Monday, February 9, 2009

Proving His Point

Ben Stein is well-known for the documentary Expelled which exposes the academic closed-mindedness and intolerance of the Darwinian establishment. Stein documents in the film how those in the scientific community who question Darwinian orthodoxy often lose their jobs and suffer other forms of professional and social ostracism.

The film elicited a flurry of protests, denials, and other caterwauling from the members of that establishment who objected that Stein was exaggerating, and that there's certainly no persecution of those who question Darwinism nor stifling of speech. None.

Now the University of Vermont has turned around and demonstrated the very intolerance Stein claims pervades the liberal academic establishment by essentially rescinding an invitation to speak at the University's graduation ceremony. Apparently there was so much hostility to having a commencement speaker who challenged Darwinian orthodoxy, and who had the temerity to film some of the big-wig Darwinians - like Richard Dawkins - making themselves look foolish, that the president of the school urged Mr. Stein to cancel his engagement.

Talk about making the other guy's argument for him ...

Meanwhile, a contrite Stein kneels before the shrine of the great man himself seeking absolution for his impertinence. Maybe this will get him back into the good graces of the broad-minded folks at U of V:

RLC