reason is the reason

Admittedly the Easter connection is tenuous, the Star Wars connection not so much.

Sun Star Cebu: “Even as the Cebu archdiocese denied the accusation, Rodolfo Lozada Jr. and his supporters here and in Metro Manila criticized Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal for allegedly instructing priests not to officiate masses for the Senate witness during his visit here yesterday. Lozada talked about an ‘Archdiocese of Malacañang’ here while the Black and White Movement in Metro Manila called the cardinal ‘a congressman in cassock.’”

Cebu Daily News: “Some local and Church officials are demanding a public apology from whistle-blower Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr. for ‘falsely’ accusing Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal of stopping priests from celebrating Mass during his recent Cebu visit.”

Archdiocese of Cebu: “In our communal search for truth, there is a need for prudence in our words and actions because truth will not be served if we make claims that are not backed up by facts.”

Frank Malilong: “Lozada was obviously miffed by the lukewarm reception he got from the Cebuanos. (…) So he called Cebu the ‘Archdiocese of Malacañang.’ How pathetic. Only a megalomaniac would react to a snub by slandering an entire people.”

Sun Star Cebu: “It is probably too much to expect an apology from Lozada and his supporters if one considers ego and these people’s tendencies, which is to present a facade of infallibility.”

Third Wave: “Are Lozada and Navarro said (sic) these things because it seems Cardinal Vidal do not think the way they think? Will the continue to attack those who will not dance with them? It’s not right and proper. Instead of gaining support, they will lost (sic) respect.”

A Simple Life: “The almost empty gymnasium should jolt you back to your senses, Jun. People are tired of your stupid jokes. The more you joke, the faster you lose your credibility. You should have hired Amay Bisaya to do the joking. But then, he might steal your thunder and you don’t want that to happen.”

What is “jumping the shark”? From Wikipedia: “the phrase has become a colloquialism used by U.S. TV critics and fans to denote the point at which the characters or plot of a TV series veer into a ridiculous, out-of-the-ordinary storyline. (…) The phrase has been used more recently outside the realm of popular culture, representing anything that has reached its peak and has turned mediocre.“

Richard Dawkins discussing Expelled with PZ Myers: “It’s a spectacular own-goal, a spectacular piece of foot-shooting, shooting oneself in the foot, that simply compounds the poor artistic quality of the film itself… these people are simply inept in filmmaking as well as in public relations!” Youtube video follows below:

New York Times, “No Admission for Evolutionary Biologist at Creationist Film”: “Eugenie Scott, director of the National Center for Science Education… said it was ‘just tacky’ that the producers barred Dr. Myers from the screening, but added, ‘I don’t think it’s inappropriate for us to have a good laugh at the creationists’ expense.’ ”

The Pioneer Press: “Biology prof expelled from screening of ‘Expelled‘” “[PZ] Myers is entertained by this irony: Expelled’s closing credits include a thank-you to him. So he knows the filmmakers are grateful for the couple of hours he gave them last year. Just not grateful enough to let him see their movie.”

Salon: “Expel, expelling, expelled!”: “Expulsion from a screening of a film purportedly defending the importance of freedom of thought and academic tolerance would seem ironic enough. But apparently the atheist detection system set up at the door was overwhelmed. While Myers ended up out on his ear, the friend he’d gone to the film with was allowed to pass. That friend: Richard Dawkins, the world’s most famous atheist, himself.”

Expelled writer Kevin Miller: “I would like to apologize to PZ for the misinformation on my blog… I am not ordinarily a contemptible liar…. So what I’ve done is revise my original blog post slightly to take out the incorrect information.” (The original version of the aforementioned blog post can be downloaded here.)

A Reasonable Doubt: “Mark Mathis a liar? How so?!” “What pissed me off wasn’t so much the childish style of the film or the biased audience that cheered for [Expelled producer Mark] Mathis, but Mathis himself. He had the gall to accuse Dawkins of lying about him, when the whole time he was lying non-stop.”

Lacrimae Rerum, “I suppose it’s due”: “Before I’d seen this movie, I was of the opinion that it would be worthwhile to see…. Now I realise that it really wasn’t worth the hour-and-a-half of my time. I cannot emphasise how utterly boring this film was. Half of it was annoying clips of people knitting, people making toys, people laying bricks, tanks, Hitler, and people chipping at the Berlin wall. Half of the other half was different people saying the same things.”

Possummomma: “Now…call me crazy: but, I say, if you are portrayed in a movie, I think you have a right to view said movie and see how you were portrayed. Apparently, the producers of Expelled don’t agree.”

Colorado Confidential: “Couple Myers’ experience and our January report on a promotional telephone press conference of pre-screened, softball questions posed to the filmmakers, and the ‘intelligence’ of the movie’s premise becomes sketchier yet.”

Russell Blackford: “There is of course a degree of irony, even hypocrisy, about the Expelled folks’ expelling Myers from a screening of Expelled. It’s all the nastier when you think that this is a movie in which he actually appears, and with which he cooperated. The greater irony, however, is that his family and guest were allowed in … the overseas academic being, of course, none other than Richard Dawkins!”

UPDATE, 3/23/08: Expelled screenings have been abruptly canceled, or at least it looks that way from the website. Future screenings that have been scheduled as late as April 8 have mysteriously vanished from the site. (Compare present site with Google cache as of March 16.) I’m sure Mark Mathis has a very good explanation for that.

Intelligent Design (ID) is Creationism with plausible deniability. OK, that’s the nice way of saying it.

Not so nice – Intelligent Design is Creationism with falsies, Creationism dishonestly dressed up to give a scientific look to what is essentially voodoo cosmology invented by sheepherders 4,000 years ago. The key word is dishonest, in direct contradiction of God’s word, but in direct agreement with Luther’s.

Nowhere is the essential dishonesty of the ID movement more obvious than through the making of Ben Stein’s newest magnum opus, the movie known as Expelled.

Read more…

“Freedomfighter69, as you are a new member, please read IATT Bulletin 1147 regarding the killing of Hitler before your next excursion.” “Take it easy on the kid, SilverFox316; everybody kills Hitler on their first trip. I did.” Wikihistory.

“If you don’t get away from me and my kids this instant, it won’t be God you should fear punishment from.” Your Christian WTF of the Day.