Although they've since been taken down, incoming Olds mayor Mike Muzychka stands by tweets he wrote that said in essence that the Paris Climate Accord is unfair and that Black Lives Matter (BLM) and the Ku Klux Klan (KKK, an American white supremacist organization) are on extreme opposite ends of the political spectrum.
In one Twitter thread, posted on Aug. 17, one person wrote, "never thought condemning Nazis, white supremacists & sympathizers would be the most controversial statement I made on TV, but here we are."
In response, Muzychka tweeted, "it's not condemning Nazis etc., its you condemning POTUS (president of the United States) for calling out the violent left as well. Both sides are wrong & that's the truth."
On Aug. 18, one person tweeted, "antifa and white nationalists are one and the same. Here's why," posting a link to a YouTube posting.
Muzychka tweeted, "mirror images, opposite but exactly the same. So are the KKK and BLM (Black Lives Matter)."
On Aug. 23, one person wrote, "and he didn't read any of the remarks people found objectionable: e.g. "many sides" and "very fine people marching with Nazis and Klan."
Muzychka tweeted, "there was violence from both sides. There were good (non KKK, non-white supreme) people there protesting. But you fake media won't report it."
On Aug. 25, one person posted, "hardly a coincidence we get hit with a killer hurricane right after ditching the Paris climate deal."
Muzychka responded by saying, "exactly how is this hurricane linked to the Paris climate scam?"
Muzychka discussed his tweets during an interview with the Albertan.
"My view is that the Paris climate accord really does absolutely nothing for climate change. I mean, when you look at the nuts and bolts of it, the top four polluters in the world are the U.S., China, India and Russia," he said.
"And only the U.S. is made to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The other three are not. For the next 20 years they don't have to reduce their greenhouse gas."
The Paris climate change accord was signed on Dec. 12, 2015.
According to a United Nations website, under the agreement, "all countries agreed to work to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and given the grave risks, to strive for 1.5 degrees Celsius."
According to Wikipedia, "each country determines, plans and regularly reports its own contribution it should make in order to mitigate global warming. There is no mechanism to force a country to set a specific target by a specific date, but each target should go beyond previously set targets."
In June 2017 Trump announced his intention to pull the United States out of the agreement, saying from his perspective, it's unfair to the U.S.
According to Wikipedia, "under the agreement, the earliest effective date of withdrawal for the U.S. is November 2020."
As for the idea that the climate is changing, Muzychka said, "I'm on the fence on that one. I see data both ways, so I want to keep an open mind with that, for sure."
"Obviously our climate is changing," he added. "Whether humans have anything to do with it or not, like I said, I see empirical evidence both ways.
"So I'm not saying it's true or not that humans (are) causing it, but the accord, the way it's set up, it's more a redistribution of wealth than anything else."
As a result, he said, the accord should "absolutely" be renegotiated.
When asked about his tweets regarding Black Lives Matter and the KKK, initially, Muzychka said, "that may be a little bit over ñ an over exaggerat ñ" but then quickly said, "well no, I said it. That is what I said."
"But what I was looking at was, you know, one of their followers is sitting on a rooftop in Dallas and using a sniper rifle to kill police; four or five police officers," he added.
On July 7, 2016, Micah Xavier Johnson shot five police officers in Dallas, Texas, to death and injured nine others. Two civilians were wounded.
Johnson, an Army Reserve Afghan war vet, was reported to be upset about police killings of black people that had occurred earlier elsewhere in the U.S. He said he wanted to kill white people, especially white policemen.
Media reports said the shootings occurred during a BLM protest in that city, but a BLM spokesperson denied any connection between Johnson and the movement.
"I don't remember the last time the KKK or the Nazis killed five or six people at any one sitting," Muzychka said.
However, when it was pointed out that members of the KKK have hanged many black people and conducted intimidating cross burnings for example, Muzycka said, "oh, absolutely. And they're both vile, don't get me wrong, I don't support, I don't support the KKK or neo-Nazis in the least."
Muzychka said U.S. President Donald Trump "got a bit of a railroad" on his comments about a violent protest in Charlottesville, Va. this past summer.
Violence broke out when a crowd said to consist of members of the KKK, neo-Nazis and others protesting plans to take down a statue of Civil War Confederate leader Robert E. Lee was met by counterprotesters, allegedly including members of BLM.
During the melee, a counterprotester was killed when she was run over, allegedly by a young white male supremacist sympathizer.
During a news conference, Trump said there was "blame on many sides."
Muzychka agrees with Trump.
"It's the same sort of thing. Yeah, the Nazis were horrible, but it takes two sides to fight," he said. "If the Black Lives Matter really were a non-violent group, then why not turn and walk away?"
When it was pointed out to him that many counterprotesters were not members of BLM, Muzychka said the same was true of the other side.
"There was a bunch of people there who were not associated with the KKK and neo-Nazis, that were ñ you know -- conservatives at heart who were opposing the taking down of the statue," he said.
"In other words, pretty much what Trump was saying was correct, is that right?" Muzychka was asked.
"That's what I believe, yeah. I honestly think on that one," he replied.
"I think his comments were taken out of context," Muzychka said. "I mean, it took him a little while to denounce the KKK, but he's done it all along, right?
"He's always said, you know, when they talked about (KKK leader) David Duke supporting him, he said, ëwell, you know, I can't control who supports me, but you know, I denounce everything that the KKK does' and everything about the neo-Nazis (he) denounced. So yeah, I think he got a rough ride on that Charlottesville, thing, unfairly."
"Yeah, the Nazis were horrible, but it takes two sides to fight," he said. "If the Black Lives Matter really were a non-violent group, then why not turn and walk away?"MIKE MUZYCHKAINCOMING OLDS MAYOR
