Heartland: more on Gleick

Career ending lapse of judgment

After today’s revelation that Peter Gleick had admitted to soliciting the confidential Heartland documents and distributing them to the bloggers, it occurred to me that suspicion had already fallen on Gleick in several blog posts and comments, including at Roger Pielke Jr’s blog here, and Lucia’s Blackboard here.

But, crucially, such suspicion fell on him not as the recipient and distributor of the confidential documents, but as the alleged forger of the “Climate Strategy” document that MeDog’sGob and the other headbangers got so steamed up about.

Particularly on Lucia’s blog, there was detailed textual analysis in the comments of the strategy document and comparisons made with Gleick’s style, including use of parentheses, and the unlikely use of the term “anti-climate” – strikingly similar to “anti-science”:

Steven Mosher (Comment #89946) 
February 16th, 2012 at 1:52 pm

I have some speculation on the writer of the document.

1. West coast time zone.
2. trashes Curry and revkin, known adversaries
3. Uses a very strange word (anti-climate) in the document and in his tweets
4. uses parenthesis in a very odd way when he doesn’t know how to punctuate sentences. in the document and in his letter to Pielke.
5. glorifies himself in the document.
6. prior history of making phony statements

Its not proof of course, just a speculation, kinda like Mann speculating that Steve mcIntyre had something to do with the leak. which nobody objected to.

So the blogs suspect Gleick of being the forger, and he outs himself as the receiver. I think this story has a lot further to run…

UPDATE: And if this doesn’t make you sick to the stomach, check out MeDog’sGob for a stout defence of Gleick’s actions as a brave “whistleblower”:

So, while admitting that he impersonated a third party in order to induce Heartland to confirm its own ongoing questionable conduct, Gleick has effectively caught Heartland squarely in the headlights, proving that the Institute has dissembled and lied.

Whistleblowers – and that’s the role Gleick has played in this instance – deserve respect for having the courage to make important truths known to the public at large. Without condoning or promoting an act of dishonesty, it’s fair to say that Gleick took a significant personal risk – and by standing and taking responsibility for his actions, he has shown himself willing to pay the price. For his courage, his honor, and for performing a selfless act of public service, he deserves our gratitude and applause. (source)

Disgusting, but only to be expected from a smear site like that.