Mann Act: Penn State Faces Budget Cuts if It Refuses to Deal With Climategate's Prof. Mann.
Dec. 21, 2009
Prof. Michael Mann and Prof. Phil Jones (on leave) are the two most famous names in the Climategate scandal. Prof. Mann has tenure at Penn State. He holds the position of Associate Professor.
The president of the university has received a letter from the Chairman of the Education Committee of the Pennsylvania State Senate. It threatens the most feared of all events in the life of a bureaucrat: a budget cut.
The Senator's language is guarded. He is fluent in bureaucratese. But his meaning is unmistakable.
Dr. Mann is in very hot water. Or, to mix metaphors, the university will not be able to sweep this under the rug.
When a professor has tenure, he cannot legally be fired without cause. The department must prove publicly that the professor acted unethically or in an academically inappropriate way. This means publicity.
These cases are rare. Even more rare is a tenure case that is initiated from the university's Administration: above the department. Such cases receive even more publicity.
Regarding Prof. Mann, I quote Joe Louis: "He can run, but he can't hide." This is because the University's administration can neither run nor hire. It is trapped. It cannot pretend that this case will go away. Millions of dollars are now on the line.
What is about to happen to Dr. Mann is a rare occurrence, indeed. He is going to receive a great deal of publicity.
If he is dismissed, the global warmers will suffer a tremendous blow in full public view. His firing will confirm the accusations of the global warming critics that the academic game has been rigged, that peer review is a sham, and that the global warming movement should not be taken seriously.
In short, the doctrine of representation cannot be avoided. Every movement is at risk of ruination when a senior representative is shown to be a fraud.
Mann and Jones were very important scholars in making the case for global warming. Those who depended on them to make the case are now in desperate trouble. The collapse of the Copenhagen meeting indicates just how much trouble they are in.
The trouble is going to increase. Any politician who votes for funding for global warming research from now on places his career on the line. The research could prove to be faked. His opponent at the next election would have a lot of fun at his expense. Politicians like to avoid having to take such risks. It is safer to vote for traditional pork.
The flow of funds is about to cease. The global warming movement is about to have the plug pulled. Who could have guessed this prior to Climategate?