How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic

The other day I had inadvertently entered into a heated discussion about global warming with a friend of mine. He simply doesn't believe that global warming exist. He thinks someone is "pullling the wool over our eyes" in order to get more funding to do research about something that is myth. I believe he also used the word "propaganda." I responded with words like "right-wing" and "Christian fundamentalist," but I can't be sure. I was already too upset. I guess I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I mean, I had heard of people who attempt to debunk global warming. I just didn't realize any of them were my friends. It's kind of like when another good friend of mine (who shall remain nameless for her safety and protection) told me she voted for Bush in 2004. That admission rocked my world. I was in shock for weeks. I still shudder when I think about it.

Anyway, Grist Magazine just released a very comprehensive guide on HOW TO TALK TO A CLIMATE SKEPTIC. It's very good. I plan to study this and advertently enter the debate with my friend again.

Newsweek's latest cover, by geographical region

*Sigh*
How gross. How sad.
Wake up, America!

The Good Wife's Guide

Good Housekeeping article -- May 13, 1955

• Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have be thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed.
• Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.
• Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.
• Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives. Run a dustcloth over the tables.
• During the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.
• Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet.
• Be happy to see him.
• Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.
• Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.
• Don't greet him with complaints and problems.
• Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work.
• Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.
• Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.
• Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.
• A good wife always knows her place.

Privatization of Public Space

As a cautionary measure, the Olympic National Park requires all campers on the beach to store food in bear cans to prevent bears and racoons from destroying your camp and lovely camp experience. Since most visitors rarely have bear cans handy on them, the Park usually provides them free of charge.

Not any more!

When Tonkhero went to retrieve a bear can from the office, Ranger Ian asked him for a $3 donation. Tonk said no, as he already paid a $25 entrance fee to enter the grounds (it used to be free) and a $9 fee to camp (it used to be free). But Ranger Ian continued to press Tonk for the three bucks. Ranger Ian became increasingly angry as he argued that the Park employees are basically volunteers, making $10 a day or something piddling like that. He argued that it was these "volunteers" that kept the bathrooms clean, and the area habitable for campers like us. Tonk, who was also getting increasingly angry, responded that he already paid the necessary fees, and also his federal taxes, and that it was the federal government who has failed to allocate tax money for the rangers' services and, instead, squandered the money to construct new roads accessible for RVs, who consequently contribute more waste to the Park versus backpackers like us who barely make a dent on the campground. Tonk continued, why don't you ask RV campers for an additional fee? This is a gradual attempt to have visitors accustomed to paying fees for public spaces so when private companies take over and make the Park into Disneyland, we won't have a problem paying. Why don't you lobby your representatives in Congress to pay you a fair salary and keep public land public?

Please keep in mind I was not privy to this conversation. I was sitting in the parking lot eating potato chips and enjoying the sun. This was told to me by Tonk, when he returned in a huff.

We learned a couple of days later, Tonk's name now appears on a blacklist with the Park, along with a comment that says, "Camper refuses to pay fee for bear can."

At first I didn't see the big deal... until I was in the security line at the Seattle-Tacoma Airport on route home to LA. I noticed a special "express line" near the security line entrance that was also managed by federal TSA employees. The sign above the express line stated that only the following persons were permitted to use this line:

• people with no carry-on bags
  
• people with disabilities
• on-duty employees (although I don't quite understand why on-duty employees would need to use this express line)
• Alaska Air Members
• American Airlines Advantage Members

What the fuck?

Needless to say, I was very perturbed. Although, I must say, the Sea-Tac Airport is one of the cleanest airports I have ever been to. The airport stores are very upscale and the women's bathrooms have toliet seat covers. Plus, check out the public art at Sea-Tac:

Photo by DYY

I hate tax day

Unlike you fuckers who are probably getting money back, my ass has to pay this year... and quite a bit, I might add. I'm very sad to depart with my hard-earned money. More sad knowing that my money will be used for military spending and killing Iraqis.

I guess I could be a War Tax Resister. According to the War Tax Resistance website, resisting war taxes is really very simple — don’t pay all the tax due on your annual Federal income tax form, or don’t pay the Federal excise tax on telephone bills, or both.

Simple is as simple does.

Honestly though, I'm scared of the IRS... more than the Boogie Man and Bloody Mary combined.

But don't be a pussy like me. Resist the War! Don't pay your taxes!

I promise to write when you're in Guantanamo...

If the glove don't fit...

Poor Johnnie. I wonder if he would have ever suspected his white associates to take over his firm when he died? I give mad respect to Johnnie, but it's his bad for trusting whitee in the first place...

In Bomb the Suburbs, William Upski Wimsatt, a white "hip hop" writer from Chicago, writes, "...But let me offer this advice to black artists: Next time y'all invent something, you had better find a way to control it financially, because we're going to want that shit. And... you won't even get to hear us say 'Thanks niggers'."

Oscar hits and misses

Here is a picture of Terrance Howard. He didn't win Best Actor as suspected, but he's so FUINE that I had to attach a picture of him from the film Hustle and Flow.

I didn't watch the Oscars because it's usually so damn boring. Although, I'm kinda bummed I missed Jon Stewart, who I absolutely adore. And of course, I heard he was funny.

Nevertheless, I participated in my office pool. $10 a pop. I didn't hit all the categories, but did better than I thought. Well, actually, I knew I would do well. I'm a good gambler. It's in my genes. Hopefully, I will have my hands on the winning pot tomorrow morning.

Hugh highlights: Ang Lee won Best Director (YES!); Philip Seymour Hoffman won Best Actor; Reese Witherspoon won Best Actress; Rachel Weisz won Best Supporting Actress. These individuals were really outstanding and deserve the statuette.

Deep disappointments: How in the world did Crash win Best Picture? I mean, it's not a bad movie but it's not great either, especially when compared to Brokeback, Capote, Munich and Good Bye, Good Luck... all of which are way better. Also, because Crash's depiction of Asians/American Americans absolutely sucked dick with its one-dimensional image of my people, this movie should not have won the Oscar. Paul Haggis must have sucked some academy dicks to get his statuette. Dammit. I knew I should have written a letter to the Times about how poorly Asians were depicted in this movie...

Read one critic's opinion why Crash prevailed over the other more superior movies in the same category. It's right on.

I'm also upset that Paradise Now did not win... but I have to admit that I chose Tsotsi on my pool sheet... c'mon now, I don't fuck with mah money.

US/Mexico relations at risk

Homeland Security discovered a tunnel dug under the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego that contained more than two tons of marijuana.

A Mexican federal policeman stands next to packages of drugs that had been removed from a sophisticated clandestine tunnel.

I'm telling ya, those Abu Ghraib masks are becoming an international trend. Runway models will soon wear them in Paris and Milan. Jay-Z will begin manufacturing them under his Rocawear clothing line while little children in China make masses of them for 15 cents an hour.
Now that's hot.

Witch Hunt at UCLA

'UCLA STUDENTS: Do you have a professor who just can't stop talking about President Bush, about the war in Iraq, about the Republican Party, or any other ideological issue that has nothing to do with the class subject matter? It doesn't matter whether this is a past class, or your class from this coming winter quarter. If you help expose the professor, we'll pay you for your work."

The Bruin Alumni Association, a super conservative Republican alumni group, is offering $100 to students to report professors who speak about social and policital issues that conflict with Republican ideologies... in other words, there's a bounty on liberal professors. Free speech and exhange of ideas are threatened... by the almighty dollar. I guess Puffy was right when he said 'it's all about the Benjamin's, baby'. I can't believe Puffy is right about something, and that I just quoted him.

The truth is, I don't even fault the Republicans... although they play dirty, it's a pretty ingenious idea (now why didn't we think of this first?). Who I fault is the University. They have yet to make a formal announcement that such disclosures will not impact a professor's career or livelihood. The University must assure their faculty and staff that UCLA is an environment of higher learning that encourages and supports a free exchange of thoughts and ideas from professors to pupils and back. But, of course, they have failed to do this. This is why I refuse to donate money to UCLA. Even if I'm the last alumnus alive, and the whole university depended on my donation, I would not. Word.

Shame on AOL, MSN and Yahoo!

Thank you, Google, for protecting my right to view porn and conduct other internet activities in the privacy of my own home. You will be my search engine of choice. Keep up the good fight!

The other search engines are Big Brother's little bitches.

There are other ways to investigate whether web sites shield a minor's access to sexually explicit content other than tapping into the public's personal on-line seaches and activities. Plus, parents need to fuckin chill with their paradoxical views... they rebuke at the idea of their kids having access to sexually graphic images while they allow them to watch violence on TV and play violent video games. Why don't you put your own kids in check instead of impeding on the private lives of everyone else? It's your fault for having them in the first place.

God to blame?

Mayor Nagin of New Orleans said in a speech that the hurricanes were a sign of God's anger toward the United States and toward black communities, too, for their violence and in fighting.
I'm all for passing the blame onto others, but I'm getting really tired of everyone attributing natual disasters and illness and just plain inexplicable bad things to God. There are reasonable and scientific explanations to most everything, yet people throughout history have been blaming God. Take the Bubonic Plague for example... those dirty Euros blamed God when they should have been taking showers and disposing their garbage in a civilized manner. As for the hurricanes, has anyone heard of GLOBAL WARMING? The more we blame God, the less we are accountable for our own actions and do what is necessary to prevent future disasters, like building adequate levies or developing alternative energy sources. Anyway, enough preaching... all I have to say is when the bird flu pandemic finally breaks out, don't blame the Chinese for sleeping with the poultry, you better remember to blame God.

FONY!

I love this vigilante shit.

FUCK SONY!

Power to the People!