Ben Stein's TV ads for a scuzzy "free" credit product have finally caught up to him: The New York Times has fired Stein as a Sunday business columnist for violating ethics guidelines.
Stein was pilloried online for his endorsement of the bait-and-switch operation, which offers a free credit score but charges an outrageous $30 per month to see the credit report behind the score. As Reuters blogger Felix Salmon pointed out, consumers can get a free online report under federal law.
The Times' issue, though, is that Stein has violated its ethics policy, which states "it is an inherent conflict for a journalist to perform public relations work, paid or unpaid." Salmon blogged about that issue, too. It's surprising that it hasn't come up until now; Stein has been a regular contributor to the Times for four years, and is quite recognizable to TV audiences. After playing a high-school teacher in the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off (R.I.P. John Hughes), Stein went on to host two shows on Comedy Central, including the Emmy-award-winning Win Ben Stein's Money, and a show on VH1. He also frequently appeared in cameo roles on sitcoms like Seinfeld. Read on...
From Larry King Live Oct. 30, 2008. Michael Medved has a bit of trouble getting his Joe Lieberman talking points past Arianna Huffington and Paul Begala.
KING: Michael Medved, could he turn some votes?
MEDVED: Sure, Bill Clinton still. However, most people already know that Hillary has endorsed Barack Obama. Bill Clinton has endorsed Barack Obama. I was with Joe Lieberman last night in Ohio, and Joe Lieberman made a terrific point which is that right now there is this simmering controversy about a tape involving Barack Obama and Rashid Khalidi. Rashid Khalidi, who was a PLO of the United States who apparently Obama, the "L.A. Times" is reporting, was toasting and praising just a couple of years ago.
Why won't they release the tape? Joe Lieberman made the point last night in Cleveland, Ohio, that if Barack Obama wants to put this to rest he should come forward and ask the "Los Angeles Times", please, make that tape public, put this issue to bed.
BEGALA: Come on.
KING: One thing before Paul responds, Michael, I believe that Khalidi denies ever being in the PLO and also has stated he and Obama disagree on almost everything about the situation with regard to the Palestinians.
MEDVED: So why not release the tape of an evening in which a number of people expressed determination to wipe out the state of Israel? Why not release it?
BEGALA: Michael, you're terribly troubled that six months ago the "L.A. Times" reported this, by the way. So it's an ancient news story in terms of political press cycles in a presidential campaign.
So six months ago it was reported that many years ago Barack Obama might have been at a banquet that included this guy Khalidi who is a professor who has views completely antithetical to Senator Obama's on Israel.
Are you equally troubled that Mr. Khalidi's group was funded to the tune of $450,000 by a group John McCain chairs, the International Republican Institute? John McCain was sending hundreds of thousand of dollars to Khalidi and Barack Obama apparently was eating a rubber chicken with him at a banquet one night and you're all up in arms and you and Joe Lieberman has his panties in a wad.
(CROSSTALK)
MEDVED: Why not release the tape? Why should the tape be held secret?
BEGALA: Michael, it is so beneath Senator McCain.
HUFFINGTON: Michael isn't even responding to what Paul is saying.
MEDVED: I will respond very gladly, Arianna.
(CROSSTALK)
MEDVED: First of all, the charges are not that they were at the banquet together. The charge is that Barack Obama offered a toast to Mr. Khalidi and said we're going to miss you and talked about how much he admired him.
HUFFINGTON: OK.
MEDVED: This is an individual who is committed to the destruction of the state of Israel.
HUFFINGTON: Michael, I do wish that that tape would be released.
MEDVED: Good.
HUFFINGTON: Because I'm tired of tapes being presented as fearmongering. We had the tapes, supposedly Michelle Obama who said something about whitey and for the entire primary, we're waiting for the whitey tape. And now we're going to be waiting for the Khalidi tape. The real fact that you are not answering is that $450,000 has gone to Khalidi's group by an organization chaired by John McCain. Just stop, Michael, it's frankly beneath you.
MEDVED: Frankly, Arianna, I know nothing about that organization. I will look into it.
BEGALA: Oh so, Joe Lieberman didn't mention that to you, Michael?
MEDVED: The point is that Joe Lieberman who you campaigned for, Paul Begala, rear enthusiastically as I recall.
So according to political hack Ben Stein, Barack Obama is responsible for the Paris Hilton "response" ad, and the hotel heiress is not merely a socialite party girl, but a bona fide hard core porn star (he knows! he's seen the tape!) and a little "tramp" who "isn't even close to being pretty."
Now, this is perfect. First of all, Paris Hilton was a total nobody party girl in West Hollywood until she and her boyfriend made AND then "someone" SOLD a hard core video of Paris Hilton having sex. So basically, she got her start as a porn star. And she's being trotted out by the media barons to smear John McCain, as brave and patriotic a man as lives in this nation. This little tramp, who isn't even close to being pretty, is belittling a man who spent six years in brutal captivity for defending his country.
Paris, get this: in modern day America, we don't mock people because of things they have done that are unavoidable and not in any way blameworthy. We don't make fun of blacks for being black. We don't make fun of women for having breasts. We don't make fun of old people for being old. This is uncool from any source. It is downright disgusting coming from a porn star -- and not a very good porn star at that (yes, I have seen the tape). And we especially don't like being told how to vote by porn stars. If this is the best the Hollywood pals of Barack Obama can do, maybe John McCain has more of a shot than I thought he did.
Wow. So not only is Ben Stein psychotic and petty, he's a creep, too.
So according to political hack Ben Stein, Barack Obama is responsible for the Paris Hilton 
