Anti-Science

A Danger to the Community

“A danger to the community” is exactly what a US Attorney dubbed Kent “Dr. Dino” Hovind last week when recommending he be held without bail until he can be sentenced (possibly more than 200 years in jail) for tax evasion. Yes, it was a very bad week for creationists, considering that megachurch pastor Ted Haggard is under investigation for hiring a male escort and abusing illegal drugs and Ann Coulter is under investigation for a voting felony. Now that one of the most deluded anti-reality proponents is being carted off in handcuffs, it’s like Christmas came early for rational people everywhere.

I particularly like that Hovind was considered a flight risk and a danger to the community. I envision him sneaking away in the dark of night, knocking on doors and frantically explaining to people that velociraptors were on Noah’s ark. Mothers would pull their children away from the door and instruct someone to call the police and tell them a crazy man was on the porch peddling ignorance. Yeah, I’d call that a danger to the community.

Rebecca Watson

Rebecca is a writer, speaker, YouTube personality, and unrepentant science nerd. In addition to founding and continuing to run Skepchick, she hosts Quiz-o-Tron, a monthly science-themed quiz show and podcast that pits comedians against nerds. There is an asteroid named in her honor. Twitter @rebeccawatson Mastodon mstdn.social/@rebeccawatson Instagram @actuallyrebeccawatson TikTok @actuallyrebeccawatson YouTube @rebeccawatson BlueSky @rebeccawatson.bsky.social

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6 Comments

  1. It's voting in the wrong precinct they call Coulter on? Come on, she's obviously lied about her age on at least one government document, either her voter registration or her driver's license. If she turns out to be the younger age, as she currently claims, then she committed voter fraud back then. One wonders why they've never stung her on this.

  2. I first saw Ann Coulter when Fox News started broadcasting here in the UK. It took me a little while to realise that a) she wasn't a joke, and b) Fox News wasn't run by OCP from Robocop. She's scary/wrong on so many levels, basically a reactionary bigot, and if the voting thing turns out to be true it wouldn't surprise me the least.

    The faith led agenda seems to have peaked and hopefully things will even out a bit. Many of the figures of the new right are self-destructing so publicly. It's like some kind of Hegelian triad.

  3. Actually, I think the jury is still out on whether Coulter is serious or a joke. Well, perhaps joke isn't the right word, but I'm not convinced it isn't a convenient schtick for the sake of her career. Being outrageous sells. It has to be a sedductive option in broadcasting. Or she could be a legitimate loon. It's a tough call.

  4. I do not see how one can construe Ann Coulter's career as a "joke" or read it merely as a "convenient schtick". Even if she doesn't in fact hold the opinions which she has repeatedly insisted she does — even if part or all of her public persona is a calculated facade designed to win sales — the most charitable interpretation is that she is a hack with no integrity. Which is better: a person with a good heart who lies loudly and continually, or an honest troll?

    Which of those alternatives can even exist, within the range of human personalities with which we are familiar?

    Alan Sokal wrote an essay which was as far from his true beliefs as Ann Coulter is from sanity. He got it published — which was the point of the exercise — and then immediately fessed up. A person more inclined to financial profit might carry such a deception for the length of a book, but how many books has Coulter written?

    If you want to see the difference between a legitimate loon and a person who has built a career out of satire, contrast Coulter with Stephen Colbert.

  5. Ann Coulter is the personification of Poe's law. A fundie making statements so ludicrous it's impossible to figure out if she's for real or not.

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