The campaign to impose belief in discredited global warming theory by force is getting downright scary, in light of this short history lesson from Hans von Spakovsky:
Beginning in 1478, the Spanish Inquisition systematically silenced any citizen who held views that did not align with the king’s. Using the powerful arm of the government, the grand inquisitor, Tomas de Torquemada, and his henchmen sought out all those who held religious, scientific, or moral views that conflicted with the monarch’s, punishing the “heretics” with jail sentences; property confiscation; fines; and in severe cases, torture and execution.
One of the lasting results of the Spanish Inquisition was a stifling of speech, thought, and scientific debate throughout Spain. By treating one set of scientific views as absolute, infallible, and above critique, Spain silenced many brilliant individuals and stopped the development of new ideas and technological innovations. Spain became a scientific backwater.
Fast forward to 2016:
Treating climate change as an absolute, unassailable fact, instead of what it is—an unproven, controversial scientific theory—a group of state attorneys general have announced that they will be targeting any companies that challenge the catastrophic climate change religion.
Speaking at a press conference on March 29, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said, “The bottom line is simple: Climate change is real.” He went on to say that if companies are committing fraud by “lying” about the dangers of climate change, they will “pursue them to the fullest extent of the law.”
The coalition of 17 inquisitors are calling themselves “AGs United for Clean Power.” The coalition consists of 15 state attorneys general (California, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington State), as well as the attorneys general of the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. Sixteen of the seventeen members are Democrats, while the attorney general for the Virgin Islands, Claude Walker, is an independent.
The inquisitors are threatening legal action and huge fines against anyone who declines to believe in an unproven scientific theory.
We all know that the climate changes. It always has, and so long as the earth has an atmosphere and therefore a climate, it always will. When authoritarians demand that we believe in climate change or face legal penalties, it is not enough just to believe the climate changes. We must believe in dogma that is both specific and constantly fluctuating. If Al Gore disagrees with the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on the exact ratio between punitive taxation and imaginary temperature increases, it is hard to say which you must side with. As in any tyranny, punishment will be at the arbitrary discretion of whoever is in charge.
The new inquisition is already underway:
Schneiderman and Kamala Harris, representing New York and California, respectively, have already launched investigations into ExxonMobil for allegedly funding research that questioned climate change. Exxon emphatically denounced the accusations as false, pointing out that the investigation that “uncovered” this research was funded by advocacy foundations that publicly support climate change activism.
Standing next to Schneiderman throughout the press conference was the grand inquisitor himself, former Vice President Al Gore, who has stepped into the role of Tomas de Torquemada.
As for the freedom of speech without which we have no effective scientific inquiry,
When pressed on the effect such investigations and prosecutions will have on free speech, General Schneiderman claimed that climate change dissenters are committing “fraud” and are not protected by the First Amendment.
This comes on top of U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch admitting that the Justice Department is discussing the possibility of pursing civil actions against climate change deniers, and that she has already “referred it to the FBI to consider whether or not it meets the criteria for which” federal law enforcement could take action.
By now everyone who has been paying attention knows that global cooling/global warming/climate change or whatever they call it next week is a power grab. People driven to achieve control over others through deception and coercion do not tend to be the best among us. Neither common sense nor decency will slow down the likes of Schneiderman and Sheldon Whitehouse in their quest for more power.
The American Climate Change Inquisition has no use for the First Amendment.
On tips from Mike F and Varla.