Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Ben Stein has apparently studied every Michael Moore movie ever produced and come to the conclusion that if Michael could do it, HE could do it. When I say studied, I mean with diligence - he copied the Hated Liberal so well that leaving Michael out of the credits should be cause for a lawsuit. Soundtrack, cheesy gimmicks, pacing, even monotonous voice over - everything smacks of Michael Moore. Too bad Ben didn't bother with the fact checking.

The premise of Expelled is that "Big Science" (unclear as to just who that is,) will not allow anyone to question evolution - that all scientists are godless atheists and dissent in the ranks will get you canned, blacklisted, and ridiculed. Ben, our freedom lovin' all American questioner, asks pointy questions of lots of the evil atheists, and less than pointy questions of the persecuted, interspersed with clever graphics and film clips and Ben's whiny, nasal voice telling us what is really being said. It's faulty logic that skims right over into offensive when he concludes that the Holocaust was the result of Hitler's belief in evolution.

I found the movie hard to swallow - I doubt that any serious evolutionary biologist is really satisfied that we know everything about the origin of life, however the concept of intelligent design assumes that since we don't know - then the answer MUST be God. Stein's arguments assume this. Furthermore, a little research will show that not only did the producers of this masterpiece outright LIE to obtain their interviews, they have a summarily religious agenda AND banned certain academics from their screenings. Interesting answer to their questions about freedom, don't you think? Check out the very well funded Expelled website here and the far more interesting Expelled: Exposed website here.