"Expelled Exposed" Exposed

Hot on the heals of the revelation of "The Wedgie" document, an interesting article has been published recently entitled:
"Expelled Exposed" Exposed: Your One-Stop Rebuttal to Attacks on the Documentary Expelled

First a preliminary note and then the very informative unabridged text along with its various hyperlinks to further reading.

I was, somewhat, surprised to learn that Prof. Richard Dawkins' impression of Ben Stein was that he was aggressive and that Michael Shermer thought him to be rude and arrogant. I say "somewhat" because I am aware that some people can dish it out but cannot take it.
It is also interesting to note that Prof. Richard Dawkins and Michael Shermer present two examples, within Expelled, of self-assured atheist activists who make authoritarian assertions only to be asked, "How do you know?" and then have to admit that they do not know that which mere moments ago they declared with such confidence.

As for Prof. Richard Dawkins; he was kind and honest enough to admit to his own misrepresentations, or lies, and apologized, at least when put on the spot and not when he was speaking to atheists who are in awe of him:

Richard Dawkins [RD]: Why were you dishonest about the film you were going to make?! We were lead to believe that you were going to present a fair account of evolution.

Mark Mathis [MM]: Mr. Dawkins, that's precisely what we have done. We've presented a fair account of the academic persecution that goes on across America and indeed the world when a scientist dares to disagree with the Darwinian view.

RD: You were not forthcoming with me that you were making a film that involved people who claim they have been persecuted!

MM: Professor Dawkins, I contacted you by e-mail prior to our interview. You quizzed me on all of the questions in your backyard for a half hour before we sat down with the cameras. After the interview you signed our release and accepted a generous payment for your time. I think we were very fair with you.

By the way Mr. Dawkins, I want to tell you that what you said on Atheist Radio not long ago was completely untrue. You tried to take credit for setting up our second interview location at the British Museum of Natural History. I set up that location and it involved a tremendous amount of time and effort and a very large check.

You also claimed on Atheist radio that you expected me to be doing the interview and not Mr. Stein, that you were duped again. I have a long e-mail record of my communication with you, explaining that following the success of The God Delusion Mr. Stein wanted to interview you himself. I sent you a list of Mr. Stein's broad range of accomplishments. I can accept this situation as perhaps a lapse of memory, but what you said was not true.

RD: Those are minor points.

MM: Not to me. You called me a liar on the radio.

RD: If that is the case then I offer you an apology.

MM: I accept.

Now to the text of "Expelled Exposed" Exposed: Your One-Stop Rebuttal to Attacks on the Documentary Expelled:

In light of the DVD release a few months ago of the terrific Ben Stein documentary Expelled, we thought it would be a good time to provide a comprehensive listing of articles that correct the various misrepresentations and falsehoods spread by Darwinists about Expelled.

Most of the falsehoods in circulation about the film can be traced to a website called "Expelled Exposed" set up by the pro-Darwin National Center for Science Education (NCSE) as part of its PR effort to smear the documentary last year. "Expelled Exposed" alleges that Expelled made "dishonest attempts to make mountains out of molehills and to create martyrs where martyrdom does not exist." As John West observed in response, "The basic thrust of ["Expelled Exposed"] seems to be the preposterous claim that pro-ID scientists never, ever face harassment, intimidation, or persecution. Not ever! Scientists who claim otherwise-such as biologist Richard Sternberg, astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez, and Baylor University engineering professor Robert Marks-must be cry-babies or worse. The NCSE's approach is otherwise known as 'blaming the victim.'"

Although the NCSE's website spends much energy attempting (poorly) to debunk and deny claims that ID proponents experience persecution, the attitude found at "Expelled Exposed" wouldn't be any different even if its authors admitted that the attacks experienced by pro-ID scientists had actually occurred. In essence, "Expelled Exposed" effectively says, 'There's no persecution of ID-proponents in the academy. But even if there was, so what? They deserve it.'

"Expelled Exposed" occasionally pays lip-service to freedom of speech, but the site itself should be exposed for what it really is: an attempt to subtly-and sometimes not so subtly-convince readers that the pro-ID viewpoint does not deserve the full protections of academic freedom. By unashamedly encouraging would-be persecutors, "Expelled Exposed" unwittingly justifies the central thesis of the Expelled documentary, namely that ID proponents lack academic freedom and experience unjust persecution and blacklisting within the academy.

Responses Regarding Individual Scientists in Expelled
Guillermo Gonzalez:Many of the false claims in "Expelled Exposed" regarding astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez are rebutted in a response I wrote to Michael Shermer's error-ridden review of Expelled, "Michael Shermer's Fact-Free Attack on Expelled Exposes Intolerance of Darwinists towards Pro-Intelligent Design Scientists." Further documentation of the persecution experienced by Gonzalez can be found at "Dr. Guillermo Gonzalez And Academic Persecution" or FreeGonzalez.com. In particular, some of the following links are useful for rebutting false claims regarding Guillermo Gonzalez:

"ISU astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez's stellar publication record outshines colleagues" rebuts the false claim that Gonzalez has not produced many research papers since getting involved with ID.

"Chronicle of Higher Education Promotes Misinformation about Guillermo Gonzalez's Publication Rate" shows the NCSE's misplaced reliance upon the Chronicle of Higher Education's false claim that "Gonzalez's publication output dropped steadily during his time at ISU." The reality is that while at ISU, Gonzalez outperformed all of the tenured astronomers who voted against his tenure in key measures of productivity.

"Guillermo Gonzalez Has Highest Normalized Citation Count among ISU Astronomers for Publications Since 2001" discusses the highly impressive impact Gonzalez made upon the scientific community during his time at ISU.

"Design Was the Issue After All: ISU's official explanation in Gonzalez case exposed as a sham" rebuts false insinuations by "Expelled Exposed" that ID was not the overriding factor in Gonzalez's denial of tenure.

"Secret ISU Faculty E-mails Express Vitriol Towards Intelligent Design, Disregard for Academic Freedom, and attempts to Hide a Plot to Oust an Outstanding Scientist" provides further rebuttal to false insinuations that ID was not the overriding factor in Gonzalez's denial of tenure.

"Cataloguing Darwinist Denials and Flip-Flopping over the Role of Intelligent Design in ISU's Tenuregate" rebuts the NCSE's attempts to deny that ID played a major role in Gonzalez's denial of tenure.

"The Truth about Research Grants, Gonzalez and ISU" rebuts misrepresentations by "Expelled Exposed" about the role of grants in ISU tenure evaluations.

"Praise from Scientists for The Privileged Planet" rebuts any false insinuations that Dr. Gonzalez's work on ID is illegitimate or does not deserve the protection of academic freedom.

Richard Sternberg:
Many of the false claims at "Expelled Exposed" about Richard Sternberg also seem to parrot the arguments of Michael Shermer, and thus my response to Shermer provides rebuttals to many of the website's claims: see "Michael Shermer's Fact-Free Attack on Expelled Exposes Intolerance of Darwinists towards Pro-Intelligent Design Scientists." "Expelled Exposed" makes the unbelievable assertion that "the worst that happened to Sternberg is that people said some unkind things about him in private email to one another." My rebuttal to Shermer documents the precise e-mails and evidence which show that, contrary to the claims of "Expelled Exposed," Sternberg did experience harassment and persecution, including pressure to resign, investigations into his outside activities regarding evolution, and inappropriate restrictions on his research.
More facts about Richard Sternberg's unfortunate story can be found on his home page at RichardSternberg.org as well as at the following links:

"Sternberg, Smithsonian, Meyer, And The Paper That Started It All"

"Statement of Facts / Response to Misinformation" rebuts the false claim by "Expelled Exposed" that Stephen Meyer's paper was outside the scope of Proceedings for the Biological Society of Washington.

U.S. Office of Special Counsel Letter (2005)

"Transcript of NPR Report on Sternberg Case"

U.S. House of Representatives Staff Report (2006): Intolerance and the Politicization of Science at the Smithsonian

Appendix to U.S. House of Representatives Staff Report (2006): Intolerance and the Politicization of Science at the Smithsonian

Caroline Crocker:
Caroline Crocker wrote her own direct rebuttal correcting various false claims about herself in "Expelled Exposed," "Reply to Expelled Exposed." Crocker points out that "Expelled Exposed" fails to understand that "calling scientific arguments 'creationist' does not address the validity of the arguments. It is merely an ad hominem attack that does not require response." More information about Crocker's plight can be seen in "One Long Article: Washington Post Highlights Persecution of Caroline Crocker." Some of the website's false attacks upon Crocker's scientific arguments are rebutted at "Problems with the Natural Chemical 'Origin of Life'" and "Critics Rave Over Icons of Evolution: A Response to Published Reviews." Further direct rebuttals to "Expelled Exposed" from Dr. Crocker will be included in her forthcoming book about her experience to be published later in 2009.

"Expelled Exposed" tries to muddy the waters about Crocker's plight. On the one hand, it suggests that she was let go "simply for staffing reasons," further stating that "[w]e do not know for certain why Crocker was not re-hired for her non-tenure track job." On the other hand, the website tries to impugn Crocker by claiming she received "student complaints," and "was unable or unwilling to teach accurate science." The truth is that at the very time she was told by her Department Head that she would be disciplined for challenging evolution and mentioning ID in the classroom, Crocker received a performance review from her Provost who called her teaching "outstanding" as "evidenced by unusually high student rankings"! (emphasis added) The Provost even praised her saying, "This kind of teaching quality is essential for this vital educational program, and we're very grateful for your successful efforts." Such statements hardly describe a teacher who would be expected to soon lose her job, was receiving poor student reviews, or was teaching inaccurately. Yet Crocker did subsequently loser her job, and received all kinds of after-the-fact attacks on her performance. The NCSE's litmus test for teaching "accurate science" seems to be paying homage to Darwin, and their characterization of Crocker as a poor instructor is simply false. For details and documentation on the praise given to Crocker's teaching abilities at George Mason University, see Letters About Caroline Crocker.

Robert Marks:
"Expelled Exposed" leaves off key facts about the persecution Robert Marks endured at Baylor University and tries to make it sound like his persecution was reasonable (more on this below). In the end, Marks' website was permanently shut down, Baylor pressured Marks to cease his ID-related research, and Baylor even returned grant money given to Marks to hire research assistants his ID-related work. For the full story on Marks that "Expelled Exposed" doesn't tell you, see:

"Academic Freedom Expelled from Baylor University"

"BU had role in Dembski return"

Ironically, by admitting that Marks's treatment was related to his ID work (they acknowledge it concerned "the intelligent design material"), "Expelled Exposed" has admitted precisely what Baylor denied. For details, see "Credibility Gap: Baylor Denies Robert Marks' Situation Has Anything to do with ID."

Michael Egnor:
SUNY Professor of Neurosurgery Michael Egnor asked "How much information can actually be produced by Darwinian mechanisms?" and was then subjected to many harsh attacks on the internet. Some of Egnor's experiences were recounted in Expelled and "Expelled Exposed" obliges the movie by quoting some of the bloggers who attacked Egnor. "Expelled Exposed" makes typical assertions that Egnor (who isn't just a brain surgeon but is a professor of brain surgery!) doesn't understand the science he's talking about. As is typical, Egnor's critics don't answer his question, but engage in further demonization of Egnor, as the post that "Expelled Exposed" quotes is titled "Egnorance: The Egotistical Combination of Ignorance and Arrogance." It seems that "Expelled Exposed" simply proves Egnor's point about the incivility of his critics. In fact, Dr. Egnor-with far more grace and civility than his critics-has handled his critics quite easily, as is seen in the following links:

"Dr. Humburg Sets Me and Galen Straight"

"Asking the Right Questions Brings out Internet Darwinists' True Colors"

"Another post from a 'Bastion of S***headed Ignorance'"

"Darwinian Medicine and Military History"

"'Why would I want my doctor to have studied evolution?'"

"Orac's Challenge: Do Scientists ever use the Design Inference in Biology? (Hmmm...let me think_)"

"Dunford, Darwinism, and the Paranoid Style"

"Proving Dr. Novella Wrong: Enjoying Tennis in a Persistent Vegetative State"

As a final point regarding Dr. Egnor, "Expelled Exposed" also claims that "most physicians accept evolution," but a poll from 2005 revealed that up to 60% of doctors take a pro-ID position. For details, see "Poll: 60 Percent of Doctors Reject Darwinism."

Responses Regarding "Expelled Exposed" and Its Discussion of Hitler's Reliance upon Darwin
"Expelled Exposed" makes various questionable arguments about how the Expelled documentary treats the issue of Hitler's reliance upon Darwinism. This is, of course, a highly delicate issue that must be handled with great sensitivity to all involved. But misrepresentations of Expelled abound and "Expelled Exposed" is more than happy to indulge them, for Expelled was not trying to claim that modern-day Darwinists are Nazis, but was simply observing the historical connections of Hitler's reliance upon Darwinism. A number of articles defending Expelled's treatment of this issue can be found at some of the following links:

"Connecting Hitler and Darwin" by David Berlinski.

"Don't Doubt It: An important historic sidebar on Hitler and Darwin" by David Klinghoffer.

"What's wrong with uttering 'Darwin' and 'Hitler' in the same breath?" by William Dembski.

"Breeding Our Way out of Poverty" by John G. West (excerpted from Darwin Day in America).

"Why the Darwin-Hitler Link Is So Sensitive" by Tom Gilson.

"Why the Jews?" by David Klinghoffer.

"The Descent of Darwinism from Hitlerism" by David Klinghoffer.

"Darwin and the Nazis" by Richard Weikart.

"Opening up Mein Kampf" by David Klinghoffer.

"Hitler's Debt to Darwin" by David Klinghoffer.

"Re-examining the Darwin-Hitler Link" by Richard Weikart.

"Expelled does NOT try to 'blame Darwin for the Holocaust'" by David Klinghoffer.

"Darwin and Hitler: In Their Own Words" by Benjamin Wiker.

As a lawyer with some training in identifying credible witnesses, there is one final point that must be made about Expelled and its discussion of Hitler's reliance upon Darwin. It seems to me highly compelling that the person in Expelled who makes the most forceful argument that Hitler made natural reliance upon Darwin was the curator of a government museum in Germany dedicated to remembering the horrors of the Nazis. This museum curator is a neutral third party with no personal stake in the debate over Darwin and is thus a highly credible witness. Yet she is the one arguing that Hitler made heavy reliance upon Darwin. If Hitler didn't rely on Darwin, then it seems that curators of Holocaust remembrance-museums in Germany must also be in on the big conspiracy to make it seem that he did.

Responses Regarding General Attacks Upon Intelligent Design in "Expelled Exposed"
"Expelled Exposed" features various videos about the Kitzmiller v. Dover lawsuit, encouraging its readers to take the Judge Jones Said It, I Believe It, That Settles It approach to ID. In fact, many of the false claims by "Expelled Exposed" related to the Kitzmiller v. Dover trial are rebutted in the law review article "Intelligent Design Will Survive Kitzmiller v. Dover" or at the website TraipsingIntoEvolution.com. Other articles that refute many of the false claims about ID in "Expelled Exposed" are found at some of the following links:

"Principled (not Rhetorical) Reasons Why Intelligent Design Doesn't Identify the Designer" rebuts the false claim that the designer must be a supernatural being "whom everyone recognizes as God."

"ID Does Not Address Religious Claims About the Supernatural" rebuts the false claim that ID is a form of creationism and necessarily refers to a supernatural or divine being.

"The 'Wedge Document': 'So What'?" rebuts the fallacious arguments by "Expelled Exposed" regarding Discovery Institute and the "wedge document."

"Any larger philosophical implications of intelligent design, or any religious motives, beliefs, and affiliations of ID proponents, do not disqualify ID from having scientific merit" rebuts the fallacious harping by "Expelled Exposed" on the alleged religious motives, beliefs, and affiliations of ID proponents.

"FAQ: Does intelligent design theory implement the scientific method?" rebuts the false claim by "Expelled Exposed" that ID has an "unscientific nature."

"The Positive Case for Design" rebuts the false claim by "Expelled Exposed" that ID's "main activity appears to be to carp about the success of evolution."

"Intelligent design (ID) has scientific merit because it uses the scientific method to make its claims and infers design by testing its positive predictions" and "FAQ: Does intelligent design make predictions? Is it testable?" rebut the false claim by "Expelled Exposed" that "intelligent design claims cannot be tested" and its blatantly false claim that "No observation could possibly be incompatible with a claim that an 'intelligent agent' _ acted to, say, introduce information into a system."

"The Facts about Intelligent Design" rebuts the citation by "Expelled Exposed" of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences' booklet Science, Evolution, and Creationism as an accurate source of criticism against ID.

"Barking up the Wrong Tree" and "Peter Atkins Dramatically Overstates the Evidence for Evolutionary Phylogenies" rebut inaccurate insinuations by "Expelled Exposed" that we have a nice, neat picture of the "tree of life."

"A Response to Dr. Dawkins' 'The Information Challenge'" rebuts the false claims by "Expelled Exposed" that natural selection can produce new meaningful biological information.

"Problems with the Natural Chemical 'Origin of Life'" rebuts false insinuations by "Expelled Exposed" that origin of life researchers are making noteworthy progress towards explaining the chemical origin of life.

Biologic Institute's Research Page rebuts the false claim by "Expelled Exposed" that intelligent design proponents are "scientifically unproductive" or that ID proponents "have not performed the research and theory-building demanded of everyone in the scientific enterprise."

Likewise, "Peer-Reviewed & Peer-Edited Scientific Publications Supporting the Theory of Intelligent Design (Annotated)" rebuts the false claim by "Expelled Exposed" that ID proponents do not do research.

Additionally, the Evolutionary Informatics Lab of Robert J. Marks (the lab which has been forced off the Baylor campus) conducts computer simulation research into evolution and has a website hosting papers that support ID and challenge Darwinian evolution.

Responses Regarding the NCSE's Attempt to Promote Darwinist Persecution Stories While "Expelled Exposed" tries to "blame the victim" by attacking ID proponents who were persecuted, it also tries to create the impression that Darwinists are subjected to persecution and harassment. "Expelled Exposed" thus attempts to get a lot of mileage out of false and exaggerated claims of one incident, that of Chris Comer, a former staff member at the Texas Education Agency who Darwinists have claimed was fired because she didn't support teaching creationism. According to "Expelled Exposed," Comer was "Expelled for Real."
"Expelled Exposed" basically took Comer's side of the story and uncritically promoted it to the public. But Comer's side of the story is only one side and the truth appears very different from what she is saying--she wasn't fired and no one in Texas was advocating the teaching of creationism. As John West observes, "now it looks like Comer isn't a martyr after all. Internal TEA documents released earlier today by Texans for Better Science Education (TBSE) show that Comer had a long history of disciplinary problems at her agency that had nothing to do with evolution." For more details on what really happened in the case of Chris Comer, visit any of the following links:

"Inventing a Martyr? Newly-Released Documents Suggest that Christine Comer's Resignation Was Due to Misconduct, Not Views on Evolution" by John West.

"Newly Released Internal Documents Indicate Former TEA Official Chris Comer Resigned Over Misconduct and Insubordination Issues--Not Over Her Views on Evolution" by Texans For Better Science Education.

"Summary and Timeline of Chris Comer's Disciplinary History at the TEA" by Texans For Better Science Education.

"Documentation of Comer's Case" by Texans For Better Science Education.

It should be noted that there is a marked difference between the case of Comer and those scientists in Expelled: Comer had a long history of insubordination, as she "received a three disciplinary letters spanning at least eight separate incidents, and seven of these eight incidents had nothing to do with evolution" and "During her last year at the TEA, Comer was found guilty of violating direct orders-'insubordination'-on three separate occasions." Perhaps some Darwinists do experience persecution for their views, and if that happens, it is most inappropriate. But as TBSE stated, "If Darwinists want to create a scandal and invent a martyr for their cause, they appear to have picked the wrong case."

Conclusion: "Expelled Exposed" is Intended as a Breeding Ground for Future Persecutors
Setting aside the errors and misrepresentations about Expelled and ID, the most interesting aspect of "Expelled Exposed" is the mere fact that it exists. "Expelled Exposed" is an attempt by the NCSE to on the one hand argue that ID proponents don't get persecuted, and on the other hand argue that they deserve all the persecution they receive anyway. This isn't merely "blaming the victim," it's also called inciting the mob, and it's just one part of the NCSE's strategy to blacklist and censor ID proponents within academia.
When discussing Guillermo Gonzalez, "Expelled Exposed" says that his "distracting work on an unscientific enterprise like intelligent design," among other things, "make[s] it impossible for supporters to legitimately claim that the decision not to grant him tenure was unfounded." The site also argues that ID proponents do not deserve the protection of academic freedom, stating, "A scientist should not expect his colleagues to ignore his advocacy of a perspective that those in his field have overwhelmingly rejected." In other words, when ID-proponents like Gonzalez come up for tenure, the NCSE thinks that ID should count as an automatic and absolute negative. Clearly the NCSE endorses discriminating against Gonzalez simply because he supports ID.

When discussing Richard Sternberg, NCSE executive director Eugenie Scott seemed to contradict the claim of "Expelled Exposed" that "the worst that happened to Sternberg is that people said some unkind things about him in private email to one another." In an article in The Washington Post, Scott admitted that there was discrimination against Sternberg due to his views on evolution, and even tried to justify it:

[S]aid Eugenie Scott, the group's executive director[:] "If this was a corporation, and an employee did something that really embarrassed the administration, really blew it, how long do you think that person would be employed?" ... Scott, of the NCSE, insisted that Smithsonian scientists had no choice but to explore Sternberg's religious beliefs. "They don't care if you are religious, but they do care a lot if you are a creationist," Scott said. "Sternberg denies it, but if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it argues for zealotry."
(Michael Powell, "Editor Explains Reasons for 'Intelligent Design' Article," Washington Post, August 19, 2005, emphases added)

Thus, not only does Scott sanction attacks upon scientists "if you are a creationist" but she contradicts "Expelled Exposed" by acknowledging--and trying to justify-events that "Expelled Exposed" claims never happened to Sternberg.

When discussing Caroline Crocker, "Expelled Exposed" says that "there may have been grounds to fire her with cause" and complains in the same sentence that she was allegedly "teaching demonstrably false creationist material." Apparently if a scientist is teaching what the NCSE deems is "false creationist material," she can be fired. "Expelled Exposed" goes on to argue that universities should be able to censor ID from courses:
She was instructed to not teach about intelligent design and creation science, which was not part of the curriculum of the courses she had been hired to teach. Academic freedom does not mean the freedom to teach about anything you want, regardless of the expected content of your courses.
The site further asserts that Crocker "failed to teach the curriculum, and short-changed her students by not teaching them standard science in favor of a lot of misinformation" and therefore her employer "would have been justified in firing her outright." Again, the site continues saying that, "if Crocker was unable or unwilling to teach accurate science, and there is evidence of this, an institution would have been entirely justified in making a negative evaluation and not renewing her contract." In other words, if Crocker isn't willing to fully support neo-Darwinism in the classroom, then universities have the right to fire her. (See above for discussion of Crocker's extremely high student reviews that counter's the NCSE's mis-characterization of her teaching abilities.)

When discussing Robert Marks, "Expelled Exposed" admits that "Concerned that the material on the website misleadingly suggested a connection between the intelligent design material and Baylor, administrators temporarily shut the website down_," thereby acknowledging precisely what Baylor University denied: that Marks faced negative treatment due to his work's relation to ID. But since Marks still has a job at Baylor, "Expelled Exposed" asks "Where is the harm?," as if shutting down faculty websites for no reason other than its pro-ID content is not a legitimate form of academic "harm."

"Expelled Exposed" says that SUNY Professor of Neurosurgery Michael Egnor "was shocked by the 'viciousness' and 'baseness' of the response" he received when critiquing neo-Darwinism on the internet. "Expelled Exposed" apparently tacitly defends such behavior, as its only response is, "Egnor had apparently never been on the Internet before."

In perhaps its most blatant statement against academic freedom for ID-proponents, "Expelled Exposed" expressly argues that ID proponents "have failed to make a convincing case for it, yet they seem to believe that they have an entitlement to a place in academia." In other words, because the NCSE believes that ID has "failed to make a convincing case," it wants readers to come away from its website believing that ID proponents don't even have a right "to a place in academia."

This argument turns the true meaning of academic freedom on its head.
Of course critics of ID (like the folks at the NCSE) should have every right to publish their views within academic circles and should have the full protection of academic freedom. But academic freedom doesn't just mean the freedom to agree with the predominant viewpoint. Academic freedom in science means nothing if it doesn't include the right to hold legitimate minority scientific viewpoints. ID proponents have published serious scientific research in mainstream, credible academic venues. Many of them have sterling academic qualifications and accomplishments. They have earned the right to freely express their views without fear of intimidation or discrimination.

But free expression of pro-ID views in the academy is exactly what the NCSE doesn't want. "Expelled Exposed" is now exposed for what it really is: it's not just a website making the case against ID (which is perfectly fine if that's what ID critics want to do)-it's a website attempting to convince people that ID deserves no academic freedom. In other words, "Expelled Exposed" is an effort to encourage the further persecution of ID-proponents.

Ironically, by denying that professionally qualified ID proponents have a right to "a place in academia," "Expelled Exposed" has justified the central thesis of the documentary Expelled, namely that qualified ID proponents do not receive academic freedom to hold, discuss, and promote their views within the academy.