Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
PZ Myers is a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris.
…and this is a pharyngula stage embryo.
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The church has contributed nothing to civilization. It has progressed somewhat, and it has become a little more decent, in reflection of the movements of civilization that have taken place outside of the church and usually in the face of the strong opposition of the church. But the church has always resisted the process of civilization. It has struggled to the last ditch, by fair means and foul, to preserve as long as it could the vestiges of ancient and medieval theology, with all the puerile moralities and harsh customs and medieval styles of belief.
[E. Haldeman-Julius, "The Church Is a Burden, Not a Benefit, In Social Life"]
« Franken in Morris | Main | Your brain is the next battleground »
Category: Politics
Posted on: October 23, 2008 3:36 PM, by PZ Myers
Oooh, this has got to sting. The NRCC has pulled all of its advertising budget from the Michele Bachmann campaign. I'm shocked that even Republicans have limits to what they will support.
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Comments
Posted by: Bronze Dog | October 23, 2008 3:40 PM
Wow. Just... wow. Maybe we should start encouraging the NRCC to continue such acts by putting together other nutty quotes from the crazies and showing them.
Posted by: Glen Davidson | October 23, 2008 3:40 PM
Just goes to show that the commies have infiltrated even the (previously god-like) Republican party.
You can't escape the un-American bastards running everything in America.
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/2kxyc7
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp, Kot, OM | October 23, 2008 3:42 PM
Sometimes just letting a fool speak is enough.
Posted by: Virgil Samms | October 23, 2008 3:44 PM
GOP reduces ad spending in Colorado
You've got to set priorities, and hey, those designer outfits aren't cheap.
Posted by: Albatrossity | October 23, 2008 3:51 PM
Ah, but Bachmann still has fans in Minnesota. Check out William Wallace's blog and see how the hard-core wingnuts view this tragedy...
Posted by: Jeff | October 23, 2008 3:53 PM
I'm wondering if this is because the GOP isn't about the McCarthyism anymore, just doesn't want to talk too loudly about it in public, or simply realized that she's self-destructed so they'd be wasting money on her campaign.
Posted by: Eric Atkinson | October 23, 2008 3:53 PM
Virgil. That's why Hillary's campain went bust. Those expensive designer outfits.
Posted by: varlo | October 23, 2008 3:54 PM
Since I live in what may be one of the unpatriotic states (on Nov 4 I hope so) perhaps I should not comment, but while I missed the original airing of this harpy's idiocy, I did see some excerpts. If anything, PZ, your original post was overly kind to this pitiful specimen of humanity. Of course if she loses her seat she can buy a blonde wig and claim to be one of the Coulter twins.
Posted by: raven | October 23, 2008 3:59 PM
This proves that the GOP has been taken over by anti-Americans!!!
There are undoubtedly some Fake Americans in there too.
Bachmann's wingnut church, Wisconsin Evangelical Lutherans, teaches that the Pope is the antichrist. Someone asked her about that once and she outright lied and said it didn't.
I bet that goes over well with the Catholics in her district. So where is Bill Donohue now?
Posted by: WithoutSol | October 23, 2008 4:04 PM
Check this out:
http://www.google.com/insights/search/#q=Pharyngula&date=today%207-d&cmpt=q
Posted by: And-U-Say | October 23, 2008 4:04 PM
So...
Does the NRCC become pro-American, or anti-American with this decision? I am sure Bachmann will let us know in the near future.
Posted by: MikeM | October 23, 2008 4:09 PM
I've wondered when they pull funding from the McCain campaign.
Seriously.
They know it's lost, and there must be 1-2 seats they can adequately fund, thus keeping the Dems from getting 60 seats in the Senate. At some point, you have to pull funding from any and all lost causes and pour it into close races.
McCain is a lost cause.
But it won't happen, because they're too stupid.
Posted by: joeyess | October 23, 2008 4:09 PM
They only have limits to what they support in terms of money. If they were flush with cash they would be all in on this one.
Let's not delude ourselves with thoughts that they have a moral compass.
They don't.
They're playing defense where they can be assured of a favorable outcome. They don't have the money to defend the batshit insane this cycle.
Any other year they would be all in for Bachmann. This year?
Nope.
Posted by: Eric Atkinson | October 23, 2008 4:13 PM
Another reason to vote for Obama:
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2008/10/021856.php
Posted by: Brad D | October 23, 2008 4:18 PM
I would like to see more of this in the future. Open your mouth and reveal what an ass you are = lose funding and increase funding for your opponent.
Posted by: Rey Fox | October 23, 2008 4:18 PM
Wow. Now let's hope it's truly a flameOUT, as in OUT of Congress.
Posted by: Doubting Foo | October 23, 2008 4:21 PM
She reminds me of Katherine Harris...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Harris
Freaks, both of them!
Posted by: Nerd of Redhead | October 23, 2008 4:21 PM
I suspect there was a sharp drop in her polling numbers recently. Otherwise, the money would stay if they thought she would win.
Posted by: Brad D | October 23, 2008 4:22 PM
My apologies in advance for the following pun:
Would this be the Bachman Turnover Drive?
Posted by: JohnnieCanuck, FCD | October 23, 2008 4:28 PM
Bad Brad. Bad.
Posted by: Larry | October 23, 2008 4:30 PM
#18:
Just takin' care of business
Posted by: Nick | October 23, 2008 4:34 PM
Watching the Republicans this year is like watching the last act of Hamlet. The only thing that remains to be seen is who will take the role of Fortinbras and pick up the remains of Denmark...I mean the GOP.
Posted by: Jag | October 23, 2008 4:38 PM
Nerd of Redhead (#17)
Exactly. Had her polling numbers gone up and donations started rolling in for Bachmann, the Republicans would have made it SOP.
Posted by: Cujo359 | October 23, 2008 4:49 PM
Jeff @ 5: I suspect it's number three. The Bachmann campaign's numbers, the ones that are public at least, don't look good for her campaign. One needn't posit any private polling that's worse, although it's possible there is some.
Posted by: Pyroclasm | October 23, 2008 5:11 PM
BACHMANN FAIL should be a new category of failage.
Posted by: bastion | October 23, 2008 5:33 PM
This is very troubling. We need to know who the people at the NRCC are associating with. We need to know who they are palling around with.
The news media should do a penetrating expose to expose these individuals at the NRCC and take a great look at the views of the people at the NRCC to see if they are pro-American or anti-America. I think people would love to see an expose like that.
Posted by: df | October 23, 2008 6:23 PM
@Eric Atkinson #13:
That's pretty funny. The Powerline goons have their panties in a wad because they don't understand how online credit card processing works. As is always the case, because they don't understand something then it's an insidious Democratic/Muslim/atheist plot to subvert democracy as we know it.
I'll re-post my comment to that post here in full because I don't know their editorial policy:
http://www.plnewsforum.com/index.php/forums/viewthread/42212/P15/#412939
Posted by: Luger Otter Robinson | October 23, 2008 6:34 PM
One theory is that the Republicans expect to win her district, so they don't need to put any money into her campaign, and that they also get some credit with the independents by apparently dissociating themselves from her. Another theory is that they want her to lose so that they can replace her with someone else more reasonable in the next election. They could also be hoping for a voter backlash. We had a similar, but not quite as odd, politician in Australia (Pauline Hanson) who was running in a safe Labor seat for the Liberals, made some fairly outrageous statements before the 1996 election, and had her endorsement cancelled by John Howard and then went on to winning her seat.
Posted by: QrazyQat | October 23, 2008 6:39 PM
I did hear the NRCC promised her some very nice, barely used clothes that won't be needed after Nov. 4th.
Posted by: The Chemist | October 23, 2008 7:07 PM
Well this may make Bidlack's job a lot easier. Meanwhile, I don't think the NRCC is appalled, I just think they're cutting their losses because they feel strongly she is going to lose (or win.)
Posted by: shonny | October 23, 2008 7:30 PM
From LA Times:
Marston said Bachmann's campaign also had seen a jump in contributions, from sympathetic donors who feel she's being unfairly targeted. But Marston said she didn't know the specific amount.
Guess a drop can be kind of a jump too?
Posted by: Canuck | October 23, 2008 7:43 PM
Old news. If you want up to the minute information on things like this, you need to take your browser to the Talking Points Memo web site. It's got the bleeding edge on campaign information. As much as I love this blog, the political stuff here is posted much earlier over at TPM. No slight to PZ; he's in the biology, genetics and godlessness business. Politics here is kind of an afterthought. Relevant, but not the top item. You want to know about whackjobs like Bachmann, TPM has it all.
Posted by: Nerd of Redhead | October 23, 2008 7:51 PM
If politics is an afterthought, maybe letting politics go for three months might get SfO and Walton to go way.Then again, if PZ needs their voluminous posts to pay his daughter's tuition, I can live with that.
Posted by: abb3w | October 23, 2008 8:16 PM
Easy to explain. Many Republicans are familiar enough with military terminology to understand the idea of "triage".
Posted by: wobert | October 23, 2008 8:34 PM
18&20 B B Baby you aint seen nuthin yet....
Posted by: foxfire | October 23, 2008 8:37 PM
The GOP is apparently ready to start eating it's own:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14891.html
Posted by: Blaidd Drwg | October 23, 2008 8:41 PM
About the "Clothing allowance" issue: I saw on Huffington Post that some right-wingnut is feigning outrage about Obama's use of the campaign plane to go visit his dying grandmother, saying - his words - that Obama really should be "humping his bags on a commercial plane".
Really, the Repuglican party is sooo fucking desperate about now.
Posted by: inkadu | October 23, 2008 8:49 PM
Cancuk - Bachman represents PZ's district, so he's allowed late to the party.
I initially heard about Bachmann on some re-runs of that Minnesota Atheist show PZ's always pimping. She's apparently been bat shit crazy since before she was elected.
Posted by: Dahan | October 23, 2008 8:59 PM
It's not eloquent, it's not politically correct, it's not even an argument, but I just want to say the following.
FUCK YOU BACHMANN!
I'm ashamed I live in the same state as this pile of shit. Her and Caribou Barbie could be twins.
Posted by: RamblinDude | October 23, 2008 9:10 PM
I'm shocked that even Republicans have limits to what they will support.
I wouldn't second guess what those limits are; the far right wing crowd is just fucking nuts. Down here in Florida you see a lot committed southerners (you know what that means) and they're getting very agitated the closer we get to the election. They're oiling and polishing their shotguns. I'm serious. Many of them are so hardcore and militant "conservative" that they're downright scary (think Dale Gribble on "King of the Hill"). They have been convinced by all the DVD's and E-mails that get circulated among that crowd that Obama's a Muslim with a secret agenda to overthrow the US, and there's going to be a bloodbath when Obama rallies his secret Muslim army, and the blacks are going to take over, etc. etc. etc.
Sure, a lot of it is indulgent hyperbole, but the violent sentiment is very real. With assholes like Limbaugh egging them on (Obama's the blue turbaned, third anti-Christ that Nostradamus warned us about, don't you know?), I wouldn't be surprised to see violence of some kind in the next two weeks.
Oh, much of Central Indiana is the same way. The things these people think and say will stun you.
Posted by: tomecat | October 23, 2008 9:11 PM
df@ #26:
Thanks for the update. I wanted to try that, but was loathe to donate even $5 to McCain.
Posted by: Luger Otter Robinson | October 23, 2008 9:12 PM
In only a minimally related item, I've just heard that CNN has reported that Scott McClellan has endorsed Barack Obama for president. It must be true; it's on wikipedia.
Posted by: Pity Minnesota | October 23, 2008 9:56 PM
I was watching some Bachmann videos and there's one of her from around 2006 supporting Intelligent Design. She's a real publicity seeker.
Here it is.
Hundreds and hundreds of scientists and even Nobel Prize winners support ID, according to her. Can someone tell me who those Nobel winners are?
She also said Terry Schiavo was "healthy" while brain-dead and the audience laughed. She appears to repeat all the party lines and stances just as Sarah Palin is doing. (She's talked with Palin.) I think the Rovians are creating them in factories. How did she ever win in Minnesota??
Posted by: James F | October 23, 2008 10:01 PM
#42
Can someone tell me who those Nobel winners are?
That's easy, there are none. Compare that to Project Steve, signed by both eligible Nobel Prize-winning Steves (Chu and Weinberg). Bachmann isn't even good at lying about ID.
Posted by: df | October 23, 2008 10:09 PM
tomecat @ #40
No problem. I took one for the team so to speak. But I gave another $50 to Obama to restore my karmic balance. :-)
Posted by: Ouchimoo | October 23, 2008 11:34 PM
Nice.
@Pity MN
Oh it gets better, keep digging. Huffington Post and DailyKos have dug up even more stuff. One of those lovely videos was Michele's infamous 'fool for jesus' speach. Right after that the preacher took the podium and ranted about how god gave them the right to preach politics in church.
Unfortunately, in the Pioneer Press she stated that she wasn't worried "As much as we would love to have the advertising, we have a strong budget; we have a strong plan,; we have strong poll data; and we can win this race without them anyway."
Yikes I hope she's just being naive or delusional!
Posted by: Nathanael Nerode | October 24, 2008 2:29 AM
I think this is because someone at the NRCC is actually worried about wasting money. Apparently, completely wasting their fortunes is the line the big-money wing of the Republican Party won't cross. (I doubt there's any line for the theocrat wing.)
It's become obvious -- since Bachmann's opponent, Tinkelberg (sp?) raised over a million dollars in less than a week -- that Bachmann is going to lose. So it would have been a waste of money.
Posted by: mayhempix | October 24, 2008 2:38 AM
Don't you see PZ? God is sacrificing Bachmann to atone for our atheistic abominations because he loves us. I can hardly wait until we hear how she is a poor victimized Christian thrown to the lions by the Un-Americans that have infiltrated the RNCC.
Posted by: DavidONE | October 24, 2008 7:14 AM
Dahan:
It's the eyes. They've both got that glazed-crazed-vacant-Stepford-Wives glint.
Posted by: Natalie | October 24, 2008 9:49 AM
Pity MN @ 42, Bachmann won because her district is gerrymandered to be very conservative.
Posted by: Sili | October 24, 2008 9:59 AM
Hmmm - I thought she had a canny resemblance to The Awful Poo Lady - only brunette instead of blonde.
Ah well.
Best of luck to rev. Tinklenberg <sniggers> - will he be donating some of his $700k+ to other candidates if he can't get around to spend it all before the 4th?
Posted by: eddie | October 24, 2008 2:26 PM
A couple of points:
They are ditching bachmann but keeping palin? Huh?
All that money for palin's outfit when SNL clothes Tina for 1% the cost. Porkbarreling I tell ya!
Posted by: JBlilie | October 24, 2008 2:54 PM
El Tinklenberg has pulled even now (after MB had a big lead). He's collected over $1M since MB put her foot repeatedly into her mouth and then lied about it and her attitudes. And she has the nerve to say that her comments would, "have no negative effec ton her campaign." What a tool.
Unfortunately, I have to agree with one Republican commentator on MPR: her (knuckle-head) attitudes fit the district (east, north, and NW outer-ring suburbs of MSP.) However, this time, I think she's shot herself in the foot badly enough to be tossed out. We can only hope. The momemntum is on ET's side.
Posted by: JBlilie | October 24, 2008 2:56 PM
Caribou Barbie! I love it! ROTFLMAO
Posted by: Arnosium Upinarum | October 24, 2008 3:48 PM
People are starting to get it: the ones who actually hate America are the ones who hate Americans and constantly bitch about them.
This domino chorus-line ought to topple all the way back up to Limbaugh...
click-click-click...click-click-CRASH. whoa, disappeared right through the floor of his studio.
pssst - old-timer Republicans who admired people of integrity like Everett Dirksen and didn't get fooled by the Ronny Raygun Show: it's beginning to clear up now, it' almost over. You're safe. You can soon come out of your storm cellars and reclaim your party...what's left of it.
Just make sure the neocon louts and haters from the religious right don't take it away from you again, okay? REAL Americans DON'T like to be dictated to.
Posted by: Arnosium Upinarum | October 24, 2008 5:42 PM
Again, so, if Bachmann is axed by them just for doing the republican shuffle, what's taking them so long to axe others like Norm Coleman?
And what about all those other guys and gals out there across the country foaming at the mouth towing their party's schtick, and doing a mighty fine mistake-free job of it?
Ah, in Coleman's case, it must be because Franken's "image" as a weird sort of guy is still quite serviceable to those who know nothing else - absolutely NOTHING else - other than to cultivate fictional appearances and shape opinion by marketing them. Franken-as-boogeyman still has potential traction with the haters. So keep up Coleman's funding.
Otherwise, there's really no similarity between Coleman's lies and Bachmann's, is there? Guess, there's a "real difference" between some liars and other liars...
They dropped Bachmann like a hot potato just because her allure on the market tanked, not because she conducted herself like a deceitful liar. (At least TWICE, without making any "big mistake" as she claimed).
Far be it for the RNC to get distracted by non-political issues like that. Not even the tabloids want her, and they LIKE to run stories about Abominable Snowjobs. That's who they think they're targeting: people who buy tabloids. You know, "Real Americans".
These professionals really know what they're doin', you betcha...and it shows.
They look around for people who already have a certain "look", like casting directors or fashion model agencies, then groom likely-looking proto-schmucks for the political stage. They ask themselves, "Do they have "IT"? (Never EVER, what these people's credentials, experience, knowledge and intelligence are WITHOUT folding it into the batter of political-marketability context). Then they yank on the big fork-switch and the electricity hums and sputters and sparks fly and smoke appears, and the creature is created. IT'S ALIVE, IT'S ALIVE!!!
Given this election cycle, one recoils at the thought of what hideous monstrosity they come up with in 2012.
Posted by: noyb | October 24, 2008 5:46 PM
See, this is what happens when you rely on such craptastic websites for retards such as yourself like Talking Point Memo. Here's the truth:
http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/nrcc-raising-money-off-bachmann-2008-10-24.html
But hey - don't let the facts get in the way of your pathological need to lie about Republicans, dipshits.
Posted by: df | October 24, 2008 6:25 PM
@ noyb #56
A vote for Bachmann is a vote for -
Lower taxes: For the rich!
Smaller government: But not cheaper, more efficient or more effective government.
Family values: Like hating gays and denying healthcare for children.
Personal freedoms: Like the freedom to be spied on by your government without a warrant.
Posted by: Groucho101 | October 24, 2008 10:23 PM
Kind of interesting that several Minnesota politicians' homes have been vandalized. They were spray painted with "U R A criminal resign or else" and "Psalm 2". Looks like "real America" is coming home to roost with the RNC.
PZ,
Is there any local coverage of this?
Posted by: Groucho101 | October 24, 2008 10:28 PM
Sorry, missed your post about it earlier.
Posted by: noyb | October 25, 2008 2:22 PM
@ df #58
Yeah, that has everything to do with this blatant falsehood PZ is spreading. Thanks for staying on-topic.
Posted by: df | October 26, 2008 5:12 PM
@ noyb #61
You're welcome. Now why don't you go troll the Associated Press for a while since they're running the same story?
Posted by: noyb | October 27, 2008 11:21 AM
@ df #62
You are dumb as shit. The AP story is from Thursday and the NRCC statements came out Friday.
Posted by: df | October 27, 2008 11:58 AM
@ noyb #63
What exactly does the NRCC press release prove? Do you honestly think they would publicly admit to pulling financial support from a Republican candidate? Of course they are going to deny it. Even an idiot like me can see that their decision not to fund Bachmann is political triage - they simply decided that Bachmann is unlikely to survive her self-inflicted wounds.
Posted by: noyb | October 29, 2008 1:32 PM
@ df #64
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Of course you would say that. Every denial means they're actually doing what they say they're not doing when it comes to Republicans. Democrats' denials are always the truth, though, right? Of course. Keep drinking that kool-aid, you dumbfuck.
Posted by: byon | November 5, 2008 9:08 AM
Oh, look. Bachmann won BIG TIME. So much for the "flameout." So much for the lie that she was being abandoned.