I have just discovered a new word/phenomenon today. Maybe you all know about this already.

Ms. Nevada (left) is Gaysted

The word/phenomenon is "GAYSTED" - The act of getting so drunk that you start displaying homosexual/lesbian tendencies in a social setting. From http://www.buzzfeed.com/"It is when you are soooo drunk (wasted) and dudes start dancing with you and you just sort of go along with it and then they start putting their arms around you and you just kind of keep rolling with it because you're drunk and you sort of think the dude is being your dancefloor bro, but then when you sober up you realize that the situash is sort of weird. when this happens, you tell your friends, 'dude, i got so gaysted last night.'"
----
Bill O'Reilly, in a new low, has announced that for every person who buys a copy of his hate-tome "Culture Warrior" he will send a free copy to a soldier in Iraq. http://www.billoreilly.com/culturewarrior

So now we can add disgusting war-profiteer to the list of O'Reilly's sins.

Global Warming.

It is a reality that all but the most ignorant admit to or is that really it? Those who deny its reality all seem to have a one thing in common. The move away from the fossil fuels that cause global warming would hurt their bottom line.

-Big Oil, Big Coal, Exxon-Mobil, Halliburton, Detroit Carmakers, Public Gas and Electric Companies, Big Manufacturers et. al

So there is a financial benefit for these entrenched interests to deny global warming. They need to continue business as usual in terms of energy consumption and carbon emissions to stay profitable. In that case it makes sense for them to deny global warming and to buy off politicians and scientists to deny its existence. As usual you can follow the money to get to the bottom of things.

But if one is on the fence about this issue one must ask: What is there that the scientists, concerned people of the world, and Al Gore have to gain by examining the facts and reporting them?

One can even grant that not all of the global warming is caused by man, but that man is exacerbating it, and still it makes sense to examine what is happening, to evaluate the consequences and look for ways to alleviate the problem.

The people and institutions who are concerned about global warming have no entrenched interests, no financial liabilities, no reason other than to keep the environment healthy, to ensure that development around the world is sustainable and to ensure that we do not ruin the world we live in.

When you look at those who are trying to educate the world about global warming you find that they, and their institutions, really have nothing to gain by it. It is this stark contrast between the deniers and en lighteners that makes clear where the truth lies.

FEBRUARY 2 UPDATE FOR THIS POST:

When I started this bloh the only thing I hoped for was that whatver I wrote down here would create a two-way conversation. Commentary, debate, disagreements. Otherwise I could just write a paper journal.

I made the same commentary on global warming on the Lonely Planet travel web site. The result was 75 interesting and diverse comments. So yes, I am bitchy and cranky that the same doesn't happen here. http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/messagepost.cfm?postaction=reply&catid=84&threadid=1299533&messid=11347225&STARTPAGE=1&parentid=0&from=1