Oh, that little scamp, Billy Dembski. He’s all upset about his shabby treatment at Baylor, and he’s displacing his anger into a defense of Robert Marks.
President John Lilley of Baylor appears to have made up his mind that Prof. Robert Marks’s Evolutionary Informatics Lab is to have no place at Baylor. There is only one court of appeal now, the Baylor Board of Regents, who can reverse Lilley’s decision and even remove Lilley as president. Here is the list of board members. I encourage readers of UD to contact them (respectfully) and share their concerns about this gross violation of academic freedom.
One amusing bit of background, though: the Evolutionary Informatics Lab didn’t exist. It was a web page, nothing more, so it’s a little strange to complain that it doesn’t have a place at Baylor. What’s actually been refused is that the Evolutionary Informatics Lab doesn’t get to pretend that it’s a Baylor initiative. It’s a bit excessive for Baylor to refuse to host a faculty member’s wacky web page, but there’s nothing to stop them from putting it up on, say, the DI’s servers. It’ll be just as effective there as anywhere. Or, hey, does geocities still exist and offer free hosting?
The other thing, though, is that Dembski then goes on to list all the members of the board of regents, including home phone numbers and addresses. I guess Dembski responds to the fact that he has been Expelled with Intimidation and Incitement, which must be the next two movies in the creationist trilogy.
Oh, and no more links from me to UD while Dembski has his hit list online.
Is Dembski so demented that he believes a swarm of IDiot spammers will cause Baylor to “reconsider” its decision? Or is he just trying to make his only friend at Baylor suffer?
What a douche.
His opponents have, yet again, met their waterloo. I think the time has come to get this guy some counseling.
I’m sure that’s going to work out great. (snicker)
Ya know it’s funny. I watched a boat load of vids from ExtantDodo on YouTube. I cannot get over how many times they (Dodo) gave Dembski and his ilk the proverbial smackdown.
It seems as if all they can do is deny,deny,deny and make counter accusations. Its really sad. They propose junk science and in Dembskis’ case, junk math and expect the world to say “Oh why didn’t we realize this before?”
The YEC and the DI folks expect all knowledge gained through years of trial an error to be thrown out the window becuase their answer is “god did it”.
I suppose we are in an unending war against them.
I love that bit about “and even remove Lilley as president“. I suspect that the Baylor Board of Regents are getting hundreds (or at least eighty letters from UDders (is that the correct term for them?) calling for John Lilley to be fired. First the forged letter, now this. Nothing like a little kindness and flattery to get Dembski back on Lilley’s good side :)
Hey, why not list the telephone and address info for the UMM Board of Regents? We could contact them and convince them to promote you to full professor.
“His opponents have, yet again, met their waterloo.”
Why are you bringing ABBA into this?
So, here’s our religious morality test: let’s see how long it takes for death threats to materialise against the board. After all, we shall know they are Christians by their love.
Anybody know Dembski’s address and phone number? I’d like to light a candle on his doorstep as a sign of support. Dog shit in a paper bag can be considered a candle, right?
I encourage readers of UD to contact them (respectfully)
What readers of UD?
IanR:
I agree with PZ’s omitting a link to UD, but one unfortunate consequence is that those of us who went to UD to see for ourselves will not appear in the stats as clicking over there from Pharyngula…I think. It will give his numbers a boost.
Only if it’s on fire, Brownian. But I think when you light poop on fire, usually that’s called “meth smoking,” which I wouldn’t put past Dembski.
I’m really bored with Dembski lately. I wish he’d resurrect the farting animations and start another email war with Dawkins (or PZ).
The first time Dembski went down in flames (by lighting himself on fire) at Baylor, it was because, after a big conflict with the administration over their Polanyi center, he shot out a mass mailing to everyone declaring:
So they fired his ass.
That boy just never learns, does he?
Can any lawyers out there tell me… is it harrassment for Dembski to be putting personal phone numbers up on his website and incite his followers to call them? Is it illegal in anyway? Are Kent Hovind and Billy Dembski going to get a chance to play “find the soap” together?
Perhaps just one last link over to Dembski’s hit list, so that we can likewise conveniently contact the board in support of President Lilly?
Next time, on Pantywaist Theatre, the touching saga of a dashing engineer and his pallid, slimy lover. (cue sappy music)
I wanted to post on UD: “I’ll be contacting them, alright– to congratulate them on their good judgment.” Of course it would just be censored.
If you’re worried about that, take a detour via AtBC. It’s where wMad gets most of his hits from anyway.
Bob
Its true. Ive gotten more unique hits from AtBC, a message board, than from Uncommon Descent– THE blog for ID Creationism.
Thanks for the news, PZ! I think I know now what Im going to ask Billy on Monday :)
Where is the Army of God, Eric Rudolph, and Michael Korn? Oops, Rudolph is in jail. Oh well, is it death threat time yet?
In medicine, the cultists occasionally shoot and kill MDs they don’t like. Not being very bright, they often get the wrong targets and innocent bystanders as well. Evolutionary biologists are just catching up with the rest of the world.
Yowza! What a complete tool Dembski is. He’s gotten to the point of whimpering over absolutely nothing.
A simple whitepages.com search gave me this…dunno if it’s he has moved elsewhere.
[address and phone number deleted. We’re better than them — let’s not do that.]
Creationists live in a fantasy world. (Duh!)
Dembski actually believes that the Board of Regents will discipline Baylor’s president after receiving emails from a bunch of annonymous creationist crackpots. He really believes that and went so far as to give Baylor’s Lilley a mock-Clint Eastwood treatment:
But, in the creationist fantasy world that’s how you get things done. Unable to succeed on merit, no problem! Resort to harrassment (Dembski’s email campaign), lawsuits (Caldwell in California), take over a school board (Kansas and Dover), submit petitions (Cobb County, Ga.), publish by stealth (Sternberg), pass a law (Arkansas and Louisiana) or just make stuff up (Discovery Institute, Behe, Wells, et al).
I bet that in Dembski’s creationist fantasy world he even has an office with a window.
Dream on!
Obligatory quote, I hope he gets similar treatment:
VENKMAN: I trust you’re moving us to a better space somewhere on campus.
DEAN YAEGER: No, we’re moving you OFF CAMPUS. The Board of Regents has decided to terminate your grant. You are to vacate these premises immediately.
VENKMAN: This is preposterous! I demand an explanation.
DEAN YAEGER: Fine. This University will no longer continue any funding of any kind for your group’s activities.
VENKMAN: But why? The students love us!
DEAN YAEGER: Dr. Venkman, we believe that the purpose of science is to serve mankind. You, however, seem to regard science as some kind of “dodge” or “hustle.” Your theories are the worst kind of popular tripe, your methods are sloppy and your conclusions are highly questionable. You’re a poor scientist, Dr. Venkman, and you have no place in this department or in this University.
VENKMAN: I see. I guess my confidence in the Regents was misplaced. They did this to Galileo, too.
DEAN YAEGER: It could be worse, Dr. Venkman. They took the astronomer Phileas and staked his head to the town gate.
Sorry, I just assumed that after the last personal-info-posting-fiasco on Pharyngula, it would be understood that I was joking.
As a general rule, no posting of people’s personal phone numbers and/or addresses, the names of their spouses or children, or anything that might endanger them or the people who might or might not have a choice in cohabitating with them.
Underwear preference is totally fine, however.
Since the Members of Baylor’s Board of Regents clearly outnumber regular commenters at UD this will be quite some work for Dembski’s followers. And Sal will not write anything, at least not under his name. I guess the Baylor guys would appreciate a letter from Botnik instead.
I’ve got to wonder what Dembski’s current employers at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary think of his antics.
Mr. Selkirk – I have to wonder what Dembski’s erstwhile associate / partner Dr. Marks thinks of his antics too.
Maybe it’s a good time to look more closely into that overseas offer…
With a friend like Dembski etc.
I posted this on 4 September:
Good ‘ol Bill seems to be stacking wood around the stake…
Hey, Bill was nice enough to replace the @ sign in the board members email addresses with {AT}. They may get crank calls and IDiot stalkers at their homes, but at least they won’t get spam.
It’s actually going to be the Harry Potter Trilogy.
Do creationists really think they deserve any respect when they do things like this?
I say it’s time for revenge:
http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=934
Sorry, but love Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal and had to find an excuse to post it.
I’m sure that Dr. Dembski would never have suggested such a letter-writing campaign before carefully calculating the probability of its success….
You stupid bastards. (Those of you who sponsor and support this forum composed hugely of philosophical fucking BIGOTS!!!!!!) (macro-evolutionary proponents)(a term that will at least propose some sort of definitional arena regarding the vast expanse of ridiculously unsubstantiated assertions and non-verified claims made by you bozos who continue to push your philosophical even anti-fucking religious (AS IF RELIGION IS REALLY AN ISSUE IN WHAT SOME PEOPLE CALL, REALLY AN INADEQUATE TERM, “DEBATE”) agenda down the throats of people (most of which, and to your fucking advantage) who do not know enough regarding the REAL SCIENCES to be able to determine the difference between low informational, non-specified repetition of rudimentary chemical reactions and what the fuck are (in comparison) the VAST YET TO BE EVEN FUCKING CLOSE TO BEING ADEQUATELY EXPLAINED OR DESCRIBED requirements in order to even attempt to propose the “how” of all of this, let alone explain the vast array of a-periodic contra-natural spatio-chemical-relationships that pose STUPENDOUS BARRIERS TO YOUR DUMB-FUCK ILL SUPPORTED FOUNDATIONS, TO SAY THE FRIGGIN LEAST, THAT YOU CONTINUALLY PUSH DOWN THE THROATS OF THOSE YOU HAVE SOME SORT OF AUTHORITY OVER!!!!!! (pz, you dumb fuck.)
Myers,
you continue to suggest your stupidity by the naive commentary you display throughout your ridiculous forum!!!!!! Dont bother to ask me of specifics because you, my “friend” know far better that anyone what i am talking about!!!!!! You are making money on this forum at the expense of those who are so ill informed or philosophically prejudiced or for other reasons (i am sure you and your financial benefactors have done the proper marketing demographical research in order to know the full fucking story, you bastard). I believe that you have your own FUCKING personal reasons let me emphasize, PHILOSOPHICAL PREFERENCES, THAT GIVES YOU AN ADDITIONAL KICK (as well as THE FINANCIAL INCENTIVES) THAT motivates your opportunistic public displays on this forum.
You continue to reap your harvest based on appealing to the philosophical preferences of many individuals, some who claim to be “scientists” (in actuality they are philosophical opportunists) that have the ability to actually push the unsubstantiated horse-shit down the throats of people who actually look towards them for significantly justifiable verification of the vast realities of the immense living ecosystems we, as intelligent agents, for some YES YOU DUMBFUCK vastly unexplained reasons have the ability to comprehend. HAVE SOME RESPECT FOR THE UNKNOWN YOU MISERABLE BASTARD!!!!!!!!
I’m happily not a lawyer, but to me it smells like that’s exactly the reaction Dembski wants – short of the soap thing, though if he had to do that with anyone, why not Dr. Dino (or whatever his cellmates call him now)?
As soon as he becomes the subject of a cease-and-desist or lawsuit or what-have-you, especially one that asks him to remove any sort of information from his website (as we know is utter anathema to his principles of free, irretractable knowledge), the specifics don’t matter – he can spin himself into a martyr.
Big-time universities and their counsels are far from stupid. Baylor’s only real mistake so far was to associate with him in the first place. I’m sure they’ll find a safe way out; my best idea would be to send a polite letter with every word chosen very carefully – one that can’t look bad for them even when he quote-mines it like Swiss cheese.
I didn’t know that Tourette Syndrome could manifest in typing.
The Eskimos have one hundred different words for “snow”.
We should have as many for “Oh fuck, he’s off his meds again!”
“Neal” wrote:
Ok, I’ll feed the troll: What are you, “Neal”, talking about? A specific or two to clew in us “ill informed or philosophically prejudiced” readers would be extremely helpful to the rational points you are trying to raise.
May I make a hint? Less all-capitals, fewer exclamation marks, and a bit of spell-checking would, I believe, possibly make your informed comments easier to read. To comprehend the comments, however, does require some specifics. Please?
Kseniya does it again, definitely another molly contender there :)
I love this bit. Imagine the moment of self-doubt–has he gone too far? Has he breached etiquette irreparably? Should he try a more genteel mode of speech? Dial down the profanity a little?
Then onward!
Neal – in your first post, you forgot to close a bracket.
Bob
Man, I just love Neal. Whenever I see one of his readily identifiable posts it makes me smile. :)
I think you should know, Kseniya, that I pulled something laughing at this. Best laugh in ages.