The polar vortex is moving across the United States, and a large area of our nation is facing bitter cold. As many Americans are dealing with temperatures well below zero, the Right-wing media is pointing to the cold snap as so-called proof that global warming is a myth. What these conservative talking heads don't understand – or simply choose to ignore – is that global warming refers to rising average temperatures around the globe.

The cold that we are experiencing right now is weather, and it does not disprove the fact that our world is getting hotter. In fact, these extreme, frigid temperatures hit the U.S. after the 2nd-hottest December since 1979 and the warmest November on record. Global warming is not going to eliminate winter in our nation any time soon, but the extreme highs and lows can lead to more extreme hurricanes, droughts, and - yes - even snow storms.

Temperatures of 32 below zero in Fargo, North Dakota and negative 15 in Chicago don't disprove global warming, but they may be part of the larger pattern of weather “weirding” that we're experiencing because of climate change. It's time for the climate-change-skeptics to stop denying science, and start recognizing reality. The Right should stop wasting time trying to disprove climate change, and start helping us try to minimize its impact. Yes, it's bitterly cold outside, but overall our planet is getting warmer. Now, let's do something about it while we still have a chance.

-Thom

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Monday's Daily Stack

Hour One: Libertarian model for tobacco..."go ahead and die?"
- J.D. Tuccille, Reason

Article: "Tripling Tobacco Taxes Worldwide 'Could Prevent 200 Million Early Deaths'" by Kate Kelland.

Article: "Washington Finds That Having the Highest Cigarette Tax in The Neighborhood Breeds Smuggling" by J.D. Tuccille.

Article: "NYC Considers Hiking Cigarette Age in Apparent Effort To Boost Black Market" by J.D. Tuccille.

The Big Picture
- Andrew Campbell, The Big Picture producer

Article: "Al-Qaida Group Now Has Complete Control Of Iraqi City" by Qassim Abdul-Zahra.

Article: "'The Country You Destroyed': A Letter to George W. Bush" by Ralph Nader.

Article: "Rebels battle al-Qaeda-affiliated fighters across northern Syria" by Yazan Homsy.

Article: "NSA Doesn't Deny That It's Spying On Congress" by Tom Kludt.

Article: "Bernie Sanders Asks NSA If Agency Has Spied On Congress" by Dylan Scott.

Article: "Orr freezes pensions for Detroit workers, ends cost-of-living adjustments" by Matt Helms.

Article: "60 Minutes Hit Job On Clean Energy Ignores The Facts" by Joe Romm.

Article: "'Decoding Your Dog' may help you befriend 'best friend'" by Steve Dale.

Article: "Demand puts premium on recreational marijuana prices in Colorado" by Shannon Bond.

Article: "Everything You Wanted To Know About The ‘Polar Vortex’" by Emily Atkin.

Article: "Satanic Temple unveils 7-foot goat-headed Baphomet statue for Oklahoma Capitol" by Eric W. Dolan.

Article: "Liz Cheney abandons Senate bid" by John King and Peter Hamby.

Article: "Koch Groups Alone Raised More In 2012 Than Candidates Spent During Entire 2000 Presidential Election" by Rebecca Leber and Andrew Breiner.

Article: "Unemployment Benefits: Harry Reid Promises Vote This Week" by Jonathan Vankin.

Article: "An amazing map of the Koch brothers massive political network" by Matea Gold.

Article: "NAFTA: 20 Years of Regret for Mexico" by Mark Weisbrot.

Article: "Five Economic Reforms Millennials Should Be Fighting For" by Jesse A. Myerson.

Article: "Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 is not going to explode".

Article: "Report on the Subject of Manufactures" by Alexander Hamilton.

Article: "Who Are the Real Obamacare Hypocrites?" by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "Medicare’s 1966 Glitch-Free Rollout a Sharp Contrast with Obamacare: Health Affairs Blog" by Physicians for a National Health Program.

Article: "Vermont Edges Toward Single Payer Health Care" by Jessica Marcy.

Article: "The Economic Urgency of Health Care Reform" by Gov. Peter Shumlin.

Article: "President Truman's Proposed Health Program".

Site: "Bank of North Dakota".

Article: " Fairness Doctrine " by Wikipedia.

Article: "Telecommunications Act of 1996" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Sherman Antitrust Act", 1890.

The good: The Amiens Goodyear Workers: "Angry workers use tires to barricade bosses inside Goodyear factory in France" by Alexander Smith.

The bad: Richard Mack: "Same-sex marriage opponents call for an uprising" by Brittany Green-Miner and Todd Tanner.

The very, very ugly: Rand Paul: "Sen. Chuck Schumer: ‘Insulting’ for Rand Paul to Say Extending Unemployment Benefits a Disservice to Workers" by Benjamin Bell.

Clip: "Dank Ihrer Führung wird Deutschland sein Ziel erreichen, Heimat zu sein. Heimat zu sein für alle Deutschen der Welt." Rudolph Hess, 1934 Nuremburg rally.

Article: "The ‘60 Minutes’ Benghazi Scandal—a Fox News Connection?" by Greg Mitchell.

Article: "Reagan sailors press on in radiation lawsuit" by Meghann Myers.

Talk Radio News Segment:
- Victoria Jones

Site: "Goats for the old Goat".

Article: "TRNS News Notes — 1/7" by Victoria Jones.

Article: "TRNS News Notes — 1/6" by Victoria Jones.

Article: "Senate Confirms Yellen As Fed Chair" by TRNS.

Article: "Senate Narrowly Clears Unemployment Hurdle" by Justin Duckham.

Article: "Supreme Court Pauses Same-Sex Marriages in Utah" by Shane Farnan.

Article: "White House Press Briefing by Jay Carney, January 6, 2014".

Hour Three: Why FDR's "four freedoms" are REAL freedoms
- Professor Harvey Kaye, The Fight for the Four Freedoms: What Made FDR and the Greatest Generation Truly Great

Article: "FDR and the Four Freedoms Speech".

Speech: "The Four Freedoms" by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 6 January, 1941.

Book: The Fight for the Four Freedoms: What Made FDR and the Greatest Generation Truly Great by Harvey J. Kaye.

Law: "Taft-Hartley Labor Act", 1947.

Book: The American Revolution of 1800 by Dan Sisson.

Article: "Adiabatic process" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Second law of thermodynamics" by Wikipedia.

Site: Green Mountain Care Board.

Movie: "Sick for Profit".

Article: "The Stephanie Miller Show on Free Speech TV".

Site: Physicians for a National Health Program.

Book: The Power Elite by C. Wright Mills.

Book: "The Crash of 2016: The Plot to Destroy America--and What We Can Do to Stop It" by Thom Hartmann.

Speech: "Farewell Address", by Dwight David Eisenhower, January 17, 1961 (transcript).

Movie: "Two Bits".

Speech: "A Rendezvous With Destiny", 27 June 1936 acceptance speech by Franklin D. Roosevelt. "An old English judge once said: "Necessitous men are not free men.""

Article: "Congress is back in action - and divided as ever" by Fredreka Schouten.

Article: "Climate Change Could Put One-Fifth Of World’s Population In Severe Water Shortage" by Ari Phillips.

Article: "Utah Prepares To Crack Down On Payday Lenders" by Alan Pyke.

Article: "RadCast radiation readings - January 6, 2014".

Article: "Major Victory for Clean Water in Coal Export Battle" by Sierra Club.

Article: "After a schism, a question: Can atheist churches last?" by Katie Engelhart.

Tuesday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 3-6pm ET

Hour Two: Senator lives with the homeless
- Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT)

Hour Three: Do evolution and politics mix?
- Bryan Fischer, American Family Association

And, the best of the rest of the news and your calls right here on...

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Wednesday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 3-6pm ET

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Plus, most of us agree we need to increase the minimum wage. Now there's a new twist...some conservatives want to vary the wage by the age of the worker. I'll confront conservative financial adviser Peter Schiff...

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