New York Times Fires Ben Stein

Ben Stein—actor, comedian, and former Clear Eyes spokesman—was recently fired from his 4-year stint as a columnist for the New York Times. The Times cited the reason behind the termination as "conflict of interest" and "violation of ethics guidelines," alluding to Stein's current role as spokesman for FreeScore.com.

Stein, on the other hand, has his own theory. He claims that he was fired for attacking Obama (he was let go the same day he had written a very critical piece on the President). As Stein says, "You can attack Obama from the left at the Times but not from the right."

Stein feels that the Times is just using his affiliation with FreeScore.com as an excuse to not publish his politically right-wing views. Stein claims that he never wrote a single word for the newspaper about getting free credit reports or scores online, and therefore doesn't see how his business relationship with FreeScore.com posed a conflict of interest.

Nevertheless, Stein says he will not wage a lawsuit against the Times. He will keep working with FreeScore.com, and serves as an occasional TV pundit for several major networks. He also writes for Yahoo! Finance and the American Spectator.