Dr. Raymond S. Bradley of the University of Massachusetts testified today in the case of Mann v. Steyn, with questions coming from both the Plaintiff and Defendants. Most of the good Dr.'s testimony revolved around his climate research and numerous writings from the past 40 years. But what was more interesting was his mentorship of Michael Mann, which was presented in black and white from the days of yore. Two statements in particular caught our attention as they were entered into evidence.
From 2002 (i.e., 22 years ago), writing to Michael Mann, Dr. Bradley, politely admonished the climate scientist, stating [emphasis added]:
"Mike, It does seem that the reviews were not very reasonable, but I really don't think you do us any good by sending these angry, vitriolic emails. We've had these conversations many times before, but it doesn't seem to have made much difference to the way you react. You have left a trail of scorched earth from Nature to Science and now to GRL. I honestly & sincerely think this is not doing your reputation any good at all — and in the end all you have is your reputation, so take care of it."
In Bradley's 2011 book, he referred to Mann and his defense of the Hockey Stick as a "take no prisoners attack." When questioned by the defense on what Dr. Bradley meant by this wording, he responded for the record that he wrote the book for the general public and he was "trying to make it readable and interesting. So you can call it poetic license." When pressed on "poetic license," Dr. Bradley added that his statement in his book was "fair" poetic license.
And we all know what then happened in 2012...
But we digress (kind of) and we've buried the lede... Mark took the stand today — he was called by the Plaintiff to testify. But an episode of Law and Order this trial is not. Due to multiple objections, little was said, other than the parsing of words — semantics if you will, or rather, "fair poetic license."
Which is our point today. By playing "gotcha" on the stand, what lawyers are really doing is parsing statements to dilute and divert from the main argument or the truth. Parsing was at the heart of Mark's opening statement — that at Penn State an environment, from the top down, was created that parsed the truth and produced a culture of corruption. And as Mark stated last week, once corruption spreads, it erodes, it distorts and distracts. That is corruption's inherent nature.
Mark rightly called out this behavior on the stand. Maybe the truth, metaphor, or "fair" poetic license are the exclusive domain of scientists and academia and not of actual writers and journalists. So much for the gander.
The Plaintiffs will continue their parade of witnesses tomorrow, so be sure to tune in.
ICYMI
Tom Nelson, of the Tom Nelson Podcast, interviewed Phelim McAleer this past weekend —listen here.
Look who stopped by to support Mark, our old friend, Michele Bachmann:
Thank you to the hundreds of SteynOnline fans for the lovely notes of support and for joining the webcast, including Alex Solzhenitsyn (thank you for joining the fight, Alex), Go Mark, and Liberty Stick #131. And from the inbox, we have received so many incredible messages, including this one from "LookLivin," that reads, "Much obliged to Mark Steyn — the Peoples Free Speech Champion — bloody beacon in the darkness, the peoples champion. Keep her lit Mark Styen, keep her lit."
Lastly, Jack Posobiec asked where to watch the trial... Well, you can attend in person here (proceed to Room 518). You can watch online, just click here and follow the instructions for Room 518 (these instructions also apply to those who want to call in). Or to support Mark during this time, consider purchasing a special Trial of the Century Liberty Stick over at SteynOnline. If you just want to reach out, send us a message X via DM.
