Not From Where I Sit

Forever ago, in a Brookings Institution government seminar I learned the following cynical adage: "where you stand depends on where you sit." Translation: "where you sit" means where you work or live and "where you stand" means where you stand on issues. Further translation: your stand on issues is likely to be shaped by what is good for you. People rarely hold beliefs in conflict to their own interests.

It turns out this is true of weather as well. I read a USA Today headline which said "This summer really was hotter than others." My reaction was "Nonsense." So I called up the article and saw it was only hotter in part of the country, not my part.

In fact, an examination of the article's excellent map shows that my northwestern part of the country was, as I thought, cooler than normal. Truly, the map shows that the only part of the country where you'd call the heat abnormal is east of the Mississippi River.

I recollect that Southern California had some record low daytime temperatures this summer, though the map doesn't reflect that. It looks like that headline writer lives in the southeast, doesn't it?