Roy M. Stanley, “a resident of Spotsylvania County,” wraps up a recent piece in the fredericksburg.com Free Lance-Star with this warning:

“Beware of blogs or professors with a political bias twisting, oversimplifying or misstating facts. Apparently these folks don’t understand all they know, and they seem to reject any documented historical context that disagrees with their preconceived positions. You can’t understand what is happening unless you understand what has happened in the past. You can’t understand a complex problem like Global Warming with locally isolated environmental anecdotes.”

Damn straight! But Mr. Stanley, who offers nary a single credible source, a scintilla of research or any sense of why his word should be taken as gospel, also says this:

“Unfortunately, pseudo-scientists and hacks have latched onto global warming as a way to gain notoriety and/or political influence. More and more, the true scientific community is realizing that popular journalism and Internet “wisdom” is not science, Kyoto is a farce, and global warming is something to adjust to, not be terrified by.”

Once again, if that’s the quality of “opinion” that the media is prepared to pass about, it’s no wonder people remain confused by this issue.