At a recent dinner held by the Sangamon County Republicans, GOP Rep. John Shimkus took his extreme climate change skepticism to the next level.  During his speech, he suggested that the sight of farmers "ice-fishing on ponds in Southern Illinois" is the latest evidence that global warming is a "hoax."  (Listen here.)  The State Journal-Register's Bernie Schoenburg got the following response from Dennis Ruez Jr., an environmental studies professor at the University of Illinois-Springfield:

“Most people do not understand the difference between climate and weather,” he said. “Ice fishing in Illinois does not necessarily mean cooling climate; similarly, a hot summer does not necessarily mean warming climate." ... He said 2009 “was the warmest year ever recorded in the southern hemisphere and the second warmest for us in the northern hemisphere. The 2000-2009 decade was the warmest recorded.”

Got that, John?