THOSE CAVE-DWELLING MOUNTEBANKS

Christians, that is. Swimming pools, movie stars....the Judean Hillbillies.

(cue Flatt and Scruggs)

There's been a spirited exchange over on PZ's site, starting around post #132. It's awfully tangential to the rest of the thread, but I got a real kick out of replying to the colorful rhetoric of a poster I hadn't previously noticed, one Marcus Ranum. Then Uber, who has chided me for not putting all my theistic cards out on the tables at times, chimed in. So we have a bit of a kerfuffle and I've invited anyone interested to post here.

Take your shoes off. Set a spell. Y'all come back now, y'heah!

INDEPENDENCE MONTH

July 4th is, of course, Independence Day in the United States---but, to my way of thinking, all of July should be Independence Month for all biologists, everywhere.

Why? Because, sometime in mid-July, 1837 (the exact date is uncertain), Charles Darwin began Notebook D, sometimes called 'The Red Notebook.' While other notebooks contain his thoughts on common descent, a pattern he inferred from the geology and biogeography observed in his travels, it is Notebook D that contains the first statements of natural selection. By positing a natural cause for the diversity of life, Darwin eliminated teleology, and transformed much of what used to be called 'natural theology' (Paley's expression) into an independent science. Bravo, Charlie!

Darwin knew the import of what he was proposing. Very early in the 'Red Notebook', on pg. 26, he "exults: "Mine is a bold theory, which attempts to explain, or asserts to be explicable every instinct in animals." (quoted in Darwin: Discovering The Tree of Life, by Niles Eldredge, W.W. Norton, New York, 2005.)

Indeed! Happy Independence Month, Biologists!

(A detailed treatment of the notebooks, for specialists, can be found here.)

ALLEGED LESBIAN/ATHEIST 2, CSU FRESNO 0

If you're keeping score, that is.

Those of you who’ve visited my blog courtesy of Pharyngula may recall the strange episode of “CSU Fresno Vs. The Lesbian/Atheist Conspiracy”, which I posted about here.

For those of you who don’t, here’s an update on the whole affair: plaintiff Lindy Vivas, the fired women’s volleyball coach whose alleged sexual orientation and personal religious beliefs were at issue in her suit against CSU Fresno, was awarded $5.8 MILLION dollars in damages—more than three times the amount sought by her legal team. Seems like the jury wanted to send a message, doesn’t it?

Well, some, including state representative Dean Flores, got the message: something is amiss at CSU Fresno in terms of gender equity in one highly visible department (Athletics), and chaired hearings on the matter. Others, like, CSU Fresno President John Welty and CSU Chancellor Charles Reed, they appear to have received a different message. The outcome, coming on the heels of their defeat in the courts, is another exercise in public humiliation for these two fellas and it looks as if they’ve made things worse, instead of better, with their testimony. You can read about this here, but first, two warnings:

1) Don’t read if you think you’re above some extremely juicy gossip

2) Don’t read if you’re already fed up with the Alberto Gonzales story. While this may not carry the import of the Attorney General’s attempt to rehabilitate his rep as a first-class deceiver, but it’s eerily familiar: in each case, highly-placed administrators who owe their positions to appointment by the executive branch seem unwilling or unable to answer tough questions posed by elected officials.