A Professor at the University of Colarado is “under investigation” by the House Committee on Natural Resources because he strayed from Obama administration’s approved path on climate change. His crime is identified in a letter to the university from the head of the committee, Democrat Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) –

Prof. Roger Pielke, Jr., at CU’s Center for Science and Technology Policy Research has testified numerous times before the U.S. Congress on climate change and its economic impacts. His 2013 Senate testimony featured the claim, often repeated, that it is “incorrect to associate the increasing costs of disasters with the emission of greenhouse gases.”

The thrust of this investigative process is to try and identify more dissenters who may be receiving funding from outside sources, primarily the Koch brothers who feature big in left wing paranoia these days. The letter to Prof. Pielke is here.

The investigation has been going on since Wei-Hock (“Willie”) Soon a researcher with Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics identified serious flaws in computer models predicting AGW. Due due to the mathematical errors, the models overstate the impact of CO2 on the climate by a factor of three times. Global warming leftists discovered Willie Soon’s research had been partly funded by the Koch brothers. Naturally, to the left, this means Soon is corrupt and his research must be flawed, even though as yet they can’t find the flaws.

The New York Times and other pro-government sources assume that government funding of research is lily-white, while corporate funding is inherently suspect.

The real scandal is that the overwhelming majority of money spent on climate research comes from governments that fund climate hysteria to the tune of billions of dollars per year. Why? Because the whole point of global warming alarmism is to persuade voters to cede more control over Western economies to government.

The letter seeking an investigation of Professor Pielke is just one more example of the left wing thuggery and intimidation that has in the past signalled the growth of brutal and authoritarian forces on the road to totalitarianism.

The funny part is, Pielke is largely welded to most others aspects of the AGW campaign. He’s not even a real dissenter. But they told him why he was under investigation in the letter-

“The way we chose the list of recipients is who has published widely, who has testified in Congress before, who seems to have the most impact on policy in the scientific community”

The intimidation has worked. Professor Pielke writes-

The incessant attacks and smears are effective, no doubt, I have already shifted all of my academic work away from climate issues. I am simply not initiating any new research or papers on the topic and I have ring-fenced my slowly diminishing blogging on the subject. I am a full professor with tenure, so no one need worry about me — I’ll be just fine as there are plenty of interesting, research-able policy issues to occupy my time. But I can’t imagine the message being sent to younger scientists. Actually, I can: “when people are producing work in line with the scientific consensus there’s no reason to go on a witch hunt.”

Another six academics have received similar letters. Needless to say the media has said nothing about this witch hunt. That is because in their disgusting cowardice and political corruption, they’re right behind the inquisitor Raúl Grijalva.

Back up links-

I am Under “Investigation” Roger Pielke Jnr.

Powerline- The Smearing of Willie Soon