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Ben Stein's Diary

Atonement Saturday

By on 9.20.10 @ 6:09AM

Making a list of what I am most sorry for.

Saturday
 It is Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. I am — as usual — ill with stomach problems, so it is no problem to fast, which we are supposed to do on Yom Kippur. I will have to drink tea and medicine, though, which I probably should not do.

I am not at the synagogue. I was so stunned by the rabbi’s saying last year that as far as he was concerned, the late Senator Edward Kennedy, a man of the most questionable character imaginable, was a member of the shul, and that we had to pray for the passage of Obamacare, that I have not been back since.

Anyway, I am making a list of what I am most sorry for. The main thing, the acts I most bitterly regret, have to do with hitting my dogs when they did bad things like chewing up the furniture or the upholstery in the car.

I really feel terrible about that. I have not done it in thirty years, but when I think that I did it to those poor sweet faces, those dogs who did what they did only because they were nervous and ill at ease and lonely, I feel awful. I am deeply ashamed and have sought to make it up to the world of dogs ever since. But I am ashamed.

Dogs are God’s gifts to mankind and I am heartily sorry. My mother forbade me to ever strike a dog again in 1976 and my wife added her ultimatum to that, too, and they have stuck.

I am also deeply, humbly sorry for my misbehavior towards my wife, who is a living breathing saint, and whom I have mistreated by anger and in other ways, and I am humbly sorry and have tried to give her a good life in return. But I am still desperately sorry.

Then, I am sorry for mistreating my old girlfriends Mary and Pat. I loved them both with a powerful love, and yet I mistreated them and I am terribly sorry and, again, ashamed. I wish I could take it all back, but I can’t. I am sorry and ashamed about it every day. It was about forty years ago, when I was crazed with youth and drugs, but I am humbly sorry. I beg to God for forgiveness.

I am sorry for, as a youth, not thanking my parents more for the hard work they put into making my life comfortable and even, in some ways, lavish. I am truly and deeply and humbly sorry. In later life, I did thank them effusively, but, as Eric Clapton says, I wish that I had started long before I did.

When I pray, I ask God to shower His blessings on the family and the soul of Richard M. Nixon, the greatest man of my lifetime, and the savior of Eretz Israel. In time to come, when all secrets are revealed — except for mine, I hope — I believe Nixon will be seated at a throne of glory in heaven. Yes, you can make fun of me all you want for saying that, but I believe it.

Well, I also pray for the souls of my beloved parents, for Alex’s war hero father and mother, for my sister, for my wife, for the dogs, for our son and daughter-in-law, for the armed forces, for this great country, the sum of all human aspirations, and for my dear, dear friend, Peter M. Flanigan, who took care of me when I was a poor, lonely soul on Wall Street and treated me like a true friend. He has been my hero for a long time now. He took me, a mournful columnist at the Wall Street Journal, and bought me lunch at the Recess Club. I often pray for Bob Bartley, my editor at the Journal. He came to be angry at me because I busted Michael Milken, whom he liked a lot, but he was a genuinely great man (not Milken, Bartley), although I have come to admire Milken in later life for his charitable endeavors.

I pray for my dear friends, Barron and Phil and Russ, who make my life far better than it would otherwise be. They are truly super friends.

Well, enough of that. I am just so grateful to be in America. I just cannot tell you how grateful I am. In a moment, I will lie in bed with my dog, Brigid, and thank God for all of what He has done for me. I did not do any of it. God made it all possible. Every breeze that blows over me is a gift from God.

And while we are at it, let us pray that America moves away from murdering our own children, the unborn, the most innocent among us. This truly is the most outrageous of sins.

Ronald Reagan stood so tall for life. I miss him desperately. I don’t think he would want a mosque built at Ground Zero. Well, now I must lie down with Brigid.

About the Author

Ben Stein is a writer, actor, economist, and lawyer living in Beverly Hills and Malibu. He writes “Ben Stein’s Diary” for every issue of The American Spectator.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (117) |

drudge ette obama| 9.20.10 @ 6:31AM

If I were Jewish, I would adopt your list en toto (except for the stuff about those old girlfriends). Excellent choice to emphasize the treatment of dogs - it is a measure of your value how you treat dogs.

Anna K. from Emory U.| 9.20.10 @ 10:20AM

" . . . let us pray that America moves away from murdering our own children, the unborn, . . . This truly is the most outrageous of sins."

Abortion, Ben, is not murder, because a fetus is not an actual human being—it is a potential human being, i.e. it is a part of the woman. The concept of murder only applies to the initiation of physical force used to destroy an actual human being, such as when "pro-life" terrorists bomb abortion clinics.

Ben, why have you elevated Richard Nixon to the status of sainthood? Shocking! And why do you continue to express your crackpot habit of calling a fetus a "child"? A fetus has the potential to become a child, but a blob of protoplasm with the brain of a mouse is most definitely not a child. A fetus is merely part of a woman.

But I have my studies to contemplate. On to more important things . . .

Alan Brooks| 9.20.10 @ 10:44AM

Many here are Deep South abortion-wingnuts.

Abortion can in fact be extremely beneficial:
if Lenin's mother, and Hitler's, had aborted Vladimir and Adolf, we'd be better off.

50 cent & a case quarter| 9.20.10 @ 11:21AM

Benny Boy,

Why not atone for the riches you constantly flaunt in your status-conscious columns?

Or do you think you have been "blessed" with prosperity--the kind of material prosperity that is the driving force of so many fundamentalist Christians?

Time for me to raise a window. I need some fresh air in here.

Madge| 9.20.10 @ 11:30AM

Ben, my darling, I have had a crush on you for the longest time. Please read the lyrics from this old Michael Jackson (dead, you know) song, for they express so lovely the thoughts I have for you. I blow you a kiss. And don't you listen to these mean people on here that try and disparage you. It just hurts my heart to read their wicked thoughts.

Ben, the two of us need look no more
We both found what we were looking for
With a friend to call my own
I'll never be alone
And you, my friend, will see
You've got a friend in me
(you've got a friend in me)

Ben, you're always running here and there
You feel you're not wanted anywhere
If you ever look behind
And don't like what you find
There's one thing you should know
You've got a place to go
(you've got a place to go)

I used to say "I" and "me"
Now it's "us", now it's "we"
I used to say "I" and "me"
Now it's "us", now it's "we"
Ben, most people would turn you away
I don't listen to a word they say
They don't see you as I do
I wish they would try to
I'm sure they'd think again
If they had a friend like Ben
(a friend) Like Ben
(like Ben) Like Ben

Madge and Ben--hearts entwined for eternity

Margie| 9.20.10 @ 11:35AM

Dear Madge,

While reading your gorgeous, poignant post, I've used up three Kleenex wiping tears from my eyes.

I'm afraid your love of Ben will be unrequited, but I will keep you in my prayers.

Only the precious love of Jesus can help you cope with your hopeless love. Just put it all in the hands of Jesus, and move on. Move on, Madge, for the sake of your mental health, move on!

Occam's Tool| 9.20.10 @ 3:43PM

Wasn't "Ben" in the song a rat? Just sayin'...

But as to RMN---he did save Israel in 1973, and did much more for it than even Truman. A man's life must be looked at in toto.

Margie| 9.20.10 @ 6:23PM

The post above was not mine.

Miss Alabama| 9.20.10 @ 4:08PM

Readers, please! Enough of your sarcastic sniping --all of it aimed at poor Ben and other commenters.

Allow me, please, to enlighten you on the literary devices employed in Ben's little diary entry.

He is being ironic.

Ironic!

And for all of you who do not understand irony's meaning, here it is:

irony: The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning.

Ben is being ironic when he says that he practically worships the denomic Richard Nixon. No sane person would expect to be taken seriously when making such a rash statement. It's irony, folks.

And when Ben writes of "the unborn, the most innocent among us," he is merely mocking the maudlin, saccharin sentiment of the Pro-Lifers' unceasing rhetoric.

The meanness of some of AmSpec's readers disturbs me. This acid, sarcastic sniping is uncalled for, and it is my hope that readers will, from now on, desist.

Oh, how Miss Alabama hates to lecture! But there comes a time . . .

Jeffrey| 9.20.10 @ 5:05PM

Miss Alabama,

I can see how you might imagine the quotes about Nixon and the Unborn are irony. History would seem to contradict you.

Stein had a long standing relationship with Nixon and (per the wikipedia) has defended him from the beginning.

Can't say I can find a historical reference on his prayer for the unborn. However, if Stein's letter is truly in the spirit of Atonement, mocking an entire group would seem to run counter to that spirit.

Wiley B. from Atonementville| 9.20.10 @ 5:54PM

Atonement? Wanna know who needs to atone? Me!

Why? I'm a disgusting glutton. That's why.

Tell ya what happened:

Went to grocery store and bought two boxes of Little Debbeie Banana Flips. Tore one of the boxes open on way to car and started shoveling them down. Ate rest of box in car on way home.

Got home, sat down at kitchen table and tore open the other box and started stuffing my mouth again-- icing smeared to my ears.

My wife walks in and says, "For God's sake, Wiley! You're fat as a hog, and you're sitting there feeding your bloated face with Little Debbie Cancer Cakes ."

She went on to say as I snacked away, "And, damn it, you deserve to blow a heart valve and drop dead, you gluttonous swine!"

At this point, I slammed both fists down on the table as hard as I could, and I hollered with my mouth full, "If I wanna eat Little Debbie til I drop dead, it's my f*ucking business, bitch."

Lord, I atone not only for my gluttony but for my hateful words screamed at my dear wife, who has been an angel to me and my children.

Forgive me. Forgive me. I atone. I atone.

Bobo| 9.20.10 @ 5:57PM

Those Little Debbie Cakes are good, and I think they're habit forming.

You have my sympthy, Wiley. I'm hooked on those cakes myself.

Saint John the Divine| 9.20.10 @ 6:49PM

Miss Alabama,

The joke is on you.

If Ben Stein were to truly atone for his sins, it would take volumes to list them.

Reread Ben's little atonement sausages, and you will realize, as I did, that he is mocking the very idea of atonement.

Tatiana Goldenberg| 9.20.10 @ 6:54PM

In this 1972 exchange about Jews in the media between Nixon and the Rev. Billy Graham, Nixon reveals his antisemitism: (from Nixon tapes)

BG: This stranglehold has got to be broken or the country's going down the drain.
RN: You believe that?
BG: Yes, sir.
RN: Oh, boy. So do I. I can't ever say that, but I believe it.
BG: No, but if you get elected a second time, then we might be able to do something.

Ben, you may respect Nixon with all your heart, but I doubt he respected you.

Toto| 9.20.10 @ 8:02PM

Tatiana,

You've packed a punch. Wonder how Ben would defend the noble Nixon's antisemitism. He would, of course, defend him.

It would be interesting also to read the praise Ben could, no doubt, heap on the old and decrepid spiritual leader of our nation--Billy Goat Graham.

Tim*| 9.20.10 @ 2:58PM

Brooks Is A Blueneck Bigot .

Doctor Right| 9.20.10 @ 4:34PM

If your other had had an abortion, I might be willing to rethink my opposition to the procedure...

...But she needed the extra $$ on her welfare check, so her decision is understandable, if regrettable...

Dannymac| 9.21.10 @ 1:38AM

Well Alan that argument can go both ways, lets say Beethoven's mother or the mothers of Mozart, Reagan, Billy Graham, Shakespeare, Lincoln, Ghandi, Dr. King, Mother Teresa, John Paul II....I think you get the point. People who shaped our world, people who showed us the beauty of this world would never have been born. Would we be better off?

Publius| 9.21.10 @ 9:56AM

But at the cost of how many Ghandi's and MLK's?

Face the truth: Abortion is murder.

mooch-elle oboner| 9.25.10 @ 8:52PM

Alan, you omitted Barry Hussein Dunham Onyango Soetoro................

JAL| 9.20.10 @ 12:20PM

In contemplating abortion (if one can stand to) one must always remember two things.

First, the human fetus is (until it is not), alive and, if left unmolested, can only become a human baby. So it is, therefore, a human life. And it is a human life which has not had the opportunity to decide to harm another, or to place itself ahead of its creator, so this little person is also innocent.

Second, following from the first, no matter what one's reason or excuse, every single abortion kills an innocent human life.

Mike| 9.20.10 @ 12:50PM

Anna - I hope that your studies at Emory include biology. If so, then you would know that all the parts of the woman's body have cells with her particular karyotype (chromosomal package, so to speak) . However, the fetus, from the very first moment after conception, has a different karotype from the mother because it is a unique l human being separate from the woman. It is respiring through the placenta and living just like you are. Thus, the fetus is NOT part of the woman's body; it is merely temporarily residing in the woman's body until it is brought outside the woman's body, a process called being born.

Best of luck in your Women's Studies Program.

Mimi| 9.20.10 @ 12:56PM

Anna, Anna, ANNA....Potential for life ???. Were You a Potential for life???....Go look in the mirror and SMILE..Your mother was PRO-LIFE !!

Anita| 9.20.10 @ 1:17PM

Frankly, I have NEVER heard a woman state "I am with fetus." Cut the crap. It is a viable, living person inside the womb. You have a license to kill but should you?

I think not.

Teamwasted| 9.20.10 @ 1:28PM

Hey Anna, how many fetus showers have you been too?

ShortNSweet| 9.20.10 @ 1:59PM

Anna K. from Emory U.

It almost sounds like you have been given the authority to decide when a fetus becomes a human being! How exciting that must be! Glad it's you and not me - for me it would kinda be like when men become president of the USA - they turn gray haired over night - though it seems for you it's easy as pie since you have time for studies. How's the air up there? Just saying!

L. Ross| 9.20.10 @ 3:20PM

Anna K.
I guess you can believe whatever it takes to get you through the night, but your abortion argument is trite and absurd. A fetus is not "a part of a woman". From a genetic standpoint a fetus has DNA related to, but independent of the mother's. A fetus is a completely separate organism. However, I would suggest that if mothers who abort their children did have to leave an actual part of themselves behind (say a finger or a toe) we would see a drastic reduction in abortions nationwide.

Doctor Right| 9.20.10 @ 4:41PM

Oooh, look folks...Anna is a "college student"...She's got sooooo much experience in life and wisdom to share with us!

Since all humans beings who have ever lived were once "fetuses", your pathetic argument is not only illogical, it's also unoriginal.

Your professors are not teaching you critical thinking, young lady...they're teaching you to be a march-in-lockstep drone, a perfect young fascist for the 21st century.

I'm sure the studies you're "contemplating" (most likely non-academic drivel like "Women's studies") will do very little for you except to make you into an angry, femi-nazi harpy.

One day, perhaps, you'll hold a child in your arms...Your own child, maybe...And on that day, you'll realize the idiocy of the pro-infanticide position you now support.

Or, maybe you won't. maybe you'll continue life as a soulless drone who fights for the "rights" of women everywhere to kill their own children.

Your own mother must be VERY proud of you.

...Pathetic...

Doctor Right| 9.20.10 @ 4:41PM

Oooh, look folks...Anna is a "college student"...She's got sooooo much experience in life and wisdom to share with us!

Since all humans beings who have ever lived were once "fetuses", your pathetic argument is not only illogical, it's also unoriginal.

Your professors are not teaching you critical thinking, young lady...they're teaching you to be a march-in-lockstep drone, a perfect young fascist for the 21st century.

I'm sure the studies you're "contemplating" (most likely non-academic drivel like "Women's studies") will do very little for you except to make you into an angry, femi-nazi harpy.

One day, perhaps, you'll hold a child in your arms...Your own child, maybe...And on that day, you'll realize the idiocy of the pro-infanticide position you now support.

Or, maybe you won't. maybe you'll continue life as a soulless drone who fights for the "rights" of women everywhere to kill their own children.

Your own mother must be VERY proud of you.

...Pathetic...

RedG| 9.23.10 @ 10:35PM

Wow Doctor Right...you've hit the nail on the head! Poor Anna does not realize right now that she's been indoctrinated for a very bad cause-like so many before her. I pray someday she crawls her way out of the womb of the Matrix and has her eyes opened-that is before they totally abort her 'natural affections' and dehumanize her through their 'liberated' mumbo-jumbo. Indoctrination Centers (schools) teach..."there is no God, you came from slime...you have no soul or conscience-feel free to interpret that how you will in life-don't worry about hurting others-it's your best life now!" And here we are-how very, very sad. I cannot ignore the signs of impending disaster when I see the youth of our country mesmerized and entertained by a meat-wearing woman named 'gaga'. Just sayin'.

Craig Sanderson| 9.20.10 @ 5:43PM

I will favor abortion when I get to decide who gets one. It will still be murder then but at least the herd will be the stronger for it.
Oh, and Richard Nixon was a saint compared to the non-christian that currently leads this country.

LindaF | 9.20.10 @ 7:48PM

Oh, Anna, saying "a fetus is merely part of a woman" is so beneath you. Logically, you are wrong - the DNA is, even at that early stage, quite distinct from the mother, as well as the father. The baby has its own genetic destiny, from the moment the sperm penetrates the egg.

Just because you would like to think of abortion as nothing much at all, just a scraping out of a few unwanted cells, almost like getting rid of a tumor, does not make it so. Such self-serving refusal to face reality is not worthy of a person.

GavInTucson| 9.21.10 @ 12:57AM

Blob of protoplasm with a brain? Since almost all early abortions occur at 45-60 days, tell me what you really think...
http://embryology.med.unsw.edu.....Cst800.jpg

And if it isn't an actual human being, why do those who kill pregnant women get charged with a double-homicide if the baby dies as well?

GavInTucson| 9.21.10 @ 1:21AM

I almost forgot to add (for all the Annas of the world... try this on for your "studies."

***Disclaimer -- the images are disturbing***

Go to Google, click the images link, and use "abortion" in your search. Still think it's a lump of protoplasm?

Charles Curran| 9.21.10 @ 11:05AM

I don't think that you can forgive those who are to blind to see, but maybe.

nicole | 9.22.10 @ 12:05AM

Please, hurry back to your studies. As the mother of three beautiful children, I have to tell you there was never a day I thought of them as blobs of protoplasm. You are a truly sick individual and I pray to God for protection for my country from people like you.

I pray for you. I hope you find peace and more importantly I hope you find God.

Ronnie| 9.23.10 @ 11:59AM

A "potential" human being--that is so ridiculous I hope it did not come from one of our "educated elite" but where else could one use such twisted logic to support ones own desires. If an unborn being is just a potential of its species, why is there such a huge fine levied against one who destroys eagles eggs? If it is not "alive" why must it first be killed before being removed---oh, because then we have to deal with infanticide! And how can a "potential" human being actually survive an attempted "murder" or an abortion if "it" hasn't come to fruition? "Part of the woman"? Really? Are you serious? That is in total ignorance of fetal (scientific knowledge) development. Wow--academia has sure regressed.....

Convet| 9.23.10 @ 1:38PM

Is life so cheap for you? Would you want to have been aborted?

mooch-elle oboner| 9.25.10 @ 8:58PM

Anna K. @ Emory. We now know the name of a student @ Emory who is a truly a heartless blob of protoplasm with the brain of less than a mouse who is most definitely not human.......
Flunked out yet???

JTA| 11.27.10 @ 1:25AM

By all means, Anna, get back to your studies. You have a great deal to learn about life, and particularly about morality. You berate ben for loving Nixon (whom he worked with before you were born), yet go on to ignore the obvious-- that a human fetus IS a human being. Even the science which you smugly worship will tell you that.

Sad that someone who thinks she is so damned smart has bought into so much liberal propaganda. By all means, keep hitting those books. You might even learn something.

Cliff Nichols| 9.24.10 @ 12:59AM

Anna K do you actually know the difference be tween an embryo and a fetus? When does life end? Does life end when the heart stops and brain stops functioning? If you know the answers to these questions then you should know when life begins. I am only from uneducated and not Emory U

Jeff Lee| 9.20.10 @ 6:42AM

Nixon was much better on foreign policy than he was on domestic policy. Nixon was responsible for destroying the gold standard, stopping all drilling off California, wage and price controls, AMT, EPA, and ERISA.

Ken (Old Texican)| 9.20.10 @ 6:45AM

Yep,
I have always wondered if Adam had a dog or three.

Did God invent dogs truly as man's best friend and partner?

Ronnie| 9.23.10 @ 12:05PM

God created dog to give man a glimpse of Himself....

RedG| 9.23.10 @ 10:56PM

Ken...our beloved family friend, our dog (Tye-5 yr old chihuahua) passed away-very unexpectedly-Monday morning. We've been pondering this very question-and others in light of God's Word, especially our feelings and loss over him-and him being 'just a dog'. It would seem funny, even stupid to someone who has never had the blessing of loving such a beast, but my poor husband and I who believe God's Word cannot find balance in it. We are heartbroken-yet somehow, we feel wrong in our sorrow, in light of all the suffering in the world. We cannot replace our furry gift from God (for he truly was sent from God to bring joy and laughter to our family) - but if my husband remains inconsolable-I will be forced to bring another pup home. And I really like what Ronnie below had to say...for God's love is unconditional and that is just what you sense when you've had a hard day, aren't pretty, don't have it all figured out are tired, sad, lonely, etc...and your buddy just wants to sit on your lap and give you a big kiss! Thank you Father God for Your Word says that every good and perfect gift comes from You! I appreciate that, truly.

Ken (Old Texican)| 9.20.10 @ 6:47AM

I have so many things to atone for. Thank you God for eternity in which to do so.
Amen

George T.| 9.20.10 @ 10:39AM

Why don't you atone for your excessives posts to AmSpec?

I, for one, am getting sick of them.

Alan Brooks| 9.20.10 @ 10:46AM

Great! Let us now sing 'The Yellow Razz of Texas'

Myrtle| 9.20.10 @ 11:08AM

Old Texican't, I send this out to you, and may I call you Old Tex-Ass?

THE YELLOW RAZZ OF TEXAS

Oh now I'm going to find him, For my heart is full of woe,
And we'll sing the songs together, That we sung so long ago
We'll play the bango gaily, And we'll sing the songs of yore,
And the Yellow Razz of Texas Shall be mine forevermore.

Repeat:

And the Yellow Razz of Texas shall be mine forevermore.

Ken (Old Texican)| 9.20.10 @ 11:37AM

Myrtle,
THANK YOU FOR THE SONG! (your spelling could use some help, but you are obviously a product of public education. heh)

George,
Heh, I am delighted if you would just go ahead and puke if you are sick.
Wait until you show up at the judgement bar of God. Sir, you shall be truly sick at that verdict, I'm afraid.
HMMMMM, can one puke their guts up for eternity?

Chief Warden| 9.20.10 @ 12:12PM

Ken (Old Texican),

Have you considered changing your moniker to Ken (Old TexiTrashcan).

Don't you think the connotations of this moniker reflect more accurately your ornery character?

Ken (Old Texican)| 9.20.10 @ 12:23PM

Hi Chief,
If I provoke a post from folks new here, I am honored.
Just for fun, would you like to scroll up and see my original post that began all this puke?

I merely wrote a short prayer of thanks to God for an eternity to search out anyone I may have hurt ...and ask their forgiveness.

Now, darn it, I have to add these pukes to my prayer list. I pray for their souls too now.

Point of Fact| 9.20.10 @ 1:27PM

Don't waste your breath.

Occam's Tool| 9.20.10 @ 3:45PM

Ken,

I love your posts. When does your next book come out, and what is it titled?

Ken (Old Texican)| 9.20.10 @ 6:14PM

Hi Occam's tool.
I am fascinated with your handle. Would you share your thought in adopting it?

My new book is "The Nays of Texas" It is fiction, sorta...but what does one call "today plausibility"?

As I posted the other day, I have had to think some things through I had never thought of in order to write it. Quite an experience.
I will certainly announce it here. I am desperately trying to bang it out before the elections.

Deputy Dog| 9.20.10 @ 7:52PM

"The Nays of Texas"

published, no doubt, by Vanity Press

Shelia | 9.20.10 @ 10:55AM

Ken (Old Texican't) is anticipating an eternal afterlife?

Damn! That's what I had in mind, but if I have to share it with the likes of this grizzled grouch, I will have to decline the offer of so-called blissful "life eternal."

My nerves couldn't take it surrounded by such.

Ken (Old Texican)| 9.20.10 @ 11:48AM

Hi Shelia,
Couldn't your mother spell for your birth certificate?
Heh, the last time I checked your name should be spelled 'Sheila'.

Seriously though, please do not be concerned. Our 'eternal consciousness' will be taking place in to entirely different places... "...perchanceTo dream, Ah, there is the rub."
(OKOK, public school education. That is an excerpt from "Hamlet".....and uh, that is the name of a stage play by a guy named Shakespear.)

mooch-elle oboner| 9.25.10 @ 9:04PM

Ken, the Brits spell Bill's last name as ShakespearE! Nothing to shake a spear at.....
Hamlet?, isn't that part of a small pig???

Filofox| 9.20.10 @ 7:36AM

Ben, you said it well for me, too, even the part about old girl friends. Sandra, class of 72, wherever you are, I'm sorry I was rude to you. You deserved better and I pray you found it.

S.L. Toddard| 9.20.10 @ 7:57AM

Ben Stein is a joke.

ggoblue| 9.20.10 @ 8:15AM

yet a man who would ridicule someone elses prayer is not?

it sucks to be you, sir

Mark| 9.20.10 @ 8:21AM

S. L. Stoddard: "Ben Stein is a joke."

Mark: And Stoddard is the punch line.

erm436| 9.20.10 @ 10:46AM

He's a joke, all right.

He says, "Richard Nixon was the greatest man of my lifetime."

The greatest man of his lifetime? Good God Almighty! Ben Stein has to be the biggest fool I've read lately.

Yeah, he's a joke. But with breath-taking pronouncements about the God Nixon, nobody's laughing, except the more extreme nut wingers here at A.S. The love 'im; can't get enough of 'im!

canuckistani| 9.20.10 @ 11:51AM

One thing that unifies the "booky" cons like he, Buchanan and Brooks is a super strong revisionist streak to look with nostalgia to the mentors of their pasts - even if they are proven to be frauds and cheats. The Clinton revisionistas are coming out of the woodwork again, in 5 years it will be Junior's minions as well.

Paul Milenkovic| 9.20.10 @ 2:15PM

October, 1973

Please read the opening chapter of Tom Clancy's "Sum of all Fears." If this doesn't bring tears to your eyes, maybe it is because you are an unserious person who likes to toss the words "fool" and "joke" and "nut" around regarding anyone and anything you do not understand. And also take the Lord's name in vain.

By the way, Richard Nixon was not particularly popular among the "Movement" (i.e. W.F. Buckley conservatives, and yes, that means a lot of the "people around here.") But it is an existential fact that he took action that saved Israel.

canuckistani| 9.20.10 @ 11:45AM

Bueller? Bueller? Voodoo economics? Bueller?

Anita| 9.20.10 @ 1:20PM

Ben Stein is laughing all the way to the bank and prosperity. So, what have you done?

Have we ever heard of you?

S. L. Toddard| 9.20.10 @ 8:12AM

Sorry, I didn't take my medication this morning. I shouldn't post sans-lithium.

Siegmund W.| 9.20.10 @ 8:49AM

From someone who conducted Yom Kippur services once upon a time and for a long while, I too was not in the shul where liberty and the defence of Israel had no longer become central to thought and prayer. When and where the gods of political correctness overtake the Source of All, you sir are vindicated in your absence from service, as was the Baal Shem Tov in one salient story of man's ego crowding out prayer. May I simply add my Omein to the prayers of your heart, as to mine. L'shana tova, Mr. Stein.

Denver Todd| 9.20.10 @ 8:54AM

I say this as one Jew to another, Ben should come to faith in Christ, then he would find real forgiveness for his sins.

J.J.| 9.20.10 @ 11:13AM

See Denver Todd's suggestion.

American Spectators' readers are truly unhinged. They're getting crazier with each passing day.

AmSpec is the Titticott Follies.

Ralph Novy| 9.23.10 @ 1:39PM

J.J.:

Two things:

1) It isn't just the American Spectator READERS who are unhinged and getting crazier; and

2) "Titticott Follies"?

Cheers.

Ralph

rainmaker1145| 9.20.10 @ 9:06AM

You could have put hubris on the list, Ben.

Publius| 9.21.10 @ 10:01AM

Seems pretty humble to me or did you mean he could have prayed for your hubris?

Bill| 9.20.10 @ 9:06AM

As far as Nixon is concerned, I wasn't his greatest fan by any means, but with the benefit of hindsight and later experience, I see that at least Richard Nixon had enough respect for the presidency and the nation to resign when his conduct cast a pall on the presidency.

catholic mom| 9.20.10 @ 9:25AM

Beautiful. We all have our lists.

Jim Blair| 9.20.10 @ 9:43AM

The dogs forgive you.

Ned the Red| 9.20.10 @ 10:13AM

Many a night I have lain awake wishing I could take back some of the wrongs I have inflicted on others, including pets.
I am particularly ashamed of the blatant disregard I showed for others when I would drink and drive. I quit years ago when I realized how sinful it was to put other lives at risk along with my own. I thank God I did not ever hurt anyone, but to this day when I read of a drunk killing innocent people I feel the guilt and shame of the drunk driver, since I committed the same sin. I pray for the victims and thank God that I quit this thoughtless and negligent practice. We are fortunate when we recognize a flaw in ourselves and then have the ability to curtail it. We are more fortunate to have the gift of faith and prayer which leads us to the love of God’s grace.

David Powell| 9.20.10 @ 10:28AM

Our Rabbi said much of the same sort of thing last year and wondering about what happened to peoples commitment to activism, and I responded by attending 9/12 in Washington. This year, our Rabbi talked about Israel and how it has become fashionable to especially among Jewish youths to bash it and distance ourselves from its peril. He didn't call for a renewed defense of Israel but simply a renewed discussion and frankly, that at least is a place to start.

It is not enough to walk away and shake our heads that our brothers and sisters are so misinformed and clueless. It is necessary and most important to stay there and stay engaged especially when cluelessness is on the rise. God will give you opportunities if you take the time and make the effort to give him opportunities.

Michael| 9.20.10 @ 11:14AM

Anna K.--if an unborn baby is part of a woman's body, then why does it have seperate dna? Also, wasn't it a pro-abortion terrorist who attacked the Discovery Channel headquarters? Plus, I am not a fan of Nixon's in the very least, however he was head and shoulders above Carter, et al.

Earl Bohn| 9.20.10 @ 11:31AM

Anna K. from Emory U: "a fetus is not an actual human being."

This is a tragic lie. The life growing inside a pregnant woman is not an orangutan, or a fish, or a turtle. It is human from the moment of conception forward. Potential human? More self-deluding nonsense. The unfertilized ovum is a potential human.

Another tragic lie is that an unborn baby is not viable and therefore not worthy of life until the mother decides not to kill it. Neither is a full-term healthy baby viable. Set her on the curb and leave her and see how viable she is.

Lie to yourself, Anna K., if you must, but the rest of us will call things by their proper names: abortion is the deliberate killing of human life.

Ken (Old Texican)| 9.20.10 @ 11:54AM

Earl,
God bless.

One thing: that tiny baby is in God's hands. He will not abort that soul and the innocent joy of that young soul.

Eduardo| 9.20.10 @ 12:04PM

Ben - your comment about feeling bad for getting angry at dogs hit home. We once had a schnauzer that in her old age peed everywhere. In my fury at waking up every day to find puddles around the house (that I invariably stepped in and slipped in), I took it out on her, screaming, etc. To this day, that haunts me. She is gone, and I can't tell her I'm sorry. I am extra careful to be patient with our current dog, a sweetheart who trusts me and loves me all his heart.

Alan Brooks| 9.20.10 @ 1:22PM

"[snip] no matter what one's reason or excuse, every single abortion kills an innocent human life."

NO! some are bad seeds: original sin. Pol Pot, Hitler, many others, ought to have been aborted-- even in the third trimester; Stalin should have been partial-birth aborted.

Tyler| 9.20.10 @ 1:48PM

Who are you to say who should and should not be killed before they are born? If you are a serious advocate of "Pro Choice" then I would suggest another line of reasoning. It would be better for you to go with "a fetus =/= human life" because people are more willing to swallow that lie.

JP| 9.20.10 @ 2:54PM

And what about Judas?

Jeffrey| 9.20.10 @ 5:19PM

JP --- even Judas had an essential role to play.

I've often thought about this so reviled man who were it not for him Christianity might not have ever started.

Nunya| 9.20.10 @ 5:20PM

AB, while I agree with you that the evil bastards you mention should not have lived, nevertheless they were innocent babies in the womb. It was in living life that they became what they were, it was not something inherent in their DNA.

Roy| 9.22.10 @ 6:00AM

Well, why aborted? Why not wish they had been eaten by wolves at the age of three?

Jim O'Brien| 9.20.10 @ 1:44PM

Ronald Reagan once said, to paraphrase slightly, "It's funny how those who favor abortion have already been born."

It's also funny how liberals, proud of their worship of "diversity", congratulate each other for being in favor of abortion on demand for whatever reason the mother chooses. Their pro-abortion position is actually racist, since it disproportionately limits the number of minority babies. For example, the more federal dollars that are provided to fund abortions, the fewer black children will be born. I wonder if any black leaders have thought about this.

Ben Stein has made significant contributions to freedom through his writing. So there.

Interested Conservative| 9.20.10 @ 1:49PM

Excellent atonement.

Two comments.

1 - Change! Change synagogues, change your behavior. It's America's strength.

2 - Recall Grant's views on animals. Rebels were the enemy, known and respected in many ways, but animal abusers were, well . . . best not say.

David Glass| 9.20.10 @ 1:50PM

This is for Anna K.

Ben is a deeply committed man who loves and worships The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. One of Abraham's decendants, and one of Jesus' great great grandfathers, King David of Israel had this to say in the Book of Psalms:
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand." Psalm 139:13-18
Isn't it strange, Anna, that God would publish such a thought in His Word? Nope, not even close.

Mimi| 9.20.10 @ 6:54PM

ABSOLUTELY PERFECT....DAVID. I only hope Anna gets the phone-call from GOD....His words are always so perfect...Thank-You!

RedG| 9.23.10 @ 11:13PM

I agree with Mimi...there is nothing better for the heart than the truth of God's Word (or the mind, or the soul). The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Blessings upon you David!

Pat Hickey | 9.20.10 @ 3:59PM

Ben's Mensch - Two Menschen.

Yom Kippur is the Superbowl of Confession.

My list of regrets and Mea Culpa's make the old Twenty Mule Team seem scant.

Joe| 9.20.10 @ 4:08PM

He who lies down with dogs, gets up with fleas. :)

Alan Brooks| 9.20.10 @ 6:57PM

"It was in living life that they became what they were, it was not something inherent in their DNA."

No, negative traits are inheritable. I only advocate abortion for fetuses who are shown to carry a recessive Pol Pot or, say, Hitler gene.
There are many bad genepools in this world-- but only some are genocidal and need to be aborted.
Jane Doe's fetus has a Stalin gene?

Abort the sumbitch

Ken (Old Texican)| 9.20.10 @ 7:49PM

hey Alan.
In your case can we hope for a post-partum abortion?
Lord, you get old.

It really is embarrasing to see you here being a goofball every day.

Mimi| 9.20.10 @ 7:56PM

Just had to put in your 2 cents, didn't you, Mr. TexiTrashcan.

David Thompson| 9.21.10 @ 2:32AM

Mr. Stein, did you intend to provoke such a reaction? From Anna K. and her blobs of protoplasm all the way to instyler rotating hot irons.
I thought you were good in The Wonder Years.

Greg M| 9.21.10 @ 10:53AM

Ben,

The one thing you forgot to apoligize for was your
endorsement of Al Franken.

AlgerHiss| 9.24.10 @ 3:36PM

My thought as well. When Ben sent Franken a contribution, the Stein respect I had just about disappeared.

I don't give a rat's a** how that little leftist bag of crap might have been a friend. It was wrong.

BirdGirl| 9.21.10 @ 11:30AM

Before last Sunday, US President Barack Obama and his family had only been to church twice since he became commander-in-chief. They went the first time on Inauguration Day and the second time on Easter.

The Obama family’s third time at church in Washington, DC was also for a special occasion - to hear a pro-Palestinian activist preach about how Israel needs to surrender its biblical heartland for a phony “peace.”

The president, his wife Michelle and their two daughters attended St. John’s Church, an Episcopal church just across the street from the White House, for the morning service on September 19. Low and behold, that is the same morning that guest speaker Ziad Asali of the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) had the podium.

Asali and the ATFP pretend to want a lasting two-state solution to the conflict, but also advocate the demographic destruction of the Jewish state by supporting the demand that Israel open its gates to millions of so-called “Palestinian refugees.”

The ATFP blames Israel for the current situation, and wants it to apologize for its rebirth as a nation-state, while Asali draws moral equivalency between Palestinian terrorism and Israeli counter-terrorism operations.

Asali and the ATFP are likewise linked to a number of unsavory pro-Palestinian figures who were once on Obama’s guest list.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the US mainstream media ignored the fact that a Muslim with a thinly-veiled anti-Israel message was preaching on the day that the Obama family attended church for only the third time in the past year.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/d.....;nid=21909

QuietPro| 9.22.10 @ 9:01AM

I pray that my country will awaken to it's potential for greatness again. I pray my country will cease apologizing to the world for imagined sleights. I pray my people will realize that trying to appease everyone will produce a mediocre country at best, and a socialist nanny state at the worst. I pray so many of my fellow countrymen will stop hating this nation so much, and come to realize that we still have the best standard of living in the world. Finally, I pray we change our current direction soon, for I can hear the waterfall growing louder as we approach. Amen....

er| 9.23.10 @ 12:02PM

Forgiveness for (any and all sin) is only available through the finished work of Jesus the Messiah on the Cross. "There is no remission of sins without the shedding of blood." Leviticus 17:11 (your Torah); Hebrews 9:22 - Ben, your Jewish Rabbis have been misleading and misguiding you all your life. They've rejected the only means by which you and my other Jewish friends can be saved. You must place your faith in the finished work of the Messiah (Jesus).

ari| 9.23.10 @ 1:13PM

thank you for letting us share your prayers of atonement. I knew it was Yom Kippur, I just didn't know what it involved. I will pray with you, here, at my house, so that you are not entirely alone before g*d. I hope my prayers help you in lifting your burden of honesty and transparency. I know I have felt lifted up when someone prays for me while I go to confession.

ari

Ralph Novy| 9.23.10 @ 1:34PM

Mr. Stein:

Not persuaded by your plaint.

I think you're being fundamentally dishonest. With yourself and your readers.

Why do I say that?

Flashes of your true feelings here and there:

"... Edward Kennedy, a man of the most questionable character imaginable...."

Really? You either lack imagination or...

and

"Ronald Reagan stood so tall for life."

Maybe old, white, rich male life. None other.

Not to mention the crap about dogs and former girlfriends.

Shame. You need to atone for THAT.

Zoltan Newberry| 9.23.10 @ 6:54PM

Maybe next year Ben will repent for making the liberals' argument for higher taxes. Is that because Nixon liked high taxes? The more money the politicians get from us, the more they waste, the more they spend and the more corruption we get and the less we have. Does Ben want the government to chose his dog food too?

And, even in S. California there are still a few schuls left which do not worship Mister Peanut and Teddy K.

angee woodman| 9.23.10 @ 10:03PM

Ben you are a wonderful person. We all do things we regret..Doesnt make us bad people and you learned from it

Jeff Stasik| 10.9.10 @ 5:42PM

Hello Ben,

I truly appreciate you sincere thought wisdom and kindness. I can’t count on one hand, the number of people who are so humble. I believe that we should all “Pray for Peace” right now. I remember vividly the letters with a postmark; stating just that phrase, that I would carry home from our little post office, on my way home from school. I was growing up in what has certainly been one of the most profoundly tense and raucous periods in our countries history, short of civil war.

I was in 1st grade as Kennedy was sending military “advisors” and how I remember the vile TV campaign adds that Johnson launched against Barry Goldwater in 1964, while he was ramping up the conflict. I was a senior in high school, as an eighteen-year-old, registering for the draft. I also was registered to vote the same year, soon after the 26th amendment to our constitution was ratified. I didn’t complain or protest, I voted!

In fact, it is my belief that Nixon shall be remembered as the President who had the guts to honor his promise to end the war in Vietnam. I had a discussion with someone last week who claimed that more troops were lost after Nixon took office, than before. This is clearly not the truth. I often think about those who dishonored their country and our soldiers, giving comfort to the enemy, while betraying the men who were prisoners of war. Does Jane Fonda come to mind?

FYI, PBS (That is Public Broadcasting System) is spending your $$ and my $$ has been running a series that GLORIFIES Daniel Ellsberg. Have you seen it? This is a liberal editor’s delight, as they have included taped passages of President Nixon, mostly taken out of context, in an attempt to somehow justify the actions of this man who betrayed his employer and his country. What part of “Top Secret” did he not understand? Photocopying and distributing the material in his trust was “The Crime of the Century.”
They present Ellsberg as some kind of god, while I believe that he stil is USA public enemy #1. A person, in my opinion, who is a traitor and a thief, has been given accolades by the ACLU and every liberal %$#& in the world. He should be in jail. Tell me your honest opinion, as you probably studied this case very carefully during your time working for the White House.

Frank Kovach| 10.16.10 @ 12:09AM

I'm sick of all of you. Admittedly, I only read about half of the comments here, but EVERY SINGLE ONE I read was sarcastic, vindictive, definitely not constructive, an attack on Ben's character and many more bad adjectives I'm too angry to think of right now. As I can't really speak on the Nixon stuff, I will address the abortion issue. Abortion is murder. I know that it is not politically correct to say that, but that's what it is. A "fetus" isn't a human because it's connected to the mother? Please! That "fetus" is a baby, a human, a person, from the moment of conception. What is different about it than you or I except for time and nutrition? Your logic is flawed. If a fetus isn't a human, then where do you draw the line? At birth? Well, I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure that newborn infants don't look like 5 year olds. And I'm pretty sure that 5 year olds don't look like 15 year olds. I was 15 once, now I'm 31, and I look a lot different now than I did then. My grandfather is near his 80's and he looks a lot different now than he did when was in his 20's. I know because I have seen his pictures from then. It's just time. That baby becomes a human when sperm meets egg. If you don't want the baby, too bad. God gave you the responsibility to use your sexuality the way He designed it, and if you broke the rules, well, actions have consequences and you have no right to terminate the life of a baby because you are inconvenienced. Besides, when did the pro life position become radical? Regardless of what you feel about abortion, all a pro life person wants is for the baby to live, not be killed. It's "p r o LIFE!" When did it become radical to want someone to live? I truly don't understand (well, I guess I do, I just don't want to-it's called SIN). Now, before I get everybody out there thinking I'm some kind of right wing nut job let me talk about Billy Graham. I don't know why anybody would attack Billy Graham. I mean Billy Graham? Come on! You might as well have called Mother Theresa selfish. What did Billy Graham do besides bring the Gospel to millions of people around the world, offering hope to the hopeless? He didn't hold a gun to anyone's head. If you don't like his crusades, turn off the TV or change the channel, or - just - don't - go to one. Why make fun of him? Okay, I'm done ranting. Man, I really wish this thing let people respond via email so I can know what controversy this comment gins up.

Frank Kovach| 10.16.10 @ 12:33AM

Okay after reading every single post I guess I exaggerated a little bit. Most of the commenters would agree with me. I guess in this case it was a minority of the commenters that were being rude. On behalf of myself, I apologize for myself if I cast too wide a net there. You're still crazy if you think abortion (at any stage of development) isn't killing a human being however. I like the points brought up by some others, though. "A 'fetus' in the womb can't possibly be anything else than human. Until a human mother gives birth to a dog or cat or anything other than a human child you can't ever say that baby isn't human. It's just a little smaller than us typing these comments wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy too late at night when I should be in bed. But before I go to bed I'm going to check on my two sons and kiss them on their foreheads and pray for everybody else out there who doesn't understand the incredible blessing that children are.

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