Should We Talk About The Weather?

Scott from Faribault e-mails on global warming and a lukewarm hockey team:

Say it isn't so! Paul Douglas as an expert on global warming? Meteorologists using the computer models to predict the weather in much the same manner as climatologists use them to predict the rising sea levels and the extinction of polar bears? If he can't get this weekend's forecast right, why would I believe his predictions for 2050?

Dave Dahl once said on the radio that they had an 80% chance of getting tomorrow's forecast right. The day after that, a 50/50 chance. Beyond that, they basically have no idea.

Scott from Faribault

BTW, I might have to take back my prediction that the Gophers can beat Holy Cross this year.

SP ADDS: My former least favorite sports writer, Dan Barreiro, redeems himself with this brilliant analysis of the wisdom of Paul Douglas and the snowstorm we had a couple of weeks ago. Excerpt:

Yes, after that first wave didn't materialize here, Daddy choked up, obviously worried that he was going to be left with sleet all over his face. Instead of hanging in there with his original forecast, like the National Weather Service did, he panicked. And he must have thought the imbeciles among us would simply forget what he wrote for the Saturday newspaper, the day after he predicted the Storm of the Century: "A cool six-to-eight inches may accumulate by Monday morning, with more than 10 inches for part of southeastern Minnesota. It won't be as much as previously thought, but it should be plowable, possibly the biggest of the winter."

Got that? A cool six-to-eight MAY accumulate. SHOULD BE be plowable. POSSIBLY the biggest of the winter, which wouldn't take much given we had not had bigger than a four-inch snowfall. And now, on Monday he wants us only to remember that he nailed it in the original forecast?

It's an old sports writer's trick. On Tuesday, you pick the Vikings to lose. On Thursday you pick 'em to win. On Sunday, they lose, and you say you knew it and predicted it all along.

Faith No More

Score one for the brights. News that the Nihilist In Golf Pants won last night's drawing at Keegan's Irish Pub for a trip to Boston will lead even the most hardcore believers to question the existence of God. What kind of loving God would allow such an injustice against humanity to occur? God is dead.

More Than A Feeling

Deep thoughts from would-be Senator Al Franken on his school days in St. Louis Park:

While he would go on to become a celebrity, he recalls feeling much like any other kid.

"I remember anything anyone remembers--having crushes on girls, feeling nerdy," he said. "That's anytime, any place, any century, any civilization, I have a feeling."

State Of Hockey, Not Stickball

The WCHA Final Five kicks off tonight, so it's time for my annual college hockey prognosticating. Sometimes the crystal ball is quite clear, as it was a few years ago when I picked nearly every game of the WCHA Final Five and NCAA tournament correctly. Sometimes things are a bit foggier, like last year when I picked the Gophers to hoist the Crusaders on their own Holy Cross. Ouch, that one still hurts.

Let's get down to business:

* Fans attending tonight's game between Wisconsin and Michigan Tech should be sure to down several cups of coffee before the contest. I see a real snoozefest a comin'. A tight game that could go either will go to the Huskies 2-1.

* The WCHA team that I think is playing the best hockey right now is the extremely politically incorrect University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. They shouldn't have too much trouble putting SCSU down 5-3 in the Friday semi.

* I have no confidence in this Gopher squad and their silly hair-dyeing ways. Shaky goaltending and a young team does not usually get you far in the playoffs. I wouldn't be shocked in the Gophers fell on Friday, but I gotta think that they should have enough to get past Tech 4-3 in the other semi.

* That sets up a UND-Minnesota final. The Sioux dominated the Gophers in a late-season sweep at Mariucci and I think they will do the same on Saturday, something along the lines of 4-2.

My NCCA tourney picks will come out after the seedings are announced.

I do want to note that Mark Yost, "pride" of Brooklyn, is picking a St. Cloud State--Wisconsin final. We'll see who has the true hockey cred after this weekend.

UPDATE: Round one to Mr. Yost.

Moon River?

Packers Dismiss Report on Moss Trade:

The Green Bay Packers are dismissing a published report claiming the team is close to a deal to bring Randy Moss to Green Bay.

The Boston Herald cites a source in Wisconsin saying the Packers will get Moss and tight end Courtney Anderson in a trade for backup quarterback Aaron Rodgers and a seventh-round draft pick in 2008.

The newspaper reports the Packers would also get a conditional draft pick in 2009 based on Rodgers's performance in Oakland during the next two seasons.

The Boston Herald did cite a source close to Rodgers adamantly denying the rumors and saying the two teams haven't had substantial talks.

The Green Bay Packers typically don't comment on trade talks, but a public relations representative dismissed the Herald's report.

The best thing about this trade coming off would be watching Packer fans shamelessly fawn over Moss wearing the green and gold after cursing his name for years. One pre-season touchdown would be all it would take for the Green Bay faithful to embrace him with open arms. Welcome back to Lambeau Randy.

No Mormon in the White House in My House

For the record, unlike Chad, Capt. Ed, and a host of others I'm sure, I did not receive in the mail Hugh Hewitt's new book "A Mormon in the White House".

Which is a pity, since yesterday, for the first time, I was thinking, you know a Mormon in the White House sounds like a pretty good idea. Any Mormon would do. Donny Osmond, Marie Osmond, Jimmy Osmond, Steve Young, Merill Osmond, Alan Osmond, Tito Osmond.

Then I thought, imagine how great it would be if the Mormon in the White House actually had some relevant experience and proven leadership abilities. It would be like four to eight straight years of Christmas, or Mormon Pioneer Day, every day! Rock and roll!

Then I remembered no such person exists, it will never happen, it is all a wild fantasy. This reality depressed and embittered me. So I dedicated myself to the cause of Barak Obama. And to the utter defeat and humiliation of any pretender Mormons who may emerge to mock my dreams over this election cycle.

Ah, what might have been.

Trust Busting

The Star Tribune editorial board expresses some relief about the Flying Imams situation:

The lawsuit that six Muslim clerics filed against US Airways on Monday is likely to prove as divisive as the incident which prompted it -- welcomed by those who see the episode as a case of religious discrimination, derided by those who believe US Airways responded prudently to suspicious passenger behavior.

But the trial could prove useful to the larger public if it finally clears up what actually happened at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Nov. 20 -- the facts are still much disputed -- and if the judge sets out some guidance on what's appropriate behavior when cultures clash.

Yes, thank goodness the court system will be there figure out this "divisive' situation for us. Lord knows we don't have any other institutions in town with the resources and expertise to investigate facts and report them. Now back to the monopoly newspaper, featuring these vital stories on the front page of its web site.

To be fair, the Star Tribune does break some news on the story, Metro columnist Katherine Kersten once again exceeds her job description and fills the breach with some actual reporting.

Pop! Goes The Weasel

Last Saturday, I made note of the fact that St. Louis Park, the city where I reside and pay taxes, was sponsoring a showing (actually two) of "An Inconvenient Truth" at the local nature center. Rather than just sitting back and taking it, I decided the time had come to act.

I fired off e-mails to my city council person, the two at-large city council members, and the mayor of St. Louis Park expressing my disgust with the city's decision to support such a blatantly partisan project. If they insisted on showing Gore's film, I asked that they at least give equal time for a presentation offering a dissenting view on climate change.

So far, I have received one response.

Thanks for the note. I have not seen the movie (although I think it won an
Oscar) so it makes it hard for me to comment on it. The recent vision process the city just engaged in did find environmental concerns and initiaitives to be top of mind. And, while not knowing the movie, it is always good to have healthy, respectful debates on issues that affect us. I will forward your concerns onto the city manager and the program staff at the nature center.

For obvious reasons, I am not going to disclose the identity of the official who responded. Needless to say, I am less than satisfied with this mealy-mouthed, weasely ducking of the issue. This is by no means over.

Didn't See That One Coming

In the mail yesterday,



Hugh's been writing a book about Mitt Romney? Who knew?

Stuck on Stupid

Nomination for the Lefty Blogger Hall of Fame, in the category of commentary on religion and/or politics, goes to . . . Jill Pike of the AOL Newsbloggers, for this one for the ages:

The Pope Is Stupid

Yes, it's got everything that title implies and more. In a mere three paragraphs of prose, we have teen-age impudence, name-calling, gratuitously insulting a figure millions consider sacred, using conclusions based on a fundamental misunderstanding of not one, but two, primary texts (the Sacramentum Caritatis and the US Constitution) to illustrate why her target is "stupid," and of course, the mandatory claim that her Constitutional rights are being threatened. Excerpt:

Pope-ster, you know what this means? We're not allowed to make laws and weigh issues by religious merit. I really appreciate your interest in our country but our crazy quota has been met. Maybe when Senator Coburn or Senator Brownback or even Jerry Falwell finally go away you can step back in and work on threatening our Constitutional rights. In the meantime, go spread your hate somewhere else.

It's so perfect, if it weren't for the lack of explicit obscenities, I would suspect it's the product of some lefty blog automatic generating system.

But it appears to be the real thing. Jill Pike is a member of something called the "Young Turks" - yet another charming product of Air America Radio. For a company primarily noteworthy for dismal ratings and going bankrupt, they sure generate their share of mainstream Democratic leaders. Al Franken, Wendy Wilde, and now these people, chosen to pontificate from AOL, a platform rumored to have daily visitation in the millions. As a former subscriber to AOL, I remember them as pioneering the per minute Internet charge and 45 minute wait to access it. With the Young Turks blogging for them, looks like their business instincts remain as sharp as ever.

UPDATE: Some other bunch of obscure AOL Newsbloggers with ties to radio takes the She-Turk to task.

It's Been A Marathon, Man

Words that you don't want to hear when you're sitting in the chair at the oral surgeon's office, mouth agape under the searing glare of the klieg light:

"Hmmm...Looks like we'll need to drill some of that bone out."

Followed by the ridiculously improbable request:

"Now, just relax."

Kids Say The Darndest Things

If you are in need of a good larf today, you might want to check out the message board at Bancroft Arnesen Explore. Bancroft and Arnesen of course are the intrepid female explorers whose trip to the Arctic Ocean to educate children about the dangers of global warming had to be called off because of extreme cold. Some of the messages are from real kids, but I think a few wise-acres are taking advantage of the opportunity to have a little fun:

Blake from West Virginia:

Hey, we need to be saved, yeah im ona labtop typing this so i might mispell a few things, by the way, save us get more effeciant stuff! i mean like ethanol won't do it, watch the discovery channel save us from global warming or make a really big wall at a beach so we wont drown, pretty please? pretty pretty pretty please? save us! pretty please! pppppllllleeeeeaaassssssseeee! save us!!! i mean like we're going to have to live under ground if you don't! to muc co2 is being released and mo2 and so2 from car exausts, ciggeretes and more! save us.

Of course, there are also about 153 messages from weenies in Minnesota expressing unqualified support for the gals and shock that anyone would dare to make fun of them.

UPDATE: More schadenfreude here.