“Fly your flag – Veteran’s Day” (2012-11-11). Anthony Watts implies that if you didn’t fly the Stars and Stripes today you’re a traitor. Of course two days ago he was pleased to regard flying the American flag upside down or at half-mast as legitimate political protest over majority vote against Republicans in the Senate, the House of Representatives and for President.
I repeat Samuel Johnson’s observation from a few days ago – “patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.“
For myself, I respect the risks and sacrifices of, in my case, Canadian soldiers year ’round and treat with deep skepticism any efforts to consume them, or our enemies or civilian bystanders, in pursuit of political goals.
Wott's Up With That? 
With all due respect, Ben, and with the knowledge that I detest Watts and his WattsBots as much as you, for the violence they do to reason and science, in this case i must disagree: I read no such implication in what Watts wrote. In fact, a few of the WattsBots took on one another when one had the temerity to diss Rudyard Kipling’s service to his country (though never in the armed services, Rudyard was supportive of those who wen to fight in The Great War), and that miscreant was promptly served up a dish o’whoop ass, ‘Bot style. Shame he used an erroneous reference to “Kipling served; did you?”, but inaccuracy in rationale and argument is nothing new to the Bots.
For the most part, I felt Watt’s posting was respectful… not so much his feeble-minded minions. Let us assail Wattsy at every turn for his gross misrepresentation of science, by all means: let us not give him ammunition with which to shoot at the likes of you for inaccuracy, surely an action Watts has often deigned to stoop to, when it suits his polemics.
[Hey, we warmists are supposed to march in intellectual lock-step! I take your point, but what I am reacting to is Anthony’s subtext that he’s a patriot and his critics aren’t. Perhaps I’ve just seen too much of his innuendo, personal attacks and partisan slants. – Ben]
Indeed: We warmists are a tight lot…;) In fact, I was not aware of Watts’ past transgressions (as evidenced by the reference by Marco) and I must say, it doesn’t surprise me: Watts is nothing if not a GOPeabagger-brother-in-locked-goosestepping nitwit. As the oft-referenced quote by Samuel Johnson so richly portrays, Watts and a goodly number of his WattsBots are indeed those kind of scoundrels.
Harry, perhaps you are not aware of a situation some years ago, when Watts used Memorial Day to attack Tamino and the Rabett:
“”Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.” Samuel Johnson (1774)
Patriotism is the New World’s phrase for fascism.
/cRR