Not an April Fool’s Joke…
I came across this tweet from the Heritage Foundation:
Not an #AprilFools joke: The left is embracing Orwellian Policies to go after “climate deniers.” https://t.co/GdwH6y4oy4
— Heritage Foundation (@Heritage) April 1, 2016
in which the author argues that “if you happen to disagree with the administration’s views of global warming, you could face a civil suit accusing you of fraud and corruption.”
So far, so hyperbolic.
But then the author goes on to say this:
Where to begin? First of all, it was a travesty to apply RICO laws to the tobacco industry. They were designed to catch murdering mafia bosses, not scientists or private companies engaged in research.
Even so, there is a huge difference between the health impacts of smoking and climate change.
The former is well documented, while the latter is not even remotely established as a scientific fact.
First: the tobacco companies were not acting like “private companies engaged in research.” Based on the judge’s final opinion,
In short, Defendants have marketed and sold their lethal product with zeal,
with deception, with a single-minded focus on their financial success, and without regard for the human tragedy or social costs that success exacted.
Second, it took years of litigation and a trial that lasted almost a year to arrive at the well-documented fact that smoking has “health impacts.”
Third, considering that there’s overwhelming consensus that global warning is happening, and that it’s man-made… how can anyone say that it’s “not even remotely established as a scientific fact” while keeping a straight face… unless it really was an April Fool’s joke?