Ben Stein, What Sick Game Are You Playing?
1 Comments Published by Seldon T. Scranton on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 1:11 AM.
So maybe you've heard of Richard Nixon? Intelligent Design? The Home Mortgage Crisis?
Well Ben Stein has. When he used to spout about Nixon on his game show, I thought that he was a delusional Republican, no big deal.
Then he came out with an ID movie which has been described as "a classic bait-and-switch, presenting itself as a plea for freedom in the scientific marketplace of ideas, while actually delivering a grossly unfair, contradictory, and ultimately repugnant attack on Darwinists, " in which "he strides proudly over the last line of decency in contemporary documentary filmmaking." Ok, whatever, we all have our off days.
Then this: A recent appearance on CBS's Sunday morning that got this review.
A brief word about CBS Sunday Morning: While it is obvious that this network's coverage and presentation of current events is geared toward old people, the target audience of Charles Osgood's show seems to be already dead—peacefully so. There was, last time around, some tranquil nature footage. Also, a profile of crooner Michael Bublé that refused to stint on clichés. ("The other thing Bublé won't change, he says, is being himself, outspoken and open.") Ben Stein, the actor and economist, came on to do a commentary on the mortgage crisis in which he argued that federal funds should be devoted to aiding the dogs and cats disadvantaged by the fallout. Either this was exquisitely subtle satire, or everyone involved with the segment has lost his mind.
I watched this at work the first time, and had to fight laughter so hard I literally cried tears. These guys are right; Stein is either fucking certifiable, or has been working this whole time to gather the forces of the right around him to drive them all screaming off a cliff of absurdity.
I submit the question: Ben Stein, Sociopath or Genius?
Well Ben Stein has. When he used to spout about Nixon on his game show, I thought that he was a delusional Republican, no big deal.
Then he came out with an ID movie which has been described as "a classic bait-and-switch, presenting itself as a plea for freedom in the scientific marketplace of ideas, while actually delivering a grossly unfair, contradictory, and ultimately repugnant attack on Darwinists, " in which "he strides proudly over the last line of decency in contemporary documentary filmmaking." Ok, whatever, we all have our off days.
Then this: A recent appearance on CBS's Sunday morning that got this review.
A brief word about CBS Sunday Morning: While it is obvious that this network's coverage and presentation of current events is geared toward old people, the target audience of Charles Osgood's show seems to be already dead—peacefully so. There was, last time around, some tranquil nature footage. Also, a profile of crooner Michael Bublé that refused to stint on clichés. ("The other thing Bublé won't change, he says, is being himself, outspoken and open.") Ben Stein, the actor and economist, came on to do a commentary on the mortgage crisis in which he argued that federal funds should be devoted to aiding the dogs and cats disadvantaged by the fallout. Either this was exquisitely subtle satire, or everyone involved with the segment has lost his mind.
I watched this at work the first time, and had to fight laughter so hard I literally cried tears. These guys are right; Stein is either fucking certifiable, or has been working this whole time to gather the forces of the right around him to drive them all screaming off a cliff of absurdity.
I submit the question: Ben Stein, Sociopath or Genius?
How long has Ben Stein had a speech impediment?