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/.
###
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
Since the first video is still available everywhere and this threat from the lawyer representing Mann has stirred the pot again by threatening to sue, we can only expect a lot more people will view it, which is something Mann must not have intended. Too bad!
I viewed the first video just after it came out months ago and I viewed it again yesterday and to me the video now makes a lot more sense, considering what has transpired since my first viewing. Maybe that’s what Mann is trying to hide–the problems with AGW become more obvious by the day. And while the second video isn’t as entertaining as the first, it nails the most salient points by totally discrediting the Hokey Stick (misspelled intentionally to refine the definition).
Obviously he is not so an intelligent guy, as he believes himself. If he should be then he wouldn´t have do this as this stirs again the Climate Gate waters removing all doubts about his previous behaviour even from his closest friends and relatives. Worst, it will profoundly dissapoint The Prophet leaving him without his beloved and Holy Hockey Stick temperature Totem.
Hold the front page!
I checked on Google and the only story related to this is the one put about by M4GW.
If WUWT wants to grant free publicity and more video hits to a group which should really remain obscure …. then, fine!
But scientific, it ain’t.
Luboš Motl (07:30:26)
we can speculate that these two movements that share a strong anti-capitalist ethos will ultimately be unified
It looks like they already did….think about new “Imams”
I think I’ll sue M4GW too, as I cannot get the “Hide the Decline” song out of my head. I’m sure that must be causing global warming somehow. Heck, that volcano erupted shortly after the video became popular so there must be a connection there too. ;->
Paul
Hey! toby (08:18:06) : So, again, Little Lulu left you alone!
There is also something called “Human Weather”. Opinion polls are like barometers and thermometers, they capture the ups and downs, highs and lows, hots and colds of the moment. Some forecasters in “Human Weather” are like some forecasters in Weather Weahter, pretty good a reading the tea leaves and guessing what things are going to be like in the near future. There are many many mundane Human Weather forecasters.
Human Weather also has its “Climatologists”; all trying their best to see what the trend in the human weather is. It’s a very unskilled profession, it takes no degree or special training, anyone can do it with a little cup of tea. Saying that, there goes: ‘Lawyers are crusin for a brusin and it won’t be long before someone starts sho__tin.’
Things were a lot simpler at the turn of the last 40 centuries.. and the weather wasn’ bad either;-)
Finally Mann himself wants to give his work the kind of peer review that he can’t fiddle.
Mann has plenty of fellow sleaze bags who are all telling each other how elite, distinguished and noble they are.
In this environment where government and academia work in tandem to provide comfort and cash to their lofty heirarchy Mann feels good about himself.
And if any time he starts to feel the blues he simply calls up another pig to boost his phony self back up.
While behind the scenes they are all giving their critics the middle finger.
Mann’s attorney appears to be quite ignorant of copyright law or is simply trying to intimidate the potential defendants. Parody is one of the most staunchly defended forms of “fair use” and the videos are clearly parodies. Mann does not have a good copyright case and a defamation basis would be weakened by the satirical nature of parody. However, HankHenry (06:18:17) raises and interesting point. If Tommy James and/or his music were not the subject of the parody, the use of his music would be an infringement. It would depend largely on who owns the copyright (James or the record label) and if the copyright were re-registered following the major changes in copyright law in 1994.
If Mann pursues the copyright angle at all, he would loose and he would have to pay the defendants’ legal fees. Same goes for any claim by Penn State over the use of the photograph that is the public’s vision of Mann as it is part of the parody.
The defendants’ should not have taken down the parody in the first place. They should have stood their ground and forced the issue knowing Mann had very weak ground on which to sue.
They will come unstuck here.
To get offended and legal about comedy means that you have – well – lost it completely. The comedians will always win.
.
Mann’s actions remind me of scientology’s litigious antics. Perhaps on page 45 of the Cults for Dummies is a primer on suing your critics!
Hey Buddy! Passion driven individuals use to not having any sense of humor as their hormones use to be revolted, in common terms, that is called, in psychiatry, as the late Prof.Charcot demonstrated, hysteria which is characterized by seizures of agitation, muscular tremors, anger, cold sweating…in other words what the also late psychiatrist S.Freud would call a subconcious non sublimated and refrained libido. That would be also clearly explained by C.G.Jung, after carefully studying the close similarity of the “hockeystick” with the reproductive organ….
Evidently, the individual in question, is in urgent need of psychoterapy.
toby (08:18:06) :
Hold the front page!
I checked on Google and the only story related to this is the one put about by M4GW.
If WUWT wants to grant free publicity and more video hits to a group which should really remain obscure …. then, fine!
But scientific, it ain’t.
———————–
Reply: True, but that shouldn’t preclude it from discussion. Note that the masthead of WUWT is:
“Commentary on puzzling things in life, nature, science, weather, climate change, technology, and recent news by Anthony Watts”
This certainly pertains to life with a climate change subtheme, and to me and perhaps many others, Mann going after a parody is definitely puzzling.
That it hasn’t been picked up by the Lame Stream Media is a “whatever”.
OK Mann, bring it on. Some of our correspondents have suggested ways of defeating a Mann suit which are based on the technicalities of the law – is this satire or not for example. But the best way to approach this is to let Mann sue and challenge his statements in court. Let him be shown to be the con artist he is. Maybe some lawyer will take this case as pro bono but if not, I will contribute to a fighting fund even though I’m broke. Let’s go for it. Will choice of Judge really matter? Is the American system that corrupt? There is always an appeals court. The time has come. If this guy wants to play hardball, please, let’s oblige him.
Mann is attempting to silence the satirists with threats. He must be acting as his own lawyer. Consequently, he has a fool for a client.
No ethical lawyer would advise him to file or even threaten such a frivolous lawsuit. His downside includes legal fees and potential sanctions. Worse, he becomes subject to discovery that could lead to disclosure of his files. The defense will look for proof from Mann’s files to show that their satire is true.
Luboš Motl (07:30:26) :
The new caricature crisis
The vision of the year 2030 is the following: mobs of angry climoslems>>
Don’t DO that! Laughed so hard I blacked out.
Might they splinter into competing groups? Climoslems and Post-Normal Climoslems?
Does this mean that Dr Mann is willing to have his science peer reviewd in open court??????????
I look forward to a revealing Court Case – suing M4GW would have been boring, but the Coalition – now that gets interesting.
Al Gore and his cronies could raise $100 million for this case, and it could become an entertaining O.J. Simpson style court drama pitting AGW Climatologists vs. the Members of the No-Cap-and-Trade Coalition:
Let’s get everything on the table – emails, documents, donor lists, strategy memos, phone conversations. Subpoena duces tecum and subpoena ad testificandum should be quite interesting for executives of the Heartland Institute and the Competitive Enterprise Institute, for starters. Nothing shines light in the hidden corners of organizations like a criminal case.
Of course, I’m not too interested in the Machiavellian machinations of the Minnesota Elk Breeders Association. They would probably skip most of the Coalition Members…
Once Lost is over, I could watch this on TruTV (formally CourtTV) for months. Dr. Mann should sue for $10 million damages from the wealthiest Members, then it would be like a Reality TV Game Show – does he win the money ? Reality TV about real issues, not some stupid island survival story.
Anu (yeah right),
All trumped by Mann himself under oath having to account for the dealings with his friendly “$$$ greenies” which would no doubt include how many in line to make serious “money for nothing” from Cap`n Tax and all that entails? Indirectly that might be all on this side of the pond? While following the pennies filling the coffers of those not raising their homes onto stilts in Boulder Colorado in anticipation of Goracle scale predictions might lead to some “Tea Party” group, following the millions tossed upon the collection plates at the Church of Climatology leads straight to those set to make perpetual billions off of green alarmism.
Mann doesn’t come out of court well in this exchange as those he deals with themselves will certainly not.
This could have been the ‘Geert Wilders’ moment for America…
Alan F (15:27:29) :
As I said, I’d like to see this all out in the open, in Court. I’m betting you won’t like the outcome, just like when Penn State investigated Mann, just like when Parliament investigated Jones.
I really don’t see why people think “Cap and Trade” will raise $trillions for some people. Is faith in Wall St. corruption so complete by now ? Is this from some YouTube mockumentary ?
Do people realize there is *already* a carbon cap-and-trade scheme in place, created during the Bush Administration ? It was the idea of Republican Governor Pataki of New York, not Al Gore or Greenpeace…
Republican Governor Mitt Romney was a supporter of the idea, and only dropped out at the last minute due to a disagreement over one provision; Massachusetts has since re-joined. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is currently composed of 10 states, with other states and provinces of Canada with ‘observer status’ for now.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_Greenhouse_Gas_Initiative
They have already auctioned off carbon credits:
http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=2644
“Under the Initiative, CO2 emissions from electric-generating power plants will be capped at present levels until 2015. From 2015-2018, CO2 emissions from these sources will be reduced by 2.5% per year until a 10% reduction is achieved.”
The RGGI auction will generate revenues that will support a variety of climate-related initiatives, primarily energy efficiency improvements for homes and businesses in the RGGI states. The goal is for these investments, in turn, to lead to even further emissions reductions and greater energy savings for consumers.
Carbon cap-and-trade is not some ‘money making’ scheme. It is a way to encourage less CO2 belching power sources over time, and more energy efficiency improvements.
As far as I can tell, Al Gore gets no money from RGGI. Nor Dr. Mann.
Parodies are well protected speech. Methinks Mike is craving more PUBLICITY. But the damage has been done – RIP global warming non-news.
Interesting, but I would think that Professor Mann’s face is in the public domain by now.
Best regards to everyone. I always enjoy this website.
Just to let you know that Techdirt have picked up on this story today (30 April). Link to their piece:
http://techdirt.com/articles/20100426/2329599185.shtml