We do not have to reject completely a concept just because one fraud promoted it. I would also not want to judge the merits of a scientific concept based on the decisions of a court of law with a jury of people who know little about science.
That being said, I don't assign too much importance to the ORP concept as a cornerstone of evolutionary research. It is a little too bumper sticker and detracts from more important information gained by looking at development. Embryology is a fascinating and rather complex topic that certainly does show that there are patterns of development that seem to follow taxonomic lines quite nicely. We can see that human embryos have notochords, pharyngeal gill slits, and tails that are not very evident in the adults. These structures frequently remain functional in "lower" animals but develop into quite different structures or almost disappear in the more advanced animals. We also see that patterns such as spiral cleavage and radial cleavage (I suppose I will get some interesting comments about these terms) can be quite useful when trying to work out taxonomic relationships.
The macro/micro discussion is just one of scale. It brings us back to the question of how different is different. When are two populations different enough to be considered different species. As far as intermediate specimens are concerned, we are all intermediate specimens that are not exactly the same as our ancestors and that will have descendants that are not exactly the same as we are. The fossil record may not include all the intermediate specimens, but that does not invalidate the patterns we see from the specimens we have. New specimens just help us refine or modify our understanding of the patterns.
Keep in mind several things. First: This is science. Science is constantly changing as new information appears. We try to do the best we can with what we have but realize we may not yet have all the information. Second: You don't have to agree with something in order to understand it. I understand how the Druids worshiped but have quite different views of the Almighty. Whether I think evolutionary theory is right or not matters only to me and I am not telling. I do think that people should try to understand it before passing judgment on it.
