When Good Analogies Go Bad

Yesterday I was having a conversation with a friend who was bewildered by the White House announcing that they were going to have a Climate Change panel.  The only thing he could figure was that it had some connection to the liberal Green New Deal, but didn't know how.  Maybe that they were trying to get ahead of it.

I said he was likely right for the foundation, but I doubted the reason.  Given that Trump doesn't believe in Climate Change, it didn't seem probable that he was now on board.  More likely is that they didn't want it to gain any steam and want some way to try and discredit it.

Then came this story later about the man reported to be Trump's choice to head the committee, William Happer, a Princeton professor.  One would think that his disbelief in Climate Change would be the worst and most damning part of the story.  But this is the Trump administration, so of course there's more.  And that "more" is (and I swear this is true, there's video of him saying it) he compares reaction towards deniers to how Nazis treated Jews!

Yes, really.

Okay, look, for starters, the mere fact that as a Climate Change denier he is simply...well, alive should be proof enough that such a view of the Nazi treatment of Jews is reprehensible. That beyond this he's also a tenured college professor is just bonus evidence. Of course ultimately he appears to be a perfect choice by Trump, given that he seems adept at denying pretty much anything he finds inconvenient.

At the very least, though, I do think we have our answer for why the committee. And Option #2 looks like a winner.