Ace researcher John Mashey, whose indispensable investigation into the anti science movement’s leading players and finances has now been posted online, concurrent with release of internal documents from the anti-science “think” tank, Heartland Institute.
Among the gems John has rediscovered, a 1999 love letter (and boot licking appeal for funding) from Heartland chairman Joe Bast to the Phillip Morris Tobacco company. This document is among the trove of materials released thru the tobacco lawsuits of the 90s, and is available in the Tobacco Legacy Library online – so there’s no way for Heartland to run from this further evidence of their dark history. It’s another key bit of evidence showing the tobacco funded roots of the climate denial industry.
The letter is from Bast to Roy Marden, a Phillip Morris executive, and member of the Heartland board. Marden had apparently invited Bast to solicit further funds from the tobacco giant.
Dear Roy:
Thank you for inviting me to request renewed general operating support for The Heartland Institute for 1999.1 note that Philip Morris contributed $5,000 last August (for a Gold Table at our annual benefit) and $25,000 in October (general operating support). It also has allowed you to serve on our Board of Directors, which has produced many positive results for the entire organization.
The letter goes on to extoll Heartland’s tireless efforts to assist the tobacco industry in their sale of death dealing, addictive substances to children and adults around the planet.
Because Heartland does many things that benefit Philip Morris’ bottom line, things that no other organization does, I hope you will consider boosting your general operating support this year to $30,000 and once again reserve a Gold Table for an additional $5,000.
We genuinely need your financialsupport. Maybe by the end of this letter you’ll agree that we merit even greater support; I certainly hope so!
Bast continues, enumerating various components of their disinformation campaign on behalf of tobacco.
Heartland has devoted considerable attention to defending tobacco (and other industries) from what I view as being an unjust campaign of public demonization and legal harassment. We’re an important voice defending smokers and their freedom to use a still-legal product.
—
The Heartlander, our monthly newsletter for members, has called attention to the dangerous legal precedents and discriminatory taxes that are part of the campaign against tobacco in cover essays appearing in the October, November, and June issues.
Recent and past Heartland publications on tobacco, including a Heartland Policy Study and several Perspectives, and the 21 documents on the subject available fromPoIicyFax, are all available on Heartland’s Web site. Particularly popular are two of my essays, titled “Five Lies About Tobacco” and “Joe Camel is Innocent.”
Finishing up, Bast waxes on about plans for an online “Smoker’s Lounge”, as a clearinghouse for anti-science disinformation promoting tobacco.
We are also revamping our Web site to bring together into one place all the material on tobacco — the policy study, op-eds, PoIicyFax documents, and Heartlander essays — and identify it as the “Smoker’s Lounge” on the homepage. And we have discussed producing an Instant Expert Guide to Tobacco Litigation and reproducing an analysis done of the effect of a federal lawsuit against the tobacco industry on the level of payments states can expect to receive. Both of these projects are likely to come about in the coming months (though the latter only if it is still timely).
Gosh! since contributing to global warming is still legal, aren’t we lucky to have folks like Heartland to defend our right to continue to do so?
end sarc
Heartland’s rump rangers are spreading the love at:
The Global Warming Cult and the Death of Science
Posted by Daniel Greenfield Bio ↓ on Feb 20th, 2012
http://frontpagemag.com/2012/02/20/the-global-warming-cult-and-the-death-of-science/
Sorry to go slightly off-topic but, is it really credible to think that the Heartland Institute set Gleick up and/or knew it was him they were sending the documents to (so as to the sue the ar*e of him)?
http://rossputin.com/blog/index.php/theft-and-forgery-of-heartland
(Thanks to my mate Donald for another tip-off)
I was contemplating that meta-level chess game last night, but if that’s the case, why wouldn’t they have jumped on him immediately? Why play around with denying that all the documents are real if they were just decoys? (“They’re fake because we made them and sent them to him har har”)
Ross Kaminsky posted his thoughts on Gleicke bieng the likely culprit two days before Gleicke admitted his self-sacrificial act of subterfuge. Therefore, it would indeed seem likely that one triggered the other (with no need for any conspiracy or double-bluffing).
Gleick up and/or knew it was him they were sending the documents to (so as to the sue the ar*e of him)?
Let them haul him in to court — the discovery phase will be most popcorn-worthy.
My wish — the Gleick defense team subpeonas (among others) Anthony Watts and puts him on the stand as a “hostile witness”. Also subpeona his academic records — remember that he spent seven years in college and never graduated (Animal-House style). I’d be willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that Watts accumulated an Animal-House GPA in the seven years before he failed to graduate.
Put Heartland, their “experts”, and their “science” on trial — that’s a potential “Kitzmiller v. Dover on steroids” court case.
I agree; it should make The People -v- Big Tobacco look like an episode of Judge Judy by comparison.
So Heartland has been claiming one of the documents is doctored and/or a fake.
Peter says he didn’t alter anything and has the originals and the proof to back that up.
Has Heartland then been caught in another lie? Or are they claiming the first document sent to Peter from an anonymous source was a faked document?