Saturday, December 16, 2006 | Reason : Political | print version

Christmas Present to Defenders of Darwinism

by William A. Dembski

The following is an email sent by William A. Dembski to Richard Dawkins along with other prominent Darwinists, particularly those who defended Darwinism during the Dover Trial.

There's a Christmas present for you at my website.

-- a flash animation that features each of you prominently (some of you are probably aware of it already). We're still planning a few enhancements, including getting Eric Rothschild in there and having Judge Jones do the actual voiceovers himself (right now it's me speeded up though it's his actual words). In return for the judge doing himself, we'll drop some of the less flattering sound effects. We would have included Prof. Padian, but the images of him on the internet weren't of sufficient quality (I'm copying Prof. Padian -- if you send me a hi res jpg of yourself, I'm sure we can work you in -- you were after all the expert witness at the trial).

Best wishes,
Bill Dembski

Reponse from Richard Dawkins:

Anybody who resorts to tactics of desperation like this has to be a real loser. Dembski is a loser, and it now looks as though he KNOWS it. My guess is that he will try to take it down when he realizes how foolish it makes him look. Josh, can we can keep a copy, after he tries to remove it from his own website?

UPDATE 12-23-06: We have saved a copy of the flash animation, but will no longer be hosting it publicly on this website at Dembski's request.

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51. Comment #13894 by Jared on December 20, 2006 at 2:12 am

Richard Dawkins:
(Quoting Dembski) ' "Why might all this interest you? With the recommendations by Senator Santorum and others close to President Bush, I plan to pay him a visit at his home early next year and have a frank discussion with him about the future of science in the United States and the possibilities for public funding of intelligent design research. I expect your remarks below will help me make my case." '

Does this sound frighteningly like a child who is about to go tell the teacher on another kid? Seriously, I would anticipate these remarks to be followed in any grade-school classroom by the requisite 'Ooooooh!' that always happened when someone was 'in trouble!'

The irony is, of course, that it was Dembski who was in trouble in this case, and not Dr. Dawkins! It's like when the habitual tattle-tale goes to the teacher's desk with another frivolous report, only to be yelled at and told to go sit in the corner!

Oh, and with the (well-deserved, in my opinion) evisceration Dembski has gotten here both from you all and from Dr. Dawkins himself, I feel I have to say this: I hope I never, EVER end up on your collective 'bad' side! :)

Other Comments by Jared

52. Comment #13981 by JeffW on December 20, 2006 at 12:20 pm

He's now pursuing the "blasphemy" angle:
http://www.uncommondescent.com/archives/1884

The last sentence says it all:

"Are you an equal opportunity atheist or do you simply go after the Christian God because we tolerate your antics?"

These are the words of a powerful man, with many important connections. It is only through his grace that we may live.

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53. Comment #13982 by BillySands on December 20, 2006 at 1:11 pm

What a fud! I was under the impression that judge jones is a christian as well http://www.nature.com/ni/journal/v7/n5/full/ni0506-433.html
Happy anniversary of you defeat Dumbfukski

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54. Comment #13983 by BillySands on December 20, 2006 at 1:16 pm

FACT, ID is not supported in peer reviewed scientific journals.

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55. Comment #13993 by Squirrel on December 20, 2006 at 2:26 pm

Oh, I'll bet that there are plenty of people out there who are willing to state that "Mohammed is not God's prophet", including a few Christians.

Surely, the omission of the little addition "since there is no God" shouldn't make much of a difference. Maybe one of them has a bit of spare time to set up a website with videos, or possibly animations - you know, to protect people's identities.

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56. Comment #13995 by lflcorreia on December 20, 2006 at 2:33 pm

There is already a flash response to "Judge Jones School of Law" featuring Billy Dumbsky.
It's here:

http://www.bringyou.to/BILLY.htm

There's two versions: one regular and another with "full flatulence" :-)

( taken from a comment on the Panda's Thumb blog: http://www.pandasthumb.org/archives/2006/12/merry_kitzmas_t.html#comment-151194 )

Other Comments by lflcorreia

57. Comment #14003 by Ophelia Benson on December 20, 2006 at 3:32 pm

It's quite extraordinary that Dembski is complaining that his email has been published here. Dembski himself published Dan Dennett's emails to a third party (Michael Ruse, who sent both sides of the exchange to Dembski without Dennett's permission) last spring, without Dennett's permission. I know that because I asked all three parties about it for an article I wrote for The Philosophers' Magazine. Ruse admitted he hadn't asked Dan's permission, Dan said he hadn't given it, and Dembski said - well, nothing that I ever received. I asked twice, and got no reply. Perhaps Dembski replied with a sincerely apologetic embarrassed explanation that he'd simply - er - forgotten his manners; and the reply somehow got lost. Twice. Or perhaps he just never answered.

Either way, frankly, he has a considerable nerve.

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58. Comment #14009 by Robert O'Brien on December 20, 2006 at 4:46 pm

So, am I going to send in my own film clip denying the Holy Ghost? No, that is not what Oxford professors do, they write books instead.

Mr. Dawkins:

Do Oxford professors publish pulp science books instead of research? I noted the last time you published was during the Thatcher Administration.

Robert O'Brien

PS I was disappointed that I did not get to ask you questions when you were at hand at the Salk Institute; they would have been good questions.

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59. Comment #14022 by keiths on December 20, 2006 at 6:58 pm

Robert O'Brien asks:

Mr. Dawkins:

Do Oxford professors publish pulp science books instead of research? I noted the last time you published was during the Thatcher Administration.

O'Brien,

Have you noticed that Professor Dawkins' title is
"Professor of Public Understanding of Science"? What has more of an impact on the public, an article in a professional journal or a book on the NY Times bestseller list?

Think about it, if you're able.

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60. Comment #14029 by Zaphod on December 20, 2006 at 9:29 pm

There are many IDiots that post on his site. The moronic stuff that I have seen on his site is quite sad. A little scary also.

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61. Comment #14141 by thompjs on December 21, 2006 at 9:09 am

Was the Flash thing supposed to be funny?

I've missed the joke

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62. Comment #14461 by quork on December 22, 2006 at 2:27 pm

The Judge Jones School of Law" is the brainchild of brilliant professional flash animator (I think of him as the "Rembrandt" of flash animation; for now he will remain anonymous until he sees the fallout from his handiwork)

This reminds me that Dembski was glorified on the dust jacket of one of his books as "The Isaac Newton of Information Theory."

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63. Comment #14663 by PhilVaz on December 24, 2006 at 2:23 am

I'll tack this onto the end. A Merry Christmas Flash for RichardDawkins.net and UncommonDescent.com

http://www.bringyou.to/DICKY.htm

The window "panes" can be clicked for audio quotes from Dawkins, and the angel is clicked for a visitor.

Phil P

Other Comments by PhilVaz

64. Comment #14727 by Blue State Mike on December 24, 2006 at 7:23 pm

Excellent article in the new (Jan./Feb. 2007) issue of Skeptical Inquirer, written by key Dover plaintiffs' witness Barbara Forrest, analyzing the win, and detailing Dumbski's (sorry, couldn't resist the misspelling) wise (for once) decision to exit the case for fear of being eviscerated on cross examination.

btw Bill, I have my own question for you: is all the suffering in the world, including, at this very moment (Christmas Eve no less!) thousands of Third and Fourth World infants dying of starvation, part of the "Intelligent Design" you espouse? Sadistic and/or incompetent bastard, isn't your "Designer"?

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65. Comment #17318 by spacebuddha on January 12, 2007 at 10:27 pm

Was the comment:

Anybody who resorts to tactics of desperation like this has to be a real loser. Dembski is a loser, and it now looks as though he KNOWS it. My guess is that he will try to take it down when he realizes how foolish it makes him look.

writen by Dawkins himself or by someone representing him or this site?

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66. Comment #154233 by Zamboro on April 3, 2008 at 12:23 am

Douglas: "I also disagree with Dr. Dembski's use of farting noises in mocking the puppetry of Judge Jones."

Do you actually think he was a "puppet"? Seriously? The man was a Bush-appointed Republican Christian. The ID side couldn't have asked for a more sympathetic judge. Isn't accusing him of having been a puppet merely a way to rationalize ID's defeat by appealing to paranoid notions of the "evil atheist conspiracy"? Isn't that what every discredited ideology sinks to, making it out to seem as though the sole reason it fails is because the world is out to destroy it?

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