The wacky land of Amy Ridenour

onJan 18, 2010 @ 17:22 PST

From time to time we hear from a small DC group with the impressive sounding name: the “National Centre for Public Policy Research” (NCPPR). Their president Amy Ridenour takes a jab at DeSmogBlog yesterday with this strange sentence – obviously crafted to incite controversy:

“Kindness is not usually a term one associates with the anti-Holocaustglobal warming denier website DeSmogBlog, but its staff has made an exception today.”

I am assuming that much like her friend Christopher Monckton, Ridenour has not heard of the Godwin’s Law of Nazi Analogies. The basic point Godwin makes is that as a conversation online progresses, the likelihood of someone mentioning Nazis or the Holocaust becomes more likely.

I sent an email to Ridenour assistant, David Almasi, the other night asking for an explanation and also pointing out that in the four years I have managed the DeSmogBlog I have never used a Nazi analogy in an attempt to bolster an argument or discredit an individual. So far they haven’t responded and I think they’re silence is telling.

It is a stupid and useless means of making a point that only creates division and hate.

By Kevin Grandia

Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmog. He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a “Green Hero” by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the “Top 50 Tweeters” on climate change and environment issues, Kevin has appeared in major news media outlets around the world for his work on digital campaigning. Kevin has been involved in the public policy arena in both the United States and Canada for more than a decade. For five years he was the managing editor of DeSmogBlog.com. In this role, Kevin’s research into the “climate denial industry” and the right-wing think tank networks was featured in news media articles around the world. He is most well known for his ground-breaking research into David and Charles Koch’s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea party networks. Kevin is the first person to be designated a “Certified Expert” on the political and community organizing platform NationBuilder. Prior to DeSmog, Kevin worked in various political and government roles. He was Senior Advisor to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and a Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Asia Pacific, Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Kevin also worked in various roles in the British Columbia provincial government in the Office of the Premier and the Ministry of Health. In 2008 Kevin co-founded a groundbreaking new online election tool called Vote for Environment which was later nominated for a World Summit Award in recognition of the world’s best e-Content and innovative ICT applications. Kevin moved to Washington, DC in 2010 where he worked for two years as the Director of Online Strategy for Greenpeace USA and has since returned to his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.