Dear Mr. Roemer:
I regret to inform you that we will not publish your submission "An Analogy Between Nazi Germany and the United States" in our pages.
We are a peer-reviewed academic journal and publish scholarly articles that take into account all the relevant historiography in an evenhanded manner and engage in an exhaustive investigation of all the relevant sources.
We do not publish essays that overtly engage in political, theological or scientific polemics (scholarly we do, but then only as far as it pertains to the study of history, and we do not publish exercises in historical analogy; you may get an idea of what we tend to publish by perusing any of our issues over the last dozen or more years).
We suggest that you seek another venue (perhaps a weekly or monthly magazine dedicated to contemporary affairs or politics such as the Weekly Standard or National Review?) in your efforts to publish your viewpoints.
Respectfully yours,
Kees Boterbloem
Editor, The Historian
Dear Dr. Kees,
My article asserts that the AJP article "Entropy and evolution" is absurd and that the motivation for not retracting the article is to promote atheism. By not retracting the article, the AJP is saying the article is not absurd. I would not describe the conflict between me and the AJP as being "scientific polemics." I would describe it as saying one of us is a liar. This makes you a collaborator in dishonesty.
The Holocaust proves how evil governments can be. The AJP article and the way everyone is helping the AJP cover-up its mistake proves how evil people can be.
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Dear Mr. Roemer:
Please be so kind as to refrain from ad hominem attacks and please be so kind not to ever use my name again without my permission.
Thank you!
Sincerely yours, Kees Boterbloem
Dear Kees,
I'm planning to tell every chapter leader of Phi Alpha Theta how you have disgraced the organization with your cowardly and dishonest behavior. However, I am concerned about your request that I not use your name again without your permission. Do I not have the right to publish your comments on my website ("Pseudoscience in the American Journal of Physics") with your name and a link to the emails you sent me?
I want your permission to tell the chapter leaders about your actions and behavior and to publish my negative opinion about your character. If we can't resolve this amicably, I suggest we go to private arbitration. I'll pay for a fair share of the cost of arbitration.
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Dear Mr. Roemer:
Please do!
But do not use my name when writing to politicians etc. without my permission. You do not represent me or PAT. Thank you!
I trust this is the last note that I will receive from you.
Cheers, Kees Boterbloem
