If the AGW cult fires Mann, I will take what they think seriously.
Yes the refusal of the bulk of the establishment to punish, criticize or even distance themselves from the Climategate Crooks – the deafening silence – leaves the distinct impression that the Climategate Crooks are not merely a few rotten apples in the barrel, but rather that the whole barrel is rotten. And in this situation where dishonesty is seen as unexceptional, the thinking climatology layman cannot but be skeptical.