P. Z. Myers: on the Enemies List!
The Discovery Institute really hates me. They've published that breathtakingly inane Klinghoffer article in my home town newspaper (Hi, Mom!), and they've put up a snide whine about my university.
University of Minnesota (Morris) Wants Credit for Darwinist Biologist P.Z. Myers
Note: From now on, we will try to properly credit the University of Minnesota, Morris as the employer of Darwinist biologist P.Z. Myers. In a press release earlier this month, we mistakenly stated that P.Z. Myers was a biology professor at the University of Minnesota. We soon received an e-mail from a public relations person at the University of Minnesota, Morris. She wanted to make clear that Dr. Myers was actually employed by the University of Minnesota, Morris.
The press release in question highlighted Myers' bigotry and intolerance, pointing out that he advocated "the public firing and humiliation of some teachers" because they are critical of Darwin, and quoting his complaint that Darwinists "aren't martial enough, or vigorous enough, or loud enough, or angry enough."
Apparently administrators at the University of Minnesota, Morris are proud of P. Z. Myers, and want to make sure that when we highlight his bigoted and intolerant comments that their institution gets appropriate credit for making such comments possible. OK, we'll try to comply. After all... we want to give full credit where credit is due.
I think they're reading far too much into this, but then that's nothing new. I didn't know that our PR person had done this, but I'm not surprised: that's her job, she's good at it, and it's perfectly reasonable to request some accuracy from the press. Our PR people would be sending out polite corrections if I happened to be a Republican Baptist, too. It doesn't mean that the university as an entity agrees 100% with what the individual says.
I do trust my university to support me, as they do support the principle of academic freedom. We are a diverse group here, with representatives of many Christian sects on the faculty and staff, as well Jews and Muslims, agnostics and atheists (relatively few of the latter, as you might expect), Democrats and Greens and Republicans (not too many of the latter, also as you might expect, but they are there, and they are also supported). We have a Newman Center, several active religious organizations, and quite a few student political groups. Students can come here and freely pursue any extracurricular religious or political orientation they want, also with the full support of the university.
I understand why the wanna-be theocrats of the Discovery Institute would find that frightening and deplorable.
We have an excellent university out here in our lonely stretch of the prairie, and I think it is wonderful that the Discovery Institute has chosen to mock us for our institutional support for diversity. That's public relations gold. "Come to UMM—the university the Intelligent Design creationists detest!" It's good timing, too, as this is when we're trying to get students to apply and enroll for the next academic year. It's not too late: if you know any high school seniors, send them to our page for prospective students, have them apply, and we promise to give them a first-rate liberal arts education if they are accepted and choose to come here. As another bonus, the Discovery Institute's PR is going to discourage students who are poor at science, the only ones who approve of their message, from coming here. It's free advertising, and it's going to select for a better applicant pool. Woo-hoo!
Oh, and I really can't let this slide. It's so representative of the dishonesty and distortion the Discovery Institute relies on to make their false cases. They say,
…he advocated "the public firing and humiliation of some teachers" because they are critical of Darwin…
Notice that only part of the quote is actually from me, and the closing bit is a complete fabrication. You can read the whole thing in context, where you'll see that what I'm demanding is basic competence from teachers, not some slavish adherence to 19th century doctrine, and in fact I am critical of Darwin.
Hey, there's a new slogan for them. "The Discovery Institute: supporting incompetence in education since 1990!" Or maybe, "The Discovery Institute: we don't require rigor and discipline. And it shows!"
Hmm. In the comments, I am reminded of this post by Wesley Elsberry: the Discovery Institute has a high-priced PR firm, Creative Response Concepts, with a charming record of clients.
Other notable CRC clients include the "Contract for America", Parents Television Council, Regnery Publishing (the firm that published Phillip Johnson's book, Darwin On Trial), and the high-profile client of the 2004 USA presidential campaign, "Swift Boat Vets for Truth".
Wow. I may actually be getting swift-boated! Perhaps without quite the degree of personal attention they'd give to a presidential candidate, but still…it's a little rewarding that the jackal notices when you've yanked on his tail.
By the way, if you are curious what some of my UMM homies might think of this, here's one example.
Welcome to the list. Try to avoid pickup trucks with Kansas license plates. The Purveyors of Marketable Truth don't take kindly to contradictory college professors, but it's all plausibly deniable, as we have already seen.