In promoting the creationist propaganda film Expelled, Ben Stein managed to stick his foot in his mouth over and over again, issuing what seemed to be a ceaseless stream of ignorant, offensive, and just plain daffy claims. Here’s your chance to set Ben straight. Send your favorite claim to setbenstraight@ncseweb.org along with a refutation (some potential quotes are here, but you may use others). We’ll post the best for all the world to see. And five lucky entrants will receive a year’s subscription to Reports of the NCSE along with their choice of a book from NCSE’s shelf – including such useful books as Mark Isaak’s The Counter-Creationism Handbook, Eugenie C. Scott’s Evolution vs. Creationism, and the AAAS’s The Evolution Dialogues: Science, Christianity, and the Quest for Understanding. But you only have ten days, and a wealth of silliness to examine, so act now!

The contest is now closed. We’re sorting through entries now. We’ve already posted a few, and we’ll post the rest of the best (and select the winners) in early May.

The rules
  1. The contest runs from April 18 to April 28, 2008. Entries must be received by e-mail to setbenstraight@ncseweb.org no later than April 28.
  2. Entries must include:
    • the full name and postal address of the entrant;
    • the text or transcript of a claim made by Ben Stein in promoting Expelled (not in the movie itself);
    • a reference, ideally a URL, showing where the claim was made;
    • a refutation, no more than 250 words.
  3. By e-mailing their entry to setbenstraight@ncseweb.org, entrants:
    • grant permission to NCSE to publish their entry, edited if necessary for length, clarity, and content, on the ExpelledExposed website;
    • warrant that their refutation is their own work to which they own the copyright, except for any quotations that fall within the scope of fair use, the public domain, or a Creative Commons license.
  4. Preference will be given to well-reasoned and well-documented refutations. Humor is good, too. There is no restriction on the number of refutations that address the same claim. Not all entries will be published; decisions to publish entries are at NCSE’s sole discretion. Multiple entries from the same entrant are permitted.
  5. Entrants may indicate whether or not they wish their full name to be used if their refutation is published.
  6. Of the entrants whose refutation is published, five will be randomly selected to receive a year’s subscription to Reports of the NCSE and their choice of a number of books relevant to the creationism/evolution controversy.
  7. NCSE employees and members of NCSE’s board of directors are not eligible to participate. The contest is void where prohibited by law.