Too provocative a title?
Probably not.
In her latest screed, Coulter decided to take on science, and twist it to match whatever fantasies rot inside her head. She evidently (I have not read her book) has quite a bit to say about evolution, and – shocker – it’s all from a creationist standpoint.
I have no plans on reading her book, since I have enough fetid garbage to rake through on a daily basis. But yay, others have, including the intrepid PZ Myers at Pharyngula. who has posted an excellent list of sources for why, indeed, evolution works. It’s a compelling compendium that puts lie to Coulter’s statement that there is no evidence for evolution.
It’s clear that demagogues like Coulter simply write whatever offal simmers in their heads, without the actual benefit of research. No wonder they can crank (pun intended) books out so quickly! Without having to do such trivial things as checking facts, they can blast out a vomitous flow of dreck as fast as the publishing business can print it.
Of course, some might say that I am not being fair, since I haven’t read her book. However, I will make two points here. One is that I have read some excerpts online (including the canonical creationist falsehood that evolution has no evidence), and it’s clear that her take on science is as bad as any goofball antiscience crackpot I have dealt with in the past.
Which brings me to my second point, for which I will make an analogy. Imagine you are at a party, conversing with someone. They seem nice, personable, and then suddenly start to poke you viciously in your left eye with a weenie toothpick. You scream, tell them to stop. They apologize, and then you (perhaps somewhat more warily) converse again. Then, once again without warning, they take that toothpick and begin to stab you in the right eye with it.
Tell me, honestly– would you simply pick up and try to engage this person in an intelligent repartee, or would you start to scream that she is a raving lunatic and should be locked away?
At what point are you allowed to base an opinion on previous encounters with people, and dismiss their actions when it is clear it’s a repeat of previous insanity? At this point in Ann Coulter’s career– actually, long ago would have been better– it’s as clear as it needs to get.
