Let me start by saying that I believe Donald Trump won the 2020 Presidential Election, only to have it stolen from him by the usual suspects I so well remember from my days living in Chicago: the Democrat Party.
There was so much evidence of malfeasance, from statistical evidence, to mysterious dumps of results for Joe Biden in the middle of election night, to thousands of eyewitness accounts of unlawful behavior by election officials in key battle ground states. Because the election was so close, it did not take a lot of lawlessness to change the outcome. Unfortunately, our court system refused to intervene, handing the victory to those who cheated, without investigating whether ‘probable cause’ of election fraud existed. That is a bad omen for the future, because it will be the blueprint for stealing future elections.
Now I am waiting to be struck dead by a bolt of lightning for daring to say something that our ruling elites do not want anyone to think, let alone say or hear. The official line coming from the Oregonian declared “no merit” to these charges.
I suppose that I should be grateful to be still standing after daring to speak up. Yet everyone should applaud my questioning obvious bad behavior, even if they completely disagree with my conclusions. The very fact that I am still standing says we still have a Democracy that protects the rights of everyone to speak their mind.
Unpopular opinions are simply not welcome in Joe Biden’s world. Yet they are hardly unpopular, because Donald Trump got about 75 million votes. Are all 75 million “Deplorables” in need of deprogramming in a Chinese-style re-education camp?
Had I said this on Facebook or Twitter, I would be history. They and other tech giants like Apple and Google suddenly have no tolerance for those who dare to disagree with them. Donald Trump might have clamped down on them for misusing their power. Joe Biden certainly will not.
Those who own Big Tech must believe that their vast wealth somehow confers good judgment or great knowledge in addition to clout. That is far from the case. Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Jack Dorsey of Twitter may be social media geniuses, but they lack even college educations.
Cancel Culture is a sort of lynching, summarily executing those they believe have transgressed their “values.” Never mind that the claimed offense may not be an offense at all or that the accused may not be guilty. Cancel Culture seeks to swiftly eliminate all opponents who dare to stand up to them. Donald Trump had to disappear for opposing the heavily entrenched “Deep State.” And all of his supporters have to go, because they are “White Supremacist Nazis,” according to the prevailing slander. But of course, those who dressed up in blackface in their youth, like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or Virginia Governor Ralph Northam are exempt from Cancel Culture, because they are Left of center.
The most fundamental legal concept is equal application of the law. That means we have to treat everyone the same and not make up laws to suit the situation. Blackface may offend some in today’s hyper-sensitive world, but it is far from illegal. Humor is always a little offensive, whether coming from Democrats or Republicans. That is why we find it funny.
Speaking one’s mind, even if someone is offended, is a time-honored American tradition. Years ago, I remember talking with the Lake Oswego City Attorney who was worried that a group of us might oppose former Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury’s climate alarmist presentation. He threatened us with arrest for attending Bradbury’s event on public property and passing out literature opposing Bradbury’s pseudoscience. Exasperated, I finally said, “Look, we have the right to stand on a soapbox on any street corner in America and shout “Down with the Government!” “Yes,” he replied, “that is pure Americana.” End of discussion. The First Amendment to the Constitution survived this encounter.
OK, let me speak my mind again. We scientists speak our minds all the time to try to move some aspect of science forward. It is the way science works and the way we audit what has been claimed to be true. If another scientist disagrees, so much the better. We listen to see if he has spotted flaws in our approach or just blowing smoke.
But that greatly offends some who believe that they are God’s gift to climate science. They have found a far simpler way to keep from being challenged. They cancel those who dare to question their work. The Climategate emails revealed many attempts to silence competitors, including getting editors who dared to publish something they did not like fired. That such things could occur in science worried many. But by then, those in charge were so heavily entrenched that they could ignore all outrage.
In Oregon, two scientists were forced out at Oregon State University for questioning an establishment that very much enjoyed the massive amounts of money that climate hysteria was sending their way. Oregon’s great climatologist, George Taylor, and his colleague, chemistry instructor Nicholas Drapela, were put out to pasture for pointing out that the logic and evidence purporting to predict catastrophe simply did not. Those who were part of “the consensus,” like the former President of the US National Academy of Sciences, Ralph Cicerone, could occasionally get away with saying quietly, “We don’t have that kind of evidence,” when asked about an impending catastrophe. But not Taylor or Drapela! Canceling them was fine!
The simple scientific truth that:
“There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide … is causing … catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the Earth’s climate.”
was supported by 31,487 scientists, 9,029 of us with PhDs on the Petition Project.
Rather than consider so much opposition, the climate crowd claimed that only their favorite scientists were “climate scientists” and those who opposed them were “deniers.” This was the most outrageous attempt to cancel legitimate scientists ever seen. Among those canceled were the great physicists Edward Teller, Freeman Dyson, and Will Happer, as well as the great meteorologist Richard Lindzen, and 9,025 more of us. It was a ploy that fooled many.
Will I now suddenly vaporize for daring to speak the truth in a very intolerant world? Not yet.
So, let me utter one more bit of heresy. The Wuhan flu, as the Chinese call it, has been very badly managed, especially at the state level, and so many have died needlessly. The most obvious example is New York Governor Andrew Cuomo sending infected elderly patients into nursing homes. Thousands died, and Cuomo still blames everything on President Trump. California Governor Gavin Newsom has become increasingly dictatorial to try to keep California’s population locked down, in many cases pointlessly, and wrecking the state’s economy that in turn destroys jobs and lives. The young are not in danger from COVID.
Oregon Governor Kate Brown is now distributing COVID vaccine to her supporters, notably the teacher’s union, rather than to the elderly who are most at risk. She has also discouraged or prevented the use of proven therapies for COVID that could have cut the death rate in half.
Here again, I have said things that are easily defended scientifically but pure blasphemy in a woke world. Should I be summarily canceled for daring to speak up? Many will think so. Perhaps those who disagree should avail themselves of our First Amendment and take issue with what I say. Dialogues can be constructive.
Gordon J. Fulks lives in Corbett and can be reached at gordonfulks@hotmail.com. He holds a doctorate in physics from the University of Chicago’s Laboratory for Astrophysics and Space Research
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