Let the Flamewar Begin, Ben Stein

Here we go again, folks:

Evolution is flawed because it can't tell us where life came from. The cell is too complex to have evolved by itself. Secularists are persecuting scientists who believe in God.

Spin. Spin. Spin. Vacuous, vicious propaganda. Again.

Let's not forget that Intelligent Design is not merely the belief that God created the universe, it is an attempt to displace science by allowing a hazy philosophical freedom of inquiry sans the scientific method. This is not about God or religion or freedom of speech, it's all about power plays and politics.

My dislike of Stein has been constant over the years. Between this pack of lies he's releasing in February, and his reality show about how "stupid" models are, I've been thinking about why he likes to play this role he's crafted. (As an aside, I have a friend that models in NYC. She graduated with honors in biology last year and is looking into graduate school for animal sciences. How about a show about how stupid reality show hosts are?)

I think the guy is just another contrarian, another crank, finding any way to stay in the limelight through glib opposition to perceived conventions. Some folks are surprised that he would take up the flag of Intelligent Design. I'm not. He's the perfect spokesman for their ranks. He's got something to prove.

Tip: Sandwalk

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I see P.Z. Myers already has the video of Bill O'Reilly's interview with Ben Stein. But just in case you're at work and don't want to get caught watching such filth, I have taken the liberty of providing a transcript below. Read it and weep: O'REILLY: In the unresolved problems segment tonight,…
Those crazy rascals behind Expelled have some new games they want to play: they've put out a casting call for victims of persecution. It's a pitiful plea, but it will probably net a nice collection of complaints — because it's true. We do reject Intelligent Design from the academy, from science,…
You know, even though I know he's been a Republican talker for a long time, that he worked for the Nixon administration as a speechwriter and lawyer, I've always kind of liked Ben Stein. My wife and I used to like to watch Win Ben Stein's Money, and he was quite amusing as the principal in Ferris…
A couple years I wrote an essay called Intelligent Design as Roman Mythology, in which I noted that the most appropriate symbol of the ID movement was that of Janus, the Roman god of gates that is generally portrayed as having two faces. Here is a bust of Janus that can be found in the Vatican…

I still can't listen to Stein say anything without hearing him blandly intone, "Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?"

I had the misfortune to take a class from Ben Stein thirty-odd years ago when he taught at UC Santa Cruz. I was attempting to be a film student (actually biology/film, but I ended up graduating years later in Anthropology), and I took a class from him called "Film and Revolution." It was the most disrespectful travesty I have ever attended. There was not a single film in the class that had anything to do with revolution, in any way. Notably, we saw a minor Hammer vampire film which he claimed was somehow allegorical for revolution -- I think the vampire was "the establishment."

He pulled a hissy fit because students at College Five (now Porter College) arranged the tables in the dining hall in a swastika to protest some action of the University -- I was an off-campus student at Stevenson, so I never heard the whole content of the protest -- claiming that the action, which had nothing to do with him (a visiting lecturer, not a member of the college faculty!), was in fact meant to intimidate him in some obscure way. Then he left campus without doing his grades or evaluations! Which meant that a lot of students, me included, got into trouble for not having enough credits for the quarter. When he finally did send in his grades he didn't do evaluations (in those days, it was Pass/Fail with evaluations, and a lack of an evaluation implied that the student barely passed).

Then he made a minor career of writing articles about what a terrible place UCSC was and how the students there were not serious and they were all such pernicious and vile and anti-democratic commies.

We're so unserious that you see our faculty and alumnae all over the professional journals, making breakthroughs in every scientific and academic field. Oh! that's right! Ben Stein hates science as much as he hates UCSC!

(yes, I'm a UCSC partisan. I got a good education there despite being a very confused young woman)

"I think the guy is just another contrarian, another crank, finding any way to stay in the limelight through glib opposition to perceived conventions"

So when will he and Ann Coulter be getting together romantically, do you suppose?

Who would have thought that Jimmy Kimmel would turn out to be the smart one?

Well, unfortunately I have very slow internet here in Australia, where I am visiting. I would have loved to watch the video.

I don't agree with you about your thoughts on Intelligent Design. It is not a belief that God created the universe, nor is it a philosophical attempt to replace science in any way.

Any intelligent person can look around at what they see and have a hard time believing that it is the result of random chance or "natural selection." It is much easier to believe that it is Designed.

One option for "Design" would be God.

I happen to subscribe to that option.

:-)

ThirstyJon
freedomthirst.com

I'm going to presume you haven't seen the movie because if you did, you would know that it's about 'allowing' those who believe ID, to explore it and teach it. That's it.

Wait. It also exposes the close-mindedness of those who are so radical against ID. You can tell because in the movie anti-IDer's resort to name-calling and bashing, not facts.

Oh yeah, I also liked the part where the movie shows some scientists trying to produce life in a lab in 1953, and even now 50 years later they still can't. Funny because here are Intelligent men producing life...get it??? Intelligent men trying to recreate ID, not Darwinism!!!!! Seems like if they wanted to prove evolution they'd spend their time turning dogs into cows or horses or something else.

Lastly, since you are much smarter than myself, please answer this question for me. I've been studying the ancient writings and I've yet to come across any mention of evolutionesque material. Am I missing something? Does it exist? Have you come across any mention of it anywhere? Surely somebody somewhere wrote down or kept the tale alive that had great great grandpa's knuckles used to drag the ground! I mean we see a lot of other stuff about their ancestors but nothing like this. Just curious if you had experienced the same.

I know this post doesn't prove anything, but you gotta admit that these questions should be 'allowed' to be asked.

Thank you America!!

By dthompson (not verified) on 04 May 2008 #permalink