Calls statement about man-made climate change ‘deceptive’
By Michael Bielawski
The Vermont-based social media company Front Porch Forum is censoring a political candidate’s post about climate change by refusing to post it.
Donald Koch of Barre Town is running for State Senate for the Washington District. He posted an opinion piece with VDC back in August about the state’s recently mandated massive investments to mitigate climate change. The same commentary was submitted to FPF – which wouldn’t run it unless he removed some supposedly deceptive content about man-made climate change.
The portion of his posting that got the attention of FPF moderators states, “The Democrat supermajority in Montpelier is infatuated with the idea that climate change is caused entirely by human behavior—namely, by the discharge of greenhouse gases—and that if Vermont can reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, it can stop climate change and lead the rest of the nation in doing so as well.”
The piece for VDC garnered 29 comments, largely in support of the notion that folks should be questioning green mandates brought on by powerful lobbyists. For example, Twalton states, “How refreshing… someone with common sense. Thank you for this. The earth has been changing for millennia from natural causes and will continue to do so. Time to face up that we are going to live with it and adjust accordingly.”
FPF in an email to Koch cited the policy that he allegedly violated. It states, “You agree not to submit content that is false, deceptive, misleading, or misinformative.” They do not explain how any of his posting is false or misleading.
Explanation by ‘Maxwell’ (no further name given) of the FPF Member Support only states “If you’d like to remove or revise that portion and resubmit, we’ll take another look.”
VDC highlighted back in February that FPF took $361,500 of rural development funds from the Vermont Council on Rural Development, which is public money. This calls into question FPF’s categorizing itself as a private media company.
The story highlighted FPF’s censorship of former state senator Wendy Wilton and it further notes the Carnegie Library explains that private media companies are allowed to refuse publication of a posting for disagreeing with it, but public entities cannot.
A search of “Front Porch Forum” on VDC‘s archives reveals several instances of Vermonters accusing the social media company of censorship over the years.
The rest of Koch’s posting then gets into some of the major financial commitments that Vermonters have been signed onto.
“Thus, they have passed the ‘Global Warming Solutions Act,’ mandating measurable reductions in Vermont’s carbon emissions, authorizing anybody at all to sue the state if we do not meet those mandates, and suggesting, in fact, that li’l ol’ Vermont has the ‘solution’ to global warming.,” he wrote.
He implies that the legislature by passing these green energy mandates is over asserting their powers over how Vermonters heat their homes.
“Now, they have followed up with the so-called ‘Affordable Heat Act,’ which establishes a complex system of ‘tradeable credits’ designed to raise the price of fossil-based heating fuels, and use the money from sale of these credits to insulate homes for low income people, install heat pumps, and in other ways convert Vermont’s heating system to methods that the legislature, in its unquestionable wisdom, has decided are good for the people,” he wrote.
Jay Eshleman, a Westminster resident and business owner wrote a commentary about FPF titled “Front Porch Forum – Vermont wolves in sheep’s clothing.” He wrote in December, “Of course, it’s now difficult for me to provide my neighbors any balance to these ‘ravenous’ globalist policies on FPF, having only recently learned that my ‘account has been closed due to violations of FPF’s Terms of Use.’
He continued, “And no, FPF didn’t tell me my account was closed. Nor did FPF answer my request to explain its actions. Again, ‘Acceptance of payment does not create any obligation for Front Porch Forum to fulfill.’”
Backing up the notion that there should be open discussion about the necessity of costly climate policies is a new study out of Norway by Klimarealistene or “Climate Realists” which found that human activity has no measurable impact on the Earth’s carbon levels.
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle
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