Excuse me. You missed a spot.

Whoa! Would you look at that! A polar air mass covering most of eastern Canada. That would normally be clear stable air... if it weren't for the Great Lakes. So, eastern Canada and the northeastern United States are getting a two stage snow storm.

It's called Lake Effect. Yes, it's happening later than it should and this year has been particularly heavy. That would be because the Great Lakes aren't as cold as they should be. That leads to more, not less, snow.

Whether you believe in global warming or not, I'd make sure you keep your snow shovel in good shape. From UCS:

... lake-effect snow may increase as a result of warmer lake surface waters and decreased ice cover, burdening cities with increased cost for snow removal.

Most people have already recognized that fact. Unless you think it's all a hoax.

One who's been there. One who hasn't.

Via Canadian Cynic we get another Tony Snow job.

QUESTION: Two questions on public perceptions. Are you saying that four years into this war, the American people don’t have an accurate picture of what’s going on in Iraq?

TONY SNOW: I think, Wendell, four years into a war, the picture constantly changes. The picture that we saw in April of 2003 was different than the one we saw a year ago. If you think a year ago, Wendell, there was considerable optimism, Democrats and Republicans both coming back from the region saying, you know, we think things are going okay. We’ve had the election. They did not anticipate the, I guess, eruption of sectarian violence.

Think Progress details just a few of the open source details of sectarian violence which occurred before Snow's "year ago".

Who didn't anticipate? Bushco, that's who. Iraq, the quagmire, was forecast by someone who knew what it would turn into as far back as 1992.

I think we'd still be there, we'd be like a dinosaur in a tar pit, we could not have gotten out and we'd still be the occupying power and we'd be paying one hundred percent of all the costs to administer all of Iraq.

General H. Norman Schwarzkopf
In response to the question: Why didn't you go to Baghdad and finish the job? (1991 Gulf War)
Aired January, 1996

"Up the middle" Norm is "constructively" on the side of the enemy. It's not nice to leave quotes around for the wanker class to trip over.

Urban Legends, Modern Folklore, or just another Snow job?

The White House press briefing by Tony Snow contained this little remark yesterday: (Emphasis mine)

Also, I want to address kind of a rumor, an urban legend that's going around -- and it comes from language in the President's Wednesday night address to the nation, that in talking about Iran and Syria, that he was trying to prepare the way for war with either country and that there are war preparations underway: There are not. What the President was talking about is defending American forces within Iraq and also doing what we can to disrupt networks that might be trying to convey weapons or fighters into battle theaters within Iraq to kill Americans and Iraqis.

Then there was this:

Q: Everyone from the President on down has said that this depends on the cooperation of the Iraqis. And yet, to date, nothing has been heard from al Maliki, as far as I know. He's declined to endorse this, though invited to do so. There's no expression of enthusiasm over there.

MR. SNOW: Well, no, that's not true. As matter of fact, the Prime Minister, as I pointed out, on Wednesday he talked in a very forward-leaning direction about going after militias, and he mentioned the Sadrists by name. On Thursday he mentioned Muqtada al Sadr. I'm sorry, that -- yes, Wednesday and Thursday. Then yesterday, his press spokesman, in the weekly briefing, talked about the fact that they have been working with the Americans and that as the plan moves forward it is in concert with the Iraqi government. But there's also another --

Q But he's declined to speak about it.

MR. SNOW: No, and I'm glad you raise that, because that's urban legend number two of the day. And I think some news organizations that have reported this are prepared now to issue corrections.

He did not decline. He was never scheduled to make comments about it yesterday. It was his spokesman's normal weekly briefing. And somehow that has been reported or misreported as the Prime Minister not showing up for a briefing.

Ah yes. When a major shift in military disposition in one's own country by an occupying force is announced, one does not make a speech unless it was already on the calendar. To do otherwise is the stuff of modern folklore. Then:

Q Sure, but wouldn't you think that under the circumstances, with all of the rollout that's gone on here, that you would want the principal ally to endorse this in the most public and positive way?

MR. SNOW: You know, you've got an interesting political dynamics. You can turn it around and say the Iraqis have made clear their support.

By not coming out with a two sentence line endorsing Bush's ridiculous plan, that is viewed as support.

OK, all you penis enhanced warbloggers out there. Here's one for you. Your subjugated spousal unit goes to the hair dresser. She returns and asks, "How do you like my new hair style?" You say nothing. Tell me how that works for you.

Digby takes on Urban Legend number one. Go read.

That's what happens when you hire a FOX news anchor as a press secretary

Jeebus H. Christ on a popsicle stick! They really don't get it. From Think Progress comes perhaps the most deluded statement from the Bush administration's Tony Snow one could possibly imagine.

QUESTION: Tony, the president obviously, though, did not read what happened November 7th as a mandate to start bringing troops home.
SNOW: The president believes that — if you take a look at the elections, you can read any number of messages. I mean, when people were asked in exit interviews what was their top concern, Iraq was number four; corruption was number one.

Well, yeah. The US mid-term elections also gave Bush a mandate to paint all green frogs pink and have sex with porcupines, but is he using it?