I get the impression that PZ actually just as a vendetta against Shermer. If you read back through some of his posts on his blog from last year and early this year, there was a spat between them (or rather, PZ just writing about him on his blog) about a supposedly sexist remark shermer made about female atheists in the debating sphere.
But I found this from PZ in one of his blog posts in January 13:
But I found this from PZ in one of his blog posts in January 13:
Quote:But see, this is why the atheist movement can’t have leaders. The ones we’ve got, informally, all seem to think they’re like gods and popes, infallible and unquestionable, and that normal, healthy, productive criticism within the movement is all a conspiracy to dethrone them.
![[Image: Bender_Irony.gif]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-4DRUIIyM7Jk%2FTeU2e_TM54I%2FAAAAAAAABdg%2FEDn7-q6dwJs%2Fs320%2FBender_Irony.gif)