From JunkScience.com LATimes cites ‘Mein Kampf’ to attack Heartland
The Los Angeles Times invokes der Führer to attack Heartland.
The Los Angeles Times editorializes:
Leaked documents from the Heartland Institute in Chicago, one of many nonprofits that spread disinformation about climate science in hopes of stalling government action to combat global warming, reveal that the organization is working on a curriculum for public schools that casts doubt on the work of climatologists worldwide. Heartland officials say one of the documents was a fake, but the curriculum plans were reportedly discussed in more than one. According to the New York Times, the curriculum would claim, among other things, that “whether humans are changing the climate is a major scientific controversy.”
That is a lie so big that, to quote from “Mein Kampf,” it would be hard for most people to believe that anyone “could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously”…
Here’s the story link:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-climate-20120220,0,3564279.story
Now is the time for all good men (and women) to cancel their subscriptions and fire off scathing letters to the editor about this ugly and uncalled for comparision. Most textbooks are written by private companies, and I can tell you that as a former school board member they don’t give you a lot of options since the state now issues “approved” textbook lists that you are only allowed to choose from. Local teachers and school boards can easily reject any materials they don’t want. Approving materials they do want is an uphill battle.
Here’s the feedback page:
http://www.latimes.com/about/mediagroup/la-mediagroup-contactus,0,7698150.htmlstory
h/t to Steve Milloy
Looks like all comments to the article have been removed at the LA times.
There is nothing wrong in quoting Hitler in an argument on global warming. In fact in support of this I cite;… Genghis Khan, Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussain, Col Gaddaffi… The consensus amongst dictators proves that the science is settled.
Perhaps it was a Freudian Slip (or landslide) and they were suggesting that all books disagreeing with them should be burnt.
Wasn’t that shark named Godwin jumped the first time the cult equated adhering to the scientific method with holocaust denial?
The LA Times is an organization of Brown Shirts dyed Green. Their propaganda does not wash with the majority anymore. The support of MMs Hockey Stick by the fuzzy bits has always been thin. These people are growing increasable stupid as they lose the war.
In his “Be First with the Truth” post of 9:01 this morning A physicist says, “…that lawyers and judges alike are forbidden to control the public dialog.
The Heartland Institute now is seeking to delegate responsibility for truth to its lawyers … and *that* is a decision that reflects seriously bad judgment and a profound dereliction of duty on the part of the Heartland Institute.”
In the context of the Mann vs. Ball defamation action, which I am presuming is not yet resolved, there arises a question I would insist A physicist answer. That question is would he agree that Michael Mann “…now is seeking to delegate responsibility for truth to [his] lawyers … and *that* is a decision that reflects seriously bad judgment and a profound dereliction of duty on the part of [Michael Mann]”?
Ron
It’s not often I actually laugh out loud at MSM coverage but I did at this one from the LA Times (and I know it’s an old cliche, but the monitor was narrowly spared from an intense beer atomisation episode):
“The latest skirmish, by contrast, is centered on a scientific issue that has nothing to do with religious teaching: climate change”.
I still can’t read it without getting involuntary spasms of amusement.
The LAT didn’t “Invoke” Godwin’s Law, it triggered it. Once the Nazis are mentioned “that [Usenet] thread is over, and whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically lost whatever argument was in progress.”
I don’t think CAGWarmists can afford to get people thinking about who really relies upon “big lie” propaganda methods nowadays.
A read of “Watermelons” by Dellingpole shows who the “big lie” proponents are for our time…. Catastrophists who use an endless succession of green scares to grab more power.
I might be Australian, but the link to the Daily Caller that mentions the Rockefeller Foundation donating to the anti-XL pipeline activists is not in the least bit surprising.
The Rockefeller family are well known for their dirty tricks in the oil game. If you do a little bit of research on how they obtained their fortune it is quite illuminating.
It is therefore, no surprise that Exxon Mobil has been funding the green lobby. Big Oil, that is the Rockefeller family has a lot to gain by doing things such as attempting to destroy the reputation of smaller oil producers such as the Koch brother. They do not want cheap oil coming from shale oil to flow because that will decrease the price per barrell of oil.
Keep looking behind the curtain.
PWC unlikely to impress Brisbane folks who are experiencing one of their mildest winters ever:
21 Feb: Sydney Morning Herald: Katherine Feeney: Heatwave warning: ‘Harden up’ attitude not helping
An extreme heat event in 2050 could kill more than 1000 Brisbane people in a few days unless emergency response strategies are significantly improved, according to a new report on heatwaves.
Produced by Price Waterhouse Coopers in collaboration with the Department of Climate Change and Energy and Efficiency, the publication claims heatwaves kill more Australians than any other national disaster, including floods and bushfires…
Mr Beale (PWC) said Bureau of Meteorology modelling showed extreme heat events were expected to occur more often and with greater intensity in the future, particularly in the southern regions of Australia…
For the development of this report, PWC formed an advisory group which included the Bureau of Meteorology, federal and state government agencies and the private sector.
PWC worked with BOM data and conducted actuarial analysis which looked at temperatures across Australia on every day since 1958 and matched those with deaths over the same period.
http://www.smh.com.au/queensland/heatwave-warning-harden-up-attitude-not-helping-20120220-1tjif.html
Rond, I hadn’t heard of it. But history tells us that when scientist sues scientist, little or no good is likely to come of it. And when institutes sue reporters, the most likely outcome is even worse, namely, a chilling of public debate.
In the long run, as Richard Feynman reminded us, “Nature cannot be fooled.” That is where the strongest skepticism and the strongest science both focus their attention … the rest is destined to be forgotten.
yet another of today’s CAGW Scares:
21 Feb: ABC Australia: Marine species at risk as oceans acidify
British scientists say the current level of carbon dioxide emissions will wipe out about 30 per cent of the world’s marine species by the end of the century…
Scientists at Plymouth University in England have examined underwater volcanoes, where carbon dioxide bubbles naturally, to see how marine life copes in acidic water.
Dr Jason Hall Spencer says a lot of organisms cannot survive in such conditions…
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-20/marine-species-at-risk-as-oceans-acidify/3840854/?site=melbourne
21 Feb: PhysOrg: British scientist warns AAAS of the threat posed by ocean acidification
Dr Jason Hall-Spencer, of Plymouth University, says that the combination of ocean acidification and rising water temperatures kills off corals, shellfish and other valuable marine life – posing a risk to industries such as fishing and tourism.
Dr Hall-Spencer addressed the Annual Meeting of the AAAS (The American Association for the Advancement of Science) in Vancouver and presented his findings from studying biodiversity at naturally occurring underwater CO2 vents…
http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-02-british-scientist-aaas-threat-posed.html
I think they’ll find that it was Vaterland and not Heartland!
Well, the word in the headline shouldn’t be “invokes” but rather “evokes,” but what the hell….
Like the Koran and the last Harry Potter novels, Mein Kampf was in serious need of an editor. But then, who’s going to tell der Fuehrer he needs to reorganize his text?
Does anyone normal even read “Mein Kampf”, let alone publicise the fact by quoting from it? Shows a strange fascination with psychotic egomonaniacs to my way of thinking – oh wait, now I see the link!
Ha ha ha! They might as well say “acidification” will kill off 300% of marine species – it would have the same validity within their error bars… He he he…
Their misplaced confidence is classic hubris and this kind of embarrassingly bad science is typically associated with Climatology – the day will come when this crazy talk is swept into the dustbin of history, but I fear there is far too much tax dollars flowing freely for that day to come anytime soon… Ugh.
You can learn a lot about someone by the books they keep in their library.
Thanks greatly to Alexander Feht for this:
It should indeed. With that in mind, thanks to John West for the correct context:
and later:
First they compare us with Holocaust deniers, now with the Jews that Hitler was falsely accusing of lying, as the very start of his maniacal political campaign that ended in their mass murder.
Despite being logical opposites these are both very violent analogies and that it seems to me is the link. Some lies truly are despicable and lead to mass murder. The LA Times wants to smear us and this time the message seems to be: even though Hitler was a monster if he was to criticise these people, he’d have his good points. So we’ll use his words against them.
It’s violent language but, it’s only fair to add, it won’t necessarily lead to mass murder.
Cheerful thoughts.
You can rub a lefties nose in it and they are to dense to get it. My dog is smarter, just witness the goofy comments that non physicist contributes.
Seriously though this is so wrong on so may levels. I cannot imagine that there would be a Jewish subscriber to this paper that would not be deeply offended by the use of Hitler’s words. How can a person using such quotes in the mainstream media keep their job?
I would assume that the Jewish community would be utterly and properly outraged by such a reference and there are plenty of Jews in Los Angeles. The aftermath of this should be such a loss of circulation that the Company owning this paper would be obliged to sack such a person if for no other reason than a ludicrous lack of judgement. I am not against free speech, but as we all know the media is not there to report the truth but to sell column inches or airtime. Just from a hard business perspective this should hurt their ciruclation figures so badly that they would have to do something about it.
On the other hand what were the editorial board thinking? Surely they should have filtered such a reference unless they somehow agree with the use of the words of one of the worlds worst genocidal maniacs. Are they covert Nazis? I thought the LAT was a left wing paper. Who knows what hidden agenda is being expressed when the Mainstream Media starts quoting Hitler?
Yep, Goldie, I was just about to post the same sentiments. AFAIK, LA has a large and influential Jewish community, and I hope they are all over this disgraceful editorial and the paper’s management like white on rice.
I too wonder about an editorial writer who is conversant enough with Mein Kampf to quote it, leaving aside the abysmal judgement involved in mentioning it at all. Life is short, and there are far too many great books that one will never have time to read. MK is not likely to be on my reading list, although I can understand why historians might have to wade through it.
BTW, I am not Jewish, but one doesn’t have to be to be offended by this rubbish. It repudiates so many basic ethical values, it would take some time to list them all.
The author and those who permitted its publication are low life scum.
At 5:15 PM on 20 February johanna had written:
Something quite similar to this sentiment had previously been voiced by other posters, and along with them johanna is dead wrong.
In order to defend civil comity, good order, and the preservation of individual human rights, it is necessary not merely for “historians” but all conscientious folk to develop and maintain knowledge of the promulgations issued by the enemies of liberty, from Machiavelli’s The Prince through Sir Robert Filmer’s Patriacha to the present-day lying viciousness of the AGW fraudsters.
One cannot with maximum effectiveness counter the noise of such malevolent bastids without the ability to understand and – when necessary – to quote their propaganda.
You can’t debunk and otherwise attack what you don’t know, and personal distaste is no bloody excuse at all.
Johanna, my surname is Goldstone and as far as I can tell our family hasn’t been Jewish for a long time, but that wouldn’t have helped me much had I been in Europe during the second world war. Its just an obscene thing to do in the truest sense of obscenity.
SNIP: -REP
Tucci78 I do agree with you, my personal distate is the manner in which such a quotation was used as if its ok to incorporate such literature into the vast resource of humanities writings and quote it offhand. This type of writing has a special place and no doubt is commonly quoted on neo-nazi blog sites who choose to excercise their right to freedom of speech in such a manner. The infamy here is that it was used carelessly (?) in an opinion piece in a mainstream public newspaper.