Coulter Challenge status, day 8

I hopped out of bed this morning, certain that someone would have bravely answered my challenge to support Coulter's 'science'. But no, the Coulterites have completely vanished from my mailbox, and the official tally of entries stands at

0

Maybe I just haven't given them enough time. It takes a while to read a book when you have to slowly sound out each word, and when you're constantly tempted to close it so you can gaze rapturously at the cover, drooling.

I'll report back when we hit the one month mark. Will that be time enough?

More like this

I've now read all of the science-related (that's applying the term "related" very generously) stuff in Ann Coulter's awful, ghastly, ignorant book, Godless, and it's a bit overwhelming. This far right-wing political pundit with no knowledge of science at all has written a lengthy tract that is wall…
Responses to my challenge at the end of this article are trickling in, but so far, none of them are filling the bill. Let me explain what is not an appropriate reply: Cackling that Coulter must be right because she's got "liberal panties in a twist" is not cogent. Telling me that the "WHOLE BOOK…
A couple of days ago, on the Day of the Beast (6/6/06), Ann Coulter took the opportunity to unleash yet another spray of spittle-drenched attacks on liberals (Godless: The Church of Liberalism) into bookstores across the nation. As is her schtick, she's made quite the stir over the airwaves by…
Since the blogroll amnesty day earlier this month was such a flop, I thought I'd reframe it. Today is Blogroll Open Enrollment day! What that means is that this is your opportunity to get onto the Pharyngula blogroll, after you jump through some hoops. There are a few absolute requirements. For…

I think you have to re-post the challenge somewhere they will really notice?

Like "RightWingNews" or some such (ugh) ?

On the gripping hand however, is it really worth it?

By G. Tingey (not verified) on 26 Jun 2006 #permalink

G. Tingey,
You only say, "on the gripping hand," when you want to introduce a third option to the discussion. I only comment on your use of the phrase because that's far more interesting than any discussion of "The Stork."

Just wonder what have you expected from them. All they are interested in, is the kick of telling outrageous lies in the public, insulting, shamelessly slandering anyone they can, and getting away with it...

Oh, I agree that this isn't the place where I'd expect Coulterites to find it -- but before I made my specific request, I was getting flooded with email abuse, so apparently they did find me. If you google for "coulter evolution", I'm right there on the first page.

It's just funny how when you respond specifically and ask, "so what exactly is a good, supportable science comment in Godless?" they dry up instantly.

I don't think the process of thinking is compatible with Coulterism, so asking them to provide evidence for it is kind of like asking a shoe to do your taxes.

I think the funnist thing is that she titled her book to be shocking and insulting.

HA! YOU"RE GODLESS!

And our indifferent response has made her lose it. 'SEE, everything I say is right about them... they didn't even flinch."

We would rather get into the lies she spouts endlessly.

There must be one lost ID fan who loves Ann. C'mon sucker stand up and take one for the team. Defend your bobble head champion in the work out black cocktail dress.

By stevie_nyc (not verified) on 26 Jun 2006 #permalink

I picked this up off Red State Rabble

The following are some of the things U.S. District Judge John Jones had to say on various topics during his appearance on "Smart Talk" Thursday night.

On Ann Coulter, who criticizes him in her new book: "We have to suffer these arrows because people will disagree with our opinions ... She foments a kind of civic stupidity in my opinion

You're requiring the Godly Coulterites to read, as well as requiring them to use critical thinking skills.
Reporting back in a month is far too soon.
I'd report back in 18 months.

" . . . Individual thought makes them feel like they are naked in a gay bar."

And STILL not getting hit on.

By Lya Kahlo (not verified) on 26 Jun 2006 #permalink

I think the funnist thing is that she titled her book to be shocking and insulting.

HA! YOU"RE GODLESS!

And our indifferent response has made her lose it. 'SEE, everything I say is right about them... they didn't even flinch."

My thoughts exactly.

...civic stupidity...

Ha! The more I here from that man, the more I like him.

Bob

Um, Judge Jones I mean, not Coulter...

Bob

The unspoken subtext of Coulter's accusation is that the concept of "God" or a higher power is exclusive to the narrow definition as defined by traditional religion -- filtered through a right-wing mindset, yet. Because the Bible has been historically used to justify prejudice and subjugation, it comes as no surprise that many may want to distance themselves from its adherents.

I tried to read more of Annkimbo's book (three pages and my teeth ached), then checked her column. She's regurgitating her book there, and grapples vacantly with trying to defend "The Bell Curve."

"Liberals were afraid of a book that told the truth about IQ ("The Bell Curve") because they are godless secularists who do not believe humans are in God's image. Christians have no fear of hearing facts about genetic differences in IQ because we don't think humans are special because they are smart."

Um--leaving aside what "being smart" has to do with intelligence as measured by IQ tests, I'm assuming that she intended to say that being "smart" is not what makes people "special" in her view, rather than implying that people are not "special" because they are "smart." At any rate, Annkimbo thus poisons the acquifer against any intelligent (or "smart") response to her book, anyway.

Let's see if I've got Ms Coulter's logic straight here...
So there's are stupid people and god made them in his image...

Didn't Zappa have a song about this?

"Dumb all over, a little ugly on the side."

By Woesinger (not verified) on 26 Jun 2006 #permalink

Q. How many Coulterites does it take to change a light bulb?

A. Three. One to call for the execution of the physically-challenged person who packaged the bulb. One to make fun of anyone who turns off the lights when leaving a room or buys energy-saving flourescent bulbs. One to shout: God created this light bulb, like he created evolution!

PZ, when you finally close this challenge, maybe you could produce something like John Cage's 4'33". Call it "In defense of Coulter's science" and record 8 straight days or so of crickets chirping.

Maybe your first condition [#1] "Read Coulter's book, "Godless"." was too stringent after all.

Why not relax it and see if you get any entries then?

[Yes this does create a challenge as regards #2, #4 & #5 but then you'd be looking to people to use their imaginations.]

All these agog Ann-fan websites that praise her book everywhere but here basically slap on the adulation, lift a few quotes from Gawdless, then follow up with a hoo-ah of ecstasy. I have not seen one reviewer yet offer a summation of her so-called points in his or her own words.

I'm sure this could be improved upon:

Coulteritis

What is Coulteritis?

An illness afflicting most conservatives.

Definition of Coulteritis

Inflammation of the primitive "Coulteresque" brain.

What causes Coulteritis?

Intellectually laziness, willful ignorance, and a preference for black-and-white thinking lead to uncritical identification with everything Ann Coulter says in books, interviews, and lectures. Men with a predilection for emaciated blondes in mini-skirts also are known to accept every word out of Ann Coulter's mouth.

What are the symptoms of Coulteritis?

Gagging in the presence of liberals. Elevated blood pressure when mention is made of the Dept. of Education. Calling for the extermination of prominent liberals and the elimination of all traces of liberal influence from the face of the earth. A fat head.

What treatments are there for Coulteritis?

Once thought to be incurable, evidence is mounting that patients may recover from Coulteritis by "religiously" reading a Blog called Pharyngula.

Ann Coulter is wrong on many topics, the widows, Darwin, Dover and "the Bell Curve"

Marva Collins totally demolished the Bell Curve which essentially states blacks are inferior. Marva, a black woman and a geat teacher, showed how flawed the Bell Curve is on a 60 minutes special.

I do not like Coulter but I didn't know she was a racist till this book came out. How many on the religous right also hate blacks along with gays? The bible told them so.

By richCares (not verified) on 26 Jun 2006 #permalink

"Ah ha! The fact that you're still obsessing over this 'challenge' is _PROOF_ of the vacuousness of Evil-ution!"

Oh, wait, too many big words... :-)

PZ, when you finally close this challenge, maybe you could produce something like John Cage's 4'33".

Just make sure you don't use the same silence. Cage will sue.

I feel so sorry for these folk, I almost want to buy the book just to answer the challenge. We don't get this person in Australian media, surely she must have said something that makes sense, if only by accident?

...but then I read some of her stuff online. Are you sure she's human? Or maybe she's an actor, taking her lines from some kind of wierd Turing test...

What if a Turing test only convinced idiots? Is that still valid?

By SmellyTerror (not verified) on 26 Jun 2006 #permalink

SmellyTerror: That depends on whether you do a "democratic" turing test or a "consensus" one. If you do the latter, all judges have to agree. In which case, pick a large enough sample and you won't get an idiot. Whereas in the former case a representative sample has to be selected, which I fear would always contain a majority of idiots. (I am a progressive politically despite this because (a) I think people can be cured from idiocy if caught soon enough and (b) we are all selectively idiotic at some time or other so to restrict the franchise to non-idiots would result in literal anarchy and no form of organization at all.)

Here is some simple html with javascript to produce what day of the
challenge it is. Obviously it should be modified to
whatever to include some descriptive text and integrated other
content.

I have no idea if the software behind Science Blogs
will allows blogers to put in their own scripts.

Science Blogs does not allow html code tags. So I
will use a blockquote instead:

<html>
<head>
<title>test</title>
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--
function coulter()
{ now = new Date;
document.write(Math.floor(now.getTime()/86400000)-13318);
}
//--></script>
</head>
<body>
<div><script type="text/javascript"><!--
coulter(); // --></script>
</div>
</body>
</html>

By Michael Hopkins (not verified) on 27 Jun 2006 #permalink

The reason that even religious liberals are unimpressed by Ann Coulter's calling them "godless" is the same reason that we'd be unimpressed by Ann Coulter calling us "unattractive", "ill-mannered", "trivia-obsessed" or "stupid".