From the Star Ledger:
Rising seas could drive 837K N.J. residents from their homes, study says
Rising seas could force hundreds of thousands of New Jersey residents from their homes by the end of the century, a new report found.
The report, published in Nature Climate Change, analyzed the impact that sea-level rise will have on 22 states and Washington D.C. by 2100.
It paints a grim picture, projecting incessant flooding in coastal counties affecting up to 13.1 million people in the United States.
According to the study, up to 827,449 people in the Garden State would have to relocate due to sea-level rise, most notably on barrier islands, but also in low-lying urban areas, such as Hoboken and Newark.
…
While New Jersey’s counties appear to fare significantly better against rising seas than some of the other 319 coastal counties in the study — 94 percent of residents in Tyrell County, North Carolina, would be affected for example — even under the low projections, more than 300,000 people could be forced from their homes.Three counties in the Tampa and Miami area would account for a quarter of the projected 13.1 million affected by sea-level across the country, according the report.
In Cape May County, 38.9 percent of projected residents in 2100, or 79,345 people, would experience the result of climate change. The highest concentration of residents with homes inundated by rising seas would be in Ocean County, with 176,360 people affected.
…
William Sweet, a NOAA oceanographer with the Center for Oceanographic Products and Services, told NJ Advance Media “it was important to note” that this report only focuses on high tide levels and does not take into account the impact on these areas from “recurrent tidal flooding or larger storm surges.”“Such tipping points will occur much before high tide itself becomes problematic and much before the year 2100 as presented in this paper,” Sweet said.
In a 2014 report, NOAA said it expects most of the U.S. coastal areas to see 30 days of flooding or more each year by 2050.
…
Under the three-foot sea-level rise scenario, a projected population of 308,662 people in New Jersey may have to relocate by 2100.“If the sea level is three feet higher, Atlantic City is basically not viable,” said Strauss, who is also the vice president for sea level and climate impacts at the research group Climate Central. “And the same is probably true for Cape May.
“All of the barrier islands are too low and too developed to handle three-foot sea-level rise.”
Hauer noted that the study doesn’t take into account for any future strategies to manage rising seas, such as barriers, levees, seawalls, elevated developments or coastal wetland restoration.
…
According to the report, the infrastructure need to protect the coastal areas from rising seas would cost roughly $421 billion by 2100.
Friskies!
Ackman shorts Herbalife because he thinks it is a scam, and the stock stays up…he goes long on Valeant and the market thinks it is a scam and the stock craters…..
@bendreyfuss
On behalf of Hillary Clinton
may I just say to establishment Republicans, welcome, comrades.
@NickTimiraos
Betting markets on the next president:
Clinton 69%
Trump 22%
Sanders 3%
Cruz 3%
Kasich 3%
Just have the army corps of engineers pump more sand onto the beach.
[4] twitiot
Precisely the inverse of where it should be
We are officially in an idiocracy and will have to take orders from the likes of eurocrats like the twitiot.
I’m joining the Texas Militia.
[5] DFENS
I hate that sand. It smells. It’s one reason I stopped going to the Jersey Shore.
7. quit the shore when prices rose to Martha’s Vineyard level.
We’ll do Nantucket this year.
7 – I like to go fishing and crabbing while I’m there. That’s got to be far smellier than any beach in NJ. Never really bothered me. My uncle has a boat in Brick and we go with him up and down Barnegat bay and Manasquan River. It’s really a neat way to see the shore.
The Conservative approach to Climate Change.
(hint: it isn’t denial of it’s existence)
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/05/a-conservatives-approach-to-combating-climate-change/257827/
that should make a nice dent to the tax base …..
Anyone redo their home HVAC(split system) recently? Is the high efficiency a no brainer?
I see the venting is now horizontal PVC which looks like a PITA since it will require a long(20′) run to get it where I want to and it will also cause backdraft issues with existing water heater venting.
You talking forced hot air?
yesterday you were complaining about punks inciting to riots
“Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump said Wednesday that a contested GOP convention could be a disaster if he goes to Cleveland a few delegates shy of 1,237 — and doesn’t leave as the party’s nominee.
“I think you’d have riots,” Trump said on CNN.”
This year gives me great hope for a fracture of the two party systems – on both sides.
#13
Yes, just like everything else it life it’s apparently become massively complex. Trying to wade through the options.
I don’t like the venting of the high efficiency, I’m not a fan of putting new holes in the foundation and leaving the orphaned chimney, so I’m contemplating the 80% options.
I heard a caller on talk radio yesterday, one of Trump’s “poorly educated” supporters, who couldn’t understand the difference between “the most” delegates, and “the majority” of delegates. Trump doesn’t want to educate them to understand the difference.
Today’s theme music – “Riot” by the Dead Kennedys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF7e2rgzsrU
I hope anon repented before the Church of the Holy Climate Change for traveling to and from Geneva generating untold increases in CO2 levels which will now result in sea level rises of at least 45 feet by the year 2500.
Shame on you anon
Geologists say that with or without humans, the sea level rises and falls by about 350 feet every 100,000 years.
So in the very long term, Human survival depends on being rich enough and flexible enough to relocate shelters. Al Gore imagines he and his gang of data manipulators can perform a King Canute, but he’s mistaken. Climates are always changing. Only 7,500 years ago, the Sahara desert was lush, vegetated, and inhabited by people.
19-
Exactly Rags. Climate change has been ongoing long before humans arrived. The idea that democrats would co-opt this natural phenomenon and then use it as a means to tax, regulate and control is both devious and reprehensible.
Can’t access site from Xfinity in Monmouth Country or maybe my PC is issue. Any suggestions?
Try my full name with a dot com
12
Assuming gas?
Increased efficiency will pay for itself. Their are calculators out there based upon gas costs and efficiency differences. Venting shouldn’t be an issue, they just run PVC pipe. If it is sealed combustion the intake air has to be 3′ away from any other exhaust.
I did mine about six years ago. Went with a 93% furnace and 13 seer r-22 ac unit. Both were “off” brands, but actually made by rheem. Probably ten year old designs. I’m not a big fan of using the newest, greatest thing for equipment. Usually just more stuff to break, or they don’t have the bugs worked out yet.
Probably still rebates for going higher efficiency as well depending on your gas and electric companies. There was both a state and fed tax credit at one time too. Double check their websites, the equipment models have to be listed specifically to qualify.
Wierd. Both Anon and Ragnar agree on somthing…both hate Trump.
VIOLENCE!
“If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun,” Obama said in Philadelphia last night. “Because from what I understand, folks in Philly like a good brawl. I’ve seen Eagles fans.”
http://www.politico.com/blogs/ben-smith/2008/06/obama-brings-a-gun-to-a-knife-fight-009692#ixzz4358d43Wv
Amazing what short memories we have
Didn’t someone just get stabbed in Philly after a game?
12 nwnj3,
Just AC?
I did, went with a regular central air as my AC guy suggested. Very High efficiency systems have a variable speed fan vs on and off like mine. A bit quieter as the blower runs constantly (almost) at different speeds due to load. The compressor will also be variable. The drawback is it must be sized perfectly to your house, the cost is higher, and the parts ( the variable speed components are much more expensive.).
I did much research on this before meeting the many contractors. My conclusions.
1. He was right-time to payback in NJ is a long time, it’s not Florida. I live near Warren county. I will be dead before I pay the difference according to my electric bill.
2. Simpler is better.
3. Sizing was a huge deal-is the house finished or will you put on an addition someday?
4. Rebates- only way to get one is to have it installed by a licensed contractor- they know about the rebate-helps them more than you if you know what I mean.
4. Humidity control is the biggest advantage, that’s why I would have gone HEff in the first place as it is humid here, but no overall problems.
5. Heating was a different approach for me. I did hot water baseboard, High efficency unit from Buderus. We use heat more than AC here – this system I love. Silent, clean, excellent overall.
Sx [8];
7. quit the shore when prices rose to Martha’s Vineyard level.
We’ll do Nantucket this year.
Sure. Nothing says “cheap beach vacation” like Nantucket. Let us know how that works out for you.
Funny and true.
D-FENS says:
March 16, 2016 at 11:54 am
Wierd. Both Anon and Ragnar agree on somthing…both hate Trump.
Re: The Church of the Almighty MMGW Boogeymonster;
Al Gore bought an $8 MM oceanfront mansion in Montecito, CA. Does that sound like a guy worried about sea levels rising?
All of the problems in this country would go away if those who bragged so much about being job creators actually created jobs in the USA vs Globally…
28 Moose,
If you are paying Nantucket prices, may as well go to Nantucket….
Anon wasn’t in Geneva. I’ll believe it when I see his boarding pass.
Marco Rubio
“I know America can’t solve all of the world’s problems. But I also know that when America doesn’t lead, it leaves behind a vacuum and that vacuum leads to chaos.”
Well, Little Marco, you can’t take care of others if you don’t take care of yourself. Little Marco, come take a look at the roads and bridges, the tunnels, the schools, Medicare, Social Security, National Debt, unemployment, drug problems, pollution, lead water in Detroit, etc.
Let’s worry about the rest of the world when we get this just a little under control, huh little buddy…..
Isn’t that the truth. Mine as well call them profit creators, the days of calling them job creators left a long long time ago. They took the theory of efficiency to the max, forgetting that their customers need money(jobs) to participate in the economic system. Talk about shooting yourself in the leg in the long run. This economic system (capitalism) was never built on the premise of almost all profits going to the owner. It was never meant to work like that.
Raymond Reddington formerly Phoenix says: says:
March 16, 2016 at 12:22 pm
All of the problems in this country would go away if those who bragged so much about being job creators actually created jobs in the USA vs Globally…
To second Raymonds choice on HI Eff vs simpler. Im only doing AC on my unit, went with a 16 seer. Being that my lot is heavily shaded I have less heat gain so I only get one or 2 weeks where Im running it extensively in the summer. I have to say 10 years and no issues. My neighbor at the time went with a trane unit, hi efficiency and has a service tech out there twice a year. I believe they are doing a gas and go, but I never asked. The higher pressure of the 410 refrigerant means potential for more leaks so you want a good installer
RR [32];
If you are paying Nantucket prices, may as well go to Nantucket….
Good point.
#’s 23,27,36
Thanks for the feedback, it confirms some of my philosophies.
I’m having the Costco people come out to give a quote(furnace + AC) just too see what they recommend. Perhaps they’ll sway me to HE but I’m skeptical.
Payback calcs are nonsense when they don’t factor maintenance and shortened lifespan. And the rebates will all be eaten up by the install work.
GOP sellout continues.
http://dailysignal.com/2016/03/15/the-gop-sell-out-continues/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=morningbell&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonu6jIdu%2FhmjTEU5z16O0lWaS1i5l41El3fuXBP2XqjvpVQcNnMrvHRw8FHZNpywVWM8TIJNIUt9h1PwzhCG8%3D
nwnj3,
Also, one thing I did not mention, we had 5 contractors come out. I did my own calculations earlier. I don’t believe any of the contractors actually did a heat loss calculation. All came up sizing 3 ton except one, he chose 2.5. That was my actual calculation. He chose 2.5 because he said this would be enough 90 percent of the time, only on extremely hot days it could possibly run more to try to keep up instead of cycling on and off all of the time.
Humidity is the issue. If a unit is cycling, it is not drawing air across the cold coils which remove the humidity. It gets cold, turns off, turns on. My system, even on the hottest days performed very well. Leads me to believe that when no calculation done, guys tend to oversize. Plus we are planning to add insulation which will only make this work better in the future.
Ours is a Bryant, same as Carrier but less expensive. Only one season so far, no complaints.
D-fens,
Republicans like Common Core just as much as Obama, they pretend to fight to put on a show for the muppets that believe them….
Private or public, what difference does it make? Can’t stop crooks. Never could, never will. That’s what I am learning as I get older. It’s a take or be taken world. Doing the right thing looks like it’s for suckers.
http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2016/03/nj_payroll_ceo_charged_with_defrauding_trenton_oth.html#incart_2box_nj-homepage-featured
Take out a HELOC folks ZIRP foreva!
Merrick Garland supports a gun registry.
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/273224-obama-nominees-record-on-guns-in-the-spotlight
[26] grim
“Didn’t someone just get stabbed in Philly after a game?”
Which one?
[44] DFENS
At last we have a nominee, and this issue is, as they say, in my wheelhouse.
The low hanging fruit has been picked. Now his record will be curry combed to discern voting patterns. I did this research for Dr. Goldman at UMass as an undergrad in his graduate seminars where we scoured published cases for correlations btwn nominees and the president appointing them.
Already I see that this will factor prominently in the upcoming battle and it will be used to distinguish the votes of senators in 1997 versus now. IMHO, this show me that Obama considers Garland to be sacrificial or he screwed up terribly as its not possible to box in senators for a vote made nearly 20 years ago. Those who did vote yes then can point to his voting trends as a reason to reconsider and those who post date 1997 aren’t constrained.
Guy was killed outside of Flyers vs Devils in Philly
http://money.cnn.com/2016/03/16/news/economy/donald-trump-bernie-sanders-us-election
Jo-Ann was a child prodigy who went to college at age 14. She graduated and landed a coveted job at Citigroup.
Soon she was flying around the world leading meetings. Then she jumped to a management role at a financial printer. She was middle class, maybe even on her way to the upper middle class — until the tech bubble burst. And September 11th hit.
The U.S. fell into a recession and companies cut back. In 2002, Jo-Ann was forced to train the Indian workers that would replace her.
After she was laid off, she struggled to find a good paying job. She melted down her savings and 401k. She got into the trap of working “dead-end crap jobs with crap wages,” including a stint at Walmart.
Her life went from American Dream to Bust. Today she’s in her mid-40s and makes $11 an hour processing payments at a financial firm despite being college educated.
“The anger is boiling over. Enough of the American people have got it through their heads that the American Dream is dead for us,” says Jo-Ann, who lives in Pennsylvania. She requested that her last name be withheld for this article so it wouldn’t impact her ongoing search for a better job.
The economy is the No. 1 issue on voters’ minds even though America is growing, unemployment is incredibly low (4.9%) and gas is cheap.
“I thank God I don’t have a kid. I don’t know what I would tell them,” she says. Her advice to young people is to skip college and learn a trade like plumbing that probably won’t be shipped overseas.
Ricardo Bustamente has worked for years as a technician at Verizon. He’s often told “do more with less.” He’s learned that means more work for him as others get laid off, but no extra pay.
“My biggest fear is that this country is going to become a nation of have and have nots. People at my level are slowing dying out,” says Bustamente, who is about to turn 43 and has three kids.
He hasn’t gotten a raise in almost 8 years, but his expenses keep going up. He drives a 10-year old car and his wife diligently clips coupons and buys items on sale.
“I’m literally making less money every year,” he says. If he loses his job, his family might lose their house.
“Slowly but surely I see myself and others around me eroding. We’re definitely not moving up. We’re moving backward,” he says.
Went to college at age 14? How socially inept is this person?
Seems many of these “STEM” jobs everyone is pushing are outsourced over time….(spoken by math major who switched to “client facing” to survive)
Ooh, yeah
And there’s winners and there’s losers
But they ain’t no big deal
‘Cause the simple man, baby
Pays for thrills
The bills the pills that kill
Condo [50];
Generally I agree with you. However I am still happy to see my kids take an interest in learning how the world really works, vs. relying solely on personality and BS; as many a “relationship salesman” are wont to do. I do emphasize exercising their social muscles as well.
Lots of client facing that is not exactly pure sales……project management, account management, etc
I saw this quote from Rich Karlgaard from Forbes this month.
“In 1944, 72 years ago, the U.S. gross domestic product was $225 billion (in current dollars). Today it’s approximately $18 trillion. That represents an annual compound growth rate of 2.9%. If the U.S. economy had grown just one percentage point more … the size would be double what it is today. (Actually, a bit more : $37.1 trillion.)
Question: How many more billionaires would the U.S. have in an economy twice as big? How much more investment capital? How much more opportunity for entrepreneurs? With a $37 trillion economy, spread over 320 million people, there’d be no government debt or looming Social Security crisis, state and city pensions would be fully funded, and the country’s infrastructure would be spectacular.”
Ragnar – I’m going to point out that this missing 1% of growth is almost certainly due to the Keynesian revolution in economics which has shifted the emphasis to consumption and short term stimulus at the expense of long term drivers of growth – savings, investment, and innovation. Without FDR and Keynes, people today could be twice as rich. Not Keynes’ problem, because as he predicted, in the long run he died and so didn’t have to answer for the mess he made.
49.Grim
Irrelevant. All you should be concerned with is the part where she is training the Indian workers to take her job….
Old goats never faced this type of competition/outsourcing/technical efficiency that the younger working citizens are up against.
Old goats made bank with union jobs and no college degrees as they never had competition like there is today.
Remember, they are the only group that ever worked hard (in their minds, of course)
And they love their SOCIALIZED MEDICINE aka MEDICARE.
(just don’t give it to younger folks as their own bennies might come up short)
Your full name dot com does not work either. The response from Chrome is identical
“Doing the right thing looks like it’s for suckers.”
That became extremely clear during the housing bubble burst when those who couldn’t afford to own homes and out zero percent down were bailed out. Those who put twenty percent down and wanted to refinance received a deep cavity search.
Become a real estate agent; it seems like this occupation will be the only thing left besides c0ckroaches. Oh wait…
Hello, its fastidious article regarding media print, we all be familiar with media is a fantastic source of data.
If you thought the left would be content with only going after the wealthy, some have shown us their cards:
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/12/28/opinion/campaign-stops/250000-a-year-is-not-middle-class.html?WT.mc_id=2016-KWP-MOBILE-AUD_DEV&WT.mc_ev=click&ad-keywords=AUDDEVREMARK&kwp_0=112265&kwp_4=536933&kwp_1=286422&_r=0&referer=
John Kasich Doesn’t Regret Voting for Assault Weapons Ban, Regrets Law Didn’t Have Desired Impact
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h2LMWQ0W0is&ebc=ANyPxKqD3ObhNYOf8VTvKX4LN37fQf-tA6JhVRmlsu8hQoErymIDBvnaeK8pIAjMoWaSgYia_LmjA5qJLtHHTysddhisrD0hUw
Perfect example.
Libturd questioning the gender of Hillary’s Cankle fluid. says:
March 16, 2016 at 4:15 pm
“Doing the right thing looks like it’s for suckers.”
That became extremely clear during the housing bubble burst when those who couldn’t afford to own homes and out zero percent down were bailed out. Those who put twenty percent down and wanted to refinance received a deep cavity search.
Interesting. I still blame corruption as the culprit for lack of growth.
Ragnar says:
March 16, 2016 at 3:53 pm
I saw this quote from Rich Karlgaard from Forbes this month.
“In 1944, 72 years ago, the U.S. gross domestic product was $225 billion (in current dollars). Today it’s approximately $18 trillion. That represents an annual compound growth rate of 2.9%. If the U.S. economy had grown just one percentage point more … the size would be double what it is today. (Actually, a bit more : $37.1 trillion.)
Question: How many more billionaires would the U.S. have in an economy twice as big? How much more investment capital? How much more opportunity for entrepreneurs? With a $37 trillion economy, spread over 320 million people, there’d be no government debt or looming Social Security crisis, state and city pensions would be fully funded, and the country’s infrastructure would be spectacular.”
Ragnar – I’m going to point out that this missing 1% of growth is almost certainly due to the Keynesian revolution in economics which has shifted the emphasis to consumption and short term stimulus at the expense of long term drivers of growth – savings, investment, and innovation. Without FDR and Keynes, people today could be twice as rich. Not Keynes’ problem, because as he predicted, in the long run he died and so didn’t have to answer for the mess he made.
63- Corruption of the economic system to be clear.
48- That’s pretty sad. Revolution on the horizon?
Repulsive…..
BUSINESS
Ivanpah Solar Plant May Be Forced to Shut Down
Federally backed project asks California regulators for more time to sort out its problems
By CASSANDRA SWEET
A federally backed, $2.2 billion solar project in the California desert isn’t producing the electricity it is contractually required to deliver to PG&E Corp., which says the solar plant may be forced to shut down if it doesn’t receive a break Thursday from state regulators.
The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, owned by BrightSource Energy Inc., NRG Energy Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, uses more than 170,000 mirrors mounted to the ground to reflect sunlight to 450-foot-high towers topped by boilers that heat up to create steam, which in turn is used to generate electricity.
But the unconventional solar-thermal project, financed with $1.5 billion in federal loans, has riled environmentalists by killing thousands of birds, many of which are burned to death—and has so far failed to produce the expected power.
PG&E is asking the California Public Utilities Commission for permission to overlook the shortfall and give Ivanpah another year to sort out its problems, warning that allowing its power contracts to default could force the facility to shut down. The commission’s staff is recommending that it grant the extension Thursday.
“Continuing the delivery of [renewable] energy from these innovative energy facilities is in the interest of all parties and furthers important state and federal policy goals,” a PG&E spokeswoman said.
Spokesmen for BrightSource, which developed the technology, and NRG, which operates the plant, declined to comment on its future. NRG has said it has taken more than a year to adjust equipment and learn how to best run it.
The Energy Department said last week it supports giving the plant, which started operating in early 2014, more time.
However, the extension request is opposed by some consumer groups, who are complaining that the cost of the electricity from the struggling plant is exorbitant.
Power from the two Ivanpah units that serve PG&E last year fetched about $200 a megawatt-hour on average during summer months, and about $135 a megawatt-hour on average the rest of the year, according to sales data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
“We think PG&E could negotiate a better price,” said Karin Hieta of California’s Office of Ratepayer Advocates, which believes PG&E should cancel the contract or rework the deal.
The portion of the Ivanpah plant that supplies PG&E in 2014 generated 45% of the electricity the state commission expected under the power contracts, and 68% in 2015, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of federal data and state documents.
he plant wasn’t required to meet the full amount, under the confidential terms of the contracts, said Joe Desmond, a senior vice president at Oakland, Calif.-based BrightSource.
PG&E signed the Ivanpah contracts as part of efforts to comply with a state law that requires utilities to provide 33% of their power from solar, wind or other renewable sources by 2020. State lawmakers last year boosted the mandate to 50% renewables by 2030. A spokesman said PG&E has more renewable energy than it needs to meet its current requirement, and it is still on track to meet both mandates.
Helping Hand Tools, an environmental group that fights construction of new power plants, is also asking the state commission to reject PG&E’s request to give the Ivanpah plant more time. Unlike traditional solar projects, Ivanpah uses natural gas to heat boilers to make steam used to warm up its power turbines, which emits some pollution.
“It’s not a renewable energy plant, it’s part gas, part solar,” said Robert Sarvey, a spokesman for the group.
More than 2,000 wild birds died at the Ivanpah plant between March and August of 2015, according to estimates that biologists hired by the plant owners filed this week and in December with the state Energy Commission.
Roughly half of the dead birds the biologists found had feathers that were singed or burned, most likely from flying through an area of intense heat between the mirrors and the power towers, according to the reports.
To be sure, birds also fall prey to other renewable-energy projects: Wind turbines kill between 140,000 and 328,000 birds in the U.S. every year, according to a 2013 study by researchers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.
That compares to an average price of $57 a megawatt-hour for solar power sold under contracts signed in 2015, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
PG&E negotiated the contracts in 2009, when solar power prices were much higher.
Power from natural-gas plants went for $35 a megawatt-hour on average in California’s market last year, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data compiled by the Energy Department.
What is wrong with the word
“wh0lesale”?
chinese love that word
whoresare?
Libturd questioning the gender of Hillary’s Cankle fluid. says:
March 16, 2016 at 10:00 pm
chinese love that word
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-16/made-in-china-not-as-cheap-as-you-think
Dedicated to clot:
“……By 2012, Brad Miller, a five-term Congressman from North Carolina who attended North Carolina, had already declared he wasn’t running for re-election. So around tournament time, when a reporter asked him about Duke, he decided to let his feelings fly. If the Blue Devils were playing the Taliban, he said, he’d be compelled to cheer for the latter. The comment prompted a lot of hate mail, Miller said. But a fair number of people reached out to thank him for making a brave stand against all things Blue Devil. “I’d never vote for a Democrat,” one person said, “except maybe you.”
Now out of public office, Miller said he’s not really sure why his comment was such a big deal to people. “It was obviously a joke,” he said. “Duke and the Taliban weren’t even on each other’s schedules that year.”…..”