"Reaffirming her hostility to higher education and intellectual achievement, Palin mocked Obama’s grasp of the stumbling economy saying…
One doesn’t need a Harvard Law degree to figure this out!
Oh, doesn’t one? How about a Harvard Economics degree? Palin seems to think that the legal curriculum is the path to financial expertise. Her dig at Obama’s education is kind of like saying that one doesn’t need a degree in architecture to figure out marine biology. Technically, it’s true. There is a Dadaist elegance to her pseudo-logic....And by the way, Obama, who graduated from Harvard Magna Cum Laude, minored in economics."
So, let's enjoy while we can, and cling to the hope that the preposterous dementia of Michele Bachman will be a worthy replacement for our macabre scorn. She's certainly as contemptible!Now, just so's we don't forget that this blog is mostly about trees fatally damaged from exposure to toxic air pollution, a funny thing happened when I was looking at the online video - which is that I had to watch a couple of Allstate insurance advertisements and surprise, surprise, in the background were...dying trees! Following are screenshots:
The tree behind the pair above has almost no leaves, as is the condition of those behind the motorcyclist below. This illustrates two important things, neither or which are new, but are worth repeating. One is, that trees are dying so universally from inexorably rising levels of tropospheric ozone that obvious, incontrovertible evidence can be found everywhere.
The second thing is, people are becoming so inured to visible decay - like the director of these ads - that they don't even notice the extreme abnormality these symptoms of decline represent. Below, the motorcycle has crashed and you can see that the two trees on the right, at the far end of the block, are also dying, as are the shrubs on the far left in the foreground.
This ad is for homeowner's insurance, warning of raccoons in the attic. The trees in front of this house are dying too. It is as though we are all passing through a barren dreamscape of death, oblivious to the stench of cadavers decomposing all around us.
Hi Gail,
ReplyDeleteStopped by to see how you're doing & thought I'd share a few tips on using keen powers of observation to solve the mystery of what caused the condition of the trees in these photos.
You jump to the conclusion that the condition of the trees in these pictures is due to ozone damage. But there may be another more likely explanation.
Did you stop to consider that these trees may have been photographed in the spring?
So what clues do we have? Did you observe that the tree in the first picture has white objects in it. What might those be? While the photo is not detailed enough to know for sure, they are most likely flowers. Perhaps a flowering dogwood or something similar? When do those trees flower? Spring! As I'm sure you are aware from your own experience at Wits End, trees don't all leaf out at exactly the same time in the spring. So it's very possible (& even likely) that these trees were photographed during their normal annual cycle of leafing out in the spring & are not 'ozone damaged'.
How might you check out this very natural possibility before you jump to the 'ozone-did-it' conclusion? A start would be asking Allstate or their advertising company what time of year the photo/commercial was shot.
This might help give your blog a little more cred rather than coming across as one-trick-pony, everything's due to ozone. You seem to look at the world through ozone-colored glasses through which all trees are universally dying due to ozone. I think this causes most people to dismiss you as an ozone fanatic. As I've said before, there's nothing wrong w/having a cause, but using a little balance and objectivity would give you a little more believability.
Your friend Sherlock.
Sherman, forgive me, but you are an ass. The entire point of this blog is that ozone IS universally killing trees.
ReplyDeleteWatch the ad in motion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0geG9i1N9M
The white things are not flowers. I think they are some sort of reflection on the lens of the camera. Look at 4/5 seconds in, the trees behind the guy on the motorcycle. They're not in the process of leafing out, there are a FEW fully unfurled leaves. The rest are brown or fell off.