Tom Corbett Faces Criticism After Declining To Fire Official For Using Nazi Slur

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett is facing criticism for declining to fire a state official who recently made a Nazi slur, Lancaster Online reports.

Josh Fox, director of the critically acclaimed documentary "Gasland," called on Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett Tuesday to fire chief oil and gas geologist for the Bureau of Forestry under the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Teddy Borawski, who likened him to a Nazi last week. So far, no luck.

In an interview posted recently to Lancaster Online, Borawski was heard making the controversial comments toward Fox and the message of his Oscar-nominated movie, which focused on the detrimental effects of natural gas extraction.

(Audio below)

"Joseph Goebbels would have been proud," Borawski said, referencing the notorious Nazi propagandist when asked about the film. "He would have given him the Nazi Award. That, in my opinion, was a beautiful piece of propaganda."

Fox is now hitting back, taking Republican Governor Tom Corbett to task for not firing Borawski.

"If [Gov.] Corbett doesn't fire him, it means he condones these kinds of comments. This is on Tom Corbett's head as much as it is Mr. Borawski," Fox told Lancaster Online on Tuesday.

Fox continued, calling the nature of Borawski's service to the state into question.

"I thought I was alerting Pennsylvania to a grave danger. I do not expect to be demonized for trying to warn the state that I love," Fox said. "A person who would say such a thing should not be working for the state of Pennsylvania."

Borawski has expressed remorse for his words, offering his "sincerest and most heartfelt apology" for the inflammatory comparison. A department official has also announced that Borawski would be reprimanded, though wouldn't clarify to Lancaster Online what measures would be taken.

Corbett addressed the Borawski controversy himself earlier this week, but has taken no further action, a decision that has drawn some criticism for its supposed timidness.

"He's obviously made a statement of his belief. It's not a statement of this administration. It's not an appropriate statement of characterization," Corbett said at a press conference Monday, according to Lancaster Online. "And sometimes we say things in public that we wish we could get those words back."

Democratic State Rep. Josh Shapiro has since responded to the governor, urging Corbett to take stronger action and announcing flatly that there is no room for Nazi comparisons in political discourse.

LISTEN to Borawski's comments via Lancaster Online:

Comments

[Seth Rosen]

11:33 AM on 03/19/2011

Contact: Teddy Borawski, [phone]

[Philip Harris]

09:56 AM on 03/18/2011

If you don't think the way that I do, you're a Nazi
If you don't believe what I believe, you're a Nazi
If you don't worship the buck $, then my dear you're out of luck.
You're a Nazi, you're a Nazi, You're a Nazi
(best recited while jumping rope)

[Raglimidechi]

12:58 PM on 03/17/2011

This report shows the degree to which Fox News functions as a Republican operative. It should be required to change its name to the Fox Republican Chat Channel. Calling itself a news organization is misleading to the public.

[freegeg]

03:35 PM on 03/17/2011

Did you read the article?

[PAGasDriller]

12:43 PM on 03/17/2011

My natural gas drilling company's response to this Josh Fox incident.

www.knappap.com/index_files/joshfox.pdf

[kmdippenger]

01:23 PM on 03/17/2011

Thanks for posting this. I will read it and appreciate an opportunity to hear the other side of this contentious issue.

[kmdippenger]

01:27 PM on 03/17/2011

I've read through some of these comments and see that you're trying to get people to see there's more information out there that needs to be considered. Can you steer us to any references other than the letter you just provided? You have to understand that this site is heavily populated by skeptics regarding this matter.

[PAGasDriller]

03:05 PM on 03/17/2011

Oh, trust me I've noticed a skeptic here or there...haha..

Well, besides Mr. Hanger, it would certainly appear that the DCNR official referenced in this article doesn't think much of GASLAND. Several industry websites have thoroughly debunked Gasland... here is the best one

http://www.energyindepth.org/2010/06/debunking-gasland/

The EPA conducted several studies back in the 2000's that concluded that fracking was of minimal threat to the environment...

Top NY State Geologist Taury Smith recently came out in support of fracking:

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Scientist-says-the-spin-is-on-1116437.php

Mr. Hanger goes much further in depth as to his experiences as Secretary of the DEP on his blog... johnhanger.blogspot.com

[Grant Cole]

12:37 PM on 03/17/2011

The thing that most mystifies me about this is the ignorance of Borawski. How hard is it to denounce a politician without comparing them to the likes of a Nazi? Have we not seen these controversies time and time again when a topic as sensitive as this is thrown around senselessly? Learn from past mistakes! Perhaps he should be fired for sheer stupidity.

[PAGasDriller]

01:05 PM on 03/17/2011

He wasn't comparing Mr. Fox to Nazis. He was trying to put into perspective the effectiveness of Mr. Fox's propaganda.

[Grant Cole]

02:00 PM on 03/17/2011

Perhaps so but regardless of intent its a matter of avoiding topics that undoubtedly will cause controversy. As a politician or government official, Nazism is an issue never to be touched.

[GranE]

03:00 PM on 03/17/2011

Borwaski blew it. One wonders how many gas producers have graced him with their favors to urge him to attack in such a stupid way. If he's that gullable he shouldn't be working for any state government.

[epotruchyeahright]

01:43 PM on 03/17/2011

I would definitely want Corbett to fire this guy. This is not a free speech issue. Borawski is a public employee who might be slandering this film maker. You're right that the guy didn't need to compare Fox to a Nazi to denounce him, but I'm not surprised in this age of extreme rhetoric that it happened.

Corbett ought to fire him or, as Fox correctly put it, he'd be seen as condoning that sort of speech.

[Donuthole]

12:15 PM on 03/17/2011

These Nazi comparisons are lame, stupid and ridiculous. The appropriate response to, "Joseph Goebbels would have been proud [of your film]..." is "oh, yeah? Well Magda Goebbels would have been proud of your mama!"

[hemorrhage]

02:28 PM on 03/17/2011

It is generally people who have no concept of history (and the horrors of the Nazis) who tend to make these comparisons. It cheapens the memories of those who died at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators

[Donuthole]

06:58 PM on 03/17/2011

Agreed, completely! And this on the very day that marks the anniversary of the start of Aktion Reinhard. IMO some people's concept of Nazis is limited to portrayals on Hogans Heroes and in the Indiana Jones movies!

[Justjack1]

11:09 AM on 03/17/2011

This isnt surprising since the Republican party did try to get the leader of the Nazis in America elected to the senate in 2006

[fortressfountain]

11:09 AM on 03/17/2011

People write him and send emails-questioning why the gas drilling companies do not have to pay taxes?
People are wining about college tuition going sky high.
Adult basic being eliminated so the money can be squandered elsewhere.
He will not mess with the union-he is going to make local governments responsible for this cannon ball.

[newtom]

09:48 AM on 03/17/2011

Governor Corbett is getting himself a lot of attention lately. Not the kind he wants, I suspect.

[Ravenlea]

09:45 AM on 03/17/2011

I live across the border from PA on the Delaware River. The Gas companies are spending a fortune trying to sucker people in NY and PA into letting them destroy our water. This some of the best water in the nation and the area is poverty stricken but beautiful. Gas companies are preying (or trying to prey) on people's desperation and their ignorance. Besides the potential ecological damage, these industries are promising jobs and economic boons they can't deliver on. Fracking is a boom/bust thing. They will bring in workers and their families and already poor, strapped communities will have to spend money to accomodate them... then be stuck with the costs when they leave again... that and the ecological damage that is sure to follow. The commercials are really slick and they are running endlessly... the promise of jobs, jobs, jobs that they won't actually deliver on. And of course the promise of no ecological down side which they also won't deliver on.

[AbeMartin]

09:36 AM on 03/17/2011

Pennsylvania has a long and lamentable history of collusion between the extraction industries (natural gas, oil and coal) and its elected and appointed officials.  Mr. Fox became interested in the problems and dangers of gas drilling when his parents were offered $100,000 for drilling rights on their property.  His research indicated a troubled industry, pollution of water sources, atmospheric pollution etc, at dozens of drilling sites in Pennsylvania.  And the documentary he produced was widely hailed both by environmentalists, Federal government officials in the Department of Energy (even some of the louts in the chronically corrupt U.S. Minerals Mining Service of the Department of the Interior said it was accurate) and other movie reviewers.

Fifty years ago, the underground coal seams of the mines under Centralia, PA, caught fire.  That fire has burned, without cease every since.  And the entire town of Centralia has been abandoned.  Thirty years ago, the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating facility, suffered a near melt-down because its operators General Public Utilities and GPU's subsidiary skirted normal maintenance procedures.  Governor Dick Thornburg aggressively intervened to make certain the state's resources were sent to assist the brave technicians who kept the fuel rods from melting and burning down through the containment vessel and into the ground water system.  The film, The China Syndrome, was released two weeks before the real disaster in an eerily prescient confluence.

Borawski's glib and historically incorrect use of Nazism to tarnish Mr. Fox's work certainly warrants immediate dismissal.  But, even more so, he should be fired because he is not the person who should be watching out for the welfare of its citizens.

[Closer to the Edge]

12:32 PM on 03/17/2011

A few facts to go with this rant: The Three Mile Island nuclear unit melted down not becuase of poor maintenance, but becuase of poor valve design by the Anchor-Darling company, and because of poor training of the operators who turned off safety injection pumps when they should not have. Also, avoiding a China Syndrome during this event had nothing to do with the governor of the state. The plant was designed by law to prevent such a thing. And, the core did melt, with 70 to 80% of all the fuel melting. This is not to say that anything is wrong with any of the other points made.

[PAGasDriller]

12:44 PM on 03/17/2011

Mr. Fox became interested in natural gas drilling when he realized it could bring him money and attention.

[unknownone]

01:38 PM on 03/17/2011

How would you know what the motivations of the filmmaker are? And why would all the people interviewed say what they said? Perhaps people can be passionate about an issue because it's the right thing to do. You don't have to agree with the point of view in Gasland but you can't just dismiss dozens of people's experiences because you think everything is about money.

[GranE]

03:06 PM on 03/17/2011

And what are you doing here but trying to protect your interest in polluting the water resources of this country? Prove that Fox has made money off the film, he filmed it before it went to Sundance, and had no knowledge it would take off as it did. The truth wins out.

[Joel Einhorn]

09:26 AM on 03/17/2011

Is there no shame? The good people of Pa do not deserve what this guy is bringing to the table. Hopefully he'll be a one term Governor for The Pro-Pollution Party.

[KDMac]

10:01 AM on 03/17/2011

I, a "good person of PA", don't have any problem with him yet.

[ByeByeBushie]

09:16 AM on 03/17/2011

Please- everybody- take the time to google and read "The 14 principles of Fascism".

It is fascinating and reads like a checklist for the Republicans (especially the parts about Flags being everywhere [flag pin obsession[ and religion being intertwined with public policy, invoking of religion.

It is fascinating and while I don't believe that this has been a plan by the republicans, it does reflect some human tendencies that result in the same thing.

The republican philosophy and actions are much closer to fascism than I believe they would be comfortable with.

[ByeByeBushie]

09:30 AM on 03/17/2011

Oops- it is called "The 14 Defining Characteristics of Fascism".

It is a compilation the author arrived at after studying many different fascist regimes and listed the commonalities.

[Michele Allison]

10:16 AM on 03/17/2011

A thinker how refreshing.

[cbzd]

09:04 AM on 03/17/2011

What did Fox expect, when speaking truth to Republican power they always fight back with demonizing the messenger. Hmmm kind of like that group of folks in Germany in the 1930's.

[PAGasDriller]

12:46 PM on 03/17/2011

If you knew how much propaganda and lying was in that film, you may very well draw the came correlations that Mr. Borawski did.

[Mammut]

09:21 AM on 03/17/2011

Why would they start basing anything in facts now? God knows they never have before. Accuracy and history are two qualities that escape them.

[habajebe]

10:20 AM on 03/17/2011

Basically, truth is the GOP's worst enemy.

[PAGasDriller]

12:47 PM on 03/17/2011

So you can call all republicans fasicts while criticizing the exact same statements?

This place is a real brain trust.