August 19, 2006 - Suppose that one day in July, four U.S. states (one of which borders the other three) record an all-time record high temperature. Just sit back and think about what you would likely see on the evening news or read about in your local paper. Think about it. That certain, politicized, two-word term that you hear all the time would be bleated about like the Two Minutes Hate. Can't you just picture the MSM cuddling up to Al Gore and imploring him to talk up some more "let's blame Bush for the weather" rhetoric? Again, think about it. Four states; all in the same region, recording an all-time record temperature on one day during the summer.

That is exactly what happened...

on July 10....

...1936.

Phoenixville, PA recorded a temperature of 111. Runyon, NJ hit 110. Martinsburg, WV hit 112. In Frederick and Cumberland, MD, it was 109 degrees that day. Those recorded temperatures are the recorded highs for those states. In my 30 plus years of living in PA, I have never seen or heard of any part of the state even getting close to 111. Forecasts may come for low 100's (102-103 max) in Philly but those only happen about once or twice every five years or so.

Now, imagine that nine other states also set record high temperatures that same summer. Michigan, Indiana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kansas, and Wisconsin also set all-time record highs that summer. That's more than one-quarter of the states that set record highs. That, people, is a real heat wave.

Again, imagine the blame game that would be played out. Imagine the panic. Imagine the MSM highlighting every word that Hillary Clinton and Al Gore said on the matter.

Of course, there were more important things to worry about in 1936. Now when we get a wimpy little heat wave (one that wasn't as bad as the one in 1995 that no one blamed Clinton for, even with 600 deaths in Chicago alone) in 2006 it's snuggle with Al's movie and blame Bush. If a few cities record high temperatures for a certain date (not for the month or all-time) we have to blame the administration. Well, who did they blame in 1936? No one. Back then they called it "climate."

Some say that global warming causes more extreme weather. The weather in 1936 was pretty extreme. So extreme, in fact, that not only did SD and ND set record highs that year, those states also set record lows.

Maybe the earth is getting warmer. The MSM and other liberal organizations blame greenhouse gases and President Bush. But what happened during the summer of 1936? Surely the amount of greenhouse gases emitted was far less in the 1920's and 1930's. Could it be that no matter how much we say can affect the environment that, on occasion, Mother Nature steps in and tells us who's in charge? She was certainly in charge in 1936. Dare we say that we have supplanted her?

Statistics source: The World Almanac and Book of Facts