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Ben Stein gets what an American Hero is....

Home ▸ Archive ▸ Serious Business ▸ Ben Stein gets what an American Hero is....
Tiger2003's avatar

Tiger2003

Kill or be Killed

15,421 posts
Apr 6, 2011 1:25 PM
Yes this video is 3 years old but he gets it. I got to meet him on my last deployment in Afghan, he is a great American.

[video=youtube;tB5I-To63to][/video]
Apr 6, 2011 1:25pm
FatHobbit's avatar

FatHobbit

Senior Member

8,651 posts
Apr 6, 2011 1:42 PM
I agree with everything in that video, but Ben Stein is nothing more than an idiot actor.
Apr 6, 2011 1:42pm
O-Trap's avatar

O-Trap

Chief Shenanigans Officer

14,994 posts
Apr 6, 2011 1:44 PM
Ben is far from an idiot. The man is actually quite intelligent (though I don't agree with him on everything).
Apr 6, 2011 1:44pm
FatHobbit's avatar

FatHobbit

Senior Member

8,651 posts
Apr 6, 2011 1:48 PM
O-Trap;734499 wrote:Ben is far from an idiot. The man is actually quite intelligent (though I don't agree with him on everything).

Fair enough. I just get tired of people who act like they know anything about anything when they are nothing but entertainers. (Ben Stein, Jenny Mcarthy, Dixie Chicks...)

If he really donated money from his book to troops then I applaud him for that.
Apr 6, 2011 1:48pm
O-Trap's avatar

O-Trap

Chief Shenanigans Officer

14,994 posts
Apr 6, 2011 1:51 PM
FatHobbit;734502 wrote:Fair enough. I just get tired of people who act like they know anything about anything when they are nothing but entertainers. (Ben Stein, Jenny Mcarthy, Dixie Chicks...)

If he really donated money from his book to troops then I applaud him for that.
Fair enough.
Apr 6, 2011 1:51pm
Q

queencitybuckeye

Senior Member

7,117 posts
Apr 6, 2011 1:56 PM
Stein was accomplished in multiple fields before turning to show business. He is a brilliant man.
Apr 6, 2011 1:56pm
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Apr 6, 2011 2:08 PM
Graduated from Columbia with honors. Graduated from Yale Law. Poverty lawyer. Trial lawyer. Adjunct professor. Law professor. Author. Speechwriter and lawyer for Nixon and Ford.

He's a lot more than an entertainer.
Apr 6, 2011 2:08pm
swamisez's avatar

swamisez

Senior Member

1,990 posts
Apr 6, 2011 2:14 PM
Lol, yeah Ben Stein is an idiot.

There is a reason he had a game show where he would challenge people to take his money via trivia.
Apr 6, 2011 2:14pm
tcarrier32's avatar

tcarrier32

Senior Member

1,497 posts
Apr 6, 2011 2:20 PM
FatHobbit;734502 wrote:Fair enough. I just get tired of people who act like they know anything about anything when they are nothing but entertainers. (Ben Stein, Jenny Mcarthy, Dixie Chicks...)

If he really donated money from his book to troops then I applaud him for that.
FatHobbit;734498 wrote:I agree with everything in that video, but Ben Stein is nothing more than an idiot actor.

So, you don't like it when people make statements in which they have no real expertise, but call Ben Stein an idiot without knowing anything about him. Nice touch there buddy.
Apr 6, 2011 2:20pm
ernest_t_bass's avatar

ernest_t_bass

12th Son of the Lama

24,984 posts
Apr 6, 2011 2:21 PM
justincredible;734519 wrote:He's a lot more than an entertainer.

You're no more than a gay.

QQ
Apr 6, 2011 2:21pm
FatHobbit's avatar

FatHobbit

Senior Member

8,651 posts
Apr 6, 2011 2:31 PM
tcarrier32;734544 wrote:So, you don't like it when people make statements in which they have no real expertise, but call Ben Stein an idiot without knowing anything about him. Nice touch there buddy.

Nobody gives a crap what I think because I'm not a celebrity. :)
Apr 6, 2011 2:31pm
tsst_fballfan's avatar

tsst_fballfan

Senior Member

406 posts
Apr 6, 2011 2:38 PM
FatHobbit;734498 wrote:I agree with everything in that video, but Ben Stein is nothing more than an idiot actor.
Ahhh yes quite the idiot...

- Economics major at Columbia graduated with honors
- Law school at Yale was valedictorian
- was a lawyer for the FTC
- has taught as a professor at multiple universities including a professor of law at Pepperdine
- written for The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, New York Magazine, and Yahoo Financial among others
- speech writer for two US presidents
- economics expert for CBS and Fox
- written 5 best sellers

... if only more among us could be so fatuous.


edit: I obviously type too slow!
Apr 6, 2011 2:38pm
Laley23's avatar

Laley23

GOAT

29,506 posts
Apr 6, 2011 3:22 PM
Ben Stein is more or less a celebrity because he is brilliant. Not the other way around.
Apr 6, 2011 3:22pm
O-Trap's avatar

O-Trap

Chief Shenanigans Officer

14,994 posts
Apr 6, 2011 3:26 PM
I wish that was true more often. I wish people were famous for being smart, not treated smart because they're famous.
Apr 6, 2011 3:26pm
FatHobbit's avatar

FatHobbit

Senior Member

8,651 posts
Apr 6, 2011 3:29 PM
IMHO he is not much better than Michael Moore as far as celebrity goes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expelled
Apr 6, 2011 3:29pm
tcarrier32's avatar

tcarrier32

Senior Member

1,497 posts
Apr 6, 2011 3:43 PM
FatHobbit;734605 wrote:IMHO he is not much better than Michael Moore as far as celebrity goes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expelled

oh, its not to say that he doesnt have views that are debatable. Expelled is one of the worst documentaries i have ever seen, far worse than any of Moore's films. But the man is far from an idiot. Intelligent people can harbor views that I, or you, might consider unintelligent.
Apr 6, 2011 3:43pm
O-Trap's avatar

O-Trap

Chief Shenanigans Officer

14,994 posts
Apr 6, 2011 3:44 PM
FatHobbit;734605 wrote:IMHO he is not much better than Michael Moore as far as celebrity goes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expelled
Did you, by any chance, watch that?

Most of the movie was not about the truth or falsity of Creationism, evolution, theory of common descent, or anything else related. The movie was, for the most part, about allowing scientists and professors to follow their studies, regardless of the outcome ... even those who would follow postulates or theories that fly in the face of what is currently commonly accepted.

I am not, at all, a young-earth Creationist, but I agree with that premise.

For what it's worth, I only saw it because my grandmother-in-law was going to see it and I felt uncomfortable declining when she asked.
Apr 6, 2011 3:44pm
FatHobbit's avatar

FatHobbit

Senior Member

8,651 posts
Apr 6, 2011 3:48 PM
O-Trap;734615 wrote:The movie was, for the most part, about allowing scientists and professors to follow their studies, regardless of the outcome ... even those who would follow postulates or theories that fly in the face of what is currently commonly accepted.

I'm fine with letting science dictate results, but my understanding is that some of the people in the movie were not what they were portrayed to be and others were asked misleading questions and/or had their answers edited in a way to make it look like he had a point.
Apr 6, 2011 3:48pm
O-Trap's avatar

O-Trap

Chief Shenanigans Officer

14,994 posts
Apr 6, 2011 3:51 PM
FatHobbit;734620 wrote:I'm fine with letting science dictate results, but my understanding is that some of the people in the movie were not what they were portrayed to be and others were asked misleading questions and/or had their answers edited in a way to make it look like he had a point.
If that's the case (and it may be), then I would suggest that makes it a poor documentary. However, it didn't really change the premise, and it certainly doesn't affect Mr. Stein's intelligence. I'd say the same thing of men like Jay Sekulow. Very smart, and well-spoken to boot. Doesn't mean everything he does is flawless, and it doesn't mean I agree with everything (or even much of what) he says.
Apr 6, 2011 3:51pm
I

I Wear Pants

Senior Member

16,223 posts
Apr 6, 2011 4:25 PM
Agree with everything but the "They're the thin red line between us and the terrorists" part.

Seriously, when are we gonna stop listening to the "WITHOUT THE MILITARY YOU'D ALL DIE IN AN HOUR" hyperbole.

Our soldiers (aside from the very very few who do dishonorable things) deserve our thanks and gratitude and are heroes though.
Apr 6, 2011 4:25pm
O-Trap's avatar

O-Trap

Chief Shenanigans Officer

14,994 posts
Apr 6, 2011 4:34 PM
I Wear Pants;734668 wrote:Agree with everything but the "They're the thin red line between us and the terrorists" part.

Seriously, when are we gonna stop listening to the "WITHOUT THE MILITARY YOU'D ALL DIE IN AN HOUR" hyperbole.

Our soldiers (aside from the very very few who do dishonorable things) deserve our thanks and gratitude and are heroes though.

I don't doubt that there are indeed organizations around the world that would be VERY interested in either leveling the US, or at least taking it over, if the military was not in place.

However, our military is anything but a "thin" red line. Our military is a big, fat, thick line between us and anyone wishing harm on the US.
Apr 6, 2011 4:34pm
I

I Wear Pants

Senior Member

16,223 posts
Apr 6, 2011 4:37 PM
O-Trap;734694 wrote:I don't doubt that there are indeed organizations around the world that would be VERY interested in either leveling the US, or at least taking it over, if the military was not in place.

However, our military is anything but a "thin" red line. Our military is a big, fat, thick line between us and anyone wishing harm on the US.
I am not saying there aren't those that want to hurt us. I'm saying that their ability to do so in any meaningful fashion has been greatly exaggerated.
Apr 6, 2011 4:37pm
O-Trap's avatar

O-Trap

Chief Shenanigans Officer

14,994 posts
Apr 6, 2011 4:45 PM
I Wear Pants;734698 wrote:I am not saying there aren't those that want to hurt us. I'm saying that their ability to do so in any meaningful fashion has been greatly exaggerated.

Any we the public know about, I agree.

It's not the enemy we know that would ever worry me in the way being expressed. Problem is, as the public, we don't know what it is we don't know, and I don't disbelieve that there may exist organizations with the ability to do something like what is being expressed.

However, as Ben is also "the public," he wouldn't know about them, either. ;)
Apr 6, 2011 4:45pm
I

I Wear Pants

Senior Member

16,223 posts
Apr 6, 2011 4:54 PM
O-Trap;734710 wrote:Any we the public know about, I agree.

It's not the enemy we know that would ever worry me in the way being expressed. Problem is, as the public, we don't know what it is we don't know, and I don't disbelieve that there may exist organizations with the ability to do something like what is being expressed.

However, as Ben is also "the public," he wouldn't know about them, either. ;)
Slippery slope then. Government can say "you don't even know about the bogeyman organizations we know about" and justify anything they want.
Apr 6, 2011 4:54pm
O-Trap's avatar

O-Trap

Chief Shenanigans Officer

14,994 posts
Apr 6, 2011 6:00 PM
I Wear Pants;734725 wrote:Slippery slope then. Government can say "you don't even know about the bogeyman organizations we know about" and justify anything they want.

Right. They might be right, but I have no reason to automatically assume either way. Is it possible that the "boogeyman" is wanting all our base are to belong to he? Sure. Is it possible said boogeyman could do so as quickly as they say? Again, sure. Is it just as possible to me that they could be wrong? Yep.

Thus, I suppose I should say that I pick no side. I will respect someone who is convinced of either, because either is a possibility. I will neither agree nor disagree with them.
Apr 6, 2011 6:00pm