PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday, April 20th 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jeff Davis
Washington, DC — Penn State University’s Michael Mann, one of the central figures in the Climategate scandal, has threatened legal action against Minnesotans for Global Warming (M4GW) over the group’s popular satirical YouTube video “Hide the Decline.” The No Cap-and-Trade Coalition, a group that includes M4GW, responded today at an event at the National Press Club, releasing Mann’s threatening letter and an updated version of the “Hide the Decline” video.
“We understand why Michael Mann is eager to silence public discussion of the hockey stick scandal,” said Jeff Davis of No Cap-and-Trade, “but truth is an absolute defense.”
The original “Hide the Decline” video, which had more than 500,000 viewers, was removed today from YouTube by M4GW’s Elmer Beauregard. It received national attention when Rush Limbaugh played it on his radio show and was later featured on CBS Evening News in the wake of the Climategate email scandal. “Hide the Decline” parodied Mann, the Penn State professor who is largely responsible for the creation of the now debunked “hockey stick” graph, which purported to show a dramatic spike in average global temperature during the 20th century after 900 years of relatively constant temperature.
The video spotlighted a phrase from one of the central “Climategate” e-mails in which the University of East Anglia’s Phil Jones explains how he used Mann’s “Nature trick” to “hide the decline” of key temperature data. The hockey stick graph relied on “hiding this decline.”
When asked why he removed the video, Beauregard said “Right now, the last thing I need is a lawsuit. I can barely afford my electric bill.” Beauregard recently converted M4GW’s world headquarters (a recreational vehicle parked in Northern Minnesota) from propane to wood heat. “Mann should be glad to know that we don’t burn fossil fuels anymore — just trees,” said Beauregard.
“M4GW was started to poke fun at Global Warming because I knew it was a joke, it’s hard to believe in Global Warming when you live in a place like Minnesota. During last winter we all wished we had some global warming, hence the name of our group,” said Beauregard. As global warming developed into a political issue, M4GW has tried to educate the public that CO2 is not harmful but part of the natural carbon cycle.
Minnesotans for Global Warming did comply with Mann’s cease and desist demand, taking the “Hide the Decline” video down from their YouTube account and webpage. The No Cap and Trade Coalition unveiled a new video they’re calling “Hide the Decline 2,” however. It was screened at a press conference on April 20th and is available on YouTube and NoCapAndTrade.com.
“If Doctor Mann decides to sue,” said Davis, “we would welcome the opportunity to do legal discovery. I believe he’s hiding more than just ‘the decline.’”
Speaking at the No Cap-and-Trade Coalition press conference was M4GW spokesman “Chicken Little,” a man in a chicken suit who goes to rallies crying “The globe is warming, the globe is warming!”
When asked about the situation, Chicken Little said, “I used to believe in global warming — of course, I used to believe the sky was falling too, but Elmer set me straight.” Chicken Little went on to say, “I think it’s horrible that Elmer had to take down the video. Can’t a person have a little fun on YouTube anymore? Those Global warming guys sure don’t have any sense of humor.”
At the press conference, the No Cap-and-Trade Coalition handed out a historical review of the hide-the-decline controversy entitled, “Michael Mann: Defamed or Defined by Hide-the-Decline?” as well as mini-hockey sticks that read “Mann-Made Global Warming: Why We Should Be Worried About the Intellectual Climate.”
Both versions of the “Hide The Decline” video can be viewed at http://www.nocapandtrade.com/michael-mann-controversy/.
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Minnesotans for Global Warming (M4GW) uses humor to illustrate the absurdity of anthropogenic global warming fears. Their slogans are “Turn your snow shovels into lawn chairs,” and “Nothing would be green without CO2.” – M4GW.com
The No Cap and Trade Coalition consists of over 40 state and national organizations that are opposed to cap and trade legislation. For more information, see NoCapAndTrade.com
Dear M4GW
I would be delighted to contribute to your legal costs
As usual, the sequel isn’t nearly as good as the original.
Ah, may a high powered attorney take this Pro Bono. Go for it,
Dr. Mann, what can go wrong?…
I’m going to find a copy of that video and send it to everyone I know……….repeatedly.
I wonder if Mann’s health is holding up better than Jones’? I believe this whole brouhaha will only be settled once and for all when the discovery process associated with a major lawsuit grabs ’em and shakes the truth out.
Right, bring it on!
Mann will have to sue more than just M4GW to keep people from “using his imag” here is another funny about the climate stooges.
http://townhall.com/cartoons/cartoonist/MichaelRamirez/2009/12/20
Two words: Robert Maxwell
It’s satire. Wasn’t that supposed to be legal in the U.S.?
If you can’t win the debate on the merits, call in the lawyers for a little legal extortion to silence your critics. Yeah, that should work!
It turns out if you go to the website where the videos are you can indeed donate to their legal costs. Ha, guess that will cost me.
This law suit would be the best possible outcome, unless the AGW gang can cherry pick an ‘appropriate’ judge.
That is what the western wolf introduction gang has been able to do, and that has allowed the most outrageous junk science to prevail there.
I take it that would be, “Bring it on”, in American slang. I doubt if “Professor” Mann has the balls. He has proved himself to be a scientific charleton and a liar.
I recommend everyone read “The Hockey Stick Illusion” by A. Montford, the book records the whole sorry saga of Mann and Steve McIntyre.
I can’t wait for the film portrayal of Mann – something half way between inspector clouseau and Ernst Stavro Blofel.
Why isn’t Mann being sued for fraud ?
Well,
As I remember my Broadcast law course many (too many) years ago, to prove defamation of a “Public Figure”, you have to prove 1. publication 2. malice 3. a “reckless disregard” for the facts.
Publication is a given…OK
Malice – scarcasm is not necessarily malice
Reckless disregard – Well, facts have been disregarded in this case but not necessarily by the defendant.
All that Elmer has to prove is that Michael Mann is a public figure – not a big leap of faith.
The burden of proof is on Mann here – because he has made himself a public figure with his “””””””””research”””””””” findings.
As a radio news reporter I was threatened with a libel suit every time I reported a petty criminal was in the slammer. “You wrote I was arrested. I’m going to sue you for libel!”
“Really? Um, were you arrested for breaking and entering at 3:30 last night?”
“Well, yeah – but you told the world about it!”
“I’ll save you the lawyer fee bud, truth is a defense against libel.”
(At this point in this post, a little man scurries in from the wings, approaches the microphone and, speaking softly and rapidly says:
“This post is not intended as legal council in any way, and competent legal council must be obtained before attempting any legal action.”)
Reckless disregard for the facts – I think the climate has a case against many of the so-called scientists who are peddling man (or Mann) -caused global warming….
Mike
Oh – now i understand. Satire is NOT legal in the U.S. – so The Onion IS a trustworthy news source and these Bangladeshis were right after all:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8237558.stm
wow, this is great! The ‘debate’ has got boring! Assuming that this isn’t just a another beat-up, a court case would have enormous entertainment value. The world loves watching the American legal system in action! Everyone standing up for their constitutional rights and all that stuff it’s the smell of American democracy that we love! Mann has a very boring image and this could really help with that. As long as we don’t get two those two statisticians, Hand and Bloomfield(?) duking it out in court; that would send the case to sleep.
Nice article, any actual reference to Mann’s threat to sue, or is the strawman good enough to burn?
I think Mann’s a public figure now, so it’s harpoon-at-will, isn’t it, when it’s obviously a satirical comedy?
Frosty…
http://www.nocapandtrade.com/images/Mann-Letter.jpg
I hope it is on their CD, although they don’t list it. Does anyone know if its included? I’ll have to buy it, as I was planning to use it in lectures.
Does Meltdown Mann have a chance? I know it takes a few dollars to send a threatening letter to bluff some people. I also remember when James Hansen wanted real thinkers put in jail. The damage here is the end of easy money for research. Tiger (Cheetah ) Woods also lost a boat load of endorsements. Persecution of the church of global warming seems to have arrived.
If Jones and Mann had stepped off the sky high egos and sent some data when requested under the FOIA, I really believe this crisis would have been preempted years ago.
M4GW might want to send the Electronic Frontier Foundation an email. They love cases like this.
Check out their “Blogger’s rights” section.
Send an email with a copy of the letter Mann sent.
http://www.eff.org
The best stratergy I think in these cases is always to go for a win-win solution. I think if Mann does threaten The No Cap-and-Trade Coalition with legal action that they should offer to take down the video in exchange for disclosure of Michael Mann’s raw proxy data and complete methodologies.