Michele Bachmann joins the idiot brigade

Good god.  Here's another one.  Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota) on carbon dioxide and global warming:

"Carbon Dioxide is Natural. It is not harmful. It is part of earth's life cycle. And yet we are being told we have to reduce this natural substance, and reduce the american standard of living, to create an arbitrary reduction in something that is a naturally occurring in the Earth."

Here's a test you can do, Ms. Bachmann, to determine how harmless carbon dioxide is:  Take a plastic bag, put it over your head, tie it tightly around your neck, and breathe deeply for, say, 10 minutes.  Let me know how that goes for you.  Oh, by the way, you're an idiot.

Thanks to Greg Laden's Blog for this.

John Boehner is an idiot, too.

So, John Boehner (R-Ohio) goes on ABC's This Week, and says the following in response to a question about Republican plans to combat global warming:

"George, the idea that carbon dioxide is a carcinogen that is harmful to our environment is almost comical. Every time we exhale, we exhale carbon dioxide. Every cow in the world, you know, when they do what they do, you’ve got more carbon dioxide. And so I think it’s clear…"

Oh, it's clear, all right.  Clear that you're an empty-headed moron who slept through all his high school science classes.

1. It's not that carbon dioxide is a carcinogen, it's that it's a greenhouse gas.  Greenhouse gases trap heat and raise the average temperature of the earth.  Has nothing whatsoever to do with cancer.
2. I assume you're referring to cows farting, in which case you might be referring to methane, rather than carbon dioxide, but in either case, it's a complete non-sequitur.  Animal life produces carbon dioxide, therefore it plays no part in global warming?

Boehner is an idiot.