Good post. There is also the fact (uncomfortable for creationists, and thus ignored) that the Cambrian period was about 50 million years in duration. A very slow explosion. For small, short-lived creatures, there were hundreds of millions of generations. Not a problem for evolution.
I reckon nobody has a monopoly on that kind of behavior. I've always thought honesty is the greatest academic virtue, but a semblance of honesty its most dangerous vice.