Ed Brayton is a freelance writer and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
"Coach" Dave Daubenmire wrote a letter to the editor of the Columbus Dispatch attempting to defend his pal John Freshwater from the numerous violations of law he committed that led to his firing. It's always amusing watching Daubenmire try to make a coherent argument; as a logical thinker, he makes a hell of a football coach.
To quote last Thursday's Dispatch editorial "About time," "The Mount Vernon Board of Education's decision to fire teacher John Freshwater for failing to stick to science in his science classroom is justified by the evidence turned up in an independent investigation."Justified by the evidence? Perhaps The Dispatch has forgotten that evidence is not proof. What the newspaper has engaged in throughout the Freshwater saga is nothing short of jury tampering.
Talk about a confused bit of nonsense. Evidence is not proof? Sorry, proof is a rather amorphous concept once you leave the confines of formal logic or mathematics. But where proof is the goal, as in proving someone guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, what else can it possibly be based on if not evidence? This is just a silly, incoherent argument. And it's not his last.
The Dispatch published the pictures of the alleged branding before Freshwater's attorneys had even received the report from the "investigator." How did The Dispatch get the report before the attorneys?
Perhaps they got them from the parents of the child burned. That's where I got them (through an intermediary) before the report came out. He doesn't bother to say what this has to do with his claims about evidence and proof. What is the argument, that evidence isn't evidence if the newspaper got the evidence sooner than he thinks they should have? Utterly illogical. But no, he seems to be building up to a fanciful conspiracy theory:
Perhaps The Dispatch can speak to the veracity of the "photographs" of the branding. Do the editors know whose arm is pictured, when the photos were taken and what caused the mark? Evidence is not proof, and it seems as though The Dispatch is attempting to sway public opinion. If evidence was proof, O.J. Simpson would be in jail.
Is this seriously going to be Freshwater's defense? That the parents of an 8th grader found another person, got a tesla coil of their own and burned a cross into that person's arm and took pictures of that one and substituted them for the real cross burned into their son's arm? Good luck proving that one, guys - especially given your position that evidence is not proof. Evidence is not proof, but apparently unsupported paranoid delusions are.
But here's my favorite part:
Let me be clear: Freshwater did not brand any student. In 21 years of teaching, he has performed this science experiment hundreds of times without incident.
Ah, isn't that interesting. Burning a cross into the arms of students with a device that is never, under any circumstances, to be applied to human skin, is an experiment. What, pray tell, was the point of this experiment? Was it designed to show students how to improperly use scientific equipment? How to inflict pointless pain on minors? Next he'll be telling us that cutting students with a razor blade is an "experiment" intended to demonstrate blood clotting.
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Comments
Sounds like they're going for the "Chewbacca defense".
Posted by: chris | July 7, 2008 10:08 AM
"If the cross doesn't burn, you must adjourn!"
Posted by: Rev. AJB | July 7, 2008 10:15 AM
"If the defense is deluded, ya can't prosecute 'em!"
Posted by: dogmeatib | July 7, 2008 10:29 AM
As best I can make out his "argument" is that a few pieces of evidence do not amount to proof. The prosecution presents evidence that someone is guilty and the defence presents evidence that he is innocent, and each side questions the other's evidence, but in the end the accusation is proven or not. An accusation may not be proven even after evidence for it has been presented.
Of course, he seems to be using this point to argue that it's wrong for the paper to publish photos of the harm done to children by this man because this evidence has not yet proven his guilt. And to boot, he's questioning whether the evidence is real. Both are ridiculous.
Posted by: Morgan | July 7, 2008 10:57 AM
Does anyone expect a coach to have more brains than a football?
Posted by: bernarda | July 7, 2008 11:25 AM
Does anyone expect a coach to have more brains than a football?
Yes. Coaching and intelligence aren't mutually exclusive. Unfortunately, Daubenmire perpetuates the stereotype.
Posted by: Ch | July 7, 2008 11:34 AM
If the scars don't fit, you must acquit.
Posted by: Neural Tranmissions | July 7, 2008 11:44 AM
Morgan, the defense doesn't necessarily present evidence to show the accused is innocent, just that the prosecution's claims are doubtful. In theory, the defendent is innocent until proven guilty.
Posted by: Jeremy | July 7, 2008 12:00 PM
Reporting the news is jury tampering? *blink... blink*
Posted by: Abby Normal | July 7, 2008 12:09 PM
"Evidence is not proof."
And the allegation that Freshwater burned crosses into the arms of students is "only a theory."
Posted by: ZacharySmith | July 7, 2008 12:49 PM
At least the fundamentalists are consistent. "Evidence is not proof" is the same thing they say regarding evolution. That's why it's "just a theory" no matter how much evidence supports it.
Posted by: Taz | July 7, 2008 1:18 PM
chris, there is no counter to the Chewbacca Defense.
"Ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, it does not make sense! If Chewbacca lives on Endor, you must acquit! The defense rests."
Posted by: Deepsix | July 7, 2008 1:39 PM
It sure sounds like the coach is the one most in need of coaching!
Posted by: Ian | July 7, 2008 1:39 PM
Freshwater had a lengthy live interview on FauxNews this weekend, accompanied by his lawyer.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,376241,00.html
Denied everything - while gesticulating wildly with his hands up at shoulder level. Very bizarre. Seemed as though he thought he was talking to a class of 8th graders, so he came off as not the sharpest tool in the shed, but appears to be the type who will enjoy his 15 minutes of notoriety.
Posted by: Foggg | July 7, 2008 2:23 PM
Translation: "How can his lawyers pick an impartial jury when everyone in the community knows he's an idiot?"
Posted by: John Pieret | July 7, 2008 2:38 PM
Coach Dave has his reasons for not accepting evidence as proof...
Posted by: protected static | July 7, 2008 2:38 PM
"Denied everything - while gesticulating wildly with his hands up at shoulder level."
That was very weird.
What confuses the heck out of me is his denial of having been fired. Are all of the news accounts in this regard in error?
Posted by: Carol | July 7, 2008 2:53 PM
I always have. The head football coach at my alma mater is also the advanced placement English teacher. (For those not familiar with them, Advanced Placement is a High School course which, if you pass a standardized test, counts for university credit.) So, yeah, definitely disappointing to encounter this blockhead.
Posted by: Nentuaby | July 7, 2008 3:09 PM
Well, he was talking on Fox News. Perhaps he was making allowances for the intellectual level of its viewers. Surely a good move on Freshwater's part, even if he did shoot a little high.
Posted by: Zeno | July 7, 2008 3:45 PM
Posted by: Herod the Freemason | July 7, 2008 4:03 PM
Coach Daub had plenty of supporters when he first locked horns with the ACLU over praying with his public high school football team but, just like John Freshwater, he lost supporters as time went on.
Also like Freshwater, Daub had a similar history of stealth preaching to other people's children. After the ACLU suit was settled in favor of the ACLU, Daub went on to sue for libel those people who had turned him in to the ACLU. He lost, appealed and lost again (Google Daubenmire vs. Sommers to read the whole story). He appeared to be hard-headed, self-righteous and vindictive.
By this time, most everyone in central Ohio was starting to see Daub as a loudmouth, rabble-rousing P.I.A. Those who suspected he was addicted to seeing himself in the news were proven right when he ran off to take Terry Schiavo a drink of water and then took off again to help Judge Moore protest the removal of the 10 Commandments from a Mississippi courthouse.
His reputation in central Ohio reached an all-time low 2 or 3 years ago when he was invited to speak to a FCA group at a school and was refused admittance at the door. It seems that some parents didn't want him preaching to their kids.
Daub has taken his show on the road with his "Shake the Nation" rallies. He and several other like-minded fundamentalists travel to small town churches and rant about abortion, sodomy and how America is going to hell in handbasket. He got a surprise a couple of months ago when a group called "The Interfaith Alliance" found out Daub was coming to their town (Google "Shake the Nation Shakes Up Local Leaders" Idaho Press Tribune). After years of criticizing pastors for not preaching The Gospel According to Dave, the pastors finally struck back.
When Daub popped back into the news as John Freshwater's defender, I noticed that most of the bloggers on the local news outlets opined that associating with Daub was a bad decision on Freshwater's part. I saw no support for Daub at all. He doesn't seem to have any friends anymore. Daub's bungled interview on Geraldo Live just proved that Daub is now central Ohio's Village Jesus Freak. The Dispatch newspaper keeps him on their Quotable Cast of Characters list. Daub never fails to say something extreme.
According to the book "UnChristian: What A New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity and Why It Matters " by David Kinnamen, intolerant, homophobic fundamentalists are the main reason that the under-30 crowd has a low opinion of Christianity in general and fundies in particular. Daub could be a poster boy for Christianity's image problem.
Posted by: Murph | July 7, 2008 7:53 PM
Daubenmire's foray into the relationship and reality of evidence and proof piss me off.
By itself it's just retarded, but as part of the current trend of American Religious nuts to engage in po-mo hypothesising on the nature of reality in order to twist things around until they're not just plain wrong, it bores me off.
It was boring the first time I can recall it recently being used to try and justify ID by claiming that nothing can be known 100%, and it's boring now. I'm so fu*king sick of idiots stringing together a bunch of gibberish and acting like it's some all powerul logical argument.
Or maybe I'm just reading it all wrong, in which case disregard.
Posted by: tincture | July 8, 2008 6:25 AM
Of course that should read, "it bores me and annoys me."
I'm also lead to believe that powerful has an F in it. Me speel gud.
Posted by: tincture | July 8, 2008 6:28 AM
I got a kick out of "Evidence is not proof, and it seems as though The Dispatch is attempting to sway public opinion. If evidence was proof, O.J. Simpson would be in jail."
So, John Freshwater *did* do everything they said he did, but shouldn't be fired because OJ got away with murder? Did I understand him correctly? If this is the best he can do in his friend's defense, Mr. Freshwater better hope to get some new friends real soon.
Posted by: Andrea | July 8, 2008 2:36 PM
Carol wrote: " 'Denied everything - while gesticulating wildly with his hands up at shoulder level.'
That was very weird.
What confuses the heck out of me is his denial of having been fired. Are all of the news accounts in this regard in error?"
I think I remember reading somewhere (sorry no link at my fingertips) that the school board members at the last meeting, after review of the independent HR team's report had come to a consensus that terminating him was warranted. I remember something about the firing proceedings would be "taken up" or something like that, at their next meeting, which I'm sure I read was July 7th.
So perhaps technically he had not actually been fired at the time of the interview.
Posted by: Andrea | July 8, 2008 2:57 PM
D. Daubenmire in an adult that should be like the saying about some children:
"Seen but not heard." OR BETTER YET "NOT Seen & NOT Heard" Yes, I know about the 1st Amendment...I'm just talking about what would be nice in his case. :)
Maybe if "coach" had paid more attention to raising his son Zack well then the following would not have happened: Daubenmire sentenced on child pornography charge
That article says the child porn images were found on the "family's home computer". Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I do believe that Z. Daubenmire was living @ home w/ dear 'ole Dad & so the images were in D. Daubenmire's home.
And see here for Z. Daubenmire's registry pg: Zachary Daubenmire
"Me thinks" D. Daubenmire had better "mind" his own family & stay out of the Freshwater case.
Now I really don't want to get too much into the actual debate over "Intelligent Design" vs "Evolution" BUT from what I understand the "logic" behind "ID" is this "Since the universe is so vast & complicated, ONLY a God/Omnipotent Creator must have created it all." What hogwash to call that "scientific", that is NOT scientific (that's FAITH) b/c if scientists applied that "logic" to everything they study then science would be worthless. I do believe in God, however, that is based on FAITH & NOT on science b/c science is NOT able to prove or disprove the existence of God/The Creator.
I say, leave religion out of the science classroom, PERIOD. Like I said, I really don't want to get into the religion discussion/debate directly but that's my opinion on the matter directly related to PUBLIC schools.
If someone could give me the link to the article that contained the photos of the markings, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Posted by: JMT | July 9, 2008 1:55 PM
Never mind on the pix links for I found one.
Ohio board votes to ax teacher accused of branding
Posted by: JMT | July 9, 2008 2:20 PM
I spend a lot of time on business in the Mt. Vernon, Ohio area and am heartened by the number of people that I've met that are tired of backwoods bozos like Daubenmire and Freshwater. This area, still largely populated with "butternuts", is an area where I just have to hold my tongue whenever my contacts there break the professionals' code and introduce religion into the workplace. Often it's a nod-nod, wink-wink set of signals to identify that one is a member of the 'christian majority', and a bible placed on a teacher's desk is a very strong, albeit inappropriate signal.
However, some of these knuckle-dragging Neanderthals are actually starting to argue with one another about the appropriateness of Freshwater's actions. A few years ago they would have been united in support for this goober, but now a few of them are actually beginning to show signs of intelligence. It's a start.
Posted by: mq | July 15, 2008 11:17 AM