Florida employee 'punished for using phrase climate change'

From the Guardian:

An employee of Florida’s environmental protection department was forced to take a leave of absence and seek a mental health evaluation for violating governor Rick Scott’s unwritten ban on using the phrases “climate change” or “global warming” under any circumstance, according to a complaint filed against the state.

More here.

This is nuts. It reminds me of that Monty Python sketch with the bed salesman who goes into a catatonic state if somebody says the word "bed." This is just about that absurd. Clearly, some conservatives are so dead set in their opposition to the existence of global warming that they're willing to resort to Soviet style totalitarianism in order to silence critics. At least in Florida, anyway.

But it's increasingly looking like taking refuge in absurdity is these flat-earthers' only option. The scientific debate on the issue has been over a long time. Even conservatives are starting to wake up to this. And the Arctic ice continues to melt. So what do you do when the whole nation tells you you're wrong? You act like a crazy person. That's what you do.

These Republicans are no disappointment in that respect.

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