Personally, I find Eli Rabett insufferable. And I know he thinks just as highly of me. But I wouldn't question his patriotism. So I think it was wrong for Anthony Watts to take this cheap shot yesterday:
I wonder if "Tamino" or Eli Rabbet bothers to fly a flag on memorial day? Here's to hoping that they do.
First of all, why should flying a flag be a test of someone's patriotism? I know plenty of people who believe in god but don't go to church or a temple. Does that mean they are atheists? In the comment thread at WUWT, Watts offers a mea culpa, but not before digging himself in further, during this exchange with Brad Johnson, a blogger with the Center for American Progress (CAP). BJ: Ha ha! Bloggers critical of you must hate America! AW:Not neccessarily, but the way those two guys (Tamino and Rabbet) act sometimes, it does make one wonder. It would be refreshing to see them display some patriotism once in awhile, instead of a constant stream of invective and snark. Yes, it would be refreshing to see less invective from the Rabbet, but that still doesn't make me "wonder" about his patriotism, or why he should feel compelled to "display some patriotism once in a while." The climate change debate has nothing to do with patriotism. At any rate, eventually Watts admits that, "Perhaps it was a mistake for me to pose the question...For that I apologize. I could have phrased it better." I wouldn's say an armistice between the rival climate factions is about to break out, but that was a decent enough olive branch.
