Reply #198: I have used the sarcasim emoticon....

[tidy_bowl]

...but enough fooling around, basic scientific research MUST have a complete paper trail back to the original data, otherwise, any result derived MUST be considered suspect. There has been little to no transparency to original data and methodology used to 'adjust' the data for variations or missing data on major research papers being used to produce policy. If you cannot produce (or refuse to as Mann and others have done) the original, raw data then it cannot be checked independently and MUST be considered suspect. That is so basic to true scientific research as to not even be questionable by anyone. Produce the raw data and any programming adjustments used to produce the final result or don't even bother telling me or anyone what you think you have. Settled science isn't settled until it can be verified independently. Why is that so hard to understand?