Tempers and temperatures rising

Temperatures are rising all over the world:

Thousands of American people are "hot under the collar" about how the current administration is so very dysfunctional. In this election year it also includes Republicans as well as Democrats, according to the WaPo.

The weather is marked by heat waves of an unusual proportion. Many are convinced it is part of a pattern of global warming, about which the current administration seems to remain in denial, says Scientific American.

The Middle East is afire with a level of violence that is just astonishing. The region is beset with multiple wars. There is no other way to say it: it is not merely "conflict," "crisis," "uprising," "sectarian violence," "incursion," "terrorism," or "fighting."

Violence Hotter in Iraq - A heartbreaking story was carried to my news feed this morning. Reuters headlined it "Thousands flee as Iraq violence deepens". It opened with this, which I quote,

Tens of thousands of Iraqis have fled their homes in fear as sectarian violence has turned ever more bitter since a U.S.-backed national unity government was formed two months ago, official data showed on Thursday.
Iraq's most powerful religious authority, Shi'ite Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, joined the United Nations and U.S. officials in raising the alarm over a spike in bloodshed and a form of ethnic cleansing he called "campaigns of displacement."
The U.S. military admitted violence in Baghdad was little changed despite a major security clampdown over the past month. A day after the United States issued a stern warning to both Shi'ite and minority Sunni leaders to match talk with action on reining in and reconciling "death squads" and "terrorists" from their respective communities, the Migration Ministry said more than 30,000 people had registered as refugees this month alone.

A hot debate about Iraq is revealed if you study all the public opinion polls. I discovered an excellent polling resource, called PollingReport.com, that gives a wide variety of up to date polling results by subject. For example, here is an exerpt of a poll about the war in Iraq. (It does not total 100%, due to ommission of the small # of "mixed feelings" and "unsure" responses):

Associated Press/Ipsos poll conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs. July 10-12, 2006. N=1,000 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.1. RV = registered voters.
"When it comes to the situation in Iraq, do you approve or disapprove or have mixed feelings about the way George W. Bush is handling that issue?"

7/10-12/06
Approve 38%
Disapprove
59%

6/5-7/06
Approve 33%
Disapprove 64%

5/1-3/06
Approve 37%
Disapprove 60%

4/3-5/06
Approve
35%
Disapprove 63%

3/6-8/06
Approve 39%
Disapprove 58%

Hot weather - Reuters reports that this is a record year for hot weather. To quote,

Temperatures will average above normal in most of the United States in August, extending what has been the warmest year on record so far, the U.S. National Weather Service said on Thursday.
"We've had record average warmth in 2006, and the outlook for August is above-normal for much of the country," said Edward O'Lenic, meteorologist for the NWS.
The heat in August will be focused on the southern and central parts of the country, with temperatures well-above normal over eastern Texas, according to the monthly forecast.
The outlook could mean additional pressure on the U.S. electrical grid, which held up to bouts of record demand for air conditioning during a heat wave this month.

3 "W's" - Of the issues - wailing about OCP (Our Current President), weather or war, of course it is the increase in violence that is the most alarming to me.

Tags: Bush administration heat wave public opinion Middle East war terrorism politics In the news

My current "creative post" at Southwest Blogger honors the "Mason" jar.