#Goose is right about #Clemens

Baseball Hall of Fame closer Goose Gossage, often outspoken, is right on this: Roger Clemens doesn't belong in  the HOF until he confesses about the steroids and/or HGH most of us believe he used. (Goose likened the Clemens trial verdict to that of O.J. Simpson.)

I've said the same: Confess, then let's us do some "adjustment" estimates to your stats, then we'll consider the case of the likes of Clemens and Barry Bonds.

I think Clemens probably would have won 300 without the PEDs, and still be a first-round HOFer. But, we need to know the truth. When did you start and how serious of a user were you?


Bonds and Clemens, still definite first year picks, in my world. Rafael Palmeiro? Second or third year, maybe. Take away a lot of his power at first base, and he lessens. Gary Sheffield? More iffy. Take away many of his homers and remember his horrible fielding except when he was at DH. Mark McGwire? Not a chance.

Global warming, developing nations, A/C and ozone

The New York Times has an excellent story about the intersection of global warming, developing nations wanting the developed-world comfort of air-conditioning, and how A/C coolants that are more ozone-friendly are less global-warming friendly, price differences, and what could be called American hypocrisy.

First thing to remember is that three of the so-called "BRIC" countries — Brazil, India and China, are all at least partially in semi-tropical regions. Of course, except for mountain areas, all of India and Brazil are semi-tropical or tropical.

As a result, the growing middle classes there clamor for comfort. Including air conditioning.

Result of that?  As the story notes, A/C sales in India and China are growing 20 percent a year. 


And that's where the story really starts, and so do the problems and conundrums:

The oldest CFC coolants, which are highly damaging to the ozone layer, have been largely eliminated from use; and the newest ones, used widely in industrialized nations, have little or no effect on it. 

But these gases have an impact the ozone treaty largely ignores. Pound for pound, they contribute to global warming thousands of times more than does carbon dioxide, the standard greenhouse gas.

The leading scientists in the field have just calculated that if all the equipment entering the world market uses the newest gases currently employed in air-conditioners, up to 27 percent of all global warming will be attributable to those gases by 2050. 

Oops. The most common one here in the U.S. is more than 2,000 times worse than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas.


What to do about it? Why, simple! Tell China and India not to be like us, or US, if you will:

The treaty timetable requires dozens of developing countries, including China and India, to also begin switching next year from HCFCs to gases with less impact on the ozone. But the United States and other wealthy nations are prodding them to choose ones that do not warm the planet. This week in Rio de Janeiro, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is attending the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as Rio+20, where proposals to gradually eliminate HFCs for their warming effect are on the provisional agenda. 

But she faces resistance because the United States is essentially telling the other nations to do what it has not: to leapfrog this generation of coolants. The trouble is, there are currently no readily available commercial ozone-friendly alternatives for air-conditioners that do not also have a strong warming effect — though there are many on the horizon. 

And, when they come out, they may be more expensive, and be patented by Western countries. Ditto for the new air conditioners, and refrigerators and such, using the next generation of coolants.

More on that here:

Phasing out HFCs by incorporating them into the treaty is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce global warming, said Durwood Zaelke, president of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development. 

But India, China and Brazil object that this could slow development and cost too much. All the acceptable substitutes under development for air-conditioners are either under patent, demand new equipment or require extensive new regulation and testing procedures.

At the same time, BRIC manufacturers have a "cut" in action, on the older HCFC coolants:

Politically influential manufacturers like Gujarat Fluorochemicals in India, Zhejiang Dongyang Chemical Company in China and Quimbasicos in Mexico (of which Honeywell owns 49 percent) have prospered by producing the coolant (HCFC-22, one of the older ozone-depleting coolants). They even receive lucrative subsidies from the United Nations for making it.


Othmar Schwank, a Swiss environmental consultant who has advised the United Nations, said: “In many countries, these targets will be very difficult to achieve. With appliances growing in India and China, everyone is making money, so they want to delay this as much as possible.” 

Gee, shock me. Global warming (and  ozone protection) versus money.

As noted, this is primarily a concern in air-conditioning, but refrigeration is also an issue.

And, speaking of refrigeration — it too is part of becoming more developed as a nation:

Refrigeration is also essential for these countries’ shifting food supplies. “When I was a kid in Delhi, veggies came from vendors on the street; now they all come from the supermarket,” said Atul Bagai, an Indian citizen who is the United Nations ozone program’s coordinator for South Asia. 

Beyond that, there's also the factor that all those air conditioners and refrigerators are using massive amounts of electricity. In all three warm-weather BRICs, a fair amount of the electricity for that comes from coal-fired plants.

And, then, there's the vicious circle angle, not covered in the story because it's not part of the angle.

Refrigerators spit out warm air into groceries and homes. In a hot climate, that has to be cooled by air conditioning. Of course, that air conditioning spits warm air out into the atmosphere, which then has to be cooled more. (That part of the vicious circle is here in the U.S., of course and not just the warm-weather BRICs.

Back in BRIC world, don't forget more paving of streets, more cars with air conditioning, more cars idling with air conditioning running on hot summer days, etc.

So, there's some big, big headaches ahead. And, we haven't even talked Gulf states that are getting more aggressive about both development for the general populace and diversifying their economies beyond oil.

To accompany this, the Times now has up a Room for Debate set of mini op-eds on what the global future of air conditioning should be.

#Creationism - #BobJones: 'Electricity is a mystery' #godless #socialism

Creationists, at least of the Bob Jones ilk, think "Electricity is a mystery." No, really!

That's from a homeschooling textbook from  the fundamentalist South Carolina university. Given that Bob Jones is approved by Gov. Bobby Jindal et al as a provider for Louisiana’s new school curriculum, this means, in a decade, Botswana will be ahead of Louisiana in science.

There is so much wrong with this, it ain’t even funny.

First, Bob Jones got the creationist, tea partier and general wingnut meme on this wrong. Not just kind of wrong, but totally wrong.

Electricity isn’t a “mystery.”

It’s socialist, dammit!

Why? It allowed for progress, which is always socialist.

It allowed for better working conditions. It allowed for more literacy. Those in turn allowed employees to be better able to stand up to bosses, which is of course socialistic.

But, it’s not just socialistic, it’s New Agey.

Electricity, after all is everywhere and in everything, with those invisible electrons. Especially since modern godless science says that those electrons aren’t even in one exact location, it’s just like those New Age gurus and their made-in-India (sorry, Gov. Jindal) fuzzy religion bullshit say!

And, it’s still godless. Because it comes from science.

Also, electricity is a stimulus. And, what godless, socialist New Agey president believes in stimulus?

So, nope, can’t teach Louisiana kids about electricity.

More seriously, I’ve got several other thoughts.

1. How long before Jindal retreats on at least the most egregious parts of this, and what lame-o excuse will he use?

2. Or will he retreat?

3. How long will it be, here in Texas, before the State Board of Education says, “Dammit, how did Louisiana beat us to this”?

4. How long will it be before Bob Jones changes the book to something else?

5. If you really believe electricity is a mystery, why do you use it? That’s like Barry Bonds saying the “clear” and the “cream” were a mystery, but he still used them while his head ballooned to Bob Jones creationist size. 

Thanks, #MoveOn! No thanks for the false dichotory

I didn't know that I was an official MoveOn "member," but thanks for letting me tell you NOT to endorse Obama.

However, no thanks for presenting a false dichotomy:

If MoveOn members vote to endorse President Obama, we'll campaign hard to re-elect Obama and to defeat Mitt Romney. If MoveOn members choose not to endorse Obama, we won't spend our time and resources on the presidential election. It's up to you.

MoveOn, have you not heard of the Green Party?

Teapot Tommy has a Warren Buffet bromance

Tom Friedman once again plummets to the depths of his political column inanity. About the only thing he could have done worse this time is actually mention Americans Elect, and I'm surprised he didn't, even though it's a dying dodo.

He says Dear Leader didn't use Buffett well enough. That's true enough. And trite and trivial enough, to boot.


But, from that, he leverages into an entire column that's yet another paean to the mythical inside-the-Beltway (plus NYC extension) "centrism," which ignores that Dear Leader is, with the stumbling exception of gay rights, a centrist.


If an Overton window exists in the GOP, it's because a parallel Overton window exists in the febrile minds of "pundits" like Teapot Tommy.


The Teapot Tommy who ignores that the reason the GOP didn't play ball with Obama is because he's Kumbaya. The Teapot Tommy who ignores that Obama created the Catfood Commission.


If Teapot Tommy wanted to write a good "wasted" column, he'd write one about the Peter Principle and how he's wasting good op-ed turf at the NYT.


That's ignoring the fact that Warren Buffett ain't such a centrist, either. Besides his pablum, how specific does he want to get as to HOW to have him pay more taxes than his secretary? When Buffett mentions limiting deductions for executive pay and raising the capital gains tax rate, then we'll know he's at least more serious than Teapot Tommy Friedman.

The Wisdom of the Grackles

THE WISDOM OF THE GRACKLES

I wish the grackles of Texas

Were like the ravens of Odin,

Laden with memory and thought

To give me wise counsel every day.

They seem drawn to me recently,

As if trying to tell me something,

As irrational as that may sound.

And so I follow after them

To pay attention, watch and listen,

Inwardly wishing that this is why they’re here

As irrational as that may sound.

Atheists do rub shoulders in foxholes,

But their heads may rest little lighter

Except for those most benighted

Than their believing kin.

They, too, seek comfort, security, insight

And though they will not bow the knee

To seeming nonexistent entities

The more broad-minded amongst them,

With insight into human mental depths

Acknowledge the psychology, the call,

And do not mock, nor disdain.

I wish the grackles of Texas

Were like the ravens of Odin.

I wish my mind, my ears,

Could understand like those of Odin.