I’ve been following the car wreck of PZ Myers “career” choices with shock and amazement. My interest has definitely been renewed since his slanderous post attacking Michael Shermer the other day. Of special concern to me is how Mr. Shermer would react to the hairy fatman slinging monkey feces all over the inter webs. We’ve all been wondering for quite some time who would rid us of this meddlesome pzPriest. In case any of you hadn’t yet heard, Mikey did it!!
Late last night (here in Europe) I noticed that PZ had a post about receiving a cease and desist letter from Shermer’s lawyer. Rather than read it last night, I decided to set it aside as a breakfast treat. Imagine my surprise and dissapointent when I woke up this morning, eager to dive into the gory details, only to find that PZ had pulled the complaint he received from Shermer’s lawyer out of his post!!
Just like the Mormon apologists I blogged about not long ago, PZ must have figured the letter from Shermer’s lawyer contained too much factual information negative to his personal jihad against Michael Shermer, and just like the case of the attempted Mormon coverup, probably didn’t count on the fact somebody would grab the document and mirror it elsewhere. To make a long story short, I made quick work of locating the “scrubbed” doc and as such we all get to bask in the savory glow of PZ’s schadenfreude.
To be fair to PZ, the letter from Shermer’s lawyer, replete with facts, doesn’t really “fit” into the phantasm of the narrative that PZ has constructed around his frenzied imaginations of atheist get-togethers as nothing more than a perpetual Skeptic’s Sodom and Gomorrah Carnival Show. Here’s just a taste of the karmic goodness that awaits those who download and read the entire six page PDF:
Contains numerous false and defamatory statements about Mr. Shermer based on certain unsubstantiated allegations purportedly made by an unidentified woman against Mr. Shermer. These statements are completely false, inaccurate and intentionally misleading in that they are intended to suggest that Mr. Shermer had forced this unidentified woman into sexual intercourse without her consent, and that he somehow “raped” her or is a sexual predator who would coerce women into nonconsensual sexual intercourse. Your statements in the Entry, including original statements, update and comments, to the entry to be false, inaccurate, intentionally misleading libelous, and these statements were designed to seriously damage Mr. Shermer’s name,reputation and character in the science community and elsewhere, and to humiliate Mr. Shermer.
The document also makes very specific demands of PZ. In addition to removing the offending content (and 4000 associated comments to date) there’s this chunk of cactus for PZ to choke down; Shermer’s lawyer is quite specific as to what is expected of PZ. He is ordered to post the following statement on his website:
“I retract the original posted on August 8, 2013, entitled “What do you do when someone pulls the pin and hands you a grenade?” (the Entry). Specifically, I hereby retract all statements, quotations, and comments therein made with respect to Mr. Shermer. I extend my apologies to Mr. Sherman any to any other party affected by the statements, quotations, and comments contained in the Entry.”
Now I’m off to tend to my horses and get some microwave popcorn (not really that easy to find here in Germany btw). I’m gonna need it for the show that I expect will begin shortly after America wakes up and realizes that The Rumble in the Mumble is now fully underway.
Quick note to those reading this post on an iOS device or other mouse limited device. You’re missing all the goodness of the Hoverjoy rollovers I place on most photos and links.
Enjoy.