Work it for Ben Stein's Money: Only $1,500 per grope session...

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

"“I should get a medal for helping this woman. This is a person who appealed to me for money. She said she would send me some examples of her performance art. Some of those examples were racy, and some were not. I just don’t get what I have done wrong. She is mad at me because she wanted more money. … I didn’t expect anything from her.”"


From Pharangula

Remember Ben Stein? Lazy character actor best known for his mind-numbing drone, reactionary conservative who writes dull screeds on bogus economics, the creationist voice of Expelled? He’s in the news again, when we’d all rather he just goes away.

He wrote a bizarre rambling bit of nonsense for the American Spectator about how he travels the country, helping breathakingly beautiful women, taking them out to dinner, giving them writing advice, and boy, does airline food suck or what, and Obama is a failure. And he spent a fair amount of the essay just writing about this stunningly beautiful, absolute knockout young Eurasian woman who just happened to be in the airport.

As I walked through SFO in search of my driver, I came across a stunningly beautiful, absolute knockout young Eurasian woman. She was lying on a bench right next to where my driver was supposed to be, so I sat down next to her and chatted her up.

This story has evolved somewhat. Now she’s ambushing him and harassing him for money..

About five months ago, as I was walking through SFO to get into my car, I met a young woman who was extremely excited to meet me. She was literally jumping up and down with excitement. She told me she was a “performance artist” but hinted at some scary parts of her life. She said she would like to be a writer and asked if I could help. We exchanged texting addresses and off I went in my car. I spent fewer than five minutes talking to her in a busy airport terminal.

See? Ben Stein thinks Ben Stein is the kindest, sweetest person around. He deserves a medal for helping a young, beautiful woman out, giving her money and advice.

“I should get a medal for helping this woman. This is a person who appealed to me for money. She said she would send me some examples of her performance art. Some of those examples were racy, and some were not. I just don’t get what I have done wrong. She is mad at me because she wanted more money. … I didn’t expect anything from her.”

This “I am not a crook” moment was prompted by the fact that the young woman, Tanya Ma, released screen shots of their phone messages. And it’s true, he didn’t touch her, he didn’t do anything criminal — he just exposed the fact that the private Ben Stein is a deeply creepy person.

Sext messages below the fold. Wash your hands afterwards.

He writes to her, asking for sexy pics.  Wash your hands afterwards.

He writes to her, asking for sexy pics.

He offers money, asking how much she needs. She tells him how much she needs to finish her trip.

She thanks him for his help…and whoa, here we go, plunging off the cliff.

He demands a reply. She demurs. She is not his girlfriend!

Petulant Ben emerges. He’s resentful of being friend-zoned.

Her feelings are the problem. Dang, she’s pretty articulate in squashing Ben’s delusions.

Ick.

In his weird denial in The American Spectator, which mixes befuddled confusion about why he is being persecuted with existential dread about the fate of Israel, he closes with a pious appeal.

I looked in “The Gift of Peace,” my book of sayings to bring calm:

* When all else fails, turn it over to God.

* I am a person made up of the seven deadly sins. I always will be. I should not be surprised by it. It’s called “Being human.”

* Luckily for me, God works by mercy, and not by justice.

* Fear is the common human condition. Faith is the solution.

* What happens to me is not very important.

* Acceptance of what God sends me is not a choice. It is a necessity.

I am not kidding. I am not at all important. But, please pray for Israel.

Isn’t it sweet how religion is so undiscriminating that it allows the worst sinners to claim grace?

I lost Ben long before Expelled and unsurprisingly he is continuing his downward spiral by failing at being a sugar daddy not to mention the attempt. I hope he has an "understanding" with his "Big Wifey", otherwise, doubly a dick.

It was all to protect that innocent fetus, after all: "Only I, Ben Stein, could save her. So, since I am a big believer in Right to Life, I sent her money over the next several months to keep her alive and give her hope. "

Original post: Creepy Old Ben Stein

Comments

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

Son I am disappoint.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

Its funnier than the war tho...

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

Bueller?

It just seems he's fallen so far from the salad days of being Nixon's speech-writer. Or maybe not.

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

Really, Nixon's speech-writer? I somehow missed that fact.
Though, it does seem like a perfect-fitting match.

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

Okay, he's not a saint, but do we have to hate on the guy for this.
He's aging; he's desperate.
I don't know if she is all that innocent.

Everyone has their weak moments.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

Its not exactly hate, more like a train wreck.

[deborahkla.livejournal.com]

No, it's hate, I guarantee you. Ick, ick, ick of the ickiest ick! what a thoroughgoing creeper he is.

[deborahkla.livejournal.com]

Okay, he's not a saint, but do we have to hate on the guy for this.
Yes, we must absolutely hate on him for being an aging, married icky creeper who wants to get touchy feely on much younger women.

He's aging; he's desperate.
He's married, and he's old enough to know how to control himself.

Everyone has their weak moments.
And I suppose "boys will be boys" too. Excuses, excuses. Men always like to come up with excuses for entirely inappropriate and downright wrong behavior.

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

I missed that he was married;
that does tell a bit more against him,
though not unusual for even the somewhat rich and famous.

[deborahkla.livejournal.com]

It's still inexcusable behavior, regardless of ones social status.

[byrontengu.livejournal.com]

I think the issue is the way he reacts to being refused that is really out of line.

[deborahkla.livejournal.com]

No, it's the fact that he expects physical contact with these young women in the first place.

[byrontengu.livejournal.com]

Is it the age difference you find to be a problem, or the fact that he feels entitled to it. I have an issue with the entitlement, as well as his shitty response when she refuses. That he's attracted to younger women is nothing unusual. Would this be better somehow if he was younger?

[deborahkla.livejournal.com]

It's the sense of entitlement. It's what makes going out to dinner with a guy of any age awkward. As a woman, I feel I ought to pay my own way or the man will feel entitled to something. Horrible, awkward and kills the whole atmosphere.

[byrontengu.livejournal.com]

Making a pass at a younger woman is not inherently wrong. Lots of younger women find themselves attracted to older, wealthy men (go figure). Making a pass at someone when one is married is also not inherently wrong, as there are many marriages that allow for such things. What is wrong is insulting someone, and attacking her for not wanting to be felt up. That's where it goes wrong. Stein shows that he feels entitled to fondle this woman, as apparently he has bought that right. When she says no, he has the gall to suggest that he's insulted; that refusal is disrespectful. This is where it goes across the line.

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

Yes, I suppose it is important to be able to take 'no' for an answer,
and to understand that that is her right.

[byrontengu.livejournal.com]

Exactly. The word "creepy" tends to be pretty regularly defined as "not attractive to me". Had the same behavior, up to the reaction at the 'NO', been preformed by a more acceptable male, it might still be refused, but it would not be seen as quite so vile.

[deborahkla.livejournal.com]

No, it's still seen as vile.

[cinnamontoast.livejournal.com]

I'd find this hilarious if it wasn't PZ Myers reporting.

[brother-dour.livejournal.com]

Isn’t it sweet how religion is so undiscriminating that it allows the worst sinners to claim grace?

Actually it allows all sinners to claim grace. Because one sin is enough to make the sinner unworthy of God. But I guess I'm just nitpicking.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

The concept of external blanket redemption is odd. I can murder you and your family and then be redeemed without even asking the victims opinion.

[brother-dour.livejournal.com]

That's how it goes, though, because everyone has fallen short in the eyes of God and therefore all of us require grace, regardless of the crime committed and the victim's opinion. The NT also says a lot about forgiveness, so...

[catlin.livejournal.com]

One of the very few things I like about Muslim law. The family of a victim can forgive even murder, and the law allows it and waives even an execution.