Merchants of Doubt: Global Warming Deniers in bed with Tobacco Industry?

The latest "scandal" in the "climategate" saga is a carefully orchestrated release of another batch of stolen emails. And once again, the conservative media are eating it up ... just like the fossil-fuel industry knew they would.

But here's something you may not know: the key scientists who are spreading FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) about global warming were also behind the Tobacco industry's campaign to deny that cigarettes cause cancer! Seriously.

Not only that, but this same small group of scientists defended the use of DDT, denied the dangers of acid rain, and claimed there was no ozone depletion.

In other words, a small group of scientists have been the main force behind every major anti-science campaign in the last few decades. Does that sound like whacko conspiracy theory? It's not.

I just finished reading a truly great book, Merchants of Doubt. The subtitle says it all: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming. Authors Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway present a frightening story (all carefully documented) about how a very small group of scientists, most of whom were deeply conservative, have carried out a decades-long campaign to discredit legitimate science in the interest of libertarianism and anti-socialism.

In a nutshell, these scientists were rabid believers in individual liberties and small government. They saw every attempt at government regulation as a threat to our freedom. They believed in free-market enterprise no matter what, and believed that we each were responsible for our own fate. Asking the government to regulate industry or protect us from pollution and poison was, in their view, the first step on the road to socialism and communism.

But instead of making their case in the political forum, or contributing to honest science, they've devoted themselves to obfuscation, scientific dishonesty, outright lies, character assassination, and propaganda. In their eyes, the ends justify the means: it's OK to confuse the public as long as their political goals are achieved.

I highly recommend Merchants of Doubt to anyone interested in the politics of science. These anti-science "scientists" are doing incalculable damage to our environment, economy and to our very future. They need to be stopped, and the first defense against their propaganda is education.

Is Home Schooling a Form of Child Abuse?

When does freedom of religion turn into child abuse? When do parents' rights to raise a child according to their religious beliefs become a violation of the child's civil rights? When does the state's need to have an educated electorate override religious parents' belief in ignorance?

Atheists love to blog about child abuse when it's in the form of medical neglect that becomes manslaughter and Jesus-inspired whippings that kill children. These are horrible and deserve our condemnation.

But there's a much more insidious, widespread and far-reaching form of abuse going on across America: religion-fueled, anti-science, anti-homosexual, anti-truth home schooling. It's far more important than any one whipping or medical-abuse case, however horrifying, because the ignorance fostered by these home-school programs is the very foundation that allows whippings and faith-based medical neglect to continue.

Home schooling is an old tradition in America. In some cases home schooling is a good alternative to public schools. Kids with unusual talents can benefit from accelerated lessons. Child performers who have to travel can keep up with their public-school peers. Kids with exceptionally well-educated parents with a knack for teaching can get a better education than public schools can provide. And so on.

And while the word "abuse" is a very strong claim, I believe it's appropriate. Abuse in the broadest sense is an action that damages the child physically or emotionally and causes them ongoing suffering. Ultra-conservative Christians are doing exactly that. If they were merely teaching their Christian beliefs as an adjunct to a well-rounded education, I would have no objection. But they are deliberately and knowingly keeping their children ignorant. They are blocking their children's access to biology, chemistry, evolution, political science, American and world history, philosophy and critical thinking skills.

And on top of that, they are fostering paranoia. They're teaching their kids that the world is a giant conspiracy and everyone is out to get them.

The organization that inspired today's blog is the perfect example. Their web site has so much over-the-top rhetoric that it's easy to think it's just a ludicrous joke. But it's not ... they believe this stuff, and they have a lot of followers. They start with a deceptive name: RescueYourChild.com. It sounds wonderful, doesn't it? But what they're actually advocating is for parents to "rescue" their children from a modern education.

Their web site's SHOUTED HEADLINES sound like a joke:

"FACT: There are now at least 8 sexual indoctrination laws impacting children ... See these bad laws, then rescue your child."

"Homosexual 'education' in classrooms ... Don't believe it's happening? CLICK TO WATCH."

"There's a BATTLE for your child. Whoever fights harder will win."

"Shocking dads and moms into REALITY ... Watch the IndoctriNation movie trailer."

"Parental rights, decency out the window."

RescueYourChild.com is a perfect example of how these ultra-conservative Christians are abusing the home-schooling system and twisting our laws. They claim that parents have an absolute right to teach their children anything they want, regardless of their children's needs and rights. And they carry it out: they teach their religious dogma in place of real facts.

Parents should have enormous latitude in raising their children. The last thing we want is the state peering over our parental shoulders and imposing some idealistic politically inspired child-raising theory on families. But children have rights too. Every child has the right to a basic education that includes accurate history, science and social studies. And the state has a right to demand that children are literate and knowledgeable so that they can be responsible voters.

Parents have an absolute right to teach their children their own religion (or no religion). But they do not have a right to block all other education. Every child has a right to a good education. Ignorant children are economically, socially and politically handicapped for life. In my book, that's abusive.