Posted on 02/06/2009 6:21:07 PM PST by blueplum
BURLINGTON, Vt. — Comedian Ben Stein has withdrawn as the University of Vermont's commencement speaker because of complaints about his critical views on evolution in favor of intelligent design. UVM President Daniel Fogel said he chose Stein based on the warm response to a lecture he gave on campus last spring. Fogel said, however, he was deluged with e-mail messages from people offended by Stein's views of science. When told about the criticism, Stein — who was to be paid $7,500 — backed out of the May 17 commencement, Fogel said. "I did not ask him not to come," he said. "I was not going to let him be blind-sided by controversy." The former host of Comedy Central's "Win Ben Stein's Money" quiz show, Stein has drawn fire previously for criticizing evolutionary theory and speaking in favor of intelligent design. That view holds that life is too complex to have developed through evolution alone, implying that a higher power must have had a hand in creation. Stein told the Burlington Free Press that he was not "anti-science" as some critics have labeled him. "I am far more pro-science than the Darwinists," Stein wrote in an e-mail to the newspaper. "I want all scientific inquiry to happen not just what the ruling clique calls science." He said the controversy over him as commencement choice was "laughable" and "pathetic." Fogel said he was sorry that he did not anticipate the extent and intensity of the concerns expressed about Stein.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Vermont.
i wish Ben had stayed in the fight.
When your enemy gets up on his hind legs, you dont back away, you take it to ‘em with a meat ax!
What is wrong is that the state of Vermont is a liberal hell hole, and it’s university is populated by spoiled brain washed nitwits.
Having bashed Stein elsewhere tonight, I tip my hat to him on his response. Well done, Ben.
Ben Stein is a “comedian”. He may project a humorous image, and has appeared in some lightweight films like Ferris Bueller, but “comedian”? That is hardly an apt description.
And they don’t have a football team!
The doofus probably believes in Leprechauns too.
His pandering to the intelligent design crowd is embarrassing.
Offended by views on evolution?! Even if to assume that they are wrong - where the hell is an offense?? Dissent is offensive?
Lacking substance isn't fatal to a comedy career. Lacking substance and humor is.
I cannot think of any comparable figures on the Left who have been treated this way. Even terrorists like Ahmadinejad have been welcomed at places like Columbia.
And people think that the Left is the tolerant side of the political spectrum and the Right is the "oppressive" side. Sheep.
Vindicates his movie “Expelled”.
No, but having a closed mind and only accepting or allowing one view really is worse than embarrassing it is dishonest.
Because he hasn’t been sucked into the damnable vortex of evolution and all that it portends, the Darwinist would consider him a comedian. ;-)
Ah.. the tolerant left. They are all for free speech and an honest exchange of ideas just so long as the speaker believes in what they believe. If he or she doesn’t then it is time for tar, feathers and pitch forks.
To paraphrase Voltaire: “I may not agree with your views, and I will defend to the death my right to suppress them.”
It simply gives more credence to the theme of his movie, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,
Burlington and its university are very peculiar places; but you only read about them when they act up or act out like juveniles. When’s the last time you heard of them in the context of any outstanding achievement? Why’s Vermont a state anyway? It ought to be a county, or maybe even some sort of reservation.
How to make fiends, and influence people.
“The general media response to the film has been largely unfavorable. It received a 10% meta-score from Rotten Tomatoes. Multiple reviews, including those of USA Today and Scientific American, have described the film as propaganda.[24][25][26] The Chicago Tribune’s rating was “1 star (poor),”[27] while the New York Times described it as “a conspiracy-theory rant masquerading as investigative inquiry” and “an unprincipled propaganda piece that insults believers and nonbelievers alike.”[25] One of the few positive reviews appeared in Christianity Today.[28] Noted evolutionary biologist and atheist Richard Dawkins has strongly criticised Stein’s film in an open letter on his website.” WP
This is really stupid. Science is NEVER supposed to be taken so defensively. They have turned a scientific theory into a religion and they may not even realize it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.