Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Another New Right From The Left

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by

James A. Bacon
in

Another New Right From The Left.

Liberals love inventing new rights. For the past 18 months I have heard the liberals chirping about the “right to health care”. Now the imaginary liberal rights machine has manufactured a “right to academic freedom”. Yet another pseudo-right extended only to liberals after having been manufactured in the liberals’ invisible rights factory.

There has never been a right to academic freedom. There is no right to academic freedom. And, God Bless, there will never be a right to academic freedom. So, any criticism of Ken Cuccinelli’s Civil Investigative Demand against Michael Mann as violating the right of academic freedom is null and void.

But did Cuccinelli do the right thing? Was there smoke sufficient to indicate a possible fire?

There was already a review of Prof. Mann’s work by a crack team of fellow professors at Penn State, where Mr. Mann now works.

Why did Penn State see the need for a warm and cozy review by fellow academics?

From the final report, “Begining on and about November 22, 2009 The Pennsylvania State University began to receive numerous communications (e-mails, phone calls and letters) having accused Dr. Michael E. Mann of acts which included manipulating data, destroying records and colluding in order to hamper the progress of scientific discourse around the issue of anthpogenic global warming from approximately 1998.”.

Cuccinelli doesn’t need to go looking for a smoking gun, Mann’s collegeues already think they found it.

What did Penn State find?

There were four avenues of inquiry. Dr. Mann was cleared of three allegations by a group of his academic friends perhaps wearing cardigans with leather elbow patches while alighting in the blue curls of pipe smoke wafting around their beards during this “trial”. However, even “cleared” leaves some room to question – “While a perception has been created in the weeks after the CRU e-mails were made public that Dr. Mann had engaged in the suppression or falsification of data there is no credible evidence that he ever did so and certainly not while at Penn State.”.

“…certainly not while at Penn State.”

Unfortunately, Dr. Mann taught at the University of Virginia (not Penn State) from 1999 – 2005.

In the minds of liberals, our elected attorney general should outsource investigations of potential malfeasance to cabals of academics from Pennsylvania. The fact that the investigation involved actions taken in Virginia, at a state university with public funds should be ignored. Ignored, presumably, because of the Right to Academic Freedom written in invisible ink in the liberals’ version of the US Constitution.

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8 responses to “Another New Right From The Left”

  1. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    I think I agree with you. They love to invent new rights. Supposing we have equal rights to begin with, if they invent a new one, then we are no longer equal, unless they also give something up.

    But they don't do that, so inventing new rights is a way to apparently get something for nothing.

    You get what you pay for.

    So we know which rights you think don't exist, how about sugggesting which ones do?

    RH

  2. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    "During the morning session of Saguache County’s monthly Planning Commission meeting, longtime Planning Commission member Richard Laurie told county attorney Ben Gibbons “There’s nothing in the Constitution about property rights.”"

    "On April 9, Laurie expressed this same sentiment in an e-mail to Land Use administrator Wendi Maez, which others then circulated among themselves. A packet handed out to Planning Commission members and alternates by Land Use administrator Wendi Maez seems to be the source of these comments.

    In the packet was a lengthy printout entitled “Takings Law in Plain English,” by Christopher Duerkson and Richard J. Roddewig, on the rights of counties to carry out the appropriation of private property."

    ————————–

    " In essence, the paper tells counties not to worry about taking the land of private property owners, since “Only in rare instances will such regulations be deemed so onerous as to effect a ‘taking’ under the fifth amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which holds that private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation.”"

    ————————–

    "The takings paper has some residents worried, since its first general principle states that: “No one has an absolute right to use his land in a way that may harm the public health or welfare, or that damages the quality of life of neighboring landowners, or of the community as a whole.” This could apply to taking an entire property or taking only some part of a property. It would include, as a later “principle” in this same paper explains, the enactment of “environmental and land use regulations — including design controls and scenic view protection,” "

    Center Post Dispatch

    RH

  3. Gooze Views Avatar
    Gooze Views

    Groveton.
    There's no "right" to academic freedom? Thousands of academics think there is. The AAUP has plenty of committtees on the state level and trhe national one to protect such rights. Maybe you should tell them that they are delusional. It may be news to them.
    As for "emails" raising questions about Mann, who wrote them? Sean Hannity? Glenn Beck? Sarah Palin? Anyone can write an email.
    Judging from the time line you present, it seems that the emails came with the British media exploitation of "Climategate" at East Anglia. Is this so?
    You tend to destroy your argument by noting that Penn State exonerated Mann.
    It is hard to follow your logic here. Ditto the clip art you chose. I am not clear what the figure is supposed to mean. Can you explain?

    Peter Galuszka

  4. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Please, why don't we define academic freedom? I'm not quite sure what that means.

    -Jason

  5. Groveton Avatar
    Groveton

    Rights are defined in constitutions. Everything else is a privledge extended by society to you. There is no right to academic freedom. Professors may have an expectation of academic freedom based on their self-serving self-governing organizations but there is no right. It is not like the real right of free speech. It is not like the real right to bear arms.

    Penn State saw sufficient cause to undertake an investigation of Mr. Mann. Liberals seem to think that is fine. However, when our elected attorney general thinks the same this is not acceptable.

    Penn State cleared Dr. Mann … sort of. First, they left open the fouth allegation, essentially improper procedure. Second, they clearly had a focus on what Dr. Mann did while at Penn State. Regardless, a group of supposedly self-policing academics from Pennsylvania does not represent me in matters where Virginia's public funds are at question.

    I included the clip art of a persone dressed in a Cavalier costume for two reasons. First, Mr. Mann is being investigated by the Virginia Attorney General for conduct while at the University of Virginia. The Cavalier is the mascot of the University of Virginia. Second, even a liberal should be able to tell that the guy in the picture is just a man wearing a costume. A charade. A fake. Just like self-policing academic cabals are a charade of real law enforcement.

  6. Waldo Jaquith Avatar
    Waldo Jaquith

    Rights are defined in constitutions. Everything else is a privledge extended by society to you.

    I recommend taking a Constitutional Law 101 class. I mean that literally. I think I learned that in the first week of my ConLaw class.

    Constitutions are deliberately vague. Congress shall make no law prohibiting the freedom of expression? No law? Not one? Really? We know that's not right, and that shouldn't be right. (Slander? Libel?) It's up to courts to interpret those vague assertions and make them applicable to society. Those aren't "privileges," those are rights.

  7. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    I like the contrasting viewpoints from both Peter & Groveton on the Virginia Climategate matter.

    I don't know where I fall exactly on the "science" of climate change, but wonder whether the science or the money/power/control issue is most important.

    After a while, many organizations tend to become more focused on their survival than on their original mission/client base.

    We want outside review of many "blow-ups" in both industry and government, why don't we for something like Climategate? Or do most outside investigations become witch hunts?

    TMT

  8. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    i beleieve there is strong evidence for human induced climate change, even if it is not yet consclusive enough to convince every skeptic.

    What I'm not convinced is that there is any political solution that is achievable, or on the remote chance it is achieved, will then be workable, and if thaat happens that it will garner the desired result.

    the climate alarmists have convinced me that if they are right, we are already screwed, so we should do nothing.

    but

    "After a while, many organizations tend to become more focused on their survival than on their original mission…."

    is an absolute gem, and I think it is at the heart of the tea party movement, anti-incumbent movement, and the antipartisan movement.

    On the other hand, that is what the Taliban is telling the ppor in Pakistan: "You come on with us and we will overthrow those big bad guys that are opressing you. We will take their land and sell it to you.

    of course, when the get the land the warlords will keep it and the poor will still be opressed.
    RH

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