Freezageddon

Since perhaps November, Obama has been talking about income inequality. He is starting to build his policy around it, leading off with calls for raising the minimum wage. A few Republicans are starting to say, hey, income inequality really is a big deal and we should do something about it. There aren't many proposals on the table yet, but I'm sure you can guess how many of those proposals will actually reduce inequality and how many will make inequality worse. Hint: one proposal on the table to reduce inequality is repeal Obamacare.



Jon Stewart said he didn't want to talk about politics at the start of the year. So that left … the weather. After a series of clips of newspeople remarking about how cold it is (my digital thermometer ranged from -8 to +1 F today) we get to the big issue: All these record cold temperatures (as far south as Atlanta) disprove Global Warming. Enjoy Stewart's takedown in two segments about 6 minutes each. Forget the War on Christmas, this is a War on Carbon. A commenter tells us Finland is having a comparable heat wave (I guess that's what happens when the polar vortex slips in our direction). Even the far north of the country is in the mid 20sF (link isn't date specific). Another commenter says we should ditch the phrase "Global Warming" for "Global Climate Disruption."



Lake Superior State University has come out with their annual list of words that should be banished. It actually came out last week when I was not paying attention. If you don't know the meaning of these words you are definitely disconnected from popular culture. This year's list:
Selfie -- A self-snapped photo is too selfie-centered.
Twerk -- The fastest overused word of the 21st Century.
Hashtag -- Use it within Twitter if you must, inappropriate elsewhere.
Twittersphere -- Definitely oxygen-free.
Mister Mom -- Cute as the title of the 1983 movie. But is a working woman Mrs. Dad?
T-Bone -- no need to compare a car accident to a steak.
___ on Steroids -- No, restaurant service can't be on steroids.
—ageddon and —pocalypse. None of the made up words with these suffixes appear in the Book of Revelations.
Intellectually/Morally Bankrupt -- Are there intellectual or moral creditors?
Obamacare -- The Affordable Care Act is just fine.
Adversity -- facing a sport opponent when you have millions in the bank is not adversity.
Fan base -- Word inflation. It's enough to have fans.