Please, Tell Me That This is a Joke

A letter to the editor published earlier this month in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette takes a closer look at the concept of global "warming" (though I prefer "climate change"). After an introduction noting that March of this year was a particularly warm one, writer Connie Meskimen continues:

This should come as no surprise to any reasonable person. As you know, Daylight Saving Time started almost a month early this year. You would think that members of Congress would have considered the warming effect that an extra hour of daylight would have on our climate. Or did they? Perhaps this is another plot by a liberal Congress to make us believe that global warming is a real threat.

Oh dear. He's onto us.

There's a lively debate on-line about whether this is a genuine letter or a deeply closeted, Onion-like parody. A commenter from Arkansas taking part in the discussion on this letter on MetaFilter, where I picked it up, votes with the "this is satire" crowd, noting:

...this particular newspaper swings pretty far to the right and regularly publishes letters that demonstrate weapons grade ignorance. Something like this letter does not look out of place to the regular readers of the Demizette.

I'm not sure. But I do plan to adopt the phrase "weapons-grade ignorance."