I just got a fundraising letter from the Discovery Institute.
Stop Bullies from Destroying Free Speech in Science
Will You Defend Free Speech for Scientists who Support Intelligent Design?
Dear PZ:
Yeah, I stopped right there.
No, I didn’t write them a check.
Jeez, don’t they even know the correct term is FTBullies?
Nah, creationists don’t know the atheist dudebro lingo.
That’s the trouble with fighting back against any sort of oppression. The oppressors will start appropriating your terms unironically.
See also: “You’re the real racist”, “You’re the real fascists”, “You’re the real plutocrats”, “YOU’RE a towel”, etc.
That’s fuckin’ hilarious.
Kevin@2:
The Discotute are absolutely not creationists!!
They are cdesign proponentsists……. ;)
That depends, are they willing to provide peer-reviewed papers and provide evidence?
No.
Feck off,
—blf
I love coincidences sometimes: the latest FtB post right now is Evilution I – The Dawkinator by Avicenna.
I suppose you didn’t w-r-i-t-e them a check either.
“Free Speech in Science” doesn’t mean what they think it means.
“That’s what I love about science — there are no wrong answers!” (clueless character on ‘Big Bang Theory.’)
Sastra,
The scary thing is, I even know which character (Zach).
Man, I wish you could right them with a check.
I can’t believe I forgot to make a FREEZE PEACH reference. I’m slipping.
At NDSU, their local representative (who is also the pastor to the county jail) periodically has a booth in the student union. I always grab a free book or video to see what the current brand of dreck is, and also to get just one more creationist item out of circulation.
O Noez! How man books and press releases will they write bemoaning their lack of free speech ?!!11eleventy!!
At least they didn’t misspell your name.
Gee, where is their ability to submit scientific papers to science journals hampered? Submit away. But they just shouldn’t expect those papers to be published unless they supply real evidence to back up their claims. Science just won’t accept their word that the evidence exists without showing it.
. . . .still waiting for the Discovery Institute to live up to its name. . . . .
@18 mothra
Kind of hard to do when all they can see is intestine in every direction they look.
The government started arresting “scientists” for speaking in support of
creationismintelligent design?!! When did THAT happen?Oh wait a minute…….
This same anxious missive appeared in my campus mail’s in-box. It gave me a nice chuckle. As usual, though, it was pretty boring reading. The Disco Institute needs money to “publicize the views of the growing number of scientists who think there is evidence of design and purpose in nature.” They keep citing this “growing number.” They’ve been citing it for years. By now the hordes of intelligent design proponents among scientists should have overwhelmed academia. They don’t appear to have a good handle on the concept of what “growth” means.
Zeno @21
If you have one and get another one then you have two. That’s growth. Plus the discotute probably counts one two three many.
Yeah they did, it’s just been left unwritten. There’s an implicit “Meyers” on the end there if you look closely.
I support free speech for creationists. I don’t support paid speech for them, though. Doesn’t cost anything to rave on a street corner, which is about the level of access to the public discourse they’re entitled to.
I initially misread that as coming from the Discovery Channel. Pretty much the same difference when it comes to science.
What is with people not knowing what free speech means?
@ 19 Marcus
I believe the word you meant was colon
Or even Rectum
Trebuchet @25:
Coming in Spring 2014, a landmark new miniseries brought you by The Discovery Channel and their new partner, The Discovery Institute—
(Someone funnier than I can surely come up with something; I’m thinking Jesus, mermaids, dragons and megalodons…)
Jackie:
Yeah. I’m been wondering the same thing.
@26 Jackie teh kitteh cuddler:
I get the feeling that many people see freedom of speech and freedom in general as living unburdened by a frontal lobe.
If I were to become president of the world, I’d institute a “Frontal Lobe appreciation day”. That would solve a lot of the world’s problems.