Climate scientists have in the past decade and a half, been subjected to continued harassment from Republican lawmakers seeking to acquire emails and other private materials, in the hopes of finding out of context quotes or remarks that can be used to embarrass or discredit academics.
Above, Malcolm Hughes, as one of the world’s foremost experts on reading tree rings, became a target, because his research was a key part of the famous, and now richly validated, “Hockey Stick Graph”.
He describes it as “like living in a police state.”
Most of these initiatives have been pushed back. Now, North Carolina seeks to formalize this process with, in effect, an unaccountable Secret Police force.
Buried in North Carolina’s 600+ page budget is a little-noticed provision that creates a secret police force, controlled by Republicans, with extraordinary powers
The budget grants the Gov Ops Committee the right to seize “any document or system of record” from anyone who works in or w/state & local government
This includes contractors or any entity that directly or indirectly receives state funds, including charities and colleges
It gets worse. Gov Ops staff will be authorized to enter “any building or facility” owned or leased by a state or non-state entity without a judicial warrant.
This includes private homes, if it includes a home office of a contractor.
Alarmingly, public employees under investigation will be required to keep all communication and requests “confidential.” They cannot alert their supervisor of the investigation nor consult with legal counsel.
Those who refuse to cooperate face jail time and fines of up to 1K.
Gov Ops is dominated by Republicans and pursues partisan investigations. It is co-chaired by Senate Leader Phil Berger (R) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R).
Gov Ops launched an inquiry into diversity training programs at the University of North Carolina earlier this year.
Berger and Moore claim this is all about oversight and transparency. But a separate provision of the budget allows them to reject any public records requests concerning the operation of Gov Ops.
This is part of a broader effort to restrict public access to public records. The budget also repeals a law that required “communications regarding redistricting” be made publicly available when new legislative maps were adopted.
North Carolina is one of the most gerrymandered states in the country. In 2022, a gerrymandering trial exposed a top Republican redistricting official for using “secret maps to help draft the state’s redistricting plan.”
Judd Legum is a writer for Popular Information.
Below, the story of an earlier initiative along these lines was told in a campaign ad by Terry McAuliffe, who defeated climate denying Attorney General in a Virginia Gubernatorial race.
Cuccinelli later turned up as leader of an initiative to stop Donald Trump in 2016, but later saw his opportunity to switch sides and serve the Donald in Homeland Security – but more recently has double crossed him again.
You get the picture.
North Carolina is already seen as a place not to live in or work from if interested in cutting edge research, starting with the bias they showed for tobacco. And I include RTP. There are workable niches, but Why if you need to keep an eye on everything and everyone around you?
I would think that the tobacco vacuum has left room for other research.
In any case, my interest in Durham—besides “not as hot as central Texas”—is because of Duke and schools of the RTP keeping the area young and vibrant (plus the percentage of black people there being closer to what I grew up with).
I’ve encountered profs from the RTP area recommend against it for reasons I suggested.
Options? Europe or Australia.
At my age, if I’m leaving the country I’m moving to New
SheeplandZealand.good choice – you’d be baaaa..rmy not to
“Gov Ops staff will be authorized to enter “any building or facility” owned or leased by a state or non-state entity without a judicial warrant.”
No way this is Constitutional.