Limbaugh’s Rush to Laud “Expelled” Reveals Ignorance

March 19th, 2008 Central Archivist Posted in News |

I missed the first hour of Rush Limbaugh’s show Tuesday (March 18), but then again I miss the first hour most days as I’m listening to Neal Boortz’s “Information Overload” hour. My fellow conspirators pointed out I missed a doozy. Thanks to the wonder of the internet, however, I was able to read a transcript of the rant I missed and they were right.

To avoid being tarred with the quote-miners’ brush, I present the rant in its entirety:

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Ben Stein has a new movie out. He brought it by my house Friday afternoon to screen it for me. It’s called Expelled. It is powerful. It is fabulous. And here’s the premise of his movie. The premise is that Darwinism has taken root, taken hold at every major intellectual institution around the world in Western Society, from Great Britain to the United States, you name it. Darwinism, of course, does not permit for the existence of a supreme being, a higher power, or a God. His interviews with some of the professors who espouse Darwinism are literally shocking. The condescension and the arrogance these people have, they will readily admit that Darwinism and evolution do not explain how life began. One of these professors said it might have been that a hyper-intelligence from another planet came here and started our race. This from some professor either in the UK, I forget where it was, but can’t be God. These people are so threatened by the existence of God, they will not permit intelligent design to be discussed. Professors have been fired, blackballed, and prevented from working who have deigned to try to combine the whole concept of evolution with intelligent design.

Ben Stein’s new movie is going to open to a thousand screens pretty soon, it’s not out there yet. It’s called Expelled. But the point of it is that these people on the left are just scared to death of God. It threatens everything. We, on the other hand, recognize that our greatness, who we are, our potential, our ambition, our desire, comes from God, and as part of our Creation, this natural yearning to be free and to practice liberty. That is how we think this country came to be great. It is how we think this country will continue to be great and to grow.

END TRANSCRIPT

Now, let’s take his points one at a time:

RUSH: The premise is that Darwinism has taken root, taken hold at every major intellectual institution around the world in Western Society, from Great Britain to the United States, you name it.

That is because it is one of the best-supported theories going. The mountains of evidence available after 150 years of research is simply overwhelming. Limbaugh with his high school education may not have been exposed to this evidence, but that does not mean it doesn’t exist. TalkOrigins has compiled a bit of this evidence into their 29+ Evidences for Macroevolution: The Scientific Case for Common Descent. Discussions of these, plus much more, can be found in the Science World Forum at Darwin Central. I do not expect Rush to actually peruse these articles and forums as he is a very busy man, but it would do him well to actually know whereof he speaks before opening his mouth.

RUSH: Darwinism, of course, does not permit for the existence of a supreme being, a higher power, or a God.

Not true. “Darwinism” has nothing to say on the subject of a deity. That is not the same thing as “not permitting” said deity. Come on, Rush, you are supposed to be a thinking person; even you have to see how obvious this is.

RUSH: His interviews with some of the professors who espouse Darwinism are literally shocking. The condescension and the arrogance these people have…

The interviews you saw were quote-mined, as has been discussed on numerous blogs¹. Of course, you would know that if you actually did any research.

RUSH: …they will readily admit that Darwinism and evolution do not explain how life began.

Because it doesn’t. Evolution only explains the change in organisms over time, not the origin of life itself. That is covered by abiogenesis. Rush, you are forever berating liberals by saying “words mean things.” Yes, they do.

RUSH: One of these professors said it might have been that a hyper-intelligence from another planet came here and started our race. This from some professor either in the UK, I forget where it was, but can’t be God.

Actually, there is as much evidence for aliens creating life on Earth as there is for God doing the same. Your personal biases will not allow you to see that, but it is true. By the way, odds are that is what the professor was saying, but the quote was pulled out of context. This is a standard tactic of the creation/ID crowd. Does it bother you that your side has to resort to distortion and lies to makes it points? Never thought of it that way, did you?

RUSH: These people are so threatened by the existence of God, they will not permit intelligent design to be discussed.

Actually, they are not threatened at all. It appears the histrionics are all on the part of the ID/creationist crowd. As for “permitting” God or or intelligent design to be discussed, when the creationist/ID crowd can bring more evidence to the table than their personal biases, wants and desires, then maybe it will be discussed.

RUSH: Professors have been fired, blackballed, and prevented from working who have deigned to try to combine the whole concept of evolution with intelligent design.

Name one. Just one. I guarantee he or she was removed from his or her position for reasons other than belief. Again Rush, a little research goes a long way.

RUSH: Ben Stein’s new movie is going to open to a thousand screens pretty soon, it’s not out there yet. It’s called Expelled.

And it will probably disappear without even a whimper within a few weeks of release.

RUSH: But the point of it is that these people on the left are just scared to death of God. It threatens everything.

Why do you associate science with the Left?

RUSH: We, on the other hand, recognize that our greatness, who we are, our potential, our ambition, our desire, comes from God, and as part of our Creation, this natural yearning to be free and to practice liberty. That is how we think this country came to be great. It is how we think this country will continue to be great and to grow.

You believe it comes from God. Other people believe it is innate in the person. Odds are you cannot support your position with any more evidence than they can theirs.

As my fellow conspirator, Sam Cree, noted, “I’ve long been hearing people, including Rush, assert that while ‘liberals’ actions are based on emotion, ‘conservatives’ actions are based on reason. So, it’s beginning to sound like both sides of the American political fence are giving up on reason. Either that, or we are seeing an illustration of proof that reason is slightly beyond the grasp of mankind in general.”

I could not have put it any better than that.

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¹Pharyngula; The Panda’s Thumb; Wikipedia.