Thanks for all your orders for my brand new book "A Disgrace To The Profession": The World's Scientists - In Their Own Words - On Michael E Mann, His Hockey Stick, And Their Damage To Science. This afternoon I'll be talking about it on the radio across Canada with Andrew Lawton at 4pm Eastern/1pm Pacific. Details at right. And, notwithstanding my autographer's cramp, I'm signing copies to your near and dear ones as fast as I can.
Dr Judith Curry adds a footnote to her review:
well on amazon, stein's book is selling very well. Not that many skeptics out there so I hear, so must be Mann's supporters buying the book :)
She's right. For a book that won't be available at Amazon for another fortnight, it's doing zippy business in both print and Kindle. It's already Number One on the Climatology Hit Parade, which is a first for me. Oh, and also Number One on the Scientists' hit list in the United Kingdom. When the Mann vs Steyn trial of the century actually gets going, I may call myself as an expert witness.
~Surveying current political campaigns in America, Britain and Canada, Keith Miller Tweets:
Hey @MarkSteynOnline, what's with the Anglosphere's new-found affection for leaders with facial hair?
Mr Miller accompanies his question with the photograph at top right showing Britain's Jeremy Corbyn, who was a leftie Labour loser last time I checked, but is now the party's new superstar and Prime Minister-in-Waiting, Canada's Thomas Mulcair, leader of the leftie NDP and ahead in a ton of polls in the current election campaign, and finally America's Ben Carson, who isn't the Republican front-runner but whose endearingly low-key debate performance kept him in the top tier of candidates.
So a couple of years hence we could have the hairiest great-power summits since the late 19th century, when Benjamin Harrison was America's last bearded president, the British Empire reached its zenith under the magnificent shrubbery of the 3rd Marquess of Salisbury and a largely depilated Dominion of Canada enjoyed the unprecedentedly hirsute leadership of Sir Mackenzie Bowell.
A tripartite victory would be a stunning triumph over ingrained 20th century pogonophobia - which probably means it won't happen. If Donald Trump were to run third-party, would he emulate the last big third-way guy? If I recall correctly, back in the Nineties, Ross Perot said that his cabinet would contain no adulterers, homosexuals or men with beards. Homosexuality is now constitutionally mandated by Anthony Kennedy, and, while adulterers do not command the same official sanction, this prohibition might seem a tad judgmental from a man as oft married as Trump. But where does he stand on the bearded? Can they get into his country clubs?
Over on the Democrat side, meanwhile, there are rumors that Al Gore is about to jump in the ring, or waddle into it. Last time he ran and lost, he consoled himself by growing a beard. And not the dinky little assistant-choreographer-on-La Cage Aux Folles look that I favor for my telly appearances, but the full Unabomber. Will he out-Sanders Bernie and shore up the base by going for the Corbyn/Mulcair hairy-leftie polytechnic-Marxist affect?
How about Hillary and her floundering campaign? Eight years ago, I commended to her the example of ancient Egypt's Queen Hatshepsut, who back in the 1460s BC bestrode ancient Egypt like a colossus. Er, colossa. As a rare female pharoah, she felt obliged to bulk up credibility by going around town in a false beard. That was good advice in 1458 BC, and even better for Hillary today.
By the way, I don't want any innuendo about Hillary already having a beard in Bill. Just because the FBI investigation is moving her ever closer to the world's all-time greatest women's-prison movie is no reason to let your lurid fantasies run wild.
~A further election insight from reader Joe Weldon:
Why does Trump remind me of Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack? And I mean it in a good way. Especially when the real estate mogul Al Czervik (Rodney Dangerfield) throws money at the band during the snoozefest Country Club dinner and turns it into a real party! And God knows the Country Club Establishment needs a kick in their pantaloons!
Judge Snails (the late, great Ted Knight) could be played by Karl Rove.
Your new book was AWESOME! An thank you for signing it with your bloody stump of a hand.
Joe Weldon
That's such a good analogy. Most presidential candidates are lifelong Washington types who run as Washington outsiders. Trump is a lifelong golf-club type running as the golf-club outsider. Brilliant.
