…and this is a 
It's just a silly online poll, and I don't have a stake in how it comes out one way or the other, except for one thing: I must defeat Brad Pitt. I like the guy, and I've enjoyed his movies, and I'm happy that he's come out as an atheist, but you know…I'm looking forward to being able to go into the bedroom and tell the Trophy Wife™ that I'm better than Brad Pitt at something. And she will say, "I know, baby, I know," no matter what, but it would just be nice to have some statistical backing for the claim.
Richard Dawkins 32%
Bill Maher 15%
PZ Myers 17%
Greg Epstein 0%
Margaret Downey 13%
Fred Edwords 6%
Brad Pitt 15%
If you all run over there and push Brad Pitt over the top, at least I'll still be able to demonstrate my superiority in one area with a graphical demonstration of Pitt's hideous beards.
Anyway, have fun storming the poll, no matter how you vote!
P.S. I just realized that I have a trump card. Even if he beats me on this poll, I've still got a more attractive wife than he does. So go ahead, vote however you want, my ego is safe.
Comments
Posted by: HotDogBun
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December 25, 2009 11:08 PM
I do not understand how someone who does not identify himself as an atheist, criticizes atheism as though it were a religion, and is blatantly anti-science, is in the running for this award... much less being tied for 3rd place with 15%?!
Posted by: Newfie
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December 25, 2009 11:08 PM
That's a squiggly squiddly beard on him though.. tout the cephalopods all you want, you couldn't pull that off, methinks.
Posted by: Quarknugget
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December 25, 2009 11:21 PM
Looks like it's working.
Epstein, what happened?
Posted by: Zeno
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December 25, 2009 11:24 PM
Only 215 votes so far?! I am not impressed. Is everyone actually out celebrating Christmas and little Baby Jesus?
But PZ is right: This is his one chance to best Brad Pitt.
Posted by: PZ Myers
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December 25, 2009 11:42 PM
You're a mean one, Mr Zeno.
Posted by: JD
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December 25, 2009 11:46 PM
But Brad Pitt helped build neighborhoods in NOLA after Katrina. He couldn't have done that without the guiding hand of a Jesus who wears fishing waders. No way.
Posted by: Newfie
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December 25, 2009 11:46 PM
nope, not chance. :)
Posted by: 朴競花/박경화 (Gyeong Hwa)
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December 25, 2009 11:48 PM
We can't just elect you without good reason. Sure, you're intelligent, a biologist, published research on zebra fish, like cephalopods, stood up for freedom of expression, and gave us a playground to grill stupidity, but are you sexier than Brad Pitt (when he was young)?
Posted by: asidity
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December 25, 2009 11:49 PM
68% when I voted. I would have voted for Dawkins, but he's gotten soft (oh dear, there's that "rift" again).
Posted by: Aratina Cage
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December 26, 2009 12:11 AM
I just voted and here are the results so far:
Atheist of the Year 2009
* Richard Dawkins
19%
* Bill Maher
1%
* PZ Myers
69%
* Greg Epstein
0%
* Margaret Downey
2%
* Fred Edwords
0%
* Brad Pitt
6%
Created on Dec 25, 2009
Total Votes: 670
Posted by: Trophy Wife™
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December 26, 2009 12:18 AM
Oh PZ -- you're too sweet! You're blinded by love my dear.
Posted by: Zeno
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December 26, 2009 12:23 AM
I'm certain, PZ, that your trophy wife continues to cherish you in preference to Brad Pitt.
Posted by: mark.ormandy
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December 26, 2009 12:23 AM
PZs poll raping wins again :)
Surprised as to the absence of Hitchens on that poll... I mean, Bill Maher, Greg Epstein, Brad pit etc got on it, but not Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris or Daniel Dennett?
Posted by: Pope Bologna XIII - The Glorious High Sauceror of Pastafarianism and Grand Poobah of His Holy Meatball.
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December 26, 2009 12:27 AM
This poll is like a lamb to the slaughter.
Posted by: ~Pharyngulette~
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December 26, 2009 12:33 AM
I predict this poll will be thoroughly pharyngulated in no time. Who's ever heard of an online poll being "Pitted" anyway? Pffft. So there you go, PeeZed, you're also better than Brad at directing your hordes of flying monkeys to vote as their rationality tells them to. (Besides, we women of Pharyngula loves us some hot intellect, don't cha know.)
Posted by: Trophy Wife™
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December 26, 2009 12:33 AM
Uh-oh! I'd better clarify. #11 was in reference to the post's P.S. message. Zeno's right. PZ, I'll continue to cherish you in preference to Brad Pitt.
Posted by: AnneH
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December 26, 2009 12:45 AM
That's true, since Brad Pitt isn't married ;)(It's a technicality, but I couldn't resist)
Posted by: Steven Dunlap
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December 26, 2009 12:48 AM
Richard Dawkins
18%
Bill Maher
1%
PZ Myers
71%
Greg Epstein
0%
Margaret Downey
1%
Fred Edwords
0%
Brad Pitt
5%
I did not think to note the number of votes. But I suspect this poll has been pretty well Pharyngulated.
Posted by: madbull
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December 26, 2009 12:53 AM
I have a thing for fun professors PZ it is.
Do I get a baby squid gift for voting ?
Posted by: ArmandTanzarian
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December 26, 2009 1:04 AM
I voted for before I realized it had already been Pharyngulated.
Actually I would've voted for Stephen Fry if he were on. Though is he an atheist?
Posted by: DJSutton
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December 26, 2009 1:10 AM
Both Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie are atheists, if I'm not mistaken. And I'd take either one over Maher or Epstein.
Posted by: consciousness razor
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December 26, 2009 1:15 AM
PZ rocks. Duh!
Dawkins and Pitt would be my next two choices, but they already get plenty of recognition. If Pitt would eat a baby on the Tonight Show while desecrating a frackin' cracker and explaining some science, then maybe he'll have a shot next year.
This is such a silly poll, though. Maher isn't an atheist; and although he's occasionally funny and critical of religion, he's a woo-soaked jackass. Epstein could probably benefit from a long, cold shower. I'll be happy if those two remain in the low single-digits.
Posted by: Joe Fatzen
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December 26, 2009 1:20 AM
Yes, but lest you forget... Richard Dawkins is bangin' Romana. ROMANA!
Is Trophy Wife a Timelord? I think not!
Posted by: Caine, ghetto féministe
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December 26, 2009 1:36 AM
Voted for you, PZ. I cast one for Margaret Downey as well, 'cause I really liked the Tree of Knowledge.
Posted by: mattand08
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December 26, 2009 1:39 AM
So has Bill Maher finally admitted he's an atheist or is still fence sitting on this? This article at celebatheist.com (http://www.celebatheists.com/wiki/Bill_Maher) is claiming that he's admitting it, but the quotes don't match up to their claim.
To me, it's reading like his usual "I have no idea" shtick, rather than "The available evidence indicates there's no God", which is how I've always interpreted Richard Dawkins' stance. I notice that Maher invokes Richard Dawkins when explaining his position. Not sure that Maher does or cares to understand the good Professor's take.
Posted by: JHS
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December 26, 2009 1:53 AM
I think this just might be the Year of the Squid.
Posted by: whitebird
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December 26, 2009 2:07 AM
PZ currently @ 69%...(huh-huh)
Down from the 71% at comment #18, though. Only 26 comments here, though, so I'm predicting somewhere in the 90%'s by morning (PST).
Posted by: whitebird
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December 26, 2009 2:14 AM
Appy polly loggies for the too many "though"s..it's a beery cheery Squidmazzle.
Oh, and RE: Brad Pitt's facial hair in the link? Vommish.
Posted by: dpoem68
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December 26, 2009 2:25 AM
Can I comment?!? Or, is tonight Movable Type night?
Posted by: DPoem
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December 26, 2009 2:32 AM
Whoa... I finally found a use for AIM.
Posted by: percyprune
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December 26, 2009 2:40 AM
Sorry, I voted for Edwords for having the stones to square up against O'Reilly.
If you do that PZ then you'd have my vote for sure.
Posted by: percyprune
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December 26, 2009 2:46 AM
I can't recall whether he's said the words 'I am an atheist' but he's made numerous statements pouring scorn on all religion and woo.
Not many people can get away with the words 'religion... shit it!' on a popular TV panel show.
He's also probably our most popular gayer on TV. Bless.
Posted by: Rorschach
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December 26, 2009 2:47 AM
I voted for Pitt.It's a little bit like the pope coming out to say he's jewish.
I even forgive him for the ridiculous role he played in Tarantino's last (and worst) film.
Sort of.
Posted by: percyprune
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December 26, 2009 2:50 AM
Romana II to be precise. Joe has a point, though...
Posted by: Doc_Murray
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December 26, 2009 2:56 AM
at #28, yeah. Makes me want to sick all over the place. Not so horrorshow.
Posted by: tristan.croll
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December 26, 2009 3:12 AM
Testing... testing... is this thing on?
Anyway, I voted. Looks like the poll is well and truly Pharyngulated.
Posted by: Kristjan Wager
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December 26, 2009 3:38 AM
I'd say that Brad Pitt is not the person to beat - it's Bill Maher. Why the hell would anyone put him on a poll of atheists? Anti-religious != atheist, as Maher demonstrates.
Posted by: Rorschach
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December 26, 2009 3:52 AM
Good point !
Should have told Aaron Baker that !!
Posted by: Miles670
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December 26, 2009 4:00 AM
I voted Dawkins because i think he's pushing the agenda quite well. I bought the greatest show on earth the first day it was out and next to a short history of nearly everything its probably my favourite book. I kinda knew it wouldn't do any good though, once PZ posts a poll on here no-ones else has got a chance! Not that i think any of the other nominees will mind :D
Posted by: romyboo
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December 26, 2009 5:18 AM
I just realized that I have a trump card ... I've still got a more attractive wife than he does
That's prudently safeguarding much more than mere ego, innit?
Posted by: Aquaria
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December 26, 2009 5:20 AM
PZ edges out Dawkins for rattling more cages. Although I have the serious hots for RD, which is very weird because I don't usually go for older men (anymore). It's not the accent. Guess it's the brain, the dry wit, and... I dunno. There's something permanently childlike about him.
Ten years ago, Brad Pitt might have gotten the vote, but he can't compete with intellect, graceful aging, and better taste in beards. Vote to PZ.
I can't begin to express how much Brad Pitt's advancing years have disappointed me. Once upon a time, he was one of my top five choices for permanent poolside slave boy with the hot face and bod, and all that gorgeous hair (he's tall, too! Mmm!). But nothing lasts forever. Sigh.
Then again, so what? Other fish in the sea and all that. My current idea of stud monkey has moved far to the east, and gotten younger, A lot younger (do I need to link to the picture again? My son has a permanent fear that he will be older than my next husband. All I can say is: I hope so! :::perv snicker:::
Posted by: toomanytribbles
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December 26, 2009 5:21 AM
sorry, pz, i voted for dawk... but i know what Trophy Wife™ knows -- pitt pales in comparison to true sexiness.
plus maher's name has no business being there.
Posted by: vanharris
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December 26, 2009 5:23 AM
Much as I like RD,
I had to vote for PZ,
for with woo and religion,
'twas an easy decision,
as to who's best at taking the pee.
Posted by: Rorschach
|
December 26, 2009 5:28 AM
I feel slightly better now...:-)
TMI I guess lol !
Posted by: PervyPirate
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December 26, 2009 6:10 AM
Meh, I don't like civil wars. Voted for one of the least popular ones.
Posted by: The Tim Channel
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December 26, 2009 6:32 AM
I wondered about that too. Voted PZ because he asked me first, but Dawkins is definitely worthy.
Enjoy.
Posted by: 'Tis Himself, OM
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December 26, 2009 6:41 AM
Maher isn't an atheist and Epstein is a godless religionist. I'm glad they're both well down in the voting since neither belongs in the list of candidates.
Posted by: creating trons
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December 26, 2009 7:05 AM
Voted for PZ.
I got RD's new book when it hit the shelves at B&N. great read. Wednesday I got my xmas package from mom and in it was RD's new book! I called her to say thanx and stuff. told her how I was meaning to get this book. I couldn't tell her I had already finished it. After I hung up the phone (well its a cell, so it doesn't hang on anything) I decided what the hell, I'll read it again. I wish I had some one to give it to.
Posted by: Miles670
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December 26, 2009 7:42 AM
@#48
Surely you can think of someone?! You'd be doing a good deed giving that to a young guy/girl that hasn't put much thought into the validity of religious claims. Make them think :D
Posted by: blacksteel42
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December 26, 2009 7:49 AM
Send it to Me.
20/125 Ferguson Street
Palmerston North
New Zealand
Oh, and I voted PZ but RD would have been up there.
He is in with the Time Lords and all...ESPness
Posted by: ChrisH
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December 26, 2009 7:50 AM
Hm, voted RD mainly because I'm English! Oh, and his new book is really rather good (I didn't like TGD as much as maybe I could).
Posted by: creating trons
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December 26, 2009 7:54 AM
Yea, after I wrote that I thought of the local high school.
Posted by: rjwoodhead
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December 26, 2009 8:18 AM
"Even if he beats me on this poll, I've still got a more attractive wife than he does"
This is what my wife would call a "nice save"
Posted by: dangeroustalk
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December 26, 2009 9:32 AM
I hope people will voe for some of the other atheists on the list too. Fred Edwords for example has worked hard behind the scenes as the director of UnitedCoR which is in large part responsible for all the billboards around the nation.
Posted by: ATP
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December 26, 2009 9:50 AM
Hmm... out of seven candidates, only one is female?
Posted by: Antiochus Epiphanes
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December 26, 2009 10:22 AM
Saw Inglorious Basterds last night. No worries though. I am far too lazy to vote on interwebs polls.
*FTR, Inglorious Basterds was a delightful romp. Better than Cats. I want to see it again and again.
Posted by: gtpooh
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December 26, 2009 11:14 AM
PZ got my vote, but only because Penn Jillette wasn't on the list. :D Just kidding, way to rock a survey.
Posted by: John Marley
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December 26, 2009 11:23 AM
I think the results were predictable.
Those others may have fans, but PZ has minions.
Posted by: Matt "Nora" Penfold
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December 26, 2009 11:26 AM
I voted for PZ if only because it will piss off the Twins.
Posted by: BlueMonday
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December 26, 2009 11:33 AM
I voted for PZ first, because Pharyngula is my internet oasis in the desert of the Deep South.
However, I went back and voted again for Fred Edwords. I appreciate the efforts of the CoR immensely, and I believe he handled himself very well on O'Reilly. He hasn't gotten the same press as some others, but everyone (on here at the very least) is aware of the billboards/bus ads, and those have had a massive impact on many of the communities in which they have been placed. Cheers to Fred Edwords!
P.S. O'Reilly is such a little shit. I only watched the clip because of my love for CoR.
Posted by: blf
|
December 26, 2009 12:37 PM
Well, I guess it makes sense Pee Zed would want to “beat” Brad Pitt at something. Brad Pitt is a house-painter turned boxer who won a gold medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. I assume Mr Brad “Hollywood” Pitt would easily beat Little Poopyhead Pee Zed into something resembling calamari rings in Mr Pitt's occupation, so Pee Zed calls out his minions to beat Mr Pitt in a rather safer arena…
But I don't see why Ped Zed is bothering. Mr Pitt is Australian and so has lost right there.
Posted by: Antiochus Epiphanes
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December 26, 2009 12:45 PM
Pitt is Australian?
Posted by: Antiochus Epiphanes
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December 26, 2009 12:47 PM
I guess id Oklahoma is in Australia...
Posted by: shonny
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December 26, 2009 12:57 PM
Who else than PZ who is really leading his troops to spread mental sanity in the empire of the godfuckers?
With PZ to new heights next year, - towards an irreligious US of effing A!
*no prayers please, action only*
Posted by: a.human.ape
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December 26, 2009 1:17 PM
I voted for the guy who actually got a book published this year (The Greatest Show on Earth). In 2010 hopefully PZ will publish his book so I can vote for him.
Posted by: Peter G.
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December 26, 2009 1:25 PM
I see no harm in this other than a remote possibility that someone's ego may suffer from a slight degree of hyperinflation. Fortunately that someone seems to have a wife and wives, we all know, are extremely adept at attending to that type of inflation. I know mine nurses me back to proper proportion whenever required.
Posted by: shonny
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December 26, 2009 1:26 PM
Commonwealth Games, isn't that is just Olympics for Losers?
Posted by: blf
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December 26, 2009 1:30 PM
Reading comprehension fail. The Brad Pitt I was comparing to Pee Zed is an Australian boxer.
Posted by: 'Tis Himself, OM
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December 26, 2009 1:36 PM
So this Brad Pitt isn't actually important.
Posted by: Carlie of the lacy, gently wafting adjectives
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December 26, 2009 2:11 PM
Quite a backhand you have there. I daresay the number of individual readers here is at least equivalent to the number of people who have read Dawkins' book; in any case, I really doubt that the two of them would ever even think of getting in a pissing contest over their respective spheres of influence.
Posted by: katsushirohirata
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December 26, 2009 2:46 PM
Looks to me like PZ's sphere is just a bit bigger. At the moment he's ahead with 68%:
Richard Dawkins: 19%
Bill Mahar: 1%
PZ Myers: 68%
Greg Epstein: 0%
Margaret Downey: 1%
Fred Edwords: 0%
Brad Pitt: 7%
Posted by: daveau
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December 26, 2009 3:02 PM
If you had been to a proper husband school, as I have, that would not have been a postscript.
Posted by: David Marjanović
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December 26, 2009 5:57 PM
Note the rounding errors by comparison to comment 71.
"Raping"?!?
She asked for it.
(Erm, "she" is die Umfrage, the grammatically feminine poll.)
Posted by: a.human.ape
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December 26, 2009 9:01 PM
Did anyone notice the first sentence of the article PZ linked to:
Atheism is the fastest growing religious preference in America and is on the rise in every state.
It's correct to say the number of atheists is increasing faster than the number of idiots who believe in a magic fairy, but since when did the complete rejection of religious bullshit become a religious preference?
Posted by: EricK
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December 26, 2009 10:14 PM
You're a poll whore PZ. Though I voted for you because that's how I like it.
Posted by: Antiochus Epiphanes
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December 27, 2009 11:49 AM
Oh. How could I have been so stupid? It must be frustrating to be so hilarious (I mean, ha ha! I get it now. There are, like TWO Brad Pitts) and so misunderstood.
Let me guess. You make a living writing official documents for credit card, mortgage, and insurance companies?
Posted by: chicagomolly.myopenid.com
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December 27, 2009 6:55 PM
68% so far!
Squid Brigade Rides Again!!
Posted by: Qwerty
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December 28, 2009 11:39 AM
You're just lucky the poll wasn't titled "Sexiest Male Atheist of the Year."