Movie murmurings: No Intelligence Allowed

In 2004, two separate polls found that nearly the same percentage of Americans (around 40 percent) believe (a) Saddam Hussein was directly involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and (b) the earth was formed less than 10,000 years ago. This sagely cohort will no doubt thrill to the subtle charms of “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,” a schlockumentary starring Ben Stein (...Bueller…Bueller...) that claims “Big Science” is unfairly shutting out those who advocate the notion of intelligent design.
 
Sooner or later, social conservatives are just going to have to give this one up. It’s amazing that so many pin their worldview on something as shaky as trumped-up Creationism, but there it is. To see an excellent refutation of the whole ID concept, watch Nova’s “Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial.” The companion Web site is here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/id/ 
 
One of the most idiotic claims of ID proponents is that refusal to credit their position is tantamount to an Atheist bias. By these standards, all science, from germ theory to geology, is atheistic for refusing to take into account the supernatural. Should a meteorology professor at Penn State be dismissed for teaching that the sun is pulled across the sky by a chariot? I hope so. People can say whatever they want, but if it’s not testable, it’s not a theory – and it’s not science.
 
The weather example is not as goofy as it sounds. Religious conservatives are fond of asserting that weather events could be steered by a divine hand. Is Kansas being punished for its sins by an excessive number of tornadoes? Should my intelligent design theory of tornado occurrence be taught at Penn State, and should I raise claims of bias if it is not?
 
Apparently, Ben Stein thinks so.