Ben Stein has Obama figured out

We've Figured Him Out

By Ben Stein

Why is President Barack Obama in such a hurry to get his socialized medicine bill passed?

Because he and his cunning circle realize some basic truths:

The American people in their unimaginable kindness and trust voted for a pig in a poke in 2008. They wanted so much to believe Barack Obama was somehow better and different from other ultra-leftists that they simply took him on faith.

They ignored his anti-white writings in his books. They ignored his quiet acceptance of hysterical anti-American diatribes by his minister, Jeremiah Wright.

They ignored his refusal to explain years at a time of his life as a student. They ignored his ultra-left record as a "community organizer," Illinois state legislator, and Senator.

The American people ignored his total zero of an academic record as a student and teacher, his complete lack of scholarship when he was being touted as a scholar.

Now, the American people are starting to wake up to the truth. Barack Obama is a super likeable super leftist, not a fan of this country, way, way too cozy with the terrorist leaders in the Middle East, way beyond naïveté, all the way into active destruction of our interests and our allies and our future.

The American people have already awakened to the truth that the stimulus bill -- a great idea in theory -- was really an immense bribe to Democrat interest groups, and in no way an effort to help all Americans.

Now, Americans are waking up to the truth that ObamaCare basically means that every time you are sick or injured, you will have a clerk from the Department of Motor Vehicles telling your doctor what he can and cannot do.

Read the full column at The American Spectator Web site.

'Ben Stein's Dangerous Idea'

Ben Stein's documentary about the push to make Darwinism the only theory allowed in the U.S. public education system is finding an audience despite a near universal boycott of coverage in the mainstream media.

"Expelled, No Intelligence Allowed" has taken in $7.2 million in U.S. theaters so far. It already ranks 12th on the all-time, box-office list for documentaries and is No. 5 on the box-office rankings for political documentaries, behind three Michael Moore films and that global warming fantasy by Al Gore.

From "Ben Stein's Dangerous Idea" by Robert E. Meyer published at NewMediaJournal.us:

Ben Stein has a dangerous idea. His idea is that professors and teachers who express skepticism about Darwinism are likely to find themselves not granted tenure, castigated and ridiculed, and disqualified from the opportunity to have research papers published.

Ben Stein film earns $5.7M at box-office

"Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed," the Ben Stein documentary exposing the lack of tolerance in American education for alternative views, has taken in $5,775,000 at the box office in its first two weeks of release.

It's already among the Top 15 highest-grossing documentary films of all time. (Not surprisingly, liberal film critics don't like the film, but good word-of-mouth is bringing audiences to theaters.)

Dr. Brian Melton talks about "Expelled" and the domination the Darwinists have on the education system in "Human Origins and a Side of Fries" posted at NewMediaJournal.us

Melton writes:

Neo-Darwinists (NDs) insist that the burden of proof is on Intelligent Design (ID) advocates to show "that there is anything to talk about." The implication is that if there actually were the evidence to back ID up, then the open-minded Darwinians would be happy to pay attention. Since there apparently isn't anything forthcoming, though, they expect people to "just shut up" about ID.

The issue here isn’t so much in what the NDs say, but in what they don’t say. They lead their listeners to make certain assumptions on implied grounds. So, while they give the appearance of the essence of intellectual virtue, they are in fact stacking the proverbial deck in a very unscientific way by creating artificial standards of evidence for ID and then failing to subject their own theories to similar scrutiny. The result is a drive-thru epistemology where science is defined primarily by what NDs personally want to be true.

Ben Stein movie takes in $3.2M on opening weekend

It's not exactly in the same box-office league as "Spiderman" or "Pirates of the Caribbean" but Ben Stein's "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" took in $3.2 million on its opening weekend.

That's pretty good for a documentary, especially one that received little publicity in the mainstream media.

Remember when far left films like Michael Moore's "Sicko" or Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" were released? They received front-page coverage in major newspapers and featured spots on television programs. The liberal-dominated media ignored Stein's film, but audiences still found it.

For more on "Expelled" check out the film's official Web site.

Ben Stein 'Expelled' for seeking the truth

Ben Stein is headed back to school.

Best known for his portrayal of the monotone teacher in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," Stein stars in a new film, "Expelled," opening in theaters today.

The full title is "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed"

The film is an expose on the "Darwinian Machine" that has infiltrated public education in America and prevents any alternative views from being introduced to students.

The theory of evolution -- emphasis on theory -- is all that the secular progressives who control the public education agenda in the U.S. allow to be taught in public schools.

"It's a movie that Ferris Bueller would take the day off to go see," says a press release promoting the film. "What freedom-loving student wouldn't be outraged to discover that his high school science teacher is teaching a theory as indisputable fact, and that university professors unmercifully crush any fellow scientists who dare question the prevailing system of belief?"

Based on the trailer alone, Stein, a lawyer, economist, former presidential speechwriter, author and social commentator, provides a far more entertaining take on the debate over intelligent design vs. Darwinism than some recent documentaries.

Let's face it, Ben Stein is a lot more interesting to watch than Al Gore or Michael Moore.

"Big Science in this area of biology has lost its way," says Stein. "Scientists are supposed to be allowed to follow the evidence wherever it may lead, no matter what the implications are. Freedom of inquiry has been greatly compromised, and this is not only anti-American, it's anti-science. Its anti-the whole concept of learning."

"Expelled" reveals that educators and scientists are being ridiculed, denied tenure and even fired in some cases for the fact that they believe there is evidence of "design" in nature, challenging the idea that life is a result of random chance.

For more information on Ben Stein's adventures in making the film, visit www.expelledthemovie.com, where you can see the trailer and find a list of theaters (more than 1,050) where the movie is playing.

Does Al Gore deserve the Nobel Prize?

I'm taking a poll on whether Al Gore deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, joining such other humanitarians as Yasir Arafat and Jimmy Carter. (Check out When Evil Prospers blog for a longer list of dubious previous winners.) Another blogger commenting on the tradition is Rightwing Nuthouse. Ben Stein also has some thoughts on the prize at The American Spectator.

The Heartland Institute calls the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Gore "deplorable."

So far, the results are 3-1 saying "No."

You can cast your vote to the left. You can only vote one time.

Only two more days to cast your votes.

(Editorial cartoon by Michael Ramirez of Investor's Business Daily)

Democrats turn to 'The Simpsons' for advice on political strategy

Harry Shearer is the voice of several popular cartoon characters on "The Simpsons" including Principal Skinner, Mr. Burns, Smithers, and Ned Flanders. It appears Shearer is also what passes for a political commentator from the American left these days. I’ve caught Shearer’s act several times on cable news shows discussing domestic and foreign policy issues alongside other liberal celebrities-turned-statesmen Ronny Reagan Jr., Whoopi Goldberg and Bill Maher. That tells you something about the brain drain in liberal quarters.

It’s also indicative of how the political left and Hollywood elite feed off each other to dominate the Democratic Party. Shearer and Maher are not exactly Hollywood heavyweights, but there are other "celebrities" who bankroll liberal causes and contribute heavily to the Democratic Party. They’re also behind the virulent blame-America rabble that props up Cindy Sheehan, the Edith Bunker of the anti-war movement.

Many of today’s celebrities are known as much for their politics as their professional achievements. What can we learn from Barbra Streisand, Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin, George Clooney or Ben Affleck? Something other than how to make bad albums and film flops? Baldwin promised to move to Canada if George Bush won reelection, but last I checked he was still living in the Hollywood hills.

That’s not to say there are no conservatives in Hollywood. But admitting you’re conservative in today’s Hollywood is akin to confessing you’re a member of the Communist Party in the 1950s. You would be committing professional suicide. Not counting tough guy actor turned California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, about the only Hollywood types who’ve been willing to publicly admit they’re conservatives are Bruce Willis, Bo Derek, Ben Stein, Pat Sajak and Tom Selleck.

Author James Hirsen detailed the stranglehold the left has on Hollywood in his best seller, "Tales from the Left Coast." The blurring of news and entertainment is not a good thing. And if you want more proof that liberals control Hollywood, look no further than "Commander in Chief," the new Geena Davis show about the first female president. The people behind the show are former Clinton employees who’ve been out of work since 2000 and would like to get back to the White House in 2008.

I don’t mind if liberals have a fantasy show on TV about running the White House. That’s as close as Democrats may get to running the country in our lifetime. But isn’t "The West Wing" enough? Do we need two prime time series depicting gallant liberals battling evil Republicans to fix all of the nation’s problems?

I’d like to see a reality shows featuring a group of washed-up actors and has-been politicians living in a big house or stranded on an island. It can star the last two Democratic presidents — Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton (actually the only two Democratic presidents in the past 36 years). Carter and Clinton may have been inept as the nation’s chief executives, but they certainly were entertaining.

Hirsen has a new book out called "Hollywood Nation: Left Coast Lies, Old Media Spin and the new Media Revolution" in which he argues that celebrities should not use their status to impose their radical political agenda on the rest of us. "Movies, TV shows, music and other entertainment products don’t merely amuse us or divert us from reality; often they convey messages about political, social and cultural issues," Hirsen writes. "And since Tinseltown remains such a liberal bastion, as we witnessed during the last presidential election with the Dem fund-raising machine, those messages usually come with a distinctly lefty twist."

Despite countless examples of how Hollywood’s liberal elite influence American politics, Hirsen makes the argument that for all the wealth and access to the public that the Left Coast has, liberals are losing the battle for the hearts and minds of the American public.

Conservatives have scored significant victories. Mel Gibson personally financed "The Passion of The Christ," a movie that no Hollywood liberal would touch. It went on to gross $600 million worldwide at a time when the majority of films lose money. With Jennings, Brokaw and Rather gone, the left-tilting network news is little more than filler between the Geritol ads. Fox News dominates cable, scoring higher ratings that all its competitors combined.

Conservatives dominate talk radio, where the much-ballyhooed Air America liberal network is on life support. Conservative authors routinely top the seller list despite The New York Times’ attempts to embellish sales figures for left-wing authors. Somewhere in Barbra Streisand’s mansion, there are entire rooms filled from floor to ceiling with books by Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Conservatives have also made the best use of the Internet. While Howard Dean and his disciples use the Internet primarily to beg for money, conservatives use it to spread ideas.

E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com