I am getting bombarded with emails, some full of hatred and profanity, about my article on Ben Stein's movie 'Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.' You can can read the article here.
I knew I was wading into a quagmire by even writing this article but I also felt it was a story that needed to be written.
Without taking sides on the controversial topic of evolution/intelligent design, I believe the vast majority of movie reviews I read about 'Expelled' were so biased and twisted that nobody seemed willing to give the film a fair shake.
Funny how the same moviemaking tactics used by Michael Moore in his popular documentaries are lauded by the media.
On 'Expelled,' it looks to me as though the reviewers' liberal bias got in the way of fairness. That's one reason I decided to write the article: the media coverage was embarrassing to me and I thought someone should try to present a balanced perspective. The other reason was simply that I was getting so many emails from local churches and laypersons rallying in support of the movie that I knew it would be of interest. Sure enough, the article was No. 2 on the newspaper's website yesterday (behind a breaking news murder story).
Incidentally, my article started out as a fairly small story slated for the religion page but gained momentum as the details unfolded, winding up at the top of yesterday's main news "A" section.
Meanwhile, I'm sure I haven't heard the last of the comments about my coverage of this polarizing issue -- as friend and foe alike will keep writing.
Toledo, Ohio
April 29, 2008