…and this is a 
The inevitable has occurred
Category: Personal
Posted on: August 28, 2007 8:05 PM, by PZ Myers
Hey, you know that $15 million lawsuit that was filed against me by Stuart Pivar? He's been getting hammered on the weblogs, the City Pages was preparing a story on it, the Seed lawyers were unflappable, and Peter Irons was constantly sending Pivar and his lawyer cutting dissections of their poor case. Peter was in contact with the City Pages reporter, who received a brief comment from Pivar earlier this evening.
"My attorney withdrew the suit today."
I wonder if the article is still going to be published…?
I can't say that I was ever really worried — the man had no case — but it's nice to see that silly potential time-suck gone.
No good deed goes unpunished, as they say. Peter Irons, who did such good work on my behalf, is now being threatened with legal action by Stuart Pivar's lawyer, Michael Little. The mouse squeaks at the lion; we should all close our eyes and turn our heads aside to avoid the inescapable carnage to follow. Either that, or open up a popcorn and cotton candy stand.
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Comments
praise the lard!
Posted by: Brian W. | August 28, 2007 8:10 PM
That's great news! Congratulations! We all knew it would turn out this way eventually, but it's great that it happened sooner rather than later.
I do have to say, "My attorney withdrew the suit" is just about the wimpiest way he could possibly have put it. Like his attorney wasn't acting on his instructions, but was some free-floating agent out of his control. Can't he take responsibility for anything? Sheesh.
But anyway -- congrats!
Posted by: Greta Christina | August 28, 2007 8:11 PM
Awesome. Glad that this thing disappeared. I guess whatever sense of dignity had enough of a residue to prevent going through a further humiliating process in a court room and on web blogs.
Wait. . . the blogosphere has this much power? That is kind of scary in itself. Maybe I should start a few more blogs. . . (oh, the power!)
Posted by: Gilgamesh | August 28, 2007 8:13 PM
Perhaps Mr Pivar would have done better had he used a horse's head, instead of a frivolous lawsuit to get his point across.
Posted by: Stanton | August 28, 2007 8:14 PM
The creationists will probably try to spin this like he was "silenced."
Posted by: Che | August 28, 2007 8:15 PM
Pivar spends his time sodomizing animals. He's a communist abortionist who has a foot fetish. My brother was going to buy 3 million copies of the book. However, after I informed him that he was homosexual, he promptly moved to not order the books. Probably directly costing Pivar some money.
Posted by: Tatarize | August 28, 2007 8:16 PM
Huzzah! I'm glad you don't have to waste your time sitting around in a courtroom swatting gnats. Why is it that kooks and creationists (wait...same thing) are only able to back down if there's the possibility that they might be countersued and lose money? If there isn't any money involved, they seem to be able to withstand any amount of intellectual evisceration and blithely keep repeating the same nonsense.
Posted by: Bryn | August 28, 2007 8:18 PM
Haha! I don't know whether to say "Pivar chickened out" or "Pivar saw the light."
Posted by: j | August 28, 2007 8:23 PM
jeez I hope they know at Uncommonly Decent. they seemed to be getting quite a chuckle out of it for a while.
Posted by: paul | August 28, 2007 8:23 PM
Ding, dong, the suit is dead. Huzzah!
Now can we see if we can get the top Google match for his name to be "crackpot"?
Posted by: Carlie | August 28, 2007 8:28 PM
PZ? I really think you need to send Pivar a nice fruit basket or something. Put some balloon animals in there too. He'd like that, I'd imagine.
Posted by: Dan | August 28, 2007 8:29 PM
PZ, thanks for mentioning my small contribution to convincing Pivar that his case was crap. Let's see, over the past 9 days I' ve put in about 40 hours on this case, and I charge $200 an hour, so PZ owes me $8000. Just kidding: I did this because I admire PZ and despise rich bullies like Pivar. Here's my pay: a commenter on one blog said "I want to have Peter Irons' baby." Wow! and another said, "Let's send him home-baked cookies." Chocolate chip, please. Seriously, if this kind of time-suck can happen to people like PZ, it could happen to anyone who says "boo" to a crackpot. But maybe Pivar's humiliating back-down will prevent other crackpots from trying the same tactic. Now, back to whittling on my front porch.
Posted by: peter irons | August 28, 2007 8:30 PM
The noodly one truly favors you PZ. How tall are you? Short people are touched by his noodly appendage more often you know. Perhaps alternatively you are a pirate or of pirate extraction. Do you like beer?
RAmen.
Posted by: Brian | August 28, 2007 8:30 PM
Congrats, does this mean you can talk about it now?
Posted by: Stuart Coleman | August 28, 2007 8:30 PM
whew! pivar must really be relieved!
Posted by: toomanytribbles | August 28, 2007 8:30 PM
That's the best possible ending.
Congrats.
Posted by: John Pieret | August 28, 2007 8:32 PM
Wow! I've been spending all afternoon feeling skeeved about dishonest people — particularly PRISM — but this made my evening quite a bit better.
Thanks for the link, too.
Posted by: Blake Stacey | August 28, 2007 8:33 PM
Can't it be both? How 'bout a nice basket of home-baked babies?
Oops. That comment should have gone on the "You can't replace animals with petri dishes and computers" thread.
Seriously, well done Peter!
Posted by: Brownian | August 28, 2007 8:34 PM
Jeez, and I was just getting ready to ramp up the folks at the RA forums to buy t-shirts emblazoned with "Free PZ!" and "Pivar's a crackpot. Sue me." All for your legal fund, I assure you.
Cheers, and congratulations! I'm raising a budlight in the general direction of Minnesota.
Posted by: pharandaway | August 28, 2007 8:41 PM
A few days ago, I caught part of a talk by Peter Irons on C-Span about his book God on Trial and had been considering buying it.
Now, I shall definitely get it.
This is excellent news. Congratulations to all who had a hand in bringing this about.
Posted by: Ian H Spedding FCD | August 28, 2007 8:45 PM
Well I'm bummed. I was hoping that the court case could go ahead and PZ would call John Baez as an expert witness as to how much of a crackpot Pivar is.
Posted by: Zarquon | August 28, 2007 8:46 PM
Any one care to lay odds on how long it will take the IDers to claim Pivar as a martyr? Or the whole fiasco as evidence of how Darwinist establishment uses intimidation to silence innovatiion and dissent?
Posted by: tourettist | August 28, 2007 8:48 PM
Re: comment 6
I heard that after he sodomises dogs, he sells them on to Michael Vick. And he was personally responsible for the deaths of JFK, Versace and Princess Di.
Posted by: Jon Eccles | August 28, 2007 8:50 PM
Excellent news. Of course we all knew that it would either end this way or it would get thrown out of court. I admit to hoping for the latter. It would have been funnier that way. Still, great news!
Posted by: Jewel | August 28, 2007 8:55 PM
Well, at least we're doing all right within the legal system; those pesky standards of evidence....
Posted by: J Myers (alas, no relation) | August 28, 2007 8:57 PM
Jon, I thought he sodomized the dogs AFTER Vick was done with them...
Mr. Irons, WELL DONE!
Gilgamesh, you forgot one addition to your post:
(oh, the power!) BUWAHAHAHAHAA!!!!!
Congratualtions PZ, (raising a homebrew to your honor) Keep up the good fight, "Never give up, Never surrender!" Capt. Peter Quincy Taggart - Galaxy Quest
Posted by: Sergeant Zim | August 28, 2007 9:00 PM
Hurray for a (ahem) load off PZ's plate and for a brief moment of sanity in all this. On behalf of a few fellow Canadians who were in the process of gathering our loonies and toonies to send to PZ, I am recommending we (instead) buy Prof. Irons (#12) a large jug of maple syrup and some flapjacks. These are probably not be better nutritionally for you than the cookies others offered and it pales in comparison to the "having my baby" thing - perhaps we can send ex-Canuck Paul Anka along to help out on that adventure. Oh and we'll send a (rare, non beetle infested) Douglas fir for Prof. Irons to whittle on.
Posted by: Steve Murphy | August 28, 2007 9:04 PM
While I'm glad you've recoverd potential future time, I was hoping for some entertainment comign from how embarrassing this was going to be for him.
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | August 28, 2007 9:06 PM
It was as if millions of atheists suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced - as they breathed a collective sigh of relief for our beloved Prof. Myers...
Posted by: John Koehler | August 28, 2007 9:11 PM
Drats.
Come on PZ, admit it.
You couldn't wait to take the stand. You wanted to take the stand. They wanted the truth! And you can handle the truth!
Stuart
Posted by: Stuart Weinstein | August 28, 2007 9:13 PM
Congratualtions PZ!
"Well, at least we're doing all right within the legal system; those pesky standards of evidence...."
Yes lucky we are not still back in the times of the inquisition with cardinals judging us and torturers working on the evidence.
Peter Irons book gets good reviews on Amazon, sounds interesting, and I shall buy it soon.
Posted by: sailor | August 28, 2007 9:14 PM
Congrats!
Posted by: Colin M | August 28, 2007 9:17 PM
I wouldn't want to face Peter in court with a weak case. Nor a strong case for that matter. LOL
I'll remember Rule 12 for a long time.
Pivar was smart to drop it. The first step when you find yourself in a hole is STOP DIGGING. At worst he would have spent a lot of money, lost, and looked like a loon anyway.
The old saying is that there is no such thing as bad publicity. In this case, not seeing that his self inflicted bad publicity did him any good.
Posted by: raven | August 28, 2007 9:26 PM
Glad to hear it, PZ. Now back to work.
Posted by: Toby J | August 28, 2007 9:28 PM
Congrats, PZ!
Posted by: Dave Carlson | August 28, 2007 9:34 PM
Gratz! Also thanks to all those invloved, like Mr. Irons. Back to the classroom with ya!
Posted by: Dahan | August 28, 2007 9:39 PM
So, if a millionaire can't complete a lawsuit against a blogger for calling him a crackpot, then I have reduced incentive for suing crackpot bloggers for insisting that I do not exist, that my CV is full of lies, that I haven't published what I've published, and that my coauthors are my "aliases."
Because, you know, being called a crackpot (Pivar) by someone who exists (PZ) is probably more damaging than my being called nonexistent by a crackpot (several of the Cult of Bostrom).
Defamation suits, to prevail in the USA, must prove financial damage, not just hurt feelings.
So, as you say: "it's nice to see that silly potential time-suck gone." I just have to let crackpots deny that I exist. If I leave the fools alone, maybe they'll think they're right, and go on to attack someone else, like Darwin, or Einstein.
Do you guys get your costs and fees reimbursed in the global release and settlement?
Posted by: Jonathan Vos Post | August 28, 2007 9:40 PM
Can't say I'm surprised, given the tenuous basis of the suit, but I am glad that the threat level has been reduced. Of course, the neat stuff is yet to appear, that being Pivar's next utterances.
I don't think that a lawyer can withdraw a client's suit. To represent and announce a client's wishes, yes. But making the Big Decision. no.
Posted by: Crudely Wrott | August 28, 2007 9:43 PM
Drat! And I was already halfway through writing the script for Boston Legal (working title: Inherit the Octopus), and now my time was wasted. Next time, PZ, could you critique somebody who has a bit more staying power?
Posted by: Elizabeth | August 28, 2007 9:56 PM
Alack and Alas. 'Tis true. I could not imagine unilaterally withdrawing a case without my client's express permission. Nor could the Disciplinary Board.
Posted by: Spanish Inquisitor | August 28, 2007 10:06 PM
This is good news ...
Posted by: Keith Douglas | August 28, 2007 10:07 PM
Now can we see if we can get the top Google match for his name to be "crackpot"?
At Amazon "classic crackpot" is not yet the number one tag for Pivar's book.
You know what to do.
Posted by: Graculus | August 28, 2007 10:07 PM
PZ, if you or Mr Irons (or both) are ever in Grand Forks, I shall stand a round of drinks for the house.
Posted by: justawriter | August 28, 2007 10:08 PM
Yea!!! Of course, Pivar is a martyr to the evil science/truth conspiracy. So sad. That's OK, a colonic, some chelation therapy, and a good prayer circle should make him feel better.
Posted by: PalMD | August 28, 2007 10:10 PM
Pivar's lawyer is going to sue Peter Irons because Irons showed him that he's gonna get his arse kicked in court? He should thank him for limiting the damage he was doing to his reputation if his client continued with the case.....
Posted by: Brian | August 28, 2007 10:12 PM
Blake, you're just bitter because now you have to give back that PhD. Mr. Pivar gave you.
Posted by: Dan | August 28, 2007 10:15 PM
Dan (#46):
Actually, I had already gotten one last year — that's a story I should write about some day, too. . . .
Posted by: Blake Stacey | August 28, 2007 10:17 PM
I am so relieved. It is no surprise that Pivar's lawyer pissed his pants after Irons chimed in.
I am slightly disappointed that I didn't get a t-shirt...lol... Not that sorry.
Posted by: Andrew | August 28, 2007 10:23 PM
sailor, I meant that (at least for the time being), crackpots of all sorts are stymied when they actually have to meet certain standards of proof for their claims, though I certainly agree with your interpretation, as well.
Posted by: J Myers | August 28, 2007 10:27 PM
O'Leary has already mentioned it, claiming she predicted the outcome all along [the dreck in question].
I love her line: "Let the Internet police itself". It's almost like she's saying the bad ideas will die out on their own and the good ones will be naturally selected to survive. Hey, wait a minute...
Posted by: mojoandy | August 28, 2007 10:30 PM
This is great news.
Posted by: IanR | August 28, 2007 10:34 PM
I would like, Mr. Myers, to let you know that my lawyers and I have also decided to withdraw our suit. It has become apparent that you don't know who I am, and therefore cannot be held accountable for me sucking at everything.
Best,
Posted by: Jeff | August 28, 2007 10:35 PM
Anet #23:
Princess Di?
Was he dirvin' the car, then?
Posted by: Eggrott | August 28, 2007 10:38 PM
As a result of Pivar's hissy fit, thousands of people who didn't know him from Adam now recognize his name and think: "complete crackpot".
Way to go, Pivar. You idiot.
Posted by: CalGeorge | August 28, 2007 10:43 PM
Congrats, PZ!
Posted by: Tulse | August 28, 2007 10:48 PM
"Peter Irons, who did such good work on my behalf, is now being threatened with legal action by Stuart Pivar's lawyer, Michael Little."
Oh, his poor wittle hurt feelings! They (Pivar and Little) deserve each other.
"The mouse squeaks at the lion; we should all close our eyes and turn our heads aside to avoid the inescapable carnage to follow. Either that, or open up a popcorn and cotton candy stand."
I could go for some popcorn. With real butter. And great glee.
Posted by: Susannah | August 28, 2007 11:06 PM
No good deed goes unpunished, as they say. Peter Irons, who did such good work on my behalf, is now being threatened with legal action by Stuart Pivar's lawyer, Michael Little.
Lol who didn't see that one coming a mile away.
Posted by: 386sx | August 28, 2007 11:11 PM
If I know Peter Irons, his response to any threat from Pivar's lawyer is the same response I would have: bring it on, pal.
Posted by: Ed Brayton | August 28, 2007 11:14 PM
Steve Murphy(#47): Poutine and screech!!!!
Mr. Irons, I second the baby thing.
Congrats PZ!
Posted by: Mena | August 28, 2007 11:15 PM
i was thinking it would get withdrawn once they admitted to themselves how likely it was they'd A) lose and 2) get a mighty fine for being jackasses.
Posted by: garth | August 28, 2007 11:16 PM
Whoops, typo. That was supposed to be Steve Murphy(#27).
Posted by: Mena | August 28, 2007 11:17 PM
That's natural selection for you.... Pivar didn't make the grade.
Posted by: Lynn David | August 28, 2007 11:22 PM
Congrats, PZ! Best wishes and keep up the good work!
Posted by: andbrooke | August 28, 2007 11:30 PM
Congratulations, PZ.
BTW: Mr. Vos Post, regardless of any merit of your position, you do seem to repeat your OOT assertions in various posts.
It detracts.
Posted by: John Morales | August 28, 2007 11:32 PM
Hmmm. I wonder if perhaps — just perhaps — Mr Little withdrew the suit because it's still inside the 21-day safe harbor under Rule 11? That's how a lawyer withdraws the suit...
Posted by: C.E. Petit | August 29, 2007 12:12 AM
RE: Suing Mr. Irons.
I''d buy tickets to that court date. Just to see Mr. Little get his arse handed back to him by the judge.
and Mr. Irons. I have doubts that Mr. Little could fight his way out of a paper bag. IF he does help with a suit versus Mr. Irons, I hope the state decides to punt him off the bar.
Posted by: Paula Helm Murray | August 29, 2007 12:13 AM
I dont know if to laugh or to cry. I am glad that the 15,000,000 dollar menace has been lifted, but on the other hand, I wanted to see PZ deconstruct Mr Pivar in court. Is it now safe to say "crackpot?
Posted by: jaim klein | August 29, 2007 12:15 AM
I read a sci-fi short story years ago, and I can't remember the author, but the gist was that aliens were hampering Earth technology by getting the most productive scientists to waste their time going to endless meetings and conferences. It's obvious to me now that the sinister aliens are financing law schools.
Posted by: Bert Chadick | August 29, 2007 12:36 AM
Michael Little strikes me as the kind of guy who, when presented with the comment, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," responds with, "Not yet it isn't!"
How long before we hear of Little being sued by Pivar himself for damages from an ill-advised lawsuit?
And a lesson for all the other crackpots out there: There's a definite benefit to staying beneath the radar. The alternative is to try and sue yourself for damages (and I imagine Mr. Little is drafting up the letter now...)
Posted by: Just Al | August 29, 2007 12:41 AM
JvP @ 37: Those of us who've followed your comments on various fora for the past few years know all about your celebrity coauthors and colleagues. We just wish you were, you know, cooler about it. Suck people in with quality, and your associations will reveal themselves.
Peter Irons: Do you have a blog? Does it have a PayPal button? That might take some of the sting out of the pro bono work. Of course, blogging will cut into your whittlin' time, so there's that to consider.
Oh, and congratulations to PZ and a big thank you to Peter Irons and the Seed legal department.
Posted by: HP | August 29, 2007 12:48 AM
Peter Irons.....Antioch College Grad.
Posted by: MOLLUSKMAN | August 29, 2007 1:01 AM
God on Trial is going straight to the top of my reading list. Cheers to Mr. Irons.
Posted by: Nullifidian | August 29, 2007 2:06 AM
Well, probably not related except, that "the inevitable has occurred" is the title of this thread. At least Americans are not the only stupid ones, such infinitesimal, depressing "solace" that might be...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0CjrNgK0zw
What orbits the earth?
The Moon,
The Sun,
Mars,
or Venus.
You think the an adult Frenchman can answer?
Humanity... a lost cause. You want to convince them belief in deities is irrational? You think they're that smart?
Posted by: SteveC | August 29, 2007 2:17 AM
It's like a stupid parade that has no end, but you wish it would.
Posted by: MikeM | August 29, 2007 2:22 AM
Congrats, mr. Pivar. Thanks to your silly attempt at a lawsuit as hollow as your balloon animals, you have been immortalized throughout the web as a crackpot - by thousands of people who never would have known you as such otherwise.
Posted by: forsen | August 29, 2007 3:15 AM
Yay PZ. Of course we knew he didn't have a hope in heck of getting his silly ass lawsuit recognized, it'd be thrown out of court, but still it's good to hear that you don't have to waste your time on that whiny little moron and his pathetic hissy fit.
I suppose he hopes it will get more copies of his book sold if he gets publicity? Too bad it just makes everybody think he's a moron.
Posted by: anti-nonsense | August 29, 2007 3:27 AM
Rather than causing terminal damage to Peter Irons' waist measurement, this seems to me an excellent way that readers of this blog could repay him.
Posted by: Stephen | August 29, 2007 3:40 AM
"Cult of Bostrom"????? Are you refering to Nick Bostrom?
Posted by: HellKaiserRyo | August 29, 2007 4:13 AM
>>I wonder if the article is still going to be published...?
They should. I've never heard of them and you tend to link to articles about you. They'd be silly to get rid of their hard work and potential publicity.
Posted by: Tatarize | August 29, 2007 4:17 AM
Little: Well, can I sue you, then?
Irons: Sue me?! What for?
Little: Emm... ehh... for punitive damages!
Congratulations, PZ. And all praise to Peter Irons, both for his assist to PZ and for some of the sweetest, sweetest pWnage ever published on teh internets.
Posted by: Mrs Tilton | August 29, 2007 4:23 AM
The wikipedia entry's list of his works appears to be incomplete then.
Posted by: SEF | August 29, 2007 4:34 AM
This is a good result.
It will embolden PZ and his kind to say more and more vicious things about the opposition, insuring that the conflict goes on, and that victory on your behalf will be delayed, it it comes at all.
Posted by: Stein | August 29, 2007 4:48 AM
...Yup, pass the popcorn. [settles back in lounge chair, munching happily and watching expectantly]
Posted by: Luna_the_cat | August 29, 2007 4:56 AM
well this seems to be doing Peter Irons' book sales some good and Pivar's some bad. I'd never heard of either of them before - I think this is almost a record in the speed in which a creationist has entered my crackpot list :)
Posted by: Jet Black | August 29, 2007 5:05 AM
Stein:
No one likes a concern troll. Bye now.
Posted by: Azkyroth | August 29, 2007 5:23 AM
Clang. (That was was my atheist ass being laughed off.) I suggest Mr Pivar spends some time in an elementary school playground getting hardened up to infant-grade heckling before he comes and plays with the big boys and girls.
One thing I've noticed over this,
Crapped outsorry I mean 'Expelled' and other spats with creationists and IDers, is just how touchy and humourless they are. It looks like their subconscious demons know it's all bollocks that collapses under scrutiny.Posted by: lunartalks | August 29, 2007 5:43 AM
DAMN! You mean we now don't get to see PZ on the witness stand eviscerating Pivar, and the whole Latin-fest/Wigfight (purely UKcentric courtroom facets) shennanigans which would result in Pivar owing PZ one of his kidneys and his firstborn child?
Oh well, I suppose I'll have to settle for being pleased at PZ not having his time wasted by frivolous lawsuits. Dammit, I was really looking forward to the bloodbath. Where's a Colloseum filled with lions and christians when you need one.
Oh well.
Louis
Posted by: Louis | August 29, 2007 5:57 AM
Pivar dropping his fruitcake lawsuit is only the good news. Don't bet that this is over yet. Rumor has it that he's now retained the services of a voodoo priestess and intends to turn you into a newt.
I hope Peter has good mojo.
Posted by: Mike O'Risal | August 29, 2007 6:00 AM
Following all the turmoil and elated by the result thus far, I got the irresistible urge to get both the inimitable Peter Irons' volume 'God on Trial' and Mr. Pivar's 'Lifecode'.
The first was no problem. It may be interesting to see what happens to its Amazon.com sales ranking (which right now stands at #38604) in the coming weeks. The extra sales will, I guess, handsomely defray the $8000 that Mr. Irons has invested. (I guess he has by now switched on his cookie filter).
The Pivar volume is a somewhat different case. It can be ordered at http://www.axiomhouse.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=AH&Category_Code=LFC.
However if you turn to that webpage you'll see that the title reads "Lifecode: From Egg to Ebryo" (repeat Ebryo [sic]). I first didn't believe my eyes, but then I realized that this Freudian slip -- ebryo, from Lat.: ebrio = to make drunk -- reveals something, if not a lot about the state of mind of the author. I decided not to purchase the volume, after all. I strongly dislike eggnor!
Posted by: FlipVanTiel | August 29, 2007 6:31 AM
Now he's commented here, I vote Molly for babe & cookie magnet Peter Irons.
Posted by: steve_h | August 29, 2007 7:33 AM
"Peter Irons, who did such good work on my behalf, is now being threatened with legal action by Stuart Pivar's lawyer, Michael Little. The mouse squeaks at the lion; we should all close our eyes and turn our heads aside to avoid the inescapable carnage to follow."
I hope Irons rip their balls off.
Alan.
Posted by: A. Bellis | August 29, 2007 7:52 AM
Peter, I'm just curious. Was a Rule 11 notice involved?
Posted by: dhonig | August 29, 2007 7:57 AM
steve_h @90: seconded.
Just ordered Irons's God on Trial, BTW. Its subject is one that interests me tremendously, yet it took PZ's tribulations to bring it to my attention. Surely the Almighty works in strange and wondrous ways!
Posted by: Mrs Tilton | August 29, 2007 8:17 AM
Posted by: Steve LaBonne | August 29, 2007 8:32 AM
Yes, that's the way to dig yourself out of an embarrassing hole - sue a lawyer.
Posted by: Ginger Yellow | August 29, 2007 8:34 AM
Mena (#59 and 61): I bow to your superior choices as alternatives to my suggestions; poutine and screech it is - especially given the lawsuit pending (threatened) against Prof. Irons. The screech name seems somehow appropriate; there might be room in here for a line about this lawsuit being akin to kissing a cod but it is too early here to contemplate that weirdness.
Posted by: Steve Murphy | August 29, 2007 9:09 AM
Peter Irons, who did such good work on my behalf, is now being threatened with legal action by Stuart Pivar's lawyer, Michael Little. The mouse squeaks at the lion
Why did I read this as: "...threatened with legal action by Michael Pivar's lawyer, Stuart Little. The mouse squeaks at the lion"
Posted by: chris y | August 29, 2007 9:19 AM
Reference Mr. Pivar and Mr. Little, "methinks it is like a weasel" (with all apologies to Messrs. Shakespeare and Dawkins). And while threats of lawsuits are being bandied about, Mr. Little might want to look up "barratry" as well.
Posted by: Bryn | August 29, 2007 9:33 AM
So much for that tempest in a teaspoon. I wonder how much he paid for that bit of publicity?
Posted by: Andy | August 29, 2007 11:13 AM
This is a good result.
It will embolden PZ and his kind to say more and more vicious things about the opposition, insuring that the conflict goes on, and that victory on your behalf will be delayed, it it comes at all.
Posted by: Stein | August 29, 2007 04:48 AM
So, having an opinion and backing it up is 'vicious'. Ah, if only true viciousness were this harmless.
And just a little question, did you pick the name 'Stein' in honor of the mocumentary?
Posted by: Janine | August 29, 2007 11:47 AM