Bruce Chapman is a liar

Truth:

This was a private screening with no admission charge, and you had to reserve seats ahead of time; you also had to sign a promise that you wouldn’t record the movie while you were there, and they were checking ID. Everyone in my family reserved seats under our own names, myself included. There was no attempt to "sneak in" [emphasis mine]

Lie:

Others may be crashing because they want to trash it before it even gets reviewed by the media. P.Z. Myers, who was not let into a showing last night in Minnesota, probably falls in the latter category.

No surprises. Myers (and Dawkins) did not "crash" the viewing - he applied for tickets just like everyone else (scroll down to the MN viewing at the Bloomington Mall of America AMC 14 showing; screen capture here just in case it slips down the memory hole).

Bruce Chapman is telling lies, plain and simple. I seem to remember a commandment against that.

Update: As this Panda's Thumb post notes, "If Expelled expected these showings to be 'private', why would they provide a public RSVP site where anyone can signup to attend one of the many showings of the movie?" And the DI has issued a, *gasp*, press release. Imagine that.

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People are asking me to tell them more about the movie, Expelled. I can't! I was thrown out! Let me clarify a few things. This was a private screening with no admission charge, and you had to reserve seats ahead of time; you also had to sign a promise that you wouldn't record the movie while you…
As you have undoubtedly heard, a group of evolutionary biologists and evolutionary biology supporters attended a showing of the movie Expelled, in the Twin Cities, last night. This group included the very famous Richard Dawkins and the only slightly less famous PZ Myers. PZ and Richard, in fact,…
The producers of Expelled have spent a couple of days sweating over damage control, I guess. They've shut down or delayed all the pending screenings of their movie, and now they've issued a remarkably dishonest press release. The mendacity is astonishing in its scope; somebody tell me, is this "…
Myers? Myers? .... Myers? ..... Myers? (He's not here, Ben ... Your producer threw him out.)You know about the incredibly ironic dust up, whereby Expelled! producers kicked PZ myers out of line at a pre-release showing, but failed to notice that Richard Dawkins was standing right next to him…

Bruce Chapman is telling lies, plain and simple. I seem to remember a commandment against that.

Lying? No, there's no commandment prohibiting lying except in the very specific form of bearing false witness against someone. But, since that's exactly what's being done here, you're covered. Damn, if there was a commandment against lying they'd pretty much have to pack up and go home.

By Alexandra (not verified) on 21 Mar 2008 #permalink

It seems like he is lying (though he may simply be wrong - he does not know for sure: notice the words "may" and "probably."). So - I would take it easier on him.

[In my opinion - this is a publicity stunt (see the controversy stirred for the Passion) - and you are one of the many who help promote this film. I hope you will get a "Thank You" note :) :)]

What do you have to say about the FACT (no maybes and probablys here) that most Biology textbooks (high school and college) had the forged embryo drawings of E Haeckel in them until recent years (some may still have them?). This is a well documented (and easy to prove fact).

Notice your buddy Stephen Gould who wrote: "we should be astonished and ashamed by the century of mindless recycling that has led to the persistence of these drawings in a large number, if not a majority, of modern textbooks."

Isn't this a much bigger lie and distortion of TRUTH that poor Chapman who qualifies his statements???

He does NOT appear in a textbook :)

John - thanks for the links. I will try to take a look at them. I read some of PZ's article (I do not have the time right now).

However - notice what PZ says about Wells:

"Wells is particularly incensed at the authors of introductory textbooks who, he claims, are misleading their students. I agree that he can reasonably argue that textbooks should not use the obsolete and inaccurate drawings done after Haeckel's work..."

He can reasonably argue??? Well - if they are using the WRONG and discredited drawings of Haeckel (c. 100 years later) - shouldn't PZ be more incensed?? At least more incensed than you and others are at Chapman who used the words "may" and "probably"?

I think you guys are using a double standard and are not fair in your criticism.

I think that the reproduction of fake pics in biology textbooks (see also Gould's comment above) is reason enough to be more incensed than for a probable statement on a blog.
Apparently you do not think so. I wonder why?