Curbing Freedom

Over at The New Media Journal is an article by Brendan O'Neill that was originally published in The Guardian in the UK. It's called "Greens are the enemies of liberty". Of course, it isn't just environmental extremists who want to take away everyone's freedom (except their own, of course), but these days they seem to be in the forefront of trying to suppress dissent and skepticism and to tell everyone to sacrifice this, that, and the other.

It absolutely slays me that liberals/leftists/environmentalists preach tolerance, yet they are among the least tolerant people ever. Certain groups (Christians, conservatives, patriots, military, etc.) are not to be tolerated. Neither is Western civilization and culture. Economic prosperity and capitalism are also taboo. Just about anything else, though, has free rein.

All I ask is that you read Mr. O'Neill's article and give it some honest thought. Do we really want to live in an oppressive society? I think not.

Here are the first three paragraphs of said article:

Imagine a society where simply speaking out of turn or saying the "wrong thing" was openly discussed as a crime against humanity, and where sceptics or deniers of the truth were publicly labelled "criminals", hauled before the press and accused of endangering humanity with their grotesque untruths.

Imagine a society where even some liberals demanded severe restrictions on freedom of movement; where people campaigned for travelling overseas to be made prohibitively expensive in order to force people to stay at home; and where immigration was frowned upon as "toxic" and "destructive".

Imagine a society so illiberal that columnists felt no qualms about demanding government legislation to force us to change our behaviour; where the public was continually implored to feel guilty about everything from driving to shopping – and where those who refused to feel guilty were said to be suffering from a "psychological" disorder or some other species of mental illness".

First Yellow Journalism, Now Yellow Science

From The New Zealand Climate Science Coalition: Commonsense About Climate Change comes an article by James Kerian called "Yellow Science". The first two paragraphs explain the term:

In the late 19th century, William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer developed what would come to be known as yellow journalism. By disregarding what had been standard journalistic methods, particularly in regards to the verifying of sources, these two publishers were able both to push their country toward war with Spain and dramatically increase the circulation of their respective newspapers.

Man has always had a healthy desire for knowledge, and it is the feeding of this hunger that ennobles journalism. Hearst and Pulitzer were acutely aware that man has a less healthy but no less voracious desire to believe that he has knowledge, particularly knowledge of something sensational. It is the feeding of this hunger that irreparably disgraced journalism, and a century later now threatens to do the same to science.

The article itself has a lot to say about the unscientific methods used to promote global warming and create a climate of fear among people so that those pushing global warming can push through their agendas, which will damage economies and production of all kinds around the world. The final paragraph is blunt, but true:

The long-term results of yellow journalism have probably been more devastating than the war it started. Journalists have lost the respectability of their profession, and the public has lost real journalism. We are in very real danger, as scientists and as a nation, of losing the respectability of a professional community that has done so much to make this country great in the past hundred years. If yellow science overcomes real science it will not only be on account of the greed, ambition, and cowardice of our scientists but also the sloth and cowardice of a public that is unwilling to stand up and demand professionalism. This is why, as the editors of the New York Press said in 1897, I "called them yellow because they are yellow."

I recommend reading the entire article. It will give you something to consider carefully. For an excellent additional source of information, try "Editorial: The Great Global Warming Hoax?" by James A. Peden. It's informative as well as fun to read, although the science may make your head spin a bit!

The Fourth of July

A happy 4th of July to you. This is America's Independence Day. Think of your freedoms and what it cost to obtain them.

The History Channel has a nice summary of the events surrounding our gaining our freedom. The article is here: "U.S. Declares Independence".

Another interesting article by George Will can be found at Townhall. It is called "The Valuable Self-Validating Tradition".

Enjoy the reading and enjoy the Fourth. Think about what it all means for us.