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NNadir

(34,666 posts)
Wed Dec 28, 2022, 10:55 PM Dec 2022

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm Vacates the 1954 AEC Decision in the Matter of Oppenheimer.

I was directed to this by Science's "News at a Glance"

The 1954 decision to strip Robert Oppenheimer of his security clearance, effectively treating him as if he were a Soviet sympathizer, after he had successfully overseen the Manhattan Project was the handiwork of Lewis Strauss, a right wing cold warrior with no scientific training. (Anti-nukes love to quote his idiotic "Too Cheap to Meter" remark about fusion energy; anti-nukes are unashamed of embracing idiots. It's their modus operandi.)

It was a grotesque injustice to a great scientist, who contributed, among other things, the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, and some of the earliest insights to black holes. Oppenheimer died in 1967, shortly after President Lyndon Johnson invited him to the White House to try to make amends for his country's ingratitude.

Secretary Granholm has formally vacated the 1954 decision:

Secretary Granholm Statement on DOE Order Vacating 1954 Atomic Energy Commission Decision In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer

The Full Decision: VACATING 1954 ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION DECISION: IN THE MATTER OF J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER

It's long overdue, if not for Oppenheimer's sake, for the sake of history.

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