Posted on 11/29/2009 1:10:58 PM PST by BobMcCartyWrites
An April 2007 post about a reporter's decision to have a sex change and global warming alarmism is revisited upon the apparent suicide death of that reporter.
More curious to me, however, is the fact that hell likely keep his job as a sports reporter at the Times, become a minor celebrity-freak in the world of journalism and be ostracized by baseball. Makes me wonder whether a science reporter at a newspaper like the Times would be accepted in a similar manner after defying convention in such a politically-incorrect way.
For instance, what would happen to a journalist who declared himself a non-believer when it comes to the global warming theology of the Rev. Al Gore and his Warmin Church?
To answer that question, I composed the blog post below on behalf of just such a fictitious reporter:
SCIENCE REPORTER TAKES A STAND
Im publishing this article as a post on my personal blog, since the newspaper where I worked for more than 23 years fired me upon learning I dont buy the theory that human-caused global warming is soon to doom our planet.
Though many readers, colleagues and friends will be shocked to read those words, please know it didnt take more than 30 seconds for me to drum up the courage to type them. After all, theyre backed up by actual scientific research to which Ive been privy as a result of interviewing the experts who conducted the research.
I know Im one of the few science reporters who refuses to transition from fact-based to consensus science. Why? Because, truth be told, scientists know far too little about the global climate, about what causes it to change and about how to measure changes if and/or when they occur.
I believe environmental extremism is a complicated and widely misunderstood medical condition. It is an unnatural occurrence resulting, in part, from over-exposure to cultural and societal factors, such as tabloid journalism, junk science and dumbed-down public school education.
An environmental extremist friend provided the best and simplest explanation I have heard: We are bombarded with propaganda about this, we fight it as long as we can, and in the end it wins. Except in my case.
Im giving it as good a fight as I possibly can. Ive never succumbed. But others have.
After growing tired of the public humiliation received for going against the consensus-science thinking of the masses, others abandoned their training and instincts and said, What the heck! before swallowing the junk-science findings of bestselling books and Academy Award-winning documentaries on the subject. Now, they carry the water for guys like Al Gore.
On occasion, Ive pondered the possible repercussions from writing a story such as this one. In the end, however, I could not abandon some of my most important beliefs, ones Id spent a lifetime reporting, to a world that has grown familiar and comfortable with hype, sensationalism and limited attention to facts. So I opted to come out of my conservative closet.
When I told my boss, he leaned back in his chair, looked through his office window to scan the newsroom and mused, After I fire you, no one can say we dont have consensus on this staff. Then he fired me.
All I can say at this point is that I am now happier, more focused and more energized than ever, looking forward to my next job at the National Enquirer, the only publisher that will hire someone like me whos willing to buck convention.
* * *
EPILOGUE: For the most part, the predictions I made in the post above proved accurate. Penner kept his job at the LA Times and received a lot of attention as a result of his very-public sex change. As to whether or not he was ostracized by baseball, I do not know for sure.
Well, everyone knows who Pete Rose is, and who John Rocker is. But I'd never heard of this guy before he died.
Global Warming on Free Republic
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