Rush Limbaugh's ego is ridiculous.

This week, I had the pleasure hearing a portion of the Rush Limbaugh Radio Show. I have been exposed to Rush since I was reasonably young, as the father of my best friend growing up was a devout fan. I suspect he still is.

I hear snippets of the show every now and then, but I have yet to hear anything particularly enlightening come out of his mouth.

I'll give you two examples.

On 24 Feb, Richard Branson had a 747 flown from London to Amsterdam with one engine powered by coconut/fuel mixture. It was a demonstration of biofuel viability in commercial airliners. For the complete story, check here. Rush, authoring "Why We Can't Accept the Premise of the Liberal Global Warming Hoax," decided to provide his listeners with some thoughts on the use of coconut biofuels in commercial jetliners.

..."do you realize how ridiculous this is? Do you know what happens to coconut oil? At room temperature, it will solidify. I know, because I've got gazillion packets of it with popcorn that I use in my theatre. Coconut oil will solidify! You cannot put it in a jet fuel tank, especially at high altitude. It will freeze."

Thank you, Dr. Science. I'm sure the engineers at Boeing would like to know what will and will not work with their engines. I'm sure they would also appreciate it if you bound your thoughts in "reality." Yes, coconut oil you use with the popcorn in your theatre is solid at room temperature. (You have no idea how hard I am trying to avoid the obvious weight observation here...) Coconut oil is liquid above 76 degrees F. Last time I checked, however, jet engines don't run at 76 degrees F. They run someplace significantly higher, I suspect, depending on the design and type. Interestingly, even at "freezing" temperatures, nearing 550 mph at 35,000 feet, coconut oil could be maintained as a liquid.

As a point of interest, I specialized in rotating machinery, specifically jet engines, in college. Maybe that's just bragging, but it seemed pertinent.

It's not so much that Rush is wrong. It's that he claims to be an authority on anything and everything. "I now know what George Washington felt like." Somehow I think the struggles George Washington faced during the Revolutionary War, were significantly different, if not significantly more life-threatening, than the trials Rush faces on a daily basis. Although, perception being reality, Rush DID say that "the Revolutionary War was nothing," during his comparison of his conservative campaign relative to Washington in Valley Forge.

From conservative politics down to idea of burning coconut-kerosene fuel mixtures in jet airplanes, Rush claims to have definitive answers. Not opinions. Answers.

It's frustrating to me how conservatives allow this kind of arrogance define such a significant portion of the republican base.