Abbie Smith is a graduate student studying the molecular and biochemical evolution of HIV within patients and within populations. She also studies epigenetic control of ERVs.
HT to the Queen of AtBC, Kristine.
lol Ben Stein sucks so hard. So like, you know how Dawkins is one of the worlds most famous living biologist, and 'charges' $30K for speaking engagements, but waived/waives it for educational institutions?
And like, Ben Stein is like, an actor or comedian or something, who charges $60K for speaking engagements? Well because of the budget crunch hitting colleges and universities in the US, a Stein speaking engagement at Emory (ugh, yes, he was supposed to speak at Emory) had to be canceled because they didnt have the money to pay him anymore.
Stein is such a kind fellow, he is charging them a cancellation fee.
Hes not saying, 'You know what, this is an educational opportunity for everyone, why dont I just donate my time?' Hes charging them a cancellation fee even though they canceled because they dont have any money.
AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Atheists have no morals, they say.
AAAAAHAHAHA! What a disgusting, money grubbing, loser! Loooooser! *points and laughs at the loser who cant manage his own finances so he shamelessly takes money from under-funded schools so he can pay the rent*
Comments
Why does this just not surprise me in the least?
Posted by: AL Jeremy | April 3, 2009 1:00 PM
What a sleaze. HA HA is right.
Posted by: MattK | April 3, 2009 1:06 PM
So happy that Stein's rep is falling so fast. he never deserved any to begin with. Now maybe he'll have to get a real job....
Posted by: MikeMa | April 3, 2009 1:37 PM
And doesn't this nutcase pretend to be an expert on economics? Did he not realize that charging money for nothing to people who don't have it is a guranteed fail? But then, he completely missed the whole clusterfuck that the economy has become, so he's keeping up his stellar track record.
Posted by: phantomreader42 | April 3, 2009 1:47 PM
wow
What a fucking tool.
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | April 3, 2009 1:54 PM
While the many Jewish neighbors I had when growing up were models of charity and generosity, it's so tempting to make jokes about Jewish stereotypes in this case.
Posted by: abb3w | April 3, 2009 1:55 PM
Apparently his cancellation fee ain't chump change either:
Posted by: afarensis, FCD | April 3, 2009 2:03 PM
<NELSON>HA HA!</NELSON>
Posted by: Lledowyn | April 3, 2009 2:08 PM
abb3w - Yeah. It's about being Jewish. It's about being an ignorant, lying, duchebag nut-job that is a toal asshat and a pimple on real humanity's buttocks.
Posted by: J-Dog | April 3, 2009 2:10 PM
Dawkins SOOO should offer to go there and speak for free in Stein's slot. I would (despite my cash-strapped state) donate $20 to the RDF if he did. $50 if he did a donation like in OK roughly equivalent to Stein's "fee."
Posted by: rrt | April 3, 2009 2:45 PM
So...he is insisting on a contractual agreement regardless of the fact the University has no money. How AIG of him.
Posted by: Dave Wisker | April 3, 2009 2:46 PM
Now if only we can get most decent people to start pointing and laughing at Jenny McCarthy.
Posted by: Paul Lundgren | April 3, 2009 3:06 PM
Stein deserves to be paid the full value of his time. I've recently acquired a pair of scissors that can cut a penny in half, such tools would be perfect for this purpose. :P
Posted by: phantomreader42 | April 3, 2009 3:08 PM
This is especially funny, since Emory is the location of this year's American Atheists conference next weekend, featuring Dawkins as a speaker.
Posted by: Kenny Graham | April 3, 2009 3:20 PM
Nice to know where his priority lies.
Posted by: SVN | April 3, 2009 3:30 PM
Am I right in assuming that this would be the same Bent Stain who appeared in last years dud-cumentary movie "Expelled"? Yeah, thought so. No Belle prize for him.
Posted by: Rrr | April 3, 2009 3:43 PM
The Dodgery Institute tards have long since lost any semblance of respectability, even then this is a little beyond their usual gracelessness. But Emory too needs to have its collective head examined. What were they thinking when they invited a jerk like Ben Stein?
Posted by: rimpal | April 3, 2009 4:11 PM
Srsly. Ben Stein poisons everything.
Posted by: Optimus Primate | April 3, 2009 4:15 PM
Emory should fine Be Stupid for non-appearance.
Posted by: blf | April 3, 2009 4:43 PM
But cancelling his fee would be tantamount to socialism!!
You don't want that now, do you.
Posted by: Sili | April 3, 2009 5:03 PM
Oh how I loathe Stein!!!
And I completely agree that it would be awesome if Dawkins offered to speak at Emory for free, too!!!
Posted by: Feral Akodon | April 3, 2009 8:52 PM
What a dickhead!
Posted by: Stacy | April 3, 2009 9:20 PM
I've got to give Ben Stein credit for one thing: He sure knows how to play the game. He was a lawyer and speechwriter for a criminal president/administration, and parlayed that into a similar role in the Ford administration. Instead of *not* being able to find work because of this, he somehow became some sort of economics guru, who's gotten nothing right. Sure, if you followed his advice through most of the 80s and 90s you would've done well. That's not hard to do when the economy is generally growing. I'd given him more respect if he told us when to get out of the housing/financial markets.
As others have said, he was oblivious to the oncoming economic crunch, that any stone blind fool could've seen coming. Let's create new financial instruments moving numbers and paper around predicated on housing prices always keeping up this unprecedented uphill trajectory. Uh-huh.
What has he done to earn his status not just as an economics guru, but as some sort of public intellectual? Not much that I can tell. He's sort of like Paris Hilton: famous for being Ben Stein.
As I said, he sure knows how to play the game.
Brian
Posted by: Brian | April 3, 2009 10:19 PM
What a douche bag.
I apologize to all douche bags for comparing you to Ben Stein, that was uncalled for.
Posted by: Beamstalk | April 3, 2009 11:31 PM
You really do have a talent for writing fiction.
Posted by: William Wallace | April 4, 2009 3:06 AM
Could Wicked Willy please substantiate his charge of lying...?
Thought not.
Posted by: Lee Harrison | April 4, 2009 4:02 AM
Private university.
Contract.
What more needs to be said?
If an affluent private university had reneged from a contract with Richard Dawkins, we all know how ERV would feel about that, especially if Dawkins had been previously shut up by Stein, as Stein was by Dawkins in Virginia.
Posted by: William Wallace | April 4, 2009 4:26 AM
And?
Yes, it was a contractual obligation - that makes it legal. It does not mean that Stein is not a stupid moneygrubbing douchebag for demanding it. He could, for example, erm... let's think... ah yes! Waive the fee! Because that would be a good, moral thing to do and would really help out a cash-strapped university.
How strange that the evil, valueless, immoral atheist does the good thi... ah fuck it. You're not listening anyway.
Again - where was the lie that made the post a work of fiction?
(And I know others have said this before but maybe it will eventually sink in: the protest against Stein was not against him speaking but against his crap being legitimised by the conferral of an honorary degree. Please try to keep up.)
Posted by: Lee Harrison | April 4, 2009 4:37 AM
"Keep up" is not precisely something William Wallace is equipped to deal with.
Posted by: jfatz | April 4, 2009 7:54 AM
Why do you think we call him Limp Willy?
I believe there are pills that can help with that.
Posted by: The Chimp's Raging Id | April 4, 2009 8:21 AM
itt: Ben Stein wins Ben Stein's money.
Posted by: Colin M | April 4, 2009 9:57 AM
It could be worse. My University (University of Kentucky) just hired a fucking basketball coach for something like 31M dollars over 8 years, making him the highest paid basketball coach in all of NCAA. Meanwhile, staff and faculty didn't receive cost-of-living raises, tuition is going up by a ridiculous 7% annually, and my science labs are terribly ill-equipped. I wonder when my school stopped being an educational institution.
Posted by: zer0 | April 4, 2009 10:41 AM
WW - Again, you're a dickhead.
You comment that Abbie's story is fiction (which it clearly is not) you are called on to explain your comment and then completely "dodge" by saying that she would have been nicer to Dawkins.
Your dickheadedness is becoming more transparent, you'll have to work harder.
Posted by: Stacy | April 4, 2009 10:59 AM
There's a term in yiddish for a person of good-natured integrity and all around politeness. That term is "mensch." Ben is not being a mensch. In fact, he's being a bit of shmuck.
(And in marginally related news, the default Firefox spellchecker apparently recognizes mensch but doesn't recognize shmuck).
Posted by: Joshua Zelinsky | April 4, 2009 4:26 PM
Joshua @34, while the American Heritage Dictionary lists "shmuck" as an acceptable alternate, Google has 31 million hits for "schmuck" and only 121 thousand for "shmuck."
That said, I agree with your comments on the merits. ;)
Posted by: Douglas McClean | April 5, 2009 1:48 AM
Ben Stein, his initials tell his story.
Posted by: Mind Over Splatter | April 5, 2009 2:09 AM
I'm with rrt: Dawkins should swoop in and do another engagement for free in Stein's place. Someone notify PZ Myers - this would be a great outreach opportunity. He could regale the students with stories of Stein's malfeasance.
Posted by: Inoculated Mind | April 5, 2009 3:13 AM
I'm with rrt: Dawkins should swoop in and do another engagement for free in Stein's place. Someone notify PZ Myers - this would be a great outreach opportunity. He could regale the students with stories of Stein's malfeasance.
Posted by: Inoculated Mind | April 5, 2009 3:15 AM
If an affluent private university had reneged from a contract with Richard Dawkins, we all know how ERV would feel about that...
The fact that you're having to resort to fictional scenarios to make atheists look as scummy as your co-cultists should tell you something.
Posted by: Der Bruno Stroszek | April 5, 2009 2:27 PM
SVN wrote, "Nice to know where his priority lies."
Oh, come on, people. Stein is much too busy with really important projects to concern himself with mere trifles like higher education.
Posted by: Wicked Lad | April 5, 2009 6:43 PM
How awful. Hopefully the folks at Emory learn not to invite morons - what the hell were they thinking? It's hilarious how a nobody like Ben Slime can ask for so much money too - the folks at Emory should just laugh at him and say "so sue me".
Posted by: MadScientist | April 5, 2009 10:19 PM
Ben Stein is just Joe the Plumber with a better publicist.
Posted by: Julie Stahlhut | April 7, 2009 8:47 AM
Ben Stein returns to his spiritual home.
Posted by: Amadán | April 7, 2009 10:54 AM