Bloch Tidbit

As you may have read, the feds recently raided the man I once dubbed "Bush's House Homophobe," Office of Special Counsel (OSC) head Scott Bloch. I'll have more to write about this journalistic gift who keeps on giving, but one item for now.

Back in August 2005, Bloch's then-#2 guy authored a lengthy opinion memo of OSC "findings" supporting allegations brought by Richard von Sternberg, a research associate at the Smithsonian. This was particularly odd, because A) as the letter conceded, the OSC had no jurisdiction, because Sternberg is not a federal employee, and B) the OSC had not actually conducted any investigation whatsoever.

What was Sternberg alleging? That the Smithsonian had retaliated against him because of his religious beliefs -- ie, his belief in Intelligent Design.

The OSC's non-investigation, no-jurisdiction opinion was widely circulated among creationist circles, as validation of Sternberg's claims. And now, Sternberg's case is a centerpiece in Ben Stein's new documentary, Expelled, about the mistreatment of scientists who believe in Intelligent Design.