Climate Change Leading to Record-Setting Fatal Heat in Brazil

I, like many, am tired of idiot pundits, politicians, and quitters claiming that climate change (or, as they anachronistically call it, "global warming") is bunk just because there's a lot of snowfall. But for those who insist that a lot of snow in D.C. and Baltimore is proof that "Al Gore was wrong," there's this:

The worst heatwave to hit Rio de Janeiro in 50 years turned the city into a pre-Carnival furnace Wednesday, and killed 32 elderly people further south, officials said.

According to the Inmet national weather service, recorded temperatures in Rio were well above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees) -- and felt more like above 50 degrees.

"The heatwave in Rio is seen as historic. February right now is the hottest month for the past 50 years," meteorologist Giovanni Dolif told the O Globo daily. [...]

The heatwave made Rio the hottest place on the planet on Tuesday, save for Ada, a town in eastern Ghana, according to data from the World Meteorological Organization.

Rio's recorded temperature that day was 46.3 degrees Celsius -- less than even the Sahara desert, which came in at a milder 33 degrees.

Dolif said being in Rio was worse than being in a dry desert because seaside humidity gave the temperature a suffocating boost, making it feel much higher.

That's right: Rio - hotter than the Sahara! For those who are wondering, 46.3 degrees Celsius is 115 degrees Fahrenheit. And that was just the thermometer temperature - it doesn't take into account the humidity and heat index, which is more practical in terms of knowing how it actually feels outside.

So for all those idiots shocked that there have been some heavy snowfalls in winter: climate change isn't bunk just because you're stupid and near-sighted. In parts of the world that are actually in the midst of summer, they're seeing record-setting, hellish heats, in just one more example of how climate change is real and happening.

Dumb Anti-Government Arguments

Shorter Ruben Navarette: Because the government failed to respond properly after Hurricane Katrina, we should never expect the government to help us. Therefore, Barack Obama's economic plans are misguided.

I often wonder how people like Navarette get to write for major news organizations. Maybe they were once qualified and then got lazy when they started cashing those big paychecks. Because this is just plain silly. Government has helped people out many, many times in American history. But almost always when Democrats are in power. The New Deal? The Great Society? LBJ did a great job getting the federal government to rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Betsy struck the city in 1965.

But Navarette is using a slight of hand that should be obvious to anyone who pays the least amount of attention: he is using the failure of Republican governance to attack Democrats. Yes, if John McCain is elected president, Americans should not expect the government to help them effectively if they are in need. But there is no evidence that Democrats would fail in the same way. Except that conservatives want you to think that in order to keep you voting against your own interests.