Stand Pat

Climate change is accelerating at a pace faster than anyone originally imagined.  The predictions the federal government recently put out for these United States are dire - droughts in the Plains, increased downpours in the East, fires in the West, and sea level rises that could take out so much of Florida and Louisiana, we might have to let Georgia and Arkansas, respectively, annex what's left of them and revert to the 48-star flag.  Naturally, the Republicans have dismissed this report as "alarmist" and insist that we really ought to do nothing about it.  Ironically, the two loudest voices of dismissiveness were from Republican U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (of Florida) and David Vitter (of Louisiana).

Add noted game show host Pat Sajak to the list of climate-change deniers.  I knew he was a conservative, but I didn't know he was a wacko.  My innocence was shattered when he posted this doozy of a comment on Twitter: "I now believe global warming alarmists are unpatriotic racists knowingly misleading for their own ends."

"Unpatriotic racists?"  What does that mean?  This is a word puzzle that I (like so many others have already said) can't solve.

Sajak attempted damage control,  explaining, "Of course I was joking . . ..  [I was] just mocking the name-calling that is directed at global warming skeptics within and without the scientific community."  But no one is laughing.  First of all, I don't recall anyone calling any climate-change-denier names (at least until today).  Secondly, there's no name-calling aimed at global warming skeptics within  the scientific community because there are no global warming skeptics within the scientific community.  The scientists are pretty much on the same page now, and the only thing about climate change that they disagree about is how tall the sea walls around Boston will have to be.

Sajak just doesn't get it.  I cite an earlier tweet from the "Wheel of Fortune" host: "Very hot weather: 'We're all going to die!' Very cold weather: 'There's a difference between climate [and] weather, moron!'"  He's not just mocking the nastiness coming from climate-change believers directed at global warming skeptics (which doesn't exist), he's mocking the science proving the existence of climate change (which does exist).  He obviously doesn't understand that there is a distinction between weather and climate.  Extreme weather, be it in the form of winter snowstorms or hurricanes, are caused by changes in the overall climate.  

And he's a former weatherman.

I won't call Sajak any names, but I will leave you to guess an adjective that describes him.  It's comprised of four letters, one of which is silent (like he should have remained on the subject of climate change).  I'll spot you the D, the M, and the B. Now I'll let you buy a vowel - "U."  Now, solve the puzzle.

Pat should take a cue from his sidekick Vanna White and say as little as possible.