Witch Hunter Watch

Peter Sinclair has a good run down of recent politically motivated FOIA fishing expeditions into climate and other scientist emails.

It includes mention of the recent good news in the ATI v UVa case where the court agreed with UVa that the ATI and their lawyers could not be trusted to see emails UVa has claimed should be exempt from the FOIA request for the purpose of challenging that excemption. Ouch. But good call, I am sure.

Peter also includes mention of an excellent non-climate science related example of the same tactic in the case of a Wisconsin history professor, William Cronon, who had the temerity to speak ill of Scott Walker and the American Legislative Exchange Council.

We really need to add to this list of witch hunting the case of Charles Monnett, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management who had the bad luck to observe four dead polar bears floating in the ocean and the poor judgment to report those observations in a scientific journal.

Don't forget to add to your hypocrisy files the denial-o-sphere's lack of outrage at these real and present persecutions with the frothy-mouthed hysteria over fabricated calls for jailing climate sceptics attributed to James Hansen a few years ago!