Hurrah for 8 orders of magnitude!

by Christopher Monckton of Brenchley

Those brave enough and open-minded enough to ask questions in the search for objective scientific truth about our influence on the climate rather than credulously swallowing and cloyingly parroting the socially-convenient, politically-expedient, financially-profitable party line will henceforth celebrate 7 January as Watts Up Day.

For it is today that Anthony’s outstanding blog welcomes its 100 millionth visitor: eight orders of denary magnitude. In the twinkling of an eye, Wattsupwiththat.com has become one of the most significant and influential news media on Earth. Rupert Murdoch, eat your heart out.

How has Anthony achieved this? First and foremost, by courageous persistence in the face of the barrage of venomous ad-hominem name-calling that is the sullen climate-extremists’ characteristically petulant – and increasingly desperate – way of treating those whose scientific and economic arguments even the IPCC-hugging hard-liners among them are beginning to suspect may be true.

To gather, edit, and publish several new postings daily; to illustrate each one with a suitable image; to recruit, manage, and motivate surely the best team of moderators on any blog; to keep a patient balance, maintain courtesy, and reject extremism even in the skeptical direction; to scour the web and the literature for facts and data and papers of interest; that is just part of what it takes to control the gentle giant that WattsUpWithThat has become.

And it is hard work, 24/7, 366 days a year. I do not suppose that the advertising revenue that Anthony now gets comes anywhere close to compensating him for the exhaustingly relentless grind that maintains the daily splendor of his exceptional blog.

Not long from now, when the absurd intellectual aberration among the world’s governing class that is “dangerous global warming” is a mere curiosity rather than a grave threat to the economic and political well-being of Man and a mortal menace to the democracy of the West, historians will write of their admiration for the small and gallant band who worked out the truth for themselves in the teeth of lavishly-funded hostility and quietly asserted it against all attempts to bully them into silence until it could no longer be denied.

Not the least among this platoon of heroes, outgunned but not outclassed, will be Anthony Watts, to whom the world has very good reason to be grateful. Long may he and his blog flourish. Let us hope that there will be no need for Anthony to keep at it until he notches up his ninth order of magnitude. Here’s to Anthony, his long-suffering family, and his hard-working team. Ad multos annos floreatis!

The Viscount Monckton of Brenchley
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Gareth Phillips
January 8, 2012 9:12 am

Pompous git said to Gareth
Personally, I think you are a plonker. I’m slightly left of centre and strongly libertarian. I wouldn’t dream of letting my politicz get in the way of appreciating The Good Lord’s wit, scholarship, rhetoric and mathematical abilities.
Thanks you Pompous git for reading my post, sad that you did not read all of it. My point was that while I find Moncktons politics distasteful, I do not allow that opinion to interfere with how I see his work on Climate change, or my frustration that it is a far right wing politician who is doing this instead of someone from my side. It is perfectly feasible for someone to be witty, entertaining and a good scientist, while have questionable political beliefs.
Interestingly Pompous Git, you cannot be left leaning in your politics and a fan of Moncktons politics, it’s a bit like being in the Tea party and saying you are a fan of Obama and his policies. We also do not have libertarian politics as such in the UK, it means something quite different in the US from how we in the UK would understand it. Usually I try and keep my politics out of climate change science, which is why I still appreciate Moncktons science without worrying to much about his dodgy politics.
Finally I think pompous git is a terrible nom de plume. Why don’t you be brave and use your real name as Anthony encourages? and be honest about your politics? Don’t be ashamed of them whether left or right. At least you have a political belief, which is more than most people have these days.

Vince Causey
January 8, 2012 9:31 am

What can I say that hasn’t already been said?
Congratulations Anthony and well done to all you mods. I can’t even begin to imagine the hard work you all put in. History will thank you.

Chris
January 8, 2012 12:16 pm

Who better to give you your just desserts Anthony.
I hope that I will be around for the 200M hit.
A note of wariness, however. I tried to copy Chris Booker’s DT link, which did not work; it’s in the comments for Sunday’s edition, and fairly alarming.
Another note – I was in and out of the lounge this evening, and was amazed to see Cameron backing up his puppy dog’s credo re windmills on BBC’s Countryfile, and a few minutes later seeing them both leaving the venue, with Huhne in the rear; Cameron’s tail wagging?
Is there nobody in the UK political circle that can put young Dave right? Lord Lawson?

January 8, 2012 12:18 pm

Gareth Phillips said January 8, 2012 at 9:12 am
“Thanks you Pompous git for reading my post, sad that you did not read all of it. My point was that while I find Moncktons politics distasteful, I do not allow that opinion to interfere with how I see his work on Climate change, or my frustration that it is a far right wing politician who is doing this instead of someone from my side. It is perfectly feasible for someone to be witty, entertaining and a good scientist, while have questionable political beliefs.
Interestingly Pompous Git, you cannot be left leaning in your politics and a fan of Moncktons politics, it’s a bit like being in the Tea party and saying you are a fan of Obama and his policies. We also do not have libertarian politics as such in the UK, it means something quite different in the US from how we in the UK would understand it. Usually I try and keep my politics out of climate change science, which is why I still appreciate Moncktons science without worrying to much about his dodgy politics.
Finally I think pompous git is a terrible nom de plume. Why don’t you be brave and use your real name as Anthony encourages? and be honest about your politics? Don’t be ashamed of them whether left or right. At least you have a political belief, which is more than most people have these days.”
Never said I was a fan of Monckton’s politicz. Determining my political position was a result of:
http://www.politicalcompass.org/index
I’m sorry you feel that you cannot be libertarian (believe in personal freedom) in UKLand. Makes me glad to have been one of the rats leaving the sinking ship in 1965.
I stole the nom de plume pompous git from Stuart Littlemore after budget cuts at the ABC made Stuart Littleless. Try clicking on “thepompousgit” at the head of my posts. It’s inserted automagically by WordPress whenever I visit a WordPress site. You could also try Googling “pompous git”. Google will tell you:
“Jonathan Sturm (alias The Pompous Git) lives at Franklin in the Huon Valley of Southern Tasmania,” and
“The Pompous Git’s Guide to Gardening, the Universe and Everything! By Jonathan Sturm, the author of Complete Guide to Organic Gardening.” and
“The Buzz – ABC Radio National …
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/…a-pompous-git/3634812
28 Jul 2002 – Jonathan Sturm says he’s the most famous pompous git on the web. His blog is unusual in that, although chockablock with his opinions, …”
and so on…
Anonymous coward? My arse… And I’m certainly not ashamed of believing very strongly in personal freedom. Or for being a pompous git for that matter.

January 8, 2012 12:20 pm

Gareth Phillips said January 8, 2012 at 9:12 am
“Thanks you Pompous git for reading my post, sad that you did not read all of it. My point was that while I find Moncktons politics distasteful, I do not allow that opinion to interfere with how I see his work on Climate change, or my frustration that it is a far right wing politician who is doing this instead of someone from my side. It is perfectly feasible for someone to be witty, entertaining and a good scientist, while have questionable political beliefs.
Interestingly Pompous Git, you cannot be left leaning in your politics and a fan of Moncktons politics, it’s a bit like being in the Tea party and saying you are a fan of Obama and his policies. We also do not have libertarian politics as such in the UK, it means something quite different in the US from how we in the UK would understand it. Usually I try and keep my politics out of climate change science, which is why I still appreciate Moncktons science without worrying to much about his dodgy politics.
Finally I think pompous git is a terrible nom de plume. Why don’t you be brave and use your real name as Anthony encourages? and be honest about your politics? Don’t be ashamed of them whether left or right. At least you have a political belief, which is more than most people have these days.”
Never said I was a fan of Monckton’s politicz. Determining my political position was a result of:
http://www.politicalcompass.org/index
I’m sorry you feel that you cannot be libertarian (believe in personal freedom) in UKLand. Makes me glad to have been one of the rats leaving the sinking ship in 1965.
I stole the nom de plume pompous git from Stuart Littlemore after budget cuts at the ABC made Stuart Littleless. Try clicking on “thepompousgit” at the head of my posts. It’s inserted automagically by WordPress whenever I visit a WordPress site. You could also try Googling “pompous git”. Google will tell you:
“Jonathan Sturm (alias The Pompous Git) lives at Franklin in the Huon Valley of Southern Tasmania,” and
“The Pompous Git’s Guide to Gardening, the Universe and Everything! By Jonathan Sturm, the author of Complete Guide to Organic Gardening.” and
“The Buzz – ABC Radio National …
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/…a-pompous-git/3634812
28 Jul 2002 – Jonathan Sturm says he’s the most famous pompous git on the web. His blog is unusual in that, although chockablock with his opinions, …”
and so on…
Anonymous coward? My arse… And I’m certainly not ashamed of believing very strongly in personal freedom. Or being a pompous git.

Editor
January 8, 2012 12:38 pm

vigilantfish says:
January 7, 2012 at 10:30 am

I am a science historian and regular here,

In school, history was one of my least favorite subjects, but when I discovered science history (I think in a book titled “The Microbe Hunters” and later Tolkien’s Middle Earth history I began to warm up to political history.)

But believe me, within the next 20 years historians of science will be chowing down on the global warming controversy, since science controversies and episodes of ideologically-based pseudoscience are the meat and potatoes of my field.

I got my start in the computer field in what I call its “Golden Age”. It was a period where scientists and engineers had a lot of overlap – if engineers wanted to build a timesharing system, we had to discover some of the data structures and algorithms to make it possible.
Genetic engineering is in its golden age, but will have a much longer one.
I think 50 years from now people will look back and realize that this is climate science’s golden age, and I recommend to anyone who listens to remember everything that is going on now. Engineers aren’t involved, but science is discovering just what it is that drives climate and weather, and (as WUWT readers know) nothing is nearly as well settled as some people would have you believe.
20 years from now would be a good time to start making sense of the field’s history.

Annie
January 8, 2012 1:50 pm

Well Done!
Annie.

January 8, 2012 4:36 pm

Congratulations, Anthony.
It sure is amazing what happens when you side with Truth.
And it is somewhat comical what happens to those who don’t. Tragic, but also comical.

Marcus
January 8, 2012 8:10 pm

Well done, keep the flame burning!

Brian H
January 8, 2012 9:19 pm

major9985 says:
January 7, 2012 at 9:27 am
Seriously?!? you deleted my comment Anthony??, talk about courage ay.
REPLY: All there, mods moved it to que for my attention. You might read this essay. I think you know what category you fall in (besides thread jacker) – Anthony

C’Mon mods! Not even Wikipedia acknowledges “que” as a proper variant of “queue”:
Noun:queue (kyoo)
1. A line of people or vehicles waiting for something

>:(

Brian H
January 8, 2012 9:55 pm

William says:
January 8, 2012 at 8:33 am
Congratulations Anthony Watts and thanks to the many others that make this site informative, current, and accurate. I appreciate the efforts of the moderators and the commentators who keep the discussions respectful.
This is one of the most important policy issues to address. Trillions of dollars of tax payer dollars are at stake. The biofuel scam is one example of the consequence of policy based on propaganda and alarm-ism.
I would highly recommend Christopher Booker’s The Real Global Warming Disaster as an overview of this problem.

Now, try going over that excellent list of references with the thought in mind, “CO2 increase is on balance extremely beneficial.”
If they weren’t so d*** expensive, the failed “mitigation” schemes would be worth celebrating because they achieve the opposite of their declared purpose.
___
Love reading (almost all of) Lord Monckton’s writings. But I think he should watch and ponder, many times, the classic M4GW video, “Now I’m A Denier!” The court jesters said with humour the plain truth that lukewarmists fear to utter.

January 8, 2012 10:00 pm

E.M.Smith says:
January 8, 2012 at 12:33 am
I was going to say something about the minor but you well and truly lambasted him between you and the Viscount I would stand with you and Anthony any day, add Willis into the mix and you might even get me out of the house on a cold and snowy Idaho winter day. 🙂

major9985
January 9, 2012 5:04 am

I stand by what I said Anthony, [SNIP: That video has been linked to several times at WUWT, Monckton has already addressed it, and your comments here are libelous. -REP]

John Law
January 9, 2012 5:09 am

Hear Hear!

major9985
January 9, 2012 10:18 am

You completely edit my comment and then claim the videos I linked have been posted on this site several times. These videos are Potholers most resent and I have not been able to find them linked to this site. If you are going to make such claims, link me to one of these several post?? I have been asked by Anthony to point out something that is wrong with Monckton, you editing my comments and deleting my links is ridicules. If these videos have been linked here several times show me the comments that they were linked in so that I can reference people to them.
[REPLY: Do your own work and don’t bother linking to Potholer’s most “resent”. Develop some critical thinking skills. And I leave you with this: Mark 4: 3-9 Matthew 7: 15-19 -REP]

major9985
January 9, 2012 11:17 am

[SNIP: Policy. -REP]

major9985
January 9, 2012 11:30 am

[SNIP: You’ve already been told: your words backed up by YOUR evidence. Continuous repetition does not make something true and is cause for being snipped. If you want to regurgitate talking points, start your own blog. -REP]

major9985
January 9, 2012 11:52 am

You tell people not to visit the skeptical science website due to deletion, extension and amending of user comments, and undated post-publication revisions of article contents after significant user commenting. Hypocrites.
[REPLY: Our policy page is here. Your comments have not been altered, extended or amended and have not been deleted post-facto. Some of your comments have not been posted because they are insulting, repetitive and libelous. THIS is the last word on the matter. -REP]

Jim Masterson
January 10, 2012 2:34 pm

Anthony,
Here’s to a belated congratulation. You obviously know what you’re doing.
Jim

January 10, 2012 8:26 pm

A momentous event improved by the studious application of intellectual and literal virtuosity by Viscount Monckton of Brenchley. Bravo, sirs, bravo! Keep up the good work and please, someday, fact-check my little town’s weather station out in Blythe, CA.

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