Hockey Stick Whacking by Mark Steyn
08/22/2012 3 Comments
Russ Steele
I have always been a Mark Steyn fan for years and listen to him when ever he is a Guest Host on Rush Limbaugh’s program on KNCO. He recently posted an article about Penn State cover ups, noting that the University was developing a pattern by covering up child molesters and climate change hockey stick makers. The hockey stick maker Michael Mann threatened to sue NRO and Mark over his article. Here is some of the fall out on Steyn’s blog: Stick it Where the Global Warming Don’t Shine
When last we heard from Michael Mann, his chest-thumping lawyer was bellowing, “I don’t bluff.” As Jonathan Adler writes today at the Volokh Conspiracy lawyers’ blog:
I think the folks at NR just called it.
Indeed. You can get the general line of NR’s response to Dr Mann from the headline:
Get Lost.
Watts Up With That calls it “the best Michael Mann headline evah“. But read the rest of Rich Lowry’s reply, too – especially the bits related to discovery, or, as Aussie Climate Madness calls it, “Mann’s risky path“. Red State also weighs in, and a sharp post by Powerline’s Steven Hayward concludes:
By the way, hasn’t Mann heard of the track record of people who haul Mark Steyn into court? It isn’t pretty.
Actually, I’ll bet Michael Mann had never heard of me when he blew his gasket, and I’ll wager his high-priced counsel never bothered doing two minutes of Googling. If they had, they’d have known that once they start this thing they’d better be prepared to go the distance.
For my part, although I’ve been dismissive of Mann’s “hockey stick” for over a decade, I’d never paid much attention to him personally. All I’d say is he seems strangely insecure for a person of such eminence. I wonder what he’ll be like on the witness stand. And I’ll be interested to see whether his page links to NR’s lawyer’s letter the way my page linked to his lawyer’s.
Hockey sticks akimbo, baby!
This is going to be some great reading, stay tuned.
About Russ
Way to go Russ, this little dust devil is worth following just for its sheer humor, and also what it exposes of the character and characters in the AGW crowd. Keep us posted.
AGW crowd: Lots of characters, character, not so much.
From Michael E. Mann’s Facebook page:
People have been asking for my reaction to the recent response by the National Review. Here is a statement from my lawyer John B. Williams of Cozen O’Connor:
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The response of the National Review is telling with respect to the issues it did not address. It did not address, or even acknowledge, the fact that Dr. Mann’s research has been extensively reviewed by a number of independent parties, including the National Science Foundation, with never a suggestion of any fraud or research misconduct. It did not address, or even acknowledge, the fact that Dr. Mann’s conclusions have been replicated by no fewer than twelve independent studies. It did not deny the fact that it was aware that Dr. Mann has been repeatedly exonerated of any fraudulent conduct. It did not deny the fact that it knew its allegations of fraud were false. Rather, the National Review’s defense seems to be that it did not really mean what it said last month when it accused Dr. Mann of fraud. Beyond this, the response is little more than an invective filled personal attack on Dr. Mann. And further, this attack is coupled with the transparent threat that the National Review intends to undertake burdensome and abusive litigation tactics should Dr. Mann have the temerity to attempt to defend himself in court.
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We intend to file a lawsuit.