Topic: NewsBusters
We've previously noted that NewsBusters' Noel Sheppard bought into the case of an Oregon "state climatologist" who was to be "fired" from his "job" for being a anti-global warming activist. Problem is, there's no official Oregon "state climatologist," the guy in question is not trained in climatology, and losing the title will not cost him any income or his current job as a college instructor.
Well, Sheppard's at it again. In a Feb. 23 post -- after once again citing the bogus claim about the Oregon "state climatologist" -- he repeated an article claiming that Delaware's "state climatologist," David Legates, has been ordered by the governor to "stop using his title in public statements on climate change." Sheppard added by way of weak qualification, "I haven’t been able to identify how long Legates has held this title, but it doesn’t appear to have been given to him by her." In fact, according to the article he cited (but doesn't include in his excerpt for his post), the "state climatologist" position carries no salary or state authority.
Sheppard does, however, note the article's citing of Legates' links to a pair of conservative groups -- the Competitive Enterprise Institute, "linked by some environmental groups to an Exxon-Mobil-funded 'misinformation' campaign," and the National Center for Policy Analysis. Sheppard claimed this was evidence that "this might be all about knocking off one of the primary global warming skeptics," adding, "This raises an important question: Is anybody safe during this witch hunt?"
If Sheppard really deplores such tactics, he might want to have a chat with NewsBuster nea-namesake Ken Shepherd. In a Feb. 22 post, Shephed complained that a public radio report that featured a certain study "didn't tell listeners about the political donations of the study's liberal author." Doesn't that make Shepherd a "witch hunter," by Sheppard's definition?
