Thursday, December 15, 2011

Inhofe's Inhofeian Statement

<span class="leadp">Not representative<br /></span>
<b>U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe:</b> He said Monday at the Tulsa Metro Chamber that he wanted to assure people that lifting the ban on gays in the military has not led to the legalization of bestiality. Under pressure from a local civil rights group, a chamber official said Inhofe's comments "do not reflect the chamber's view on diversity and inclusion."Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) solidly reassured the Tulsa Metro Chamber of Commerce that ending Don't Ask Don't Tell hasn't "legalized bestiality" in the military:
Inhofe also reassured his audience that the lifting of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy regarding gay service members has not “legalized bestiality” in the military.

He explained that, although gay people may now “go in the military, go wide open and use that for their agenda,” sex with animals is still outlawed by military code.

“When you go out and talk to people on the street, they’ll tell you, ‘Oh, they’ve legalized bestiality,’ … but that hasn’t changed.”
What can you possibly say about such an comment -- that it's monstrous? Depraved? Evil? I don't think the word has been invented yet, so I'll go with "Inhofeian."

To their credit the Tulsa Metro Chamber issued a statement that paid appropriate homage to...him...while distancing themselves from his statement: "...while the chamber often supports Senator Inhofe's policy stances related to business matters as mentioned above, his comments at the Dec. 12 forum do not reflect the chamber's view on diversity and inclusion.... The chamber is committed to the belief that an inclusive community improves the economic and social climate in the Tulsa region."

Inhofe has also found another hoax: he said that concerns about side effects of fracking are "a phony issue that's been invented." A peer-reviewed study in PNAS disagrees. (To be clear, this PNAS study found significant contamination by methane that increased the closer one got to the well head -- but no contamination by fracturing fluids. An MIT study and a University of Texas study found no contamination, but the latter found some pollution from above-ground spills. None of these studies qualify as "phony.")

I am still holding to my position that the real hoax is Inhofe himself. It's the simplest explanation that fits all the observations.

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