View source for 2008-04-28 A Blood Libel on Our Civilization

<hide>
{{page/link|article}}
[[title/short::A Blood Libel on Our Civilization]]
</hide>
* '''when''': [[when posted::2008-04-28]]
* '''author''': [[author::John Derbyshire]]
* '''source''': [[site::National Review]]
* '''topics''': [[topic::Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed]] [[topic:Ben Stein]]
* '''link''': [[URL::http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZGYwMzdjOWRmNGRhOWQ4MTQyZDMxNjNhYTU1YTE5Njk=]]
* '''title''': [[title::A Blood Libel on Our Civilization]]
* '''summary''': [[Summary::&ldquo;What on earth has happened to [[Ben Stein]]? ... Though I've never met him, I know people who know him, and they all speak well of him. ... So what's going on here with this [[Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed|stupid ''Expelled'' movie]]? ... It's pretty plain that the thing is [[creationist]] porn, propaganda for ignorance and obscurantism. How could a guy like this do a thing like that?&rdquo;]]
<blockquote>
<p>What on earth has happened to [[Ben Stein]]? He and I go back a long way. No, I've never met the guy. Back in the 1970s, though, when The ''[[American Spectator]]'' was in its broadsheet format, I would always turn first to Ben Stein's diary, which appeared in every issue. He was funny and clever and worldly in a way I liked a lot. The very few times I've caught him on-screen, he seems to have had a nice line in deadpan self-deprecation, also something I like. Though I've never met him, I know people who know him, and they all speak well of him. [[Larry Kudlow]], whose opinion is worth a dozen average opinions on any topic, thinks the world of Ben.</p>

<p>So what's going on here with this [[Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed|stupid ''Expelled'' movie]]? No, I haven't seen the dang thing. I've been reading about it steadily for weeks now though, both pro (including the pieces by [[David Klinghoffer]] and [[Dave Berg]] on [[National Review Online]]) and con, and I can't believe it would yield up many surprises on an actual viewing. It's pretty plain that the thing is [[creationist]] porn, propaganda for ignorance and obscurantism. How could a guy like this do a thing like that?</p>

...

<p>For shame, Ben Stein, for shame. Stand up for your [[civilization]], man! and all its glories. The barbarians are at the gate, as they always have been. Come man the defenses with us, leaving the liars and fools to their lies and folly.</p>
</blockquote>
{{page/link/footer}}