My rethuglican mother in law on global warming...

[Not_Giving_Up]

We were at her house for my daughter's birthday a couple of weekends ago. Generally, politics is not discussed, although I feel free to wear my DU shirt when we go over there. Since it was cold, the t-shirt stayed at home, and we were having a fairly decent time.

At one point, she started talking about a book that she just finished reading that talked about how the media scares the crap out of people over things that are really nothing. I couldn't believe that I was agreeing with her, that the MSM scares people about things that are improbable, while the things that people SHOULD be made aware of go uncovered. Then she said it..."Things like that global warming bullshit."

My husband looked at me with eyes that begged me not to go off on his mother, even though he's fully aware that global warming is real. So, he said to his mother, "You don't think global warming is real?"...of course she doesn't. I went outside in the cold air to smoke a cigarette before my head exploded.

Later that night, she was talking about how her mother in South Dakota had called her and told her that it was unseasonably warm there, they were getting rain in February instead of snow. However, she doesn't make the connection.

Something else to make this even worse - We live in the Houston area. We watched Katrina with the rest of the world, then we ran from Rita. My in-laws were stuck in the traffic mess, spending the night on the side of the road because her car ran out of gas. They are looking at land in Austin now...far enough into the hills where the floodwaters can't get them.

My head is spinning.

[Spinzonner]

1. Her beliefs and their validity not-with-standing

A particular day, week, month, or even year reflects weather, not climate, and Global Warming is a climate change and can only be measured, characterized, and decided over a longer period of time.

So this season's weather in SOuth Dakota and Katrina are not in and of themselves proof of it.

[Not_Giving_Up]

2. I'm aware of that

I forgot to mention that the very next day, 60 Minutes did the story on the melting ice, with the poor polar bears suffering for it. My husband called her and told her to watch it, but she never let on if she did.

I don't understand it, she's not a stupid woman, but she's brainwashed by the administration. We left the Farenheit 9/11 DVD at her house for two months, they never watched it, stating that it was biased (but they watch Faux News). They don't even want to hear the other side of the story.

[Bucky]

15. Classic denial

You do right to continually confront her with the truth. Eventually it will sink in. Even if it doesn't, if you love her, you owe her the truth. I mean, I don't think you should be obnoxious or unpleasant about it. But be a good global citizen and fight ignorance when it appears. It remains our most formidable enemy.

[amitten]

7. No. But progressively warmer winters worldwide ARE.

I clearly remember how the weather was, even 25 years ago. It has changed considerably since then.

[Nutmegger]

11. Exactly

My parents just remarked how this was one of the warmest winters they can remember.

[ThomCat]

3. I had a co-worker insisting the same thing recently.

She INSISTS that global warming is a myth created by scare-mongering liberals.
And Bush is a saviour for everything he is doing to help those people who were just too stupid to leave New Orleans.
Oh, and she and her Mom spend the evening of the State of the Union address talking about how attractive * is.

:puke:

[Not_Giving_Up]

4. Oh yuck...

I watched it so I could see what smoke he was blowing up the asses of the masses, but EWWWWW.

[VPStoltz]

5. "Um... Like that Bush is a real president bullshit?"

[Not_Giving_Up]

6. LOL....Yep

She still thinks that we belong in Iraq...'nuff said!

[fujiyama]

8. Just like the RW to deny science

What does she think of evolution?

Yeah, those polar ice caps melting at alarmingly high rates is just a myth. BTW, I never understood what's to gain by "scare mongering liberals" by educating people about global warming.

But like the RW often does, this is about crazy liberal environmentalists wanting to "destroy the American way of life".

[OffWithTheirHeads]

9. Roughly 33% of any givin populace is ready

to guard the concentration camps. You can't change them, educate them or help them. All you can do is never forget that they exist.

[roguevalley]

10. Your mother in law is an idiot, sorry. I have only shoveled

snow three times this winter. we're having warm days. The tundra is melting up here. Tell her to come up and stay a while in Alaska and then tell someone global warming doesn't exist. It exists because of twits like her.

[Not_Giving_Up]

12. Yeah, I've known that for a while

We had temps in the freezing range, follwed by a week in the 70s, followed by freezing, now we're nearing 80.

She's been to Alaska, but since she was on a cruise, she was likely drunk most of the time (hell, she's drunk on dry land most of the time, so the cruise really didn't factor in).

My stepdad's sister lives near Kenai, and they joke that they can't put their mother on an ice floe because they're all melting. (She moved up there to live near her daughter in an assisted living facility a few years ago.)

[roguevalley]

17. I live eight miles from Kenai. we have the Arctic World

Winter Games up here starting today. Pray for us.

[gumby]

13. The problem with moving to Austin is drought and fires.

She may well end up seeing her homestead dry up and burn instead of drowning. Of course, both of these extreme conditions are indicators of global climate change.

That 'other side' or 'both sides' mentality is ruining this country. 'Fahrenheit 9/11' is not the 'other side' of Faux News. That mind-set demonstrates how effective the Ruling Class, or whatever you want to call the propagators, is.

The greatest success of the Ruling Class Right has been to reduce all information to "just somebody's opinion." In this frame, the overwhelming conclusion of scientists that global warming is real has become the equivalent of whatever Rush Limbaugh (or Faux News) blows out his ass on any given day. Today, the scientific community has been reduced to the "other side" of Limbaugh's (or Faux News) bullshit. There ya go.

It's almost impossible to communicate with "both sides" people.

The question I have is: how did they get so brainwashed?

[Warren DeMontague]

14. Yeah.... WHAT Polar Icecaps?

Never heard of 'em.



Deny, Deny, Deny.

[Bucky]

16. When Santa starts sloshing out to the sleigh on Christmas Eve....

...then they'll be sorry.