Another Darwin-lover

The villainous Jew-hunting Nazi Col. Hans Landa, from the movie "Inglourious Basterds"

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Ernst Haeckel and Darwin's influence on Nazism

An online article titled "Charles Darwin's Reception in Germany and What Followed" by Axel Meyer said,

Haeckel, who was the most influential don of German zoology for several decades, probably read Darwin's Origin in German during his PhD work in Jena, since his command of English was not particularly good. The main reason why all of this is of greater, even political, interest beyond issues in the history of science, is that Ernst Haeckel is widely seen—although this is disputed among historians of science—to be in an unholy intellectual line from Darwin to social Darwinism and eugenics in the early twentieth century, eventually leading to fascism in Nazi Germany. Creationist and intelligent-design advocates worldwide tirelessly perpetuate this purported but largely unsubstantiated connection between Darwin, Haeckel, and Hitler. Such efforts are particularly and unnecessarily divisive in this “Darwin year,” when we celebrate not only the 150th anniversary of the publication of Origin, but also Darwin's 200th birthday. Furthermore, they do not do justice to Haeckel's understanding of Darwinian evolution by natural selection with all its unpredictability, but, more importantly, seem to aim to further undermine the acceptance of evolution by an often still surprisingly skeptical lay audience.

"Surprisingly skeptical lay audience"? Darwinism has more holes than Swiss cheese -- why should it be "surprising" that the lay audience is skeptical?

The article continues,
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Haeckel was, by far, the most successful popularizer of science for more than a generation in Germany. His books were printed in large numbers, translated into several languages, and strongly influenced scientists and layman alike. Haeckel idealized Darwin. . . . . . Haeckel misunderstood many aspects of Darwin's ideas, and perhaps his typical German quest for laws of nature was ill-founded. Nonetheless, he was instrumental in propagating the principle of evolution by natural selection to the then very influential community of German biologists that had long adhered to lamarckian ideas.

Let's see now . . . ."Haeckel was, by far, the most successful popularizer of science for more than a generation in Germany" and "[h]is books . . . strongly influenced scientists and layman alike." Furthermore, "Haeckel idealized Darwin" and Haeckel "was instrumental in propagating the principle of evolution by natural selection to the then very influential community of German biologists that had long adhered to lamarckian ideas." So should it be any surprise that "Ernst Haeckel is widely seen . . . to be in an unholy intellectual line from Darwin to social Darwinism and eugenics in the early twentieth century, eventually leading to fascism in Nazi Germany"? Yet the article speaks of this "unholy intellectual line" as being a "purported but largely unsubstantiated connection between Darwin, Haeckel, and Hitler." Actually, the article's statements alone provide strong evidence of such a connection, and there is certainly enough evidence to justify further investigation of any connection. But the article urges us to bury our heads in the sand by avoiding an "unnecessarily divisive" investigation of this connection during this "Darwin year." But what better opportunity is there to investigate this connection than in this Darwin year, when interest in things related to Darwin is greatly heightened?

BTW, Haeckel was not the only link between Darwin and Hitler. The Nazis were also strongly influenced by American eugenics programs, which were in turn strongly influenced by Darwinism -- in fact, the Eugenics Record Office merged with the Station for Experimental Evolution in 1920 to form the Department of Genetics at the Carnegie Institution. The links between Darwin and Hitler are discussed in two post-label groups on this blog -- Darwin-to-Hitler and Darwin-to-Hitler (new #1) (the reason for the two groups is that I am limited to a maximum of 20 articles per group). Also, post labels are listed in the sidebar of the homepage.

Also, contrary to what appears to be a widespread assumption, Nazi anti-Semitism was not a true eugenics program, because the Nazis targeted Jews who were especially fit -- physically and/or mentally -- as well as unfit Jews. In fact, one of the first things that the Nazis did after coming to power was to fire the highly mentally-fit Jews who were professionals and managers in the civil service. The main contribution of eugenics to Nazi anti-Semitism was to create the idea that it was morally OK to get rid of undesirables.
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Darwin-to-Hitler again

CAPTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN USED WITH THE ABOVE PICTURE:
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"A 'systematic' Jewish holocaust is impossible, so how could Darwin be blamed for it?"

Considering that Darwin is often blamed for Hitler, I am surprised that Darwinists are not among the world's biggest Holocaust deniers.

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"Nazism cannot uncouple itself from its eugenicist, and thus Darwinist, antecedents."

The conclusion section of the Kitzmiller v. Dover opinion said, "ID cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents."

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"Evolution is the fundamental concept underlying all of Nazism."

The new Florida state science standards say, "evolution is the fundamental concept underlying all of biology."

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"What? I don't 'need' Darwin? O, reason not the need !"

"O, reason not the need !" is from Shakespeare's play "King Lear." Abe Foxman, chairman of the Anti-Defamation League, said that Hitler did not "need" Darwin to carry out the Holocaust.

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"You will think the way I think -- and you will like it."

Judge "Jackass" Jones was shown wearing Hitler's outfit. Judge Jones has charged that critics of his Kitzmiller v. Dover decision lack respect for "the rule of law" and "judicial independence."

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"Ich bin ein Darwiner. JFK, essen Sie ihrem Herz aus."

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"ADL chairman Abe Foxman ist ein dummkopf"

Abe Foxman said that Hitler did not "need" Darwin to carry out the Holocaust

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Richard Weikart, author of "Darwin to Hitler," has written a new book titled, "Hitler's Ethic: The Nazi Pursuit of Evolutionary Progress". Amazon.com's product/book description says,

In this book, Weikart helps unlock the mystery of Hitler’s evil by vividly demonstrating the surprising conclusion that Hitler’s immorality flowed from a coherent ethic. Hitler was inspired by evolutionary ethics to pursue the utopian project of biologically improving the human race. This ethic underlay or influenced almost every major feature of Nazi policy: eugenics (i.e., measures to improve human heredity, including compulsory sterilization), euthanasia, racism, population expansion, offensive warfare, and racial extermination.

As I have pointed out many times, Nazi anti-Semitism targeted fit Jews -- both the mentally fit and the physically fit -- as well as unfit Jews and was therefore not a eugenics program. In fact, one of the first things that the Nazis did after coming to power was to fire highly mentally fit Jews -- professionals and managers -- from the civil service. Eugenics' contribution to the Jewish holocaust -- which BTW was exaggerated IMO -- was to establish the idea that it was morally OK to get rid of undesirables.

To my knowledge, those who claim that Darwin had no influence on Hitler have not produced a single book supporting their claims -- but there are several books supporting the claim that Darwin had a strong influence on Hitler.

The new book is discussed on Uncommon Descent.
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Good question from der Führer

A "systematic" Jewish holocaust was impossible because the Nazis had no objective and reliable ways of identifying Jews and non-Jews.

I wonder why there are not more Darwinist holocaust-deniers.

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Incredible bigotry on Houston Chronicle's Evo.Sphere blog

Crackpot Darwinist Steven Schafersman, a blogger on the Houston Chronicle's Evo.Sphere blog who is president of Texas Citizens for Science and a member of the committee that drafted the new Texas Earth and Space Science standards, posted an Evo.Sphere blog article that compares Texas board of education chairman Don McLeroy to Stalin and compares Chris Comer -- the former science director of the Texas Education Agency who was ousted for various infractions, including violation of the TEA's policy of neutrality regarding the public hearings on the proposed new Texas science standards -- to a Russian scientist who was sent to the Gulag for disagreeing with Lysenkoism.

As I pointed out, another Evo.Sphere blogger, Dan Graur, is also a bigot -- he wrote,

Sarah Palin would probably approve of Mengele’s methodology; after all Darwinian evolution did not serve as a guiding principle in his studies, nor were federal Dollars (or Reichsmarks) spent on fruit flies.

And to think that these folks complain about the Darwin-to-Hitler stuff.

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Rabbis' pro-Darwinist letter on evolution education

A recent Chicago Tribune news article discusses the new Jewish Clergy Letter, which is a counterpart of the Christian Clergy Letter.

I discovered that both the Christian Clergy Letter and the Jewish Clergy Letter discuss only biblical creationism and do not mention scientific and/or pseudoscientific criticisms of evolution, including intelligent design. I made this discovery when comparing the two letters. Proposals to teach biblical creationism in the public schools are not taken seriously, so how much are these clergy letters worth? Not much. Their main purpose is to enable Darwinists to brag, "see how many clergy members are on our side (sort of)?"

Anyway, how much is there to teach about biblical creationism in a biology class? The biblical story of creation covers only about the first two pages of the bible, only part of that story is about the creation of living things, and the concepts of creation of living things are trivial -- "poof." There is nothing in the bible about irreducible complexity, the bacterial flagellum, blood-clotting cascades, co-evolution of obligate mutualism, the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, etc.. BTW, what kind of credibility do the Darwinists have -- or should they have -- when they claim that these things are religious ideas?
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IMO the Jewish community's views on evolution and evolution education can be properly viewed only in the contexts of (1) Jews' relations with Christians, particularly fundamentalist and evangelical Christians, and (2) Jews' different views on the degree of Darwinism's influence on Nazi anti-Semitism. For example, Jews who are extremely hostile to Christian fundamentalists and evangelicals, e.g., the Jews in the Anti-Defamation League, also tend to be extremely hostile to the idea of teaching criticisms of evolution in the public schools because they view such teaching as an attempt to sneak Christianity into the public schools. This ADL view on evolution education has presumably also affected the ADL's view of the Darwin-to-Hitler controversy. Also, apparently the ADL blames Christianity for Nazi anti-semitism and doesn't want any of the blame shifted to Darwinism. On the other hand, the anti-Darwinism of Jewish Ben Stein -- of the movie "Expelled" -- and agnostic Jew David Berlinski is intensified by their belief that Darwinism was a major cause of Nazi anti-Semitism. I go over these issues in the following articles on this blog --
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]. These articles are all from the Darwin-to-Hitler post label groups (there are two such groups because I am limited to a maximum of 20 articles per post label) -- some of the articles do not concern the Darwin-to-Hitler issue per se but I filed them under the Darwin-to-Hitler post labels anyway to keep down the number of post labels. I may add another post label later. This blog has a list of post-label links in the sidebar of the home page (and also in the sidebars of the post-label groups of articles).

Here are some comments specifically about the Chicago Tribune article:

Carl Feit, the Ades Chair of Health Science at Yeshiva University in New York City and an ordained orthodox rabbi, said that compared with American Christianity, Judaism is largely untroubled by evolution.

That simply isn't true -- among orthodox Jews in particular, there is widespread opposition to the Darwinian theory of evolution.

IMO most people agree that evolution should be taught -- the big issue is whether evolution should be taught dogmatically or whether both the strengths and weaknesses of evolution should be taught.

"I would say that as Jews, being a minority, we're particularly sensitive to not having the views of others imposed on us," Oler said.

A lot of Jews feel that criticisms of evolution are their own views, not the views of others.
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Heil Herr Führer Adolf Jones

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Another "Darwin-to-Hitler" feud

This new feud is described here and here.

Darwinism popularized the idea that death of the unfit is essential for progress. Death of the unfit prevents them from reproducing and/or makes room for the fit or the fitter. Death of the unfit in the form of natural selection created the human race from protozoa. The human race owes its existence to death of the unfit. The “fundamental concept underlying all of biology” (from the new Florida science standards) is death of the unfit. Richard Dawkins called natural selection "the most momentous idea ever to occur to a human mind." Isn’t death of the unfit wonderful? If we don’t have natural selection in the human race, let’s replace it with artificial selection. Let’s buy “I love Darwin” T-shirts and coffee mugs. Let’s confer “Friend of Darwin” certificates. Let’s celebrate Darwin Day and the Darwin-Lincoln birthdate coincidence. Etc..

Also, some basic principles about Darwinism’s influence on the Nazis are still largely being missed –
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(1) Anti-semitic Nazi programs targeted fit Jews as well as unfit Jews and so were not true eugenics programs. Eugenics’ contribution to Nazi ant-semitism was to create the idea that it is morally OK to get rid of undesirables.

(2) A “systematic” Jewish holocaust was impossible because the Nazis had no objective and reliable ways of identifying Jews and non-Jews. Darwinism cannot be blamed for something that the Nazis did not do.

Another issue is the need for objectivity in the study of history. When the Anti-Defamation League says that we should ignore the Darwin-Hitler connection because Hitler did not “need” Darwin (”O, reason not the need!” — King Lear), that is not being objective.
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The Station for Experimental Evolution

Historical note: The Station for Experimental Evolution merged with the Eugenics Record Office in 1920 to form the Carnegie Institution's Dept. of Genetics.

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Anti-Defamation League out of its league on Darwinism

The ADL's "Recommendations to RNC and DNC platforms" say,

(3) Creationism & “Intelligent Design”

Summary of Policy and Recommendations

Creationism, creation science and “intelligent design” theory are all religious theories of creation offered to explain the origins of the universe and are based on varying interpretations of the Bible.

ADL has consistently opposed these troubling initiatives – including so-called “Academic Freedom Acts,” which support the teaching and consideration of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution.

Advocating the right of students to learn science independently of religious doctrine honors the purpose and the promise of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The ADL's opposition to criticisms of evolution goes well beyond merely opposing the "teaching" of those criticisms in the public schools -- the ADL has opposed evolution disclaimer statements in the public schools (going so far as to file an amicus brief in the Selman v. Cobb County evolution disclaimer textbook-sticker case) and denounced the Darwin-to-Hitler themes of the "Expelled" movie and the Coral Ridge Ministries' "Darwin's Deadly Legacy" TV program [1]. ADL national director Abraham Foxman was unable to show that Darwin did not influence Hitler, so he tried to argue that Hitler did not "need" Darwin ("O, reason not the need!" -- King Lear).
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What does criticism of Darwinism have to do with anti-semitism or any kind of group intolerance (the ADL fancies itself as the champion of all supposed victims of discrimination, including gays who can enter civil unions or domestic partnerships but are denied the right to marry)? Absolutely nothing. And attempting to convert Jews is not one of the purposes of criticizing Darwinism; after all, some Jews -- especially orthodox Jews -- are among the biggest critics of Darwinism [2], [3], [4]. And I am surprised that anti-Darwinist Jews have not more frequently called out the ADL about the ADL's extreme pro-Darwinism. A prominent orthodox rabbi did apologize for the ADL's attack on Coral Ridge Ministries, at least partly because Christian fundies have been especially friendly towards Jews and Israel. Also, I am surprised by the ADL's support of gay marriage, because some orthodox Jews are extremely hostile towards gays -- they have committed violence against gay pride parades in Jerusalem.
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Holocaust revisionism favors Darwinism

* "Evolution is the fundamental concept underlying all of biology"
-- the new Florida state science standards

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The charge that Darwinism was a major cause of the holocaust is diminished to the extent that the holocaust itself is diminished, so logically it seems that Darwinists should support holocaust revisionism, but they don't. My holocaust revisionism is shunned by Darwinists as well as critics of Darwinism. The spreading Darwin-to-Hitler idea has finally given the Darwinists a very good reason to support holocaust revisionism. Even though the Darwin-to-Hitler link has nothing to do with the scientific merits of Darwinism, this link might be used as an excuse to avoid or minimize the teaching of Darwinism in the public schools.

One of the fundamental principles of my holocaust revisionism is that a "systematic" Jewish holocaust was impossible because the Nazis had no objective and reliable ways of identifying Jews and non-Jews. Even today we don't know what a Jew is, and even if we knew, we could not possibly find them all or even find most of them and in an attempted holocaust we could not avoid a lot of inadvertent "collateral damage" to non-Jews. If there had been a real attempt by the Nazis to have a "systematic" holocaust, we would have heard a lot of complaints from holocaust survivors who believed that they were mistakenly identified as Jews and I am not aware of any such complaints.

In an article about the holocaust on Evolution News & Views, historian Richard Weikart portrays Darwinists as unethical, amoral "mad" scientists and philosophers:
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Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor who endured the horrors of Auschwitz, astutely commented on the way that modern European thought had helped prepare the way for Nazi atrocities (and his own misery). He stated, "If we present a man with a concept of man which is not true, we may well corrupt him. When we present man as an automaton of reflexes, as a mind-machine, as a bundle of instincts, as a pawn of drives and reactions, as a mere product of instinct, heredity and environment, we feed the nihilism to which modern man is, in any case, prone. I became acquainted," Frankl continued, "with the last stage of that corruption in my second concentration camp, Auschwitz. The gas chambers of Auschwitz were the ultimate consequence of the theory that man is nothing but the product of heredity and environment--or, as the Nazi liked to say, of 'Blood and Soil.' I am absolutely convinced that the gas chambers of Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Maidanek were ultimately prepared not in some Ministry or other in Berlin, but rather at the desks and in the lecture halls of nihilistic scientists and philosophers."

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More Darwinist bigotry

Cartoon is courtesy(?) of New Humanist magazine.

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A deserving recipient of the "Friend of Darwin" award

"Friend of Darwin" certificates were distributed at a reunion of the Dover plaintiffs team.

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Hamas leader says Darwinism is a Zionist tool

Following are excerpts from an interview with Saleh Riqab, Hamas deputy minister of religious endowment, which aired on Al-Aqsa TV on May 14, 2008:

Saleh Riqab: The goal of the Zionist movement is to establish a state in Palestine, which would become a base for ruling the entire world. Its other goals are to destroy the religions it opposes, particularly Islam; to corrupt values and morality; to spread permissiveness and sex; and to generate moral decline.

They have come up with many means to achieve this, such as inventing philosophical theories that destroy religion and morality . . . . .

. . . . . There are also theories that were invented by non-Jews, but they disseminate them, knowing that they are scientifically false, such as the theory of Darwin. Darwin was not Jewish, but they exploited his theory. Even though new Darwinist theories have appeared, they spread the original theory, because the concept of "survival of the fittest" serves their colonialist needs.

Interviewer: That's what the theory says.

Saleh Riqab: Yes. It serves the goals of global Jewry.

Saleh Riqab is correct to some extent -- some major Jewish organizations, notably the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Congress, have embraced Darwinism with a vengeance. The ADL's embrace of Darwinism is beyond all sense and reason -- for example, the ADL called the rabidly pro-Darwinist Kitzmiller v. Dover decision a "victory for students." The ADL's opposition to anti-semitism may be assumed to represent all Jews, but the ADL's support of Darwinism certainly does not represent all Jews -- many Jews, particularly orthodox Jews, strongly oppose Darwinism.

However, I think that a large part of the interview consists of demagogic nonsense:

Saleh Riqab: By the way, I'd like to say something... I don't want to mention names. The viewers will know what I mean. There is a book called Les Fous de la Paix, which was written by two Jewish journalists. I have a copy. It was translated into Arabic, and I've read it. It mentions that one of the architects of the Oslo Accords was meeting with the Jewish negotiator at a hotel in Britain. According to the book, in an adjacent room, the son of the Palestinian negotiator was with the daughter of the Jews, and they locked the door. That's when the Palestinian negotiator was brought down.

[...]

We see this clearly in the U.S. elections. Both Democrats and Republicans compete to please the state of the Jews. That's why when a Democrat comes to occupied Palestine, he puts on a religious skullcap, goes to the Western Wall, bangs his head against the wall, and says: "Your philosophy and the need to please you is now inside my head." They all compete with one another, but the Jews maintain a balance, and they always prefer the Christian Zionists.

If a Democrat comes to power, like [Bill] Clinton -- who served them well in Oslo and elsewhere, and almost served them in the second Camp David, but then made statements [they didn't like] -- what did Zionism do? It sent him the Jewish Monica, with whom Clinton had sex in the American White House.

Clinton left [the White House], but there are thousands of pages documenting his sexual depravity, because he had sex in the White House. I read a report that Clinton used to call Arab leaders and talk to them while she was having sex with him.

Interviewer: My God!

Saleh Riqab: These things are documented, but the Arabs don't read them.

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Two Jews' views of Darwinism & the holocaust

Ben Stein and Jeffrey Selman are both -- by their own admission -- Jewish. Ben Stein is of course the star of the anti-Darwinist movie "Expelled." Jeffrey Selman was the lead plaintiff in the Selman v. Cobb County lawsuit against evolution-disclaimer textbook stickers. They have differing views about the relationship between Darwinism and the holocaust. Clevelandjewishnews.com said of Jeffrey Selman,

When a federal judge in Georgia ruled last week that a local school board's decision to put a small sticker on its science textbooks labeling evolution "a theory, not a fact" was unconstitutional, Jeffrey Selman said it was primarily an American issue.

Still, he said, he could not help but view it through the lens of his Jewishness.

"Look what happened in Germany," said Selman, one of a group of parents that sued the Cobb County school board to have the stickers removed.

"The German Jews said, 'We're Germans. We'll be fine.' The next thing you know, they were opening the oven doors for us."

John West, in responding to Jeffrey Selman's above statements, said,
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. . .it is simply Orwellian for defenders of Darwin to try to suggest that criticism of Darwin's theory can in any way be tied to the Holocaust -- especially when critics of Darwin were some of the most vocal opponents of the sort of eugenics policies championed by the Nazis and leading American defenders of Darwin's theory!

Yes -- we know that William Jennings Bryan and all those other evil creationist fundies wanted to exterminate the Jews.

Ben Stein said in an interview with Paul Crouch Jr. on the Trinity Broadcasting Network,

Stein: When we just saw that man, I think it was Mr. Myers [i.e. biologist P.Z. Myers], talking about how great scientists were, I was thinking to myself the last time any of my relatives saw scientists telling them what to do they were telling them to go to the showers to get gassed . . . that was horrifying beyond words, and that’s where science — in my opinion, this is just an opinion — that’s where science leads you.

Crouch: That’s right.

Stein: . . . Love of God and compassion and empathy leads you to a very glorious place, and science leads you to killing people.

Crouch: Good word, good word.

The Darwinists' reactions to Ben Stein's above statements were predictable.

There seems to be an element of truth in Ben Stein's statements. Like a mad scientist in a horror movie, many Darwinists seem to have morbid, sadistic and Strangelovian fascinations with the pernicious social effects of Darwinism. These Darwinists don’t just regard Darwinism as a necessary evil but shamelessly worship Darwin — there are Darwin Day celebrations, “I love Darwin” knick-knacks, “Friend of Darwin” certificates handed out at a reunion of the Dover plaintiffs, etc.. Though I don’t think that being descended from monkeys is anything to be ashamed of, I don’t think that it is cause for celebration, either.

Who is the bigger crackpot -- Jeffrey Selman or Ben Stein?

Disclaimer: My own position is that a "systematic" Jewish holocaust was impossible because the Nazis had no objective and reliable ways of identifying Jews and non-Jews.
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ADL finally comes out against "Expelled"

"O, Reason not the need!"
-- King Lear in Shakespeare's play "King Lear"

"Hitler did not need Darwin to devise his heinous plan to exterminate the Jewish people and Darwin and evolutionary theory cannot explain Hitler's genocidal madness."
-- Anti-Defamation League's denunciation of "Expelled"

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The Darwin-to-Hitler message of the "Expelled" movie was a real dilemma for the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL had previously denounced the Darwin-to-Hitler "Darwin's Deadly Legacy" TV show of the Christian fundy Coral Ridge Ministries, and the ADL has a long history of opposing criticism of Darwinism in general. But the star of "Expelled," Ben Stein, is Jewish and one of his supporters in the movie wears a yarmulke. For a brief time, ADL tried to solve the problem by erasing the article condemning "Darwin's Deadly Legacy." The ADL finally decided to bite the bullet and denounce "Expelled." IMO the reason why ADL finally came out against "Expelled" was to avoid the appearance of a double-standard in regard of the denunciation of "Darwin's Deadly Legacy." The ADL's denunciation of "Expelled" says:
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Anti-Evolution Film Misappropriates the Holocaust

New York, NY, April 29, 2008 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today issued the following statement regarding the controversial film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.

The film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed misappropriates the Holocaust and its imagery as a part of its political effort to discredit the scientific community which rejects so-called intelligent design theory.

Hitler did not need Darwin to devise his heinous plan to exterminate the Jewish people and Darwin and evolutionary theory cannot explain Hitler's genocidal madness.

Using the Holocaust in order to tarnish those who promote the theory of evolution is outrageous and trivializes the complex factors that led to the mass extermination of European Jewry.(emphasis added)

The statement "Hitler did not need Darwin to devise his heinous plan to exterminate the Jewish people" also appears in the ADL's denunciation of "Darwin's Deadly Legacy" as a statement by the ADL's national director Abraham Foxman. Foxman and the ADL can't show that Darwin did not influence Nazism anti-semitism at all, so they say that Hitler did not "need" Darwin to devise his plan to exterminate the Jews of Europe.

Also, the "complex factors" in the ADL's clause "trivializes the complex factors that led to the mass extermination of European Jewry" is probably a reference to the ADL's probable belief that "Christian antisemitic ideology" is to blame for the holocaust:

The motivation was ideological. The racist-antisemitic ideology was the rational outcome of an irrational approach, an approach that was a cancer like mutation of the Christian antisemitic ideology that had sullied Christian-Jewish relations all through their two millennia of coexistence. (from a speech by Yehuda Bauer, posted on the ADL website)

Also, as I have pointed out numerous times before, a "systematic" Jewish holocaust was impossible because the Nazis had no objective and reliable ways of identifying Jews and non-Jews. It's like trying to, say, "systematically" exterminate all of the Methodists or Presbyterians in the USA -- it can't be done. It is very doubtful that the Nazis ever had a real "plan" to exterminate the Jews of Europe. The Nazis may have been insane but they weren't stupid.
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Anti-Defamation League tries to cover up its hypocrisy and bigotry

UPDATE: The links are working again!

Either they changed their minds over at the ADL or there was a strange coincidence that the links went kaput at around the time that "Expelled" opened.



Hitler is now quoting Shakespeare!

"O', reason not the need!"
-- King Lear

"Hitler did not need Darwin to devise his heinous plan to exterminate the Jewish people. "
-- Abraham Foxman

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I have previously noted that Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, posted an article denouncing the Darwin-to-Hitler "Darwin's Deadly Legacy" TV documentary of the Christian fundy Coral Ridge Ministries [1] [2]. Well, the links to that article no longer work, so I presume that the ADL deleted it.

The ADL knew that it must either also attack the Darwin-to-Hitler message of the movie "Expelled" or be accused of hypocrisy, double-standardry, and anti-Christian bigotry. Instead of attacking "Expelled" (Ben Stein is Jewish and one of his supporters in the movie wears a yarmulke), the ADL decided to try to hide its hypocrisy, double-standardry, and bigotry by deleting the article attacking "Darwin's Deadly Legacy." But the ADL is not fooling anyone.

Abraham Foxman was unable to show that Darwin did not influence Hitler, so he tried to argue that Hitler did not "need" Darwin.

BTW, Foxman's post attacking "Darwin's Daily Legacy" has been widely quoted in attacks on the Darwin-to-Hitler message of "Expelled."

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Hitler and Judge Jones are now official mascots of this blog

* ID cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and therefore religious, antecedents.
-- Judge Jones, Kitzmiller v. Dover opinion

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Movie tells ADL to go to hell

As I previously noted, the fanatically pro-Darwinist Anti-Defamation League called the Kitzmiller v. Dover decision "a victory for students" and said that the students were the "real winners" in the Selman v. Cobb County case.

An ADL website article about the Coral Ridge Ministries' Darwin-to-Hitler "Darwin's Deadly Legacy" TV documentary said,
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ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman said in a statement:"This is an outrageous and shoddy attempt by D. James Kennedy to trivialize the horrors of the Holocaust. Hitler did not need Darwin to devise his heinous plan to exterminate the Jewish people. Trivializing the Holocaust comes from either ignorance at best or, at worst, a mendacious attempt to score political points in the culture war on the backs of six million Jewish victims and others who died at the hands of the Nazis.

Well, I think Abe Foxman is really going to shit a brick about the Darwin-to-Hitler theme of the Movie "Expelled." One of the Intelligent Design supporters in the movie even wears a yarmulke! A review of the movie says,

"Expelled" rightly equates Darwinian stifling of free speech with the Communist attempt to enslave millions behind the Berlin Wall. One "Expelled" scene shows Stein, mathematician David Berlinski (a sophisticated Paris resident), and nuclear physicist Gerald Schroeder (wearing a yarmulke), all now ID advocates, discussing the importance of freedom as they visit a remnant of the Wall. All three are Jewish, and they don't look or talk like the hicks portrayed in "Inherit the Wind."

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Movie's Darwin-to-Hitler theme and the ADL

There is a lot of controversy on the Internet now about the "Expelled" movie's Darwin-to-Hitler theme. To me, the best thing about this Darwin-to-Hitler stuff -- regardless of how true it is -- is that it is a nice slap in the big fat face (in the words of Kansas U. Prof. Paul Mirecki) of the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL regards criticisms of Darwinism as extremely anti-semitic. I have not yet seen any ADL reaction to the movie.

The ADL has --
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(1) -- called the Kitzmiller v. Dover decision a "victory for students." [1]

(2) -- had that crackpot Judge Jones as a guest speaker at a national executive committee meeting.[2]

(3) -- submitted an amicus brief supporting the plaintiffs/appellees in the Selman v. Cobb County evolution-disclaimer textbook sticker case and gave an "Unsung Hero Award" to lead plaintiff Jeffrey Selman.[3]

(4) -- called students "the real winners" in the Great Cobb County Cop-out, where the Cobb County school board took a dive by settling out of court with the plaintiffs even though the school board was ahead (the district court decision was vacated and remanded because of missing evidence and the appeals court judges indicated at an oral hearing that they were leaning towards reversal).[4]

(5) -- condemned the Darwin-to-Hitler "Darwin's Deadly Legacy" TV show produced by Coral Ridge Ministries.[5]

(6) -- While condemning linkage of Social Darwinism to the holocaust, the hypocritical ADL has no qualms about linking "Christian antisemitic ideology" to the holocaust.[6]

(7) -- filed an amicus brief in Edwards v. Aguillard 482 U.S. 578, 580 (1987), showing that ADL opposition to criticisms of Darwinism is not new (the American Jewish Congress filed a separate amicus brief).[7]

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What in the hell does the evolution controversy got to do with anti-semitism? Ironically, orthodox Jews tend to be some of the biggest supporters of creationism and Intelligent Design.[8][9][10][11]
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