Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for March 05, 2013

That’s what happens when you turn on Fox News.

Love the kitten’s reaction to the question :-)

It is a well known fact that cnn strives to emulate faux.

Does not really matter what the teachers said. All our teachers in grade K told us all the important things in life and to date I see no one over 12 seems to remember any of it. (Particularly on the highway)

To think there was a time when CNN actually had standards.

@pouncingtiger: you’re aware that Global Warming isn’t the sort of thing that Fox News staff tend to believe in, right? Or are you just trying to push a stereotype of “if it was stupid, it must have been Fox”, no matter how baseless the claim?

Questions don’t “stupid” people, people “stupid” people!

The point isn’t whether global warming is real (which it is), but that it has nothing to do with asteroid encounters.

Who was the rep. that was afraid that if we put too much stuff on an island, it would tip over?

I’d love to see Bill’s reaction to that question….probably the same as the cat….

Actually, the point is that this is what happens when you end up believing your own propaganda.

@ Tucci: Yep, our teachers said there’s no such thing as a stupid question, and also that there’s no such thing as overthinking a question. Between the cartoon and your response, two myths busted in one stroke.

Does sound like a Wolf Blitzer question. Hope it wasn’t Cooper.

Asteroids are a cause of climate change, not an effect.

CNN is proof positive that there is no intelligence in the news media.

We’re not helping the situation.

Presidential voters in the last election proved there is no intelligence in a majority of the voting public.

Ha, ha, ha! That is very funny, although also a bit pathetic.

As Earth continues to warm it causes the surrounding air to rise leaving lower pressure near the surface into which asteroids plummet. There you have it!

I remember a Dilbert take on this from some time ago. If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they become smart just in time to ask the question?

Tucci, solar output has actually been decreasing for the past 35 years, while global temperatures are increasing. So your theory doesn’t wash.

Also, you wrote that solar energy output affects asteroid orbits? Do you mind clarifying? The gravity of the sun doesn’t change, and the only thing I could think of is a slight increase of solar wind. But that would be negligible for orbits.

You called Bill Nye an AGW honker, but you do realize that the vast consensus of scientists is that AGW is real, don’t you? Which group is really the honkers? Or do you take the Don McLeroy approach that we non’scientists “have to stand up to those experts!”

Citations: http://www.skepticalscience.com/solar-activity-sunspots-global-warming.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_opinion_on_climate_change

Sorry to be pedantic about this, but “stupid questions” are opportunities for teaching moments. Bill Nye gets them all the time. So did Carl Sagan, and any number of science writers. For science teachers, it’s part of their profession. . Bad teachers sneer at such questions; good teachers take delight in them. I used to ask stupid questions, was enlightened, and in tribute to those who corrected me kindly, I try to pass it on.

endvovelicus, thanks!

http://wonkette.com/414589/georgian-congressman-worried-island-of-guam-might-tip-over

5th graders are smarter than congressmen!!!

Wait, wait, I’m waiting to hear the answer from Bill the Nye. Of course we already know that Global Warming and republicans can be blamed for everything – my bad.

doesn’t the gravity of the sun have more to do affecting the orbits of planetesimals like asteroids, rather than the solar energy output?

Repubicans deserve all the evil they reap.. problem is they take good American down with them. the ignorant, feeble, retarded, greedy, stupid, the venal, parasites, all that is wrong with human society can be attributed to Republican Values.

now doesn’ that sound like Fox news viewers? lol you don’t have to be a Republican to be one of the above, but but.

Republican values/ aka Neanderthal era values contaminating the gene pool.

Long ago, I amended that quote to read; “There are no stupid questions, just stupid people asking questions.”

ever seen tavis smiley?

Go listen to the video, which is easy to find on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObU7awpJctQ and I think you’ll agree that she wasn’t being serious. Of course, if you say something like that on TV, particularly cable TV, it’ll be all over the place in no time – which may be what you want. (“I don’t care what they write about me as long as they spell my name right.”)

“Except this was CNN, accto the footnote in Panel 4”.Don’t confuse him. He had his extra helping of the Kool Aid this morning so his neurons don’t fire.

Teachers predate everything today…..

Actually the anchor was serious. This is the type of journalism you get from the liberal education system.

Kill your television!

@EveryoneWhat does this strip have to do with GCC? Quit reading into it and remember that it’s literally face value. If you want sociopolitical commentary and hidden messages, go read the editorials.

.There are no stupid questions, just stupid people.

No political point, just info:

1) the primary factor affecting the planet’s temperature is continental drift. If there is a lot of land near the poles (as is the case today—half the northern land mass is above 45 degrees latitude, and there’s a big continent at the south pole), snow and ice can accumulate, leading to less solar heat being absorbed and cooler temperatures. When the land masses are concentrated around the equator, ice doesn’t accumulate, the ocean currents keep the poles warm, and the whole planet runs about 12 degrees C warmer than it is now. About 85% of the last billion years have been “greenhouse” time, with occasional “ice house” periods lasting 10-50 million years. We are in one such cold period now. Within that period, solar fluctuation, precession and wobble of the earth’s axis, and events affecting atmospheric carbon levels create interglacial periods. That’s the present situation. (Source: BBC, “In Our Time,” 14 Feb 2013)

2) the sun does affect the orbits of asteroids in multiple ways. Solar wind and light pressure play a role. And the asteroid’s spin affects its orbit, strange as that sounds. The asteroid absorbs energy from the sun, and as it spins, the warmed surface radiates that energy back into space, creating a slight thrust. Depending on which way the asteroid spins, and how fast, that thrust can speed it up, slow it down, or shift its orbital plane. (Source: WBUR, “On Point,” 2/14/13 about 31 minutes in).

Validation of scientific data is dependent upon peer review. The vast majority of the scientific community, of which I’m part, would have to disagree with your assertions about the anthropogenic causes of global warming. Studies indicate that 99.84% of peer-reviewed literature on the subject support the tenants of global warming.

see: http://thecontributor.com/why-climate-deniers-have-no-scientific-credibility-one-pie-chart#.dpuf

The presumed “controversy” is political, misguided, and dangerous – and not the least scientific.

yup, we get Fox on the right, MSNBC on the left, and just when you think CNN could hold the middle ground, they fire all their investigative journalists, get some really cool gadgets and deliver a juvenile attempt at reporting. Ther is no hope at all…….

No, the stupid question tells us all we need to know about his intellectual capabilities!

By the way, wndrwrthg, “faux” is pronounced f, long o sound. The way a deep South person will say “for”. It is not pronounced like “fox”.

As I’ve said before, the hundred-year storms are now coming just about every year. But climate change is a liberal hoax. Yeah, right.

Does it seem like Mr. Miller enjoys poking the grumpy old bears just to see what looney stuff we will say… This is all too funny.

Good old liberal news media. No brains.

Baseball player Jose Canseco says that the reason dinosaurs grew so big was because gravity was less back then. He said this on twitter.Bill Nye took the opportunity to set him straight.

I taught electronic journalism for a number of years. See what happens when one retires?

Stupid questions also predate cable news. Someone once asked me if they spoke American in London.

I would like to see a picture of Bill Nye’s face when he was asked this question.

They should have asked Al Gore…the guy who pointed out that a picture of Earth taken from space was “upside down”.

Of the CNN reporter, I think she must have skipped science in high school. . . .

I wonder what those who aren’t completely convinced say about the 98% of glaciers that have been retreating at a fast rate these passed (sic) 50 years.

They’re trying to get away from the Democrats? :)

I have to admit that climate change is occuring. I am not informed enough on the subject to discuss rates of change and such. However, I do know that these carbon exchanges and what all are just another way to pick my pocket and send money to countries that are polluting the air at a rate per capita that is far above our own.

See “the Grizzwells”

orestm: McLeroy is out of there as of the 2010 primary. Even Republicans couldn’t take him any more. I filed against him, but he wasn’t around for the campaign, which was just as well since my candidacy was totally censored by the corporate media and the Democrats didn’t even care enough to run.

Linguist said, less than a minute agoSome of my best teachers would often utter the most ridiculous statement and points of view and then dare us to disprove them – logically, not emotionally !While I don’t recognize trolls, sometimes their outlandish comment, illicit some of the most informative and erudite responses. I am often illuminated and grateful to Night-Gaunt49, emptc12, puddlegum1066, and too many more to list, for informing and elucidating the argument. Thanks to all of you.

If CNN hasn’t fired that woman yet they are failing in their mission to their viewers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObU7awpJctQ

I though it a joke so I had to do some checking. Just how dumb can can she be?

Welll…If hot air expands it may have slowed the plantet on it’s journey through the galaxy, so did the meteor pass in front of us or behind? :P

just remember one thang… Ya can’t fix stoopid!

Nope. You can’t fix stupid, and nothing, not one damn thing is foolproof.

Bill Nye “The Science Guy”!!

To be fair: the ability to DETECT asteroids before they hit, DOES require a global infrastructure that is, indeed, contributing to global warming.

These are a few of some good ones my sister sent me recently:

These are from a book called “Disorder in the American Courts,” and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters that had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place.

ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning? WITNESS: He said, ‘Where am I, Cathy?’ ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you? WITNESS: My name is Susan! ____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.____________________________________________ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?WITNESS: No, I just lie there.____________________________________________ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?WITNESS: Yes.ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?WITNESS: I forget…ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?___________________________________________ATTORNEY: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo?WITNESS: We both do.ATTORNEY: Voodoo?WITNESS: We do…ATTORNEY: You do?WITNESS: Yes, voodoo.____________________________________________ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn’t it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn’t know about it until the next morning?WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?____________________________________ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he?WITNESS: He’s 20, much like your IQ.___________________________________________ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?WITNESS: Are you s****ing me?_________________________________________ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?WITNESS: Yes.ATTORNEY: How many were boys?WITNESS: None.ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?WITNESS: Your Honour, I think I need a different attorney. Can I get a new attorney?____________________________________________

It’s all hashed up — it wasn’t that way when it was in the workspace. Sorry.

Fox News: Crappy news co with more bias than anyone on earth in favor of the right.CNN: Fox News of the Left

A heat-seeking asteroid?

I was a public librarian before Fox News. There were stupid questions back then, too.