceptional, as all cons and most libs will tell you), regardless of his specific investment prowess. (Likewise Carlos Slim and others are partly blessed to be in the right place at the right time) But Soros will bet on anything, in any way. His success is his and his alone. He can't count on being in the right place at the right time because he's everywhere all the time.

P.S. Sorry for not being interested in Atlhouse's offerings today. She phoned it in today: maybe Meadehosue had a hot date, so time for the tubes was limited. I'm hoping that a glorification of Soros will break the the lameness today.

GMay said...

Ritty obfuscated: "You prove to me that the sky is blue (or maybe that CO2 doesn't keep the planet's climate warm and stable for that matter) and then I'll take seriously your assertion that any of what I wrote is contested. In the meantime, try this on for size: FreedomWorks. Google is your friend. So is information. Slippery non-disclosure "penumbras" that Roberts' SCOTUS read into the Constitution: Not so much."


To summarize Ritmo: "I'm lazy, intellectually incompetent, and possibly schizophrenic."

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

So the precautionary principle is thrown out the window, despite knowing what we know of how CO2 shapes climate both here, on other planets, and in a greenhouse?

Ok. I guess that's what the denialists want and they are no ideologues! Heck! They've declared as much! And surely they have no financial stake in denialism. So there you have it.

Thanks for showing me what incorruptibility is all about. I appreciate the lessons on integrity that Luddite non-ideologues have imparted unto me. A million thanks and infinite gratitude.

GMay said...

yashu said: "(GMay, you misunderestimated.)"

My chagrin is two-fold.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

What's the matter, G-Unit? You got tired of having nothing to say so you just posted another one of your many throwaway comments? Do you save them up for moments like this? Do you save them up for winter too?

You don't believe my claims? You find evidence to support your own reasons for rebutting them. That's how it works you dumbass who would've failed high school debate.

You home-schooled types really don't understand what knowledge even is, let alone how it builds. Remarkable.

Sprezzatura said...

Isn't fussing about global climate change the same as the way Althouse describes the argument over who is and who is not a feminist?

That is, isn't this discussion is a total waste of time because 'cap and trade' (which would help us get off foreign oil) Is never going to get out of the Senate?

yashu said...

My chagrin is two-fold.

LOL

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

I'm amazed that you find a way to make any discussion here something other than a total waste of time.

I have to believe people come to this blog precisely because it is a huge time-waster. I can't see any other reason.

At some point, the politics will have to change. If not for the reason of AGW (or the falsity some hope it will exhibit - I don't rule that out), then for some other crisis of political laziness.

The Dude said...

Ritmo posts one million comments and says that some come here to waste time. Do tell, jungle boy.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Global warming is a hoax.
Global warming is a hoax.
Global warming is a hoax.
Global warming is a hoax.
Global warming is a hoax.
Global warming is a hoax.
Global warming is a hoax.
Global warming is a hoax.

Sprezzatura said...

"I have to believe people come to this blog precisely because it is a huge time-waster. "

Ture enough. I've noted the same plenty of times myself.

We all like to waste our time here in different ways. I'm sure my number will come up soon enough.

I'm Full of Soup said...

And F the Yankees!

I'm Full of Soup said...

PB &J : You are unusually mellow tonight. Did you hit the lottery? Or maybe you are stoned?

GMay said...

Ritty asked: "What's the matter, G-Unit?"

Nothing at all, Buttercup. I like to indulge myself in your pompous displays of stupidity from time to time.

"You got tired of having nothing to say so you just posted another one of your many throwaway comments?"

Asking you to prove your own assertions is a throwaway comment? I know you have trouble with the language Ritmo, but by golly I think we just got down to your fundamental problem with logic.

"You don't believe my claims? You find evidence to support your own reasons for rebutting them. That's how it works you dumbass who would've failed high school debate."

What high school debate team passed your silly ass for committing textbook logical fallacies?

Again, why traditionalguy thinks you're brilliant is mystifying.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

60 fits: I'm wasting my breath, but find it revealing and endlessly fascinating how much time others waste not bothering to learn a damn thing about the world. Or indeed, how much time they waste actively fighting to keep their eyes closed and ears shut.

A.J. Yes, F the Yankees. But keep up that anti-AGW yammering and G-Unit will chide you for throwing off his stats.

JPB: No doubt.

Sprezzatura said...

"Did you hit the lottery? Or maybe you are stoned?"

Neither, just late to the game.

I'm sure if I'd been drawn in early on, I'd be riled up to my normal hysteria.

Don't worry, there's always tomorrow.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

G-Unit: Maybe you're the idiot. TG's smarter and wiser than you. As is Roger - who once wisely cautioned me against getting caught up in the youthful testosterone-driven destruction of gray matter that exemplifies your antics and distaste for facts and clue-finding. I have better things to do than to play your "Prove Reality to Me" games. Yawn.

But Pogo needs a play-mate. Why not go play with him?

traditionalguy said...

Ritmo...What is the rational for the basic assumption that minute amounts of CO2 trace gas will hold in radiated heat like a glass roof on a greenhouse. There is no glass roof where the troposphere blends into outer space. The earth's radiated solar heat differences are a result of clouds (water vapor) or lack of clouds, as any golfer can easily report. So why do clouds form more for a time and later form less? It has no connection to harmless CO2 which is no more than a droplet of water into a huge lake. The UN's data used to prove warming was occurring outside of the usual climate variation has been revealed to be a total fake. The arctic ice is also still all there and growing. Ask the Argentinians what a Cold winter descended upon them 2 months ago. Thank God that we can think for ourselves.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

TG: There are a lot of unknowns. Always are. Science is not an absolute truth enterprise - just a process of continuously approximating a better understanding of it. What we do know is that when CO2 rises, so does heat retention. And vice versa. Look at Venus. I'm sure there are other details but can't understand why that one isn't sufficient to take seriously - esp when it comes to mass actions that alter the composition of the atmosphere. The precautionary principle is a good thing.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Arctic ice is not growing. This is false.

traditionalguy said...

Sorry...That was ionosphere and not troposphere. My point is that radiation of heat into outer space is not blocked by anything. The clouds form a shield from solar rays that will heat the surface.

Bruce Hayden said...

Scientists get money regardless of their conclusions. If there is a potential application to their line of research, then it might be easier to get certain kinds of grants. But there is no precedence of a moneyed interest warping scientific data to such a degree as the AGW consensus. There is, however, the fossil fuel industries' ample support and funding of the "skeptical" scientists upon whom denialists like you rely.

Scientists seem to be a less corruptible lot than the circles you find more familiar. Name me an instance where a scientist blew off what the peer review process would reveal about his sloppy findings simply so that he could make a quick buck
?

Huh?

You seem to not understand very well how either the grant process works or how the peer review process works, and, instead, seem to have some idealized view of science and scientific research.

And, in particular, you seem to be forgetting the problems that we have seen with peer review in AGW research, such as gaming who got to peer review, that the peer reviewers never actually see the underlying data, nor really how it is selected and pre-processed, etc.

I think that the big problem that you face is that your arguments are aimed at people who have not been following Climate-Gate very closely, and who don't understand that your arguments, wherever you get them, are aimed at those who don't have a good understanding of the corruption and incompetence that has surfaced, but are rather, easily impressed by "scientists" and the supposed scientific method employed by such.

Sprezzatura said...

Today I was in my Seattle house and my Seattle suburb house (you take a 35 minute ferry from downtown, and then drive for about fifteen minutes). The day was stunningly gorgeous for any day, but especially for this time of year.

The morning started w/ the most vibrant red sunrise, and we finished up w/ an intense orange sunset. In between we had a beautiful blue sky w/ a smattering of fluffy clouds.

Could this bliss (and the mild fall we've been having) be the result of climate change? If so, it's probably not worth it if my waterfront ends up underwater-front.

traditionalguy said...

OK Ritmo...Arctic ice caps can be measured. Ltes see what thr current research shows. And the concentrations of ppm of CO2 on earth are in no way comparable with the concentrations on Venus. Earth is 390 parts per milliom. Venus is 95.6 % CO2 Venus needs AlGore more than we do.

Automatic_Wing said...

Arctic ice is not growing. This is false.

Actually, there's more arctic sea ice right now than there has been on this date since 2005. So, yes, arctic sea ice is growing.

We can all breathe a little easier now, Al Gore's beachfront mansion is not in any immediate danger.

Bruce Hayden said...

What we do know is that when CO2 rises, so does heat retention. And vice versa. Look at Venus. I'm sure there are other details but can't understand why that one isn't sufficient to take seriously - esp when it comes to mass actions that alter the composition of the atmosphere. The precautionary principle is a good thing.

So, your argument is that since Venus has a lot of CO2 and high temperatures, then the level of CO2 is the cause of global warming.

And, no, the precautionary principle is not a good thing when it is based on junk science and will cost tens of trillions of dollars. There are plenty of things to spend money on, and the question is this one of the most important things? How about the Earth being hit by an asteroid? The Sun going nova? Global cooling? Teen aged pregnancy? Our underperforming schools? Islamic militants? Malaria in 3rd World Countries? Bed bugs in NYC?

Sprezzatura said...

BTW, is it just a Seattle thing, or do about three percent of the cars in other cities have those bumper stickers that say 'wag more, bark less.'

Today I actually saw a personalized license plate that said 'wag more.' The car had a license plate frame that was chrome w/ text printed on the lower part of the frame: it said 'bark less.'

Automatic_Wing said...

Your place is probably OK too, 1jpb. No need to retreat to Ellensburg or Wenatchee.

Sprezzatura said...

I'm kind of feel Titus-ish today, as I have my own monologue surrounded by y'all.

Not that I'm going to be chit chatting about hogs.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

None of the "Climate-Gate" issues is dispositive of much of anything when it comes to the actual science, Bruce. This is the only fiasco you bring up, and it's a pretty shallow one in the greater view. I asked for others. Specific ones. And specifically I still want to know why the skeptics whose support comes from oil and gas industries are somehow purer and the greater financial strength, unity and force of their benefactors somehow less worth mentioning.

I don't have an idealized view of science. I have an idealized view of what it's accomplished in the long-run over demogogic populism and a defense of the need to have corporate interests meddling with the public good - one manifestation of which would be knowledge itself.

And yes, there's a scattered statistician and a few engineers that flutter about here. But the only physicist who's chimed in has schooled everyone else's asses and handed them back on a platter when it comes to any actual knowledge of AGW.

Bruce Hayden said...

Earth is 390 parts per milliom. Venus is 95.6 % CO2 Venus needs AlGore more than we do.

You forgot to mention that fact that Venus is a bit closer to the Sun than the Earth is, and thus receives significantly more solar energy, which, coincidentally, is the source of most warmth on both planets. And, indeed, there was the weird coincidence that Mars went through a warming cycle the same time we did, but has little atmosphere, but does, coincidentally, again, share the same solar energy source as we do.

Cedarford said...

By force of Will, The One stands poised to save Democrats!!

Someone hasn't told him that it Isn't All About Him...yet.

Never mind Nevada. If you are among the party power brokers and political fortunetellers obsessed with America’s most elusive elected position, Senate seat No. 51, head to Washington — the real one.

Enlarge This Image

Doug Mills/The New York Times
Senator Patty Murray, with President Obama in August, is a Democrat seeking her fourth term.

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Dino Rossi might give the Republicans the Senate majority.
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“It is the future of America that’s at stake here,” said Dino Rossi, the man who just might give the Republicans the Senate majority. “It is, as it’s been dubbed, the 51st seat, potentially.”

Or not.

“Can I just tell you,” said Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat seeking her fourth term, “that’s the same line I have heard in every election I’ve ever been in.”

Is this one really different? Sure seems to be. Both parties, as well as independent groups, are pouring money into the race. Polls are close, with Ms. Murray most recently having the edge. Democrats are clearly worried: President Obama is about to make his second trip to the state to campaign for Ms. Murray. Michelle Obama is also on her way, as is Bill Clinton.

Washington State has a history of tossing out prominent senators


I think the more frantic Obama looks, the more he rushes to "save" Democrats, the more he is associated with their November debacle. The more damaged he is.

But he'll still be around. He got a gift in the Republican Primaries in Nevada and Delaware. O'Donnell is a lost cause, but Angle might just still beat Harry Reid, even if she is unfit - because Reid is now hated.

All through this, Linda McMahon has waged a slow and steady gaining race in a written off state, CT. Off the radar. A victory there and in Nevada and the "O'Donnell boo-boo" is minimized.

And all Bill Clinton's work is for naught. As long as Obama has 91% approval amongst blacks that might even plummet to 85% if he was caught bowing to Mecca with a naked boy under him, his wife Hillary goes nowhere. As blacks are 35% of Dem primary voters, they will vote for a black Dem over a white candidate anytime.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Learn how stats works, Maguro. Eight years of a superimposed and recurring seasonal trend does not show you what thirty years on a linear graph does.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

You forgot to mention that fact that Venus is a bit closer to the Sun than the Earth is, and thus receives significantly more solar energy, which, coincidentally, is the source of most warmth on both planets.

Thanks for that, Bruce. I'm sure that with that in mind, the astrophysicists will have to correct their conclusions for this very important yet somehow not-very-well-known detail. Glad to know you're on the case.

Geez Louise.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Bruce thinks Venus' proximity to the sun is something that climate scientists have overlooked when analyzing the relationship between CO2 content and heat retention and he has the temerity to opine on what constitutes "junk science".

Go get 'em, Bruce.

AST said...

Ann, I think you've got a troll problem.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Is it the funny-looking guy with the beard or the little imp on his lap?

Bruce Hayden said...

None of the "Climate-Gate" issues is dispositive of much of anything when it comes to the actual science, Bruce. This is the only fiasco you bring up, and it's a pretty shallow one in the greater view. I asked for others. Specific ones. And specifically I still want to know why the skeptics whose support comes from oil and gas industries are somehow purer and the greater financial strength, unity and force of their benefactors somehow less worth mentioning.

Sure, ignore that at least 4 of the 5 primary climatic data sets are now highly suspect, and are very likely wrong. Ignore that the latest research on the sensitivity to CO2 concentrations seems to show a decreasing sensitivity, instead of the postulated increasing sensitivity. Ignore that Mann's Hockey Stick is now the joke of the statistics world, and is now being used as an example of how bad statistics can be used with random data to generate pretty much whatever graph you want. And, ignore that pretty much everything else "scientific" published in the AGW debate somehow depends on all of the above.

But, other than that, I see your point.

As for who is funding the anti-AGW research, let me note your selectivity in throwing stones, and point out that some anti-AGW research is funded by those who would lose money under a tax and bribe (aka Cap and Trade) regime is considered a fallacious argument, since it doesn't address the merits of the argument, but rather, argues through guilt by association.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

It addresses a conflict of interest, a bias when it comes to someone's bread and butter, which is something that attorneys seem to think can only apply when they say it does.

That must be some power, Bruce. Conflict of interest is now "guilt by association". Wow. I wish I could be as selectively dismissive in what I find to be objective.

Continue subjecting the earth to this science experiment, Bruce. Do tell me when the results are conclusive. And if we wait until the percentage of CO2 is too high to reverse, remember to blame the desertification on being too close to the sun - you know, the way Venus is.

Synova said...

I'm thinking that Bruce isn't making any assumptions about climate scientists, just someone named Ritmo who thinks "Hey, look at Venus" is a comprehensive and conclusive argument.

GMay said...

Ritty said: "G-Unit: Maybe you're the idiot."

Next time, try the I'm-rubber-you're-glue approach for more style points.

"TG's smarter and wiser than you."

Your logic may suck, but at least you have good enough form to compliment the person giving you a beejay.

"As is Roger - who once wisely cautioned me against getting caught up in the youthful testosterone-driven destruction of gray matter that exemplifies your antics and distaste for facts and clue-finding."

Riiight, I'm like so totally averse to the facts you refuse to provide.

"I have better things to do than to play your "Prove Reality to Me" games."

Translation: "I can't be bothered to back up my own bullshit."

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

No, I just can't be bothered to waste my time with someone whose raison d'etre is bullshit.

It's boring.

Plus, the conversation's moved on.

"Hey, look at Venus" is a comprehensive and conclusive argument.

Not comprehensive and conclusive. Just another big part of the picture that the Luddites miss - and something that shows what they don't know.

chickelit said...

Ritmo wrote: Learn how stats works, Maguro. Eight years of a superimposed and recurring seasonal trend does not show you what thirty years on a linear graph does.

Any reason you picked the modeled graph versus the experimental one? Link

Is this another gimme?

BJM said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ritmo Re-Animated said...

No reason. Accidental. But I'm glad you provided that other link. Here's what it says:

Satellite data has allowed the tracking of sea ice extents since 1978. During the warmest years, like the winter of 2005-2006, sea ice is observed to reach a winter maximum extent that is smaller than in the years before or after. The summer minimum Arctic ice extent for 2010 was the 3rd lowest over the period of satellite observations of the polar ice. The minimum record summer Arctic sea ice extent was in 2007.

I don't think we're out of the woods with this one yet, Pollo.

BJM said...

@AL

Yeah, sure, they care about freedom in America. Except for reporters who won't write glowing stories about them. For them, they have handcuffs, threats of handcuffs, and physical intimidation.

Firstly the report you linked is more Rashomon than reportage.

Hopfinger is a blogger not a reporter, as the media is quick to point out when the blogger is on the right side of the blogoverse, and he doesn't have the right to shove or touch others. Period.

Anyone with an ounce of sense backs away when security asks them to do so. Hopfinger wanted a confrontation. Hopfinger also claimed that a bodyguard grabbed and erased his video camera.

"An Anchorage police officer offered to take the camera into custody and have it examined in the crime lab to investigate whether evidence had been destroyed, but Hopfinger declined."

While you're wringing your hands, let me remind you of ABC news reporter Jay Levine threatening to deck Emmy winning producer William Kelly for asking Rahm Emanuel questions. Kelly didn't shove or touch any one but was arrested and strip searched.

There's also the SEIU thugs who hurled the N word at Kenneth Gadney while they were kicking him on the ground. Why weren't they arrested?

Then there's the anti-Obama billboard in Colorado removed amid death threats. It was pale in comparison to this.

Or how about a SEIU rent-a-mob invading a neighborhood and intimidating families?

btw-The SEIU owes BoA nearly $4 million in interest and fees on loans.

Thugs and deadbeats.

Or how about outside the DNC convention when a man in the crowd began to shout "Kill Her!" at Michelle Malkin?

How about Palin and McCain hung in effigy in West Hollywood? Just a Halloween "prank".


So cry me a fucking river AL. You reap what you sow.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

And why was surface area more important to you than volume, Pollo? Regardless of methodology, don't you think volume is more important? In fact, of course you can only get surface area with actual observation - but let's nevermind the fact that it's a heck of a lot thinner, right?

I think you're relying on limitations in methodology to predetermine your own conclusion, or at least support those preferred by the denialists.

BJM said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sprezzatura said...

Maybe being around all those 'wag more, bark less' bumper stickers in calming.


WV: delited Well that's close enough to 'delighted' for government work. It must be time to worship the word verification buddha, and all those bumper stickers.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Here's another one for SA whose declines in both max and min over the last 30 years is pretty clear.

You can't tell me that an r^2 plot of max and mins here wouldn't show a steady decline.

BJM said...

The funniest thing about the photos is that the press is releasing them. I hope the editors/Photogs have paid their taxes.

chickelit said...

Ritmo,

I'm merely suggesting that you picked the more dramatic of the two. No biggie.

chickelit said...

I think you're relying on limitations in methodology to predetermine your own conclusion, or at least support those preferred by the denialists.

I really wish you wouldn't partake in that Sullivanistic game of appending "ist" to everything you deny respect.

Denier would do just fine.

GMay said...

Ritty said: "No, I just can't be bothered to waste my time with someone whose raison d'etre is bullshit.

It's boring."


Master projector. At least you got the pretentious French phrase in there.

"Plus, the conversation's moved on."

Just in time for you to bullshit your way into another topic again.

Good night Ritmo.

BJM said...

Sorry about the triple postings, the editor kept erroring out with file too large and I kept editing. Gees.

Nice thread hijack Ritty, you're like the overbearing party guest who eats all the shrimp and pukes in the closet.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

A diet of the blogosphere's very own Vanilla Ice will do that to you, BJM. Try getting them to feed me better threads around here, because the current servings are absolutely bland and ill-prepared - to the point of nauseating.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

I was just in time to witness GMay's launch of an attack against the French language and any of our borrowings from it.

Minzo said...

" I think it's going to become emblematic of this Administration for the next 2 years. "You've got to obey me. I know what's best. I am your Leader..."

Yeah, thats a first for an American president right?

Michael McNeil said...

You forgot to mention that fact that Venus is a bit closer to the Sun than the Earth is, and thus receives significantly more solar energy, which, coincidentally, is the source of most warmth on both planets.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Yes, Venus orbits a mere 72% as far from the Sun as Earth, and so, via the inverse-square law, receives almost twice the raw solar illumination (191%) as this planet.

However, Venus's albedo (reflectivity) at 0.90 is more than than twice Earth's 0.367 (2.45 times greater), meaning that Venus actually absorbs less light and heat than Earth, and thus — except for that pesky greenhouse effect — Venus should actually subsist somewhat colder than Earth, rather than sizzling at more than two and a half times Earth's absolute temperature (735 K vs. 287 K).

GMay said...

Ritty observed: "I was just in time to witness GMay's launch of an attack against the French language and any of our borrowings from it."

Because calling you pretentious is an attack on the French language.

Your leaps of logic are epic.

Roger J. said...

I noted my name was mentioned in dispatches above re testosterone--I simply pointed to the exchange between Cephalus and Socrates in the opening of the Republic--credit to Plato, not Roger.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

You certainly receive credit for seeking to draw upon Plato in the first place and avoiding a provincial and simple-minded appeal to bashing the use of basic French borrowings.

GMay said...

Man, you've got that pretentious thing down.

You go girl.