On 6/2/05, Andrew Schuricht <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > I'm not so sure that the venerable SI was fooled on this one. Oh I think they ended up with a bunch of egg on their face for this one. First, they completely forgot about their policy that anything screened at the SI is technically co-sponsored by them. It's a BIG difference from just being a rental venue open to anyone without endorsement such as if the Discovery Institute rented the museum for their Christmas party like other any other corporation or private party. Secondly, to cover their butts, they back-peddle and say that the movie is NOT consistent with their mission and they will not take the donation but honor the contract. This says to me at least, that the SI is NOT paying close attention to what goes on at their museum or has a very ignorant staff who obviously hasn't been watching the news since ID is a hot topic all over the country right now. Now the special events/rentals department that handles the museum rentals is completely separate from the curatorial staff (even on different pay rolls), but wouldn't you think that they would at least run it by some of the scientists on staff to make sure it's at least a scientifically sound movie, consistent with the SI's mission "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge" - ESPECIALLY since the event will technically be co-sponsored by the museum itself? So in summary, if the NMNH has the policy of just being a rental venue without sponsorship, then I say they can show whatever movie they want. But because they have this policy of being "co-sponsors", they need to be extra careful of what they allow to be shown at the museum and their special events/museum rental staff need to be more on the ball at screening who rents their facility, including running things by knowledgable curators or other staff members before signing contracts. deb ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).