Heartland Institute threatens to sue anyone who comments on leaked documents

[kpete]

"Bloggers around the world have been commenting on recently leaked Heartland Institute documents that reveal their internal strategies to discredit climate science. These posters are now under threat of legal action. According to the Heartland Institute 'the individuals who have commented so far on these documents did not wait for Heartland to confirm or deny the authenticity of the documents. We believe their actions constitute civil and possibly criminal offenses for which we plan to pursue charges and collect payment for damages'"

http://yro.slashdot.org/submission/1949087/heartland-institute-threatens-to-sue-anyone-who-comments-on-leaked-documents?sdsrc=rel

[Vincardog]

1. These are the frivolous law suits

[ret5hd]

3. sorry, can't be. they're republicans.

that's just the way it is.

[dembotoz]

2. it is only free speech when they say it??

[mick063]

4. Sue all of cybersapce and win?

Now that would be precedent setting.

Considering how quickly the Senate backed down in response to the internet "blackout", they will certainly look for the judical system to be their answer.

It is always easier to point your finger at the judiciary and say "we were powerless to stop it".

Indeed, I believe the future of cyberspace will be determined by the judiciary more than the legislative branch. Wiki Leaks is just the beginning of getting the judiciary involved in "settling" govenrment internet policy.

[DefenseLawyer]

6. It's outrageous, egregious, preposterous.

That's totally inappropriate. It's lewd, lascivious, salacious, outrageous!

[11 Bravo]

5. But they had no problem with the stolen Climate Research Unit emails, did they?

[kenfrequed]

7. bah

A waste of time. Pointless and meaningless intimidation. Everyone should call them on their bluff.

[Gabi Hayes]

8. some background on Heartland:

Heartland’s founder, David Padden, was an early member of the Koch Cartel. In 1977, when the Charles G. Koch Foundation of Wichita rebranded and renamed itself the Cato Institute, David Padden was a founding board member of the new Cato Institute. Padden headed a financial services firm in Chicago, Padden & Co. Chicago is the “heartland” of financial derivatives, the “financial weapons of mass destruction” that are screwing America and the world, so you can imagine the Kochs and Padden had plenty of work in Chicago. The Chicago Board is the largest financial derivatives exchange in the world—Koch sockpuppet Rick Santelli launched his Tea Party Rant while standing on the floor of the Chicago Board, blathering about “losers” who lost their homes. Another banker who was a founding board member of the Cato Institute was Sam Husbands, an executive at Dean Witter Securities, now part of Morgan Stanley. And of course, heading Cato was Charles Koch, heir to his father’s oil and chemicals fortune.

Yep, they were underdogs and rebels all right, these “radicals for corporate pollution.”

Like a lot of libertarians in the 70s and 80s, Padden styled himself as an anti-EPA hippie for capitalism, forming his own zany libertarian outfit called—get this—the “Loop Libertarian League.” Krazy Koch-heads, those guys! Of course, there’s a practical use for putting a hippie front-group on your resume: Gives the impression that when Padden and his Heartland Institute comrades promote climate change lies and pro-pollution corporate propaganda, what they’re really doing is “bucking The Establishment” and “stickin’ it to The Man.” Cuz you know, you environmentalists and anti-poison types are just so conformist, man—only a true rebel spends tens of millions of dollars poisoning the public’s minds, so that it’s easier for corporations to poison the environment.

In 1984, the Kochs expanded their corporate-hippie libertarian network with a handful of new propaganda mills.David Padden must’ve done something right at Cato because he was installed as the head of one of these new libertarian mills, The Heartland Institute, headquartered in Chicago.

http://exiledonline.com/radicals-for-corporate-pollution-the-koch-cartel-the-heartland-institute/

[Gabi Hayes]

9. other interesting links:

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Heartland_Institute

http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2012/02/i_just_got_an_email_from_the_h.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GregLadensBlog+%28Greg+Laden%27s+Blog%29

who's the anonymous donor that's given over 7 Million bucks to them since 08>

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/0216/Explainer-What-is-the-Heartland-Institute

[rucky]

10. I think the "I am Spartacus" strategy is in order for this one.