“I’m Not Owned! I’m Not Owned!!” – As He Shrinks into a Corn Cob – Watts Up With That?

If you’ve been following the climate circus for as long as we have here at WUWT, you know that Michael Mann – the self-proclaimed guardian of the infamous “hockey stick” graph – has been skating on thin ice for years. Well, it looks like that ice just cracked wide open. According to a gleeful piece in the National Review titled “Michael Mann Finally Goes Away,” Mann has dropped his long-running defamation lawsuit against them after a whopping 12 years of legal clownery.

That’s right: the guy who threatened to “destroy” them is now slinking off into the sunset, tail between his legs, while their blog post calling his research “sketchy” and “intellectually bogus” remains proudly online for all to see. But wait, there’s more! In true Mann fashion, he’s probably out there right now insisting he’s the victor, even as reality nibbles away at his relevance like a hungry squirrel on a… well, corn cob. Which brings us to the perfect meme for this moment. Back in 2011, the legendary X (formerly Twitter) account @dril posted this gem:

 “im not owned! im not owned!!”, i continue to insist as i slowly shrink and transform into a corn cob.”

It’s become the ultimate symbol of online denial – that moment when someone’s been utterly “owned” in a debate, but they keep flailing in protest, only to morph into a sad, shriveled vegetable. Sound familiar, Dr. Mann?

Picture it: Mann, fresh off losing his case (despite a temporary jury win against Mark Steyn and Rand Simberg that’s already crumbling under appeal), simmers while the National Review editors pop the champagne.

They even thank their lawyers and supporters, noting how the First Amendment proved too “inconvenient” for Mr. Hockey Stick.

And let’s not forget the article’s zinger: Mann and his alarmist crew are “losing the climate debate,” as evidenced by his recent whinging about Bill Gates daring to inject some common sense into the conversation. Ouch. That’s gotta sting worse than a polar vortex.

Just yesterday, we ran a piece titled “Gloom, Despair, and Agony on Me,” absolutely roasting the 2025 BioScience special report – “The State of the Climate: A Planet on the Brink” – for its over-the-top doomsaying. (Note: One of the co-authors? None other than Michael Mann himself.  Mann’s involvement? It’s like he’s the lead singer in that despair choir, belting out tunes about economic “post-growth” models and blaming the “wealthiest 10 percent” for everything short of bad hair days. Now, with his lawsuit in the dustbin, Mann’s descent into irrelevance is complete. He’s not just owned – he’s corncobbed. As @dril so prophetically put it, he’s shrinking smaller by the day, insisting he’s still the big cheese in climate town while the world moves on. The National Review sums it up best:

 “As for Michael Mann, he’s belatedly taken our very good advice from so many years ago, and gotten lost.”

Hey, Mike – if you’re reading this (and we know you are), maybe it’s time to embrace your inner corn cob. Pop some butter on, sit back, and watch the real climate debate thrive without your lawsuits and hysteria. After all, in the words of the meme: “im not owned!!” Sure, buddy. Sure.