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Friday, March 21, 2008

Expelled

posted by on March 21 at 0:35 AM

You know that stupid movie Expelled, the Ben Stein-related intelligent design thing that’s so full of truth they’re paying Christian schools to screen it and making damn sure that the only people who get to see it or write about it are people who already agree with its nonsensical premise?

Yeah, that’s the one.

Anyway, in or near the Mall of America (which is basically in Canada), they’re at it again.

I went to attend a screening of the creationist propaganda movie, Expelled, a few minutes ago. Well, I tried … but I was Expelled! It was kind of weird — I was standing in line, hadn’t even gotten to the point where I had to sign in and show ID, and a policeman pulled me out of line and told me I could not go in. I asked why, of course, and he said that a producer of the film had specifically instructed him that I was not to be allowed to attend. The officer also told me that if I tried to go in, I would be arrested. I assured him that I wasn’t going to cause any trouble.

So now they have policemen keeping scientists out of their screenings under threat of arrest. Good stuff.

But that’s not the best part. The best part is this part:

They singled me out and evicted me, but they didn’t notice my guest. They let him go in escorted by my wife and daughter. I guess they didn’t recognize him. My guest was…

Richard Dawkins.

He’s in the theater right now, watching their movie.

Ha. In their stupid faces.

via Gruber

RSS icon Comments

1

I wonder if they're going to make a profit, after paying people to watch it and barring anyone but the choir from watching.

If they do, I will have lost respect for my own country.

Posted by Steve | March 21, 2008 12:58 AM
2

De-fucking-licious. :)

I'm getting really sick of these Creationist assholes. Can we just put them on a desert island somewhere and conveniently forget about them?

Posted by bma | March 21, 2008 1:01 AM
3

Basically in Canada? Hennepin County compared with Canada? I wish, but far from it. I would say Seattle is closer to Canada than Bloomington MN, a suburb of Minneapolis. Dipshit.

Posted by Zwbush | March 21, 2008 4:55 AM
4

The best part is that Richard Dawkins is speaking at the Association of Atheists' conference this weekend. I bet he had to rewrite his speech.

Posted by ahava | March 21, 2008 5:45 AM
5

These "creationist assholes" are half your country. Doesn't mean they aren't assholes, but they aren't going to go away. Solution? Cascadia: http://zapatopi.net/cascadia/

Posted by Tom | March 21, 2008 6:21 AM
6

hahahahahaha


seriously, when will they figure out that being deliberately stupid is ... stupid-making? oh, that's right, they don't believe in verifying the performance of their theories compared to reality. They will never get it.


Don't know what I'm laughing about, actually. These people rule our world (ok, America).

Posted by Cassie | March 21, 2008 6:59 AM
7

That's awesome. But, alas, I fear they will make money... I recently visited the Creation Museum in Covington, KY and it was PACKED (with an admission ticket of $20 a pop). As far as I could tell, my partner and I were the only godless heathens in the place. It was disheartening, but as a scientist I was amused to see that their "scientific" arguments for the viability of creationism were laughable at best.

Posted by Helena | March 21, 2008 7:32 AM
8

Of Course it will make money, by the same method that Ann Coulter's books are NYT best-sellers, and "The Passion of the Christ" is one of the top-selling movies.

Churches and special interest groups will buy up thousands of tickets and give them away. That's why they pass that collection plate every Sunday. What else are they going to do with it? Help the poor? That's communistic.

Posted by Catalina Vel-DuRay | March 21, 2008 8:13 AM
9

That is amazing. Can't wait to hear RD's take on it.

Posted by Levislade | March 21, 2008 8:17 AM
10

Yeah, but is Kirk Cameron in it??

Posted by kid icarus | March 21, 2008 8:17 AM
11

That's rich. He'll skewer them.

Posted by STJA | March 21, 2008 8:47 AM
12

seattle is only 100 miles away from canada.

minneapolis is about 250 miles south of the canadian border.

so long as we're being scientific. and all.

Posted by some dude | March 21, 2008 9:06 AM
13

Anyone else notice that Kentucky (KY) and K-Y Jelly have the same initials?

My question is more relevant than this film.

Posted by Gomez | March 21, 2008 9:19 AM
14

Well, if anybody is really that interested in seeing it, but doesn't want to endure the hassle of being kicked out of line for appearing too "rational", there are apparently a couple of bittorrent files floating around:

http://www.torrentportal.com/torrents-search.php?search=Expelled

Not that I'm endorsing the illegal downloading of copywrited media - particularly patently stupid copywrited media - but, just you know, sayin' and all.

Posted by COMTE | March 21, 2008 9:32 AM
15

Their propaganda must really, really suck if they can't even put it in front of the general public.

Posted by Westside forever | March 21, 2008 9:55 AM
16

@3 - agreed!
@12 - it's actually 300 miles from the Canadian border. Author, have you ever driven 300 miles? That's 5 hours. According to your calculations, I guess that means Utah is basically in Mexico.

Posted by Anna Montana | March 21, 2008 10:27 AM
17

Wow, I touched a nerve, there, huh northern midwesterners? Eh? Ya leekers!

Canada, Canada, Canada.

Posted by Anthony Hecht | March 21, 2008 10:27 AM
18

(1) Portland is closer to Canada than Minneapolis. Closer to the North Pole, too.

(2) The makers of "Expelled" have the right to choose who they want to let in to see their "movie", though the fact they won't let one of the people they interviewed for the movie in to see it is telling.

But if PZ Myers was told he couldn't stand in the Mall of America in front of the theater, well FUCK THAT. The MoA has always skirted around First Amendment issues by claiming that it's a private place. Bloomington police and city councilmembers should take a deep, deep look at that policy if a citizen was told to move along from *the mall* simply because a movie producer didn't like his presence.

I know that weren't allowed to tape anything it the theater, but somebody should have broken out a videocamera for the interaction w/ the police *outside* the theater.

Posted by Big Sven | March 21, 2008 10:28 AM
19

that's pretty funny.

Posted by infrequent | March 21, 2008 10:39 AM
20

#5 Only if we get to burn down the Discovery Institute and run all their ilk out of Cascadia into the deserts of the east.

Posted by Jay | March 21, 2008 12:51 PM
21

@16 252.17 miles as the crow flies from approx 2nd st s and 3rd ave s in downtown minneapolis due north to a spot in the boundary waters a few miles outside international files . 295 road miles from minneapolis to int'l falls.

@17 - just a scosh, ya hoser.

Posted by some dude | March 21, 2008 1:00 PM
22

thanks Zwbush for pointing out the obvious. Seattle is indeed closer to Canada by say 2.5 hours to be exact.
I think we just wanted to point out your own provincialism here. Moreover, the degree to which being from Canada is associated with something just rotten, is well losing its value. Literally!

Posted by apttitle | March 21, 2008 1:07 PM
23

apttitle, agreed! seattle's proximity to canada was one of the reasons I wanted to move here in the first place :D

Posted by some dude | March 21, 2008 1:10 PM
24

227 miles from Nye's Polonaise in Nordeast to the border at the Little Lake Vermillion River SE of Crane Lake.

Why am I all of a sudden getting chills and thinking of "The Handmaiden's Tale"?

Posted by Big Sven | March 21, 2008 3:45 PM

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