There's an update on the case of Michael Mann v. Mark Steyn, from Jonathan Adler, at Volokh, "
Mann v. Steyn – Mann wins round two." (Via Instapundit, who
worries about Steyn representing himself in court.)
Basically, there's a new judge, who's rejected Steyn's motion to dismiss and lifted a stay of discovery.
But what struck me is that National Review's apparently thrown Steyn under the bus, "
Trial, and Error":
As readers may have deduced from my absence at National Review Online and my termination of our joint representation, there have been a few differences between me and the rest of the team. The lesson of the last year is that you win a free-speech case not by adopting a don't-rock-the-boat, keep-mum, narrow procedural posture but by fighting it in the open, in the bracing air and cleansing sunlight of truth and justice.
I don't read National Review all that often. Indeed, Steyn and VDH are the main reasons I visit the site. I posted on Steyn's December entry, "
The Age of Intolerance." It turns out that he came under fire for it. While I recall reading Steyn's response, "
Re-Education Camp," I hadn't noticed his dearth posting at National Review. Here's the last one, dated December 24th, "
Mumbo-Jumbo for Beginners."
One of the things I've learned about blogging is that when the going gets rough, you're going to tough it out by your lonesome. That is to say, don't expect others to join you in your blog battles, and when they do, be sure to count your blessings and share your gratitude. It's lonely out here sometimes, a lesson
Steyn learned sometime ago:
As to his [editor's] kind but belated and conditional pledge to join me on the barricades, I had enough of that level of passionate support up in Canada to know that, when the call to arms comes, there will always be some “derogatory” or “puerile” expression that it will be more important to tut over. So thanks for the offer, but I don’t think you’d be much use, would you?
Steyn's editor had problems with the former's humorous references to left's homosexual fascists as "fruits." Personally, I'm lol at that stuff, but the in-your-face style of freedom-to-blog advocacy often causes self-said allies to turn tail at moment's notice. People simply don't like confrontation, and they certainly don't want to lose followers on Twitter. The horrors!
More a V-Dare, "
Mark Steyn Out at NATIONAL REVIEW?"
UPDATE: Jonah Goldberg, who is editor at National Review Online, tweets:
And here it is, "
Yes, We Can (Say That)."
CORRECTION: Just want to be on the record that Steyn is not "out" at National Review. He's not published at "The Corner" for nearly a month, but he's still a columnist for the magazine. Sorry for the mistake.
