Wesley Elsberry covers the contemptible David Vitter's stealth funding for creationism efforts. Vitter's a devious little sneak, and it's good to see him exposed.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
Search
Profile

PZ Myers is a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris.
…and this is a pharyngula stage embryo.
• a longer profile of yours truly
• my calendar
• Nature Network
• RichardDawkins Network
• facebook
• MySpace
• Twitter
• Atheist Nexus
• the Pharyngula chat room
(#pharyngula on irc.synirc.net)
• Quick link to the latest endless thread
Random Quote
Same religion that saves - Damns You
[Sepultura]
Recent Posts
- Things to do when you're godless
- Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be
- How can we not?
- List of science blogs, with an asterisk
- I'm having bad acid flashbacks, man
- That sneaky, nasty blasphemy law
- Rise up, Texans!
- Nice euphemism
- Dutch poll needs a little help
- But he doesn't know my mom
A Taste of Pharyngula
Recent Comments
- Mr T on Nothing will stop the never-ending thread! Nothing!
- A. Noyd on Nothing will stop the never-ending thread! Nothing!
- https://me.yahoo.com/a/WKNhkYtzhJaD5oSTKfSi95LWzc2K#d9be5 on List of science blogs, with an asterisk
- Feynmaniac on Nothing will stop the never-ending thread! Nothing!
- Tania on Things to do when you're godless
- Jadehawk, OM on A reasonable deconversion
- boygenius on Nothing will stop the never-ending thread! Nothing!
- joreth on Things to do when you're godless
- Carlie on Nothing will stop the never-ending thread! Nothing!
- raven on A reasonable deconversion
Archives
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
Blogroll
Other Information
« Jesus was a dirty hippie | Main | We “naive” atheists »
More on Vitter
Category: Creationism
Posted on: September 23, 2007 10:33 PM, by PZ Myers
Share this: Facebook Twitter Stumbleupon Reddit Email + More
TrackBacks
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://scienceblogs.com/mt/pings/51363









Comments
Posted by: Mena | September 23, 2007 11:00 PM
He making a speech in the Senate about Iraq the other day. His public speaking skills are about on par with Bush's! I swear, C-Span beats Comedy Central hands down sometimes.
Posted by: llewelly | September 23, 2007 11:15 PM
Wesley Elsberry quotes the Times-Picayune as spelling it 'Vitter' not 'Vetter' .
Posted by: Dave | September 23, 2007 11:15 PM
His name is Vitter, not Vetter.
Posted by: jeffox backtrollin' | September 23, 2007 11:31 PM
Vitter, bitter, twitter; it's all the same to me. :) :) :)
Posted by: Calton Bolick | September 23, 2007 11:38 PM
Wesley Elsberry quotes the Times-Picayune as spelling it 'Vitter' not 'Vetter' .
Probably because it IS "Vitter".
http://vitter.senate.gov/
Geez, it's not difficult.
Posted by: Divalent | September 24, 2007 12:07 AM
PZ, you ignorant slut! It's "i" before "e", except after "c". (NOT "v", Dammit!)
Posted by: Hans | September 24, 2007 12:32 AM
HEY! PZ's not ignorant!
Posted by: John McKay | September 24, 2007 12:33 AM
Go easy on him; spelling is hard.
Even Einstein, the smartest man in the world managed to get "i" before "e", except after "c" wrong twice in his own name.
Posted by: raj | September 24, 2007 4:06 AM
John McKay | September 24, 2007 12:33 AM
This was actually very funny.
Posted by: Non US Athiest | September 24, 2007 5:08 AM
OT: Athiests get the hell out of America : http://picsyard.com/ATHEISTS_GET_THE_HELL_OUT_OF_AMERICA
...
Posted by: Bob O'H | September 24, 2007 6:47 AM
John - you don't mind if I steal that, do you? Repeatedly?
Bob
Posted by: badchemist | September 24, 2007 7:03 AM
Non US Atheist
That is astounding, good to see the usual level of religious tolerance.
Posted by: Science Goddess | September 24, 2007 8:39 AM
The sneaky thing about this (and other) laws, is that they actually sound reasonable! I read the links, and they sound fine to me. I wonder how many regular people read them and thought they were OK. It's only after you do some digging that you find out they're a front for the fundies.
SG
Posted by: Dan | September 24, 2007 8:45 AM
I think the internet needs a LOL-cats style site with lions called "I can haz a Christian."
Freakin' eh! That Dave Vitter is an odious little bastard isn't he? These idiots don't even try to hide their contempt for the Constitution anymore, do they?
Posted by: sailor | September 24, 2007 9:08 AM
Kristjan Wager shows once again that Europeans have their eye on you America, and can see your insanity clearly.
http://kriswager.blogspot.com/2007/09/another-anti-science-politician.html
That link to "Atheists get the hell out of America" has at the moment too many hits for their server to handle.
Posted by: Christian Burnham | September 24, 2007 9:09 AM
It's i before e except as in Euler's identity: e^i2pi+1=0.
Posted by: Bob | September 24, 2007 9:11 AM
I really liked this part:
Praise be! Glory!
Posted by: Bad Albert | September 24, 2007 9:13 AM
As a Canadian I haven't read all of it but a major problem with the U.S. Constitution seems to be it doesn't spell out any penalties for breaking it. How about adding a section with mandatory hanging for anyone who violates the separation of church and state.
Posted by: Carlie | September 24, 2007 9:19 AM
"I can haz a Christian."
No, no. Has is always spelled properly, it's the object that has alternate cat spelling. One has to use correct lolgrammar.
Posted by: Dan | September 24, 2007 9:36 AM
Ahh... Thank you very much, Carlie. I can has a Christian it is then.
Posted by: raven | September 24, 2007 9:40 AM
What's noteworthy about the present Bush theocratic regime is how brazen the corruption is. I've long since lost track of how many officials have been arrested for corruption but whatever the number is, it is undoubtedly a small fraction of the perpetrators.
The bright side. I'm sure most or all of that $100 K will disappear into someone's pockets without passing go. We are talking Louisiana here, this is normal for them. This isn't so much government funding for an attack on science (the text) as payback for political allies (the subtext).
Posted by: CalGeorge | September 24, 2007 9:52 AM
Maybe they should earmark money for the "Canal Street Madam" to visit the classrooms of Louisiana and tell the boys and girls all about David's extra-curricular activities.
Teach the controversy!
Posted by: SteveM | September 24, 2007 9:58 AM
#12:"That is astounding, good to see the usual level of religious tolerance."
Oh but it is religious tolerance; she will tolerate any religion, but since atheism is not a religion, religious tolerance does not apply! [wow]
I see this as a corollary to an effect Hamilton predicted in one of the last of the Federalist Papers. Because the Constitution gives* you freedom of religion, it must only apply if you actually have a religion.
It boggles the mind that one does not recognize the fact that freedom to choose a religion includes the freedom to not choose any religion.
(* the USC doesn't actually give rights, it just enumerates which rights the government must protect)
Posted by: llewelly | September 24, 2007 10:01 AM
I love the ending line: Folks, we atheists do not commit crimes ... we use Satanic Mind Control to make theists commit crimes for us!That's right. Larry Craig solicited a cop because there was an atheist in the bathroom next door. No wonder so many Republicans are being caught committing crimes. It's how we Destroy them! Their efforts are futile! muhahaHaHaHA!
Posted by: Pablo | September 24, 2007 10:35 AM
FYI, David Vitter's brother is the Dean of the College of Science at Purdue.
I wonder what the Purdue Biology Dept thinks about the Dean's brother's attempts to fund anti-evolution teaching?
Posted by: BG | September 24, 2007 11:50 AM
"I wonder what the Purdue Biology Dept thinks about the Dean's brother's attempts to fund anti-evolution teaching?"
I would imagine that the attempt doesn't sit well with the department, but no more than that made by any other wingnut. Suggesting that it would somehow be offensive to them as a department because it's the dean's adult brother is just silly.
Posted by: Lepht | September 24, 2007 12:19 PM
hm. first Olga and Siegfried Vitter join hands with Thabo Mbeki to sell their toxic antiretroviral-substitute Virodene to Africans, then this guy pops up... i wonder if it runs in the blood.
L
Posted by: dwarf zebu | September 24, 2007 12:22 PM
Well done to her!
Posted by: Pablo | September 24, 2007 12:32 PM
"I would imagine that the attempt doesn't sit well with the department, but no more than that made by any other wingnut. Suggesting that it would somehow be offensive to them as a department because it's the dean's adult brother is just silly. "
I think it would be more than usual. They could, for example, ask him to exert a little influence on his brother, for science's sake.
You don't have that opportunity with every wingnut.
Will Dean Vitter confront Congressman Vitter about it? What is the level of his dedication to science teaching? Can he legitimately say, "I don't get involved in politics"? Does not his brother respect his views on science teaching? I mean, the guy is only the Dean of Science at a prestigious public institution?
This is an opportunity like few that come along.
Posted by: jimmiraybob | September 24, 2007 3:09 PM
OT: Athiests get the hell out of America :
Atheists have caused the ruin of this great nation...
But if it's a ruined nation how is it great? If it's a great nation then haven't the atheists participated in getting us there? Head hurts.
Posted by: Ichthyic | September 24, 2007 3:49 PM
That is astounding, good to see the usual level of religious tolerance.
people have short memories.
that's a cut-and-paste job that's been reprinted dozens of times in dozens of different newspaper opinion sections for at least the last 5 years.
do a google search on:
alice shannon soldotna
not saying the "love it or leave it" response isn't a common one in the US, but this particular instance is fake.
Posted by: BT Murtagh | September 24, 2007 11:23 PM
Here we go:
http://kscakes.com/LolCats/Detail.aspx/i-can-has-kristyin/
Posted by: David Marjanović, OM | September 25, 2007 5:45 PM
His name happens to fit the German orthography perfectly, though, even though that's not required of German names. You see, "ei" and "ie" are never pronounced the same in German.