Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
According to the BBC, a 28-year-old man was just arrested at the entrance of Disneyland Paris carrying two guns, a box of ammunition, and a Qur’an. A female companion was also arrested.
And that’s all I know. It’s a mercy they caught him, for there’s no limit to the number of innocents Islamist terrorists want to kill. (Let me add that there’s a remote possibility that this was a stunt designed to rouse anti-Muslim sentiment, but I doubt it.)
h/t: Steve K.
During the student protests at the University of Missouri, communication professor Melissa Click tried to obstruct student journalists covering the protests, which were taking place in a public space.
Student Tim Tai tried to take pictures and, as the following video shows, was rebuffed not only by the students, who tried to kick him out of that public space (a First Amendment no-no), but also by Click, who should have known better. She appears at 7:12 in this video, all worked up, telling the student that he needs to get out, calling for “some muscle over here” to kick the student out of the area, and, apparently, trying to snatch his camera.
Of course the students had every right to protest, and there was apparently a climate of racial bigotry that led to the protests, but Tai also had a right to report on any protests in public spaces.
Because of her actions, Click was charged with third-degree misdemeanor assault. A bunch of legislators—mostly Republicans, of course, suspicious of liberal faculty—wrote to the University President calling for her dismissal, while 116 fellow faculty members supported her, calling her actions “at most a regrettable mistake.”
Click herself, aware that her job was on the line, issued an apology, but it wasn’t really an apology, for she excused her behavior due to the actions of “spirited reporters”:
“I regret the language and strategies I used, and sincerely apologize to the MU campus community, and journalists at large, for my behavior, and also for the way my actions have shifted attention away from the students’ campaign for justice. My actions were shaped by exasperation with a few spirited reporters.”
Over at CNN, Marc Randazza, a First-Amendment lawyer, television commenter, and blogger, discusses her case and suggests what should be done with Click. It’s a thoughtful and reasoned analysis, and he concludes that criminal charges were unwarranted (Garrett Epps at The Atlantic agrees):
Just like Beetlejuice, the “muscle” arrived. Now [Click] is being criminally prosecuted for third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. She raised the stakes on foolishness, behaving like an over-privileged brat, thinking that the gun would never point the other way. After all, she was championing “social justice,” and as we have seen in the past, champions of this brand of leftist thought believe that their ends justify any means. Click decided that she was there to champion her political brand, and if it meant threatening a journalist, then that was the politically correct thing to do.
She was no longer an educator; she was a thug, calling for violence to suppress legitimate reporting. And how strange it is that the academic left was so quiet. When Donald Trump throws protesters or journalists out of his rallies, he gets (well deserved) scorn for it. After all, he is on the “other team.” But, when someone like Click calls for violence against a journalist to stop him from reporting, we hear crickets from “my side” of the political divide.
. . . The prosecution, like Click’s behavior, is politically motivated. She isn’t being prosecuted because of what she did, she’s being prosecuted because of what she represents. Now we have one disproportionate response met with another. We have a situation where disrespect for basic liberties, once unleashed, is out of control.
The correct response to excess is not more excess. What Click did might be technically illegal, but it does not warrant this selective prosecution. Click should be marched off of campus and into the unemployment line, but not into a jail cell.
I agree with Randazza. If the students weren’t prosecuted for similar actions, why Click? Sure, she was a communications professor and should have known better about how to act, but I don’t think she “assaulted” Tai any more than the other students. And it’s clear that a pack of Republicans is behind the prosecution.
Should she be fired? I go back and forth on this one. Her actions were out of line, her apology unconvincing, but firing is a serious action. In the end, though, I come down with Randazza that she should be booted out of Missouri because her actions were not befitting a faculty member in a communications department, and because of her “call for muscle,” i.e., using her authority to enlist physical force to give Tai the boot.
And, sure enough, Click was just let go—temporarily. When looking up what had happened to her, I found a three-hour-old report from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Click was suspended last night by the University’s Board of Curators. This is not a permanent dismissal, which apparently depends on the results of the court action:
In a prepared statement, UM Board of Curators chairwoman Pam Henrickson said the board had directed the university’s general counsel to conduct an investigation to determine whether more discipline was necessary.
. . . This week, interim Mizzou Chancellor Hank Foley resisted calls to fire Click. He said he would wait for due process to play out.
Click is scheduled to be back in court on Feb. 16.
Whether or not she’s convicted or fired, she’ll have learned a lesson—a lesson that should be imparted to all students who are protesting in public. If you do that, you don’t have a right to selectively decide whether journalists can cover your actions, or whether some journalists but not all can be kicked out.
Here’s a tw**t from Muhamad Syed about the Italian government’s covering nude statues with boxes during Iranian President Rouhani’s visit to a museum, action taken lest his Islamic scruples be offended. I’m sure you can understand the Italian, but you don’t even need to:
Italians 1: Logic 0 (Italian Solution vs what actually made sense for the Iranian Presidents visit) pic.twitter.com/FCJjtNTtbu
— Muhammad Syed (PBUM) (@MoTheAtheist) January 28, 2016
The French had a similar decision to make when Rouhani visited Paris last year. He said he wouldn’t dine with French President Hollande unless they served halal meat and—horrors!—didn’t serve wine. That was too much for the French, and they canceled the dinner. After all, Rouhani didn’t have to drink the wine, and France is an explicitly secular nation. But the Italians, residents of a more religious country, not only covered up their statues, but decided not to serve alcohol during meals.
A new Pew Survey on politics and religion (summary here, full report here) has some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the number of Americans who would be deterred from voting for an atheist candidate has dropped in the last nine years. Here’s the plot:
The bad news: over half of Americans would be less likely to vote for a candidate if he/she doesn’t believe in God, and only 6% would be more likely to vote for an atheist. In fact, if you look at a number of characteristics that candidates could have, you find atheism near the bottom in terms of acceptabilily:
In fact, in terms of making people less likely to vote for you, not believing in God is substantially “worse” than being gay, a Mormon, a Muslim, or “having used marijuana in the past” (really, who hasn’t?), as well having had extramarital affairs in the past—like many of U.S. Presidents in the 20th century, including Warren Harding, Eisenhower, FDR, JFK, LBJ, and Clinton, Of course, all bets are off for atheists who have smoked dope—if those facts become known.
Which of course brings us to Bernie Sanders. I am absolutely convinced that, like me, he’s a “secular Jew,” that is, an atheist who feels some ties to Jewish culture. He’s never claimed to believe in a real God, and, despite strong pressure on the campaign trail to avow theism, he says things like this (reported by The Washington Post):
“I am not actively involved with organized religion,” Sanders said in a recent interview.
Sanders said he believes in God, though not necessarily in a traditional manner.
“I think everyone believes in God in their own ways,” he said. “To me, it means that all of us are connected, all of life is connected, and that we are all tied together.”
. . . Larry Sanders sums up his brother’s views this way: “He is quite substantially not religious.”
That’s not even deism; if anything, it’s pantheism. But it sounds to me like atheism that’s been tricked out for political consumption. And that’s okay, because Sanders is the only candidate brave enough to tell the truth, even if it’s slightly embroidered. The Post goes on:
Every president since James Madison has made the pilgrimage across Lafayette Square to worship at St. John’s Church at least once, according to the White House Historical Association. Only three presidents, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, have been unaffiliated with a specific religious tradition, according to the Pew Research Center for Religion and Public Life. And President Obama and his predecessors have regularly hosted clergy for White House prayer sessions.
The Post article has a lot more detail about Sander’s religious upbringing, such as it was. At least he was bar mitzvahed, which I wasn’t (I flunked out of Hebrew school.)
As for Hillary, well, she’ll probably get the nomination, and I’ll vote for her, but I’m not convinced she has the vision to be a great President. Nor do I don’t like the millions she’s made giving speeches for the likes of Goldman Sachs (why would corporations pay her unless they thought they’d get something for it?), and she’s on the hawkish side. She’s deliberately distorted Sanders’s positions on guns and health care over the last few weeks. Plus she’s not shy about avowing a belief in God:
Sanders’s chief rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton, emphasized her lifelong affiliation as a Methodist during an exchange Monday with voters in Iowa. Clinton did not mention Sanders, but her words underscored the stark contrast between her more traditional approach and that of her rival.
“I am a person of faith. I am a Christian,” Clinton said. “I am a Methodist. I have been raised Methodist. I feel very grateful for the instructions and support that I have received starting in my family but through my church.”
Such shameless pandering to the faithful, but that’s what the candidates do (except for Bernie). To me, saying you’re a “person of faith” is not a virtue but a character flaw.
Meanwhile, two other bits of information from the Pew poll. Here’s how two groups of interest, the “nones” (those lacking formal religious affiliation) and black Protestants, view the candidates. Sanders ranks higher than Clinton among the nones (and, of course, the Republicans rank abysmally), while Clinton does far better than Sanders (and tremendously better than Republicans) among blacks. And it’s the black vote that may swing the South for her among Democrats, primary victories that will be crucial in securing her the nomination:
Finally, a bit of additional mixed news: most Americans think that religion is losing influence in American life—which happens to be true—but a bit over half think that’s a bad thing, while only 13% think it’s a good thing. Here are the data from 2012, 2014, and this month:
On the other hand, more people seem to be wanting politicians to talk more about their faith. That puzzles me.
h/t: several readers for the Pew link and Diane G. for the WaPo link.
Things appear to be winding down on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, but it’s not over yet. I heard on the news this morning that jailed leader Ammon “I am Liberty” Bundy asked the rest of his thugs to leave, and this is verified by KATU in Portland, Oregon and the New York Times. Three more protestors have turned themselves in and have been arrested, and Ammon B. issued the following statement:
“To those remaining at the refuge, I love you. Let us take this fight from here. Please stand down. Go home and hug your families. This fight is ours for now in the courts. Please go home.”
The authorities have blockaded the roads, so protestors can no longer come and go as they please or head into town for snacks. While some have been reported leaving the area (they’ll get arrested when they do so), the NYT reports that others seem to be digging in for a longer haul. It won’t work.
What did they accomplish? Nothing. I hope other gun-toting libertarians think about that. What they did was piss off most of the rest of America, get clapped in jail, and one of them got himself killed. I hope the feds slap the group with fines for the damage they did to the preserve, which I hear is considerable. The next move should be confiscating the cattle of Ammon’s father Cliven.
I haven’t found much out about the shooting death of LaVoy Finicum; that scenario is being kept under wraps while the police (and perhaps lawyers) investigate. There’s still the possibility that he was killed in cold blood, though I doubt whether the police, with the eyes of the U.S. on them, would fire without some provocation.
Meanwhile, courtesy of the Multnomah County sheriff, we have mug shots of the first eight arrested, all being held without bond until at least tomorrow:
I appeal again for your photos, for we’re in danger of running out soon. Now you wouldn’t want that, would you?
We have birds and leps today. First, two bird snaps from reader Cameron Way:
I was in the mountains this weekend and shot some pictures of Mountain Chickadees [Poecile gambeli]. Thought you might enjoy.
And a black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus):
Here’s something a little different that might help alleviate winter doldrums: butterflies! These are early and year-round species from various parts of Arizona. Some are flying right now.First up is a Queen, Danaus gilippus. This is an apparent Monarch (D. plexippus) mimic, but the caterpillars also feed on milkweeds, and the adults are equally distasteful to predators. This one’s nectaring at a sunflower at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum near Superior, Arizona. I’ve seen Queens flying in every month of the year, though they’re most numerous from spring through fall.
This is a Spring AzureCelastrina ladon, which, contrary to the name, I photographed in Miller Cañon on the east side of the Huachuca Mountains near Sierra Vista AZ in early September. Spring Azures fly nearly year-round in southern Arizona.
Ceraunus Blue, Hemiargus ceraunus, in Gilbert AZ on the Fourth of July weekend. I was down on my belly in the middle of the trail, but you do what you’ve gotta do. These are very small, with wingspans of 16-23mm.
Erichson’s White Skipper, Heliopyrgus domicella, at the Boyce-Thompson Arboretum near Superior AZ in late June. This was my life Erichson’s, so I’m glad to get any kind of photograph.
Gulf Fritillary,Agraulis vanillae, at lantana, Boyce Thompson Arboretum near Superior, AZ in late October. These big Tropical beauties occur wherever passion vines Passiflora spp. do in the southern half of the United States, and southward from there.
Tiny Checkerspot Dymasia dymas in Rackensack Gulch north of Carefree AZ in late April. This little guy’s well named, and its wingspan is only in the 21-30mm range.
It’s Thursday, which means, as we know from Rebecca Black, that tomorrow is Friday. On this day in 814 (supposedly), Charlemagne died in Aachen. In 1521, the Diet of Worms began—a horrible though effective way to lose weight. (I’ll be here all week, folks.) On this day in 1813, Pride and Prejudice was published in England, and, in 1956, Elvis Presley first appeared on television. For you Canadians, it was on this day in 1965 that the design of the current Canadian Flag was approved. On this day in 1986, all seven astronauts on the Challenger Space Shuttle perished in an explosion; a sight I remember well as I was watching the launch on television. Finally, this year is the fortieth anniversary of The Selfish Gene, though I can’t name exactly which day saw its appearance; Matt Ridley wrote a nice appreciation of the book in the latest Nature. OUP is publishing a gussied-up edition with a new afterword by Dawkins, and is also reissuing, with a new cover, other Dawkins books and also Why Evolution is True. Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili is dissimulating again. . .
A: What are you doing up there?
Hili: I’m checking whether the seeds for the birds got soaked.
Ja: Hili, co ty tam robisz?
Hili: Sprawdzam, czy ziarenka ptaszkom nie zamokły.
Leon is still on his Mountain Holiday, but I’m not quite sure if he’s taking long hikes. He is, however, going out in the snow on his leash. Notice how nonchalantly he stills along an icy ledge!
Leon: It’s time to stretch my bones.
Lagniappe: Reader jsp sends us a numinous photograph from Doc Hackenbush’s Twi**er feed:
You can guess what happened here (photo from Pickering Creek Audubon Center). Can anybody identify either species?
