Mr. Smith goes to Mars
By The Courier-Journal 2:28 a.m. EDT July 12, 2014
Brandon Smith
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Mr. Smith goes to Mars
State Sen. Brandon Smith almost makes us long for the days when state Rep. Jim Gooch was Kentucky's biggest embarrassment following his appearance on national television in which he spewed a bunch of climate change denial hogwash.
Alas, Mr. Smith, a Hazard Republican, couldn't let Mr. Gooch, a Providence Democrat, have the upper hand.
That's why he took the mic at a recent committee meeting in Frankfort to discuss proposed rules on coal-fired emissions and said some things that were (to be kind) inaccurate and (to be blunt) simply ridiculous.
Here's what he said. Really. We're not making this up.
"As you sit there in your chair with your data, we sit up here in ours with our data and our constituents and stuff behind us. I don't want to get into the debate about climate change but I will simply point out that I think in academia, we all agree that the temperature on Mars is exactly as it is here. Nobody will dispute that. Yet there are no coal mines on Mars. There are no factories on Mars that I'm aware of."
We weren't aware that the Kentucky General Assembly is part of "academia" and that alone makes us worry mightily about the future of higher education in Kentucky.
We're also certain that the folks in "academia" would be surprised to learn that the temperature on Mars is "exactly as it is here."
According to NASA, the mean temperature on Mars is about minus 85 degrees Fahrenheit. The mean temperature on Earth is about 59 degrees. Above zero.
Mr. Smith, defended his comments on Twitter saying his "#commentstakenoutofcontext."
If by "taken out of context" he means quoted accurately and in full, he is correct.
True academics have reached consensus on this ? climate change is real and the fossil fuels we burn on Earth are playing a role in that. Fake "academics" like Mr. Smith, who has a bachelor's degree in political science, need to quit misleading their constituents and embarrassing Kentucky.
By The Courier-Journal 2:28 a.m. EDT July 12, 2014
Brandon Smith
17 CONNECTLINKEDIN 11 COMMENTEMAILMORE
Mr. Smith goes to Mars
State Sen. Brandon Smith almost makes us long for the days when state Rep. Jim Gooch was Kentucky's biggest embarrassment following his appearance on national television in which he spewed a bunch of climate change denial hogwash.
Alas, Mr. Smith, a Hazard Republican, couldn't let Mr. Gooch, a Providence Democrat, have the upper hand.
That's why he took the mic at a recent committee meeting in Frankfort to discuss proposed rules on coal-fired emissions and said some things that were (to be kind) inaccurate and (to be blunt) simply ridiculous.
Here's what he said. Really. We're not making this up.
"As you sit there in your chair with your data, we sit up here in ours with our data and our constituents and stuff behind us. I don't want to get into the debate about climate change but I will simply point out that I think in academia, we all agree that the temperature on Mars is exactly as it is here. Nobody will dispute that. Yet there are no coal mines on Mars. There are no factories on Mars that I'm aware of."
We weren't aware that the Kentucky General Assembly is part of "academia" and that alone makes us worry mightily about the future of higher education in Kentucky.
We're also certain that the folks in "academia" would be surprised to learn that the temperature on Mars is "exactly as it is here."
According to NASA, the mean temperature on Mars is about minus 85 degrees Fahrenheit. The mean temperature on Earth is about 59 degrees. Above zero.
Mr. Smith, defended his comments on Twitter saying his "#commentstakenoutofcontext."
If by "taken out of context" he means quoted accurately and in full, he is correct.
True academics have reached consensus on this ? climate change is real and the fossil fuels we burn on Earth are playing a role in that. Fake "academics" like Mr. Smith, who has a bachelor's degree in political science, need to quit misleading their constituents and embarrassing Kentucky.
