Michael Mann, the Father of the Hockey Stick graph -- you know, the one where they had to "hide the decline" -- seems to have a predilection for making implausible claims. Mann has sued the Competitive Enterprise Institute and Mark Steyn for libel, under the legal theory that he should not be subject to "public figure" rules, because he was "an involuntary public figure." He explains the tragedy of his becoming a "target" in an essay published in The Scientist. Steve Milloy of Junkscience.com gives this laughable claim the scorn it deserves: Michael Mann has been a voluntary public figure since at least 1998. He first volunteered to be a public figure as early as April 22, 1998 when he appeared on NBC Nightly News to discuss his hokey stick study. You can't promote yourself and your work in the media and them claim "my critics turned me into a public figure." Nice try Mikey. At least Mann is staying true to form. (Read Full Post)