Women and Heat - it's not what you think

People have long debated whether the ends justify the means.  I find myself having a post-modern version of that same debate a lot these days.  For instance, there's that TV commercial showing women from all over the world, while a voice-over asks, "Who better to understand the problems of a woman in the developing world, than another woman, in any part of the world?"  That leaves me with a few questions:

• Who's voice is that?  Is it Sarah Michelle Gellar?
• Does the claim really make sense?  I'm sure there are issues of discrimination and personal safety that women anywhere in the world have in common, but I really think the primary troubles of a woman in the developing world (hunger, disease, war) are things they have in common with the men in their lands, but not with the women in the developed world.
• How much does that bother me?  Is it okay for an advertisement to spout an emotionally-charged but intellectually faulty line if it's for a good cause?

That same situation came up today reading the paper.  There was an op-ed piece that was built around the idea that the current heat wave should make us all more concerned about global warming.  A lot of people say similar things, and it always bothers me.  I'm glad they're concerned and trying to raise awareness, but, well, I have a memory...

See, each winter, at some point there's a cold stretch, and global warming deniers claim that the weather proves that global is bunk.  And then more environmentally conscious people point out - correctly - that global warming is about long-term change and doesn't imply that there will never be cold weather again. 

But then when summer comes around and the climate shoe is on the other political foot, those same people claim that a heat wave is proof of global warming.  Sorry, but the only proof you can draw from hot weather is a greater incidence of heat waves over time.

Yes, I'm so dedicated to logic that I'll knock down political arguments for causes I believe in when they don't measure up.  It's just like Chief Justice Roberts voting for Obamacare.  So consider that debt paid back; Right Wing, are we good now?