Boiling blood and Arctic blasts

[marmar]

from the Detroit Metro Times:


Boiling blood and Arctic blasts
Windy commentary belies globally important issue

By Curt Guyette
Published: February 5, 2013


Our blood began to boil a bit here at the Hits when we read a recent piece that Henry Payne, an editorial cartoonist at The Detroit News, wrote for the National Review Online.

Under a headline that declared “Warming’s Not the Problem, Mr. President,” Payne began what could be described as an anti-think piece by saying:

“At Monday’s inaugural, President Obama declared global-warming mitigation a second-term priority. On Tuesday, a deadly arctic blast here in the Midwest was a reminder of how frivolous that pursuit is.

“Saving polar bears may be fashionable among rich elites, but Detroit’s jammed shelters this week are evidence that cold weather threatens the poor among us. … Exposure to sub-zero temperatures were (sic) blamed for four deaths in Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Government’s primary role is to provide public safety, reliable infrastructure and a safety net for the poor. Yet, the Obama administration’s global warming obsession shows how far Washington has strayed from core services.”

.....(snip).....

It’s nice to see Payne expressing concern about people freezing — although, we would think the homeless folk lucky enough to find a cot in a city shelter wouldn’t be the ones actually freezing.

But that’s just a nitpick. As for the cynical ploy of using poor people as pawns to advance the corporate right’s agenda, well, that’s despicable but not at all surprising. ................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://metrotimes.com/news/news-hits/boiling-blood-and-arctic-blasts-1.1440247