U.S. Attorney General Lynch Looks Into Prosecuting ‘Climate Change Deniers’

The climate debate shows how you can intimidate all of society in not speaking freely. It works, unfortunately, and unless we learn the lessons of how the stifling and the intimidation and the demonisation of certain topics actually not only stifles debate but intimidates a whole group of people, this will be used by activists as a very strong tool to force down their views. –Benny Peiser, Climate Scepticism, 8 March 2016

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In news that should shock and anger Americans, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that not only has she discussed internally the possibility of pursuing civil actions against so-called “climate change deniers,” but she has “referred it to the FBI to consider whether or not it meets the criteria for which we could take action.” --Hans von Spakovsky, The Daily Signal, 10 March 2016 This not only represents a serious blow against the free flow of ideas and the vigorous debate over scientific issues that is a hallmark of an advanced, technological society like ours, it is a fundamental violation of the First Amendment. As I have noted before, this is also reminiscent of the old Soviet Union, where Joseph Stalin persecuted those whom he thought had the “wrong” scientific views on everything from linguistics to physics. Both Lynch and Whitehouse might want to read Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s book, “In the First Circle,” in which he outlined the Soviet government’s suppression of dissenting scientists and engineers. --Hans von Spakovsky, The Daily Signal, 10 March 2016 Unsure about climate change? Watch out: You may be risking jail. “We have received information” about certain allegations and “have referred it to the FBI,” US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said at a Senate hearing Wednesday. The legal threats are a warning to dissenters: Shut up, or risk legal armageddon. It all adds up to an outrageous attack on free speech — and a pander to ideologues. –Editorial, New York Post, 11 March 2016

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