Friday, May 12, 2006

 

The World According to John Stossel

I remember a kinder, gentler time when John Stossel was a touchy, feely bleeding heart, warning 20/20 viewers of the dangers of exploding toasters and those orange Fiestaware plates. But ol' John was just one of countless bleeding heart reporters in the pantheon of liberal journalism. He didn't really stand out, and he was badly ithcin' for his own niche (like mediocre CBS guy Bernard Goldberg since turned born-again right-winger).

And then John came up with "Are We Scaring Ourselves to Death?" a one-hour special from about 10 years ago in which he made a pretty convincing case that we Americans allow ourselves to be frightened by sensational media types (like John himself until now) that we deny ourselves a great deal of enjoyment that should come with life. I think a great argument was made, but sadly, a libertarian wackjob was also born with the acclaim that followed this sepcial. Nowadays of course we know that John Stossel is a liberatarian contrarian extrordinaire, debunking all supposed conventional wisdom as the foolishness of nervous nellie liberals. DDT and asbestos are really good for you. Helmets are for sissies. It's only just and fair that more than a few little old grandmas get cheated out of their pensions every year. Thank God for Stossel. He's going to set the record straight with his homespun wisdom and expse these liberals for the ghouls and bloodsuckers they really are.

Of course, along John's road to Damascus, ABC has been more than happy to let this guy rant, considering that he has a right-wing following that always tunes in. So much for the liberal media, right?

Which brings me to tonight's "20/20" Stossel tour de force "Myths, Lies, and Outright Stupidity." Stossel brings us 10 myths to shock us and bring us around to his worldview that selfishness, greed and cold-heartedness really are virtues. Some of the myths he exposes are just silly and irrelevant (Red cars get pulled over more often. Elephants are afraid of mice) and of course they're designed to mask his ideology run amok. Of course, John encourages us frequently throughtout the presentation to buy his new book on just this very subject.

But others come with a true political agenda, and I'm sure Dick Cheney couldn't agree with ol' John more. Let's recap:

Myth No. 10: Americans are running out of oil.

In Stosselworld, we really have plenty of oil, and we can continue drilling our way to energy independence. But only as long as we annex Canada. You see, according to John, we have these "tar sands" in Alberta that John claims will supply us with oil for more than 100 years. That's the only solution he offers, so I'm assuming he believes tar sands to be the end-all, be-all of energy.

OK, so I'm not going to claim to be a geologist or oil expert. However, I have learned that two tons of sand equal one barrel of oil. So I ask you, how expensive does a barrel of oil have to get to make this cost effective? And is there some cheaper way of producing energy? I'm sure half of Houston will tell me how naive and foolish I am, but I truly wonder if John is oversimplifying things by telling us all how we've finally solved this problem of the past 35 years.

Myth No. 6: Radiation is bad

Did you know that people are actually exposed to high doses of radiation to cure cancer? Well,OK, yeah, I knew that too. But apparently this is a true revelation to John Stossel who breathlessly reports this as an argument for why exposure to high levels of radiation is a good thing. In fact, I guess we should all expose ourselves to high levels of plutonium and strontium. Stossel's main argument apparently is that initial reports of casualties related to Chernobyl were vastly overreported in the tens of thousands. In fact, the widely agreed death toll is 56, so far. Using a parallel logic, the 1,000 or so dead from Hurricane Katrina, compared with intitial estimates of 10,000 dead prove that Katrina wasn't really that big a deal and the liberal media overstated the seriousness of this minor seasonal squall.

If you don't believe Stossel and need further proof of the safety of radiation and foolishness of these liberal nervous nellies, just ask the 60,000 residents of Hiroshima who died within monts of the Enola Gay's visit. (I can't seem to find universal agreement on how many actually were killed by radiation poisoning, so I threw out the first number I found.)

Myth No. 5: Teachers are underpaid

Now, these are fightin' words.

First, let me say, for the record I make $36,000 a year teaching fifth grade. I didn't get into this for the money, and I knew up front I wouldn't make what I really ought to be making, considering the importance of this job and what I could be making doing any number of frivolous, hollow, and frankly stupid pursuits.

Still, the idea that we're not underpaid rings hollow and ridiculous. Stossel asserts that on average we teachers make more than firefighters, chemists and physical therapists. At a national average of about $45,000 per year, teachers do indeed make more than firefighters and chemists. However, chemists make an average of $61,000 per year according to Salary.com

Putting that aside, this is really a question about what we really value as Americans. Apparently, we think lawyers, NBA players and TV newsmagazine correspondents do the world more good than those people who give your child an education. Stossel, ever disengenuous, points out that New York schoolteachers average $60,000 per year, as if one could enjoy any decent standard of living in New York on that kind of money. John's just mad because he got into a highly-visible pissing match with some New York teachers union.

Myth No. 4: Secondhand smoke isn't really dangerous.

Well, John likes to hedge his bets on this one. He admits that it really is dangerous over time. But it's not dangerous over the course of 20 minutes. As if the rest of the world didn't know this. But John likes to point to the rantings of some crackpot scientist who asserts just that to leave us with some vague picture that anyone who thinks cigarettes are dangerous is some sky-is-falling liberal fool, once again duped by the mainstream media's ongoing campaign of lies.

Myth No. 2: Price-gouging is bad.

You see, when Hurricane Katrina struck is was really a good thing that water was going for $2 a bottle or gas at $4.50 per gallon (I'm just making these numbers up.), it was really a good thing. This kept people from hoarding, and if they didn't have the money to buy these things, they should just evacuate themselves to the New Orleans Convention Center where ol' Brownie was sure to lend a hand.

You see, greed is good, and when you're looking out for No. 1 and taking advantage of the other guy, you truly are a shrewd businessman, which equates with moral certitude and godliness. And you certainly pass the WWJD test. That is, What Would John Do?

Comments:
Blah, blah, blah. Conservative evil, liberal good. You know I used to find some fun in debating liberal assertions, but at 39, my wisdom is catching up to me. Can I prove that everything you say is wrong and everything I say is right? Probably, but I quite sure I can't prove it to you, and you can't prove the same to me.

Why is that? Is it that, there is no truth? Or that everything is relative? I hope not, if you believe that you'd be better off just putting a bullit in your head (but the rest of the world would not, so don't do that.)

Rather, I'm certain there is a truth, and in most cases, only one of us is really right.

My friend, Brett, asserts that it is usually the MIDDLE that is correct, and that we should avoid all forms of extremism (defined as what he doesn't believe). But where IS the middle? Doesn't the middle slide around according to who's in power, who's the majority, and who'd around you in your personal life? Barry Goldwater, a staunch conservative who later went on to become liberal, said it best "Extremism in the pursuit of liberty is no vice." And that's true, right? I mean who would argue with that. (If you do, you're an extremist)

The dictionary defines truth as being that which most closely resembles the original. I would assert that the Original, is God. And not just any God, but rather the God of Abraham and Moses that came down in the person of Jesus Christ to pay for the sins of those He loves. So truth, then, is that which most closely resembles the true Jewish God who we Christians believe is Jesus, God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit.

God the Father called Jesus, "The Truth," and said that The Truth will set you free. The bible is repleat in saying that Satan is a lier, and the author of all lies. It also says that God does not, and can not lie. Why is that? Because, whatever God says, is, by default, the truth, whether or not you or I agree with it nor not.

So then why do both we conservatives, you liberals, and even middle men like Brett, lie? Or, why do we say something that is not the truth?

The bible tells us that too:

- Without God in us, we are dead in our sins. That is, sin has entered every part of our life, and we, like Satan, desire to be God, or, be our own God. The bible says, that without God, in fact, we would never choose God. So, we reject God, and hate who He is and what He stands for, and our natural desire is to see everything in a way that does not please God, which is, different from God, and is thus, not the truth.

- The bible also says, that even when God chooses us, and we choose Him (don't get me started on the Calvinism v. Arminianism debate), and the Holy Spirit comes into our life (some say "heart") to guide us and change us into someone who is Christ like (like the Truth), that we still are "in the flesh." That is, we are still living in mortal bodies with mortal desires, and even though Christ lives through us, we are not Christ - we are not yet perfected, and our "old man", the flesh and mind that we had before salvation, is still a work in progress.

- AND, the bible says, brothers, that we are deceived. So, not every liberal assertion is evil in its intent, which is why I can still think the world of my friend the Mouth, and of my middle of the road friend Brett. (and probably why they can tolerate a right winger like myself..) Although, it is good, to remember that the reason we ARE decieved, is that we do not know the TRUTH, well enough. Secret Service Agents are taught to tell fraudulent currency not by studying counterfits, but rather by studying the original, so well, that they know a fake the moment they see it. We too, would be good to study, The Original.

Oh, but, say you reader, "I don't beleive in God, and certainly not in Jesus, so I'm holding to the "everything is relative" and "there is no truth," or "you have your truth and I have mine."

Well, you can certainly do that, but remember, its not TRUE, no matter how much you wish is was! :-)

More on knowing The Truth:
http://www.pcanet.org/general/eternal.htm
 
Yeah, so take that, John Stossel!
 
One more thing:

Re: "Blah, blah, blah. Conservative evil, liberal good."

That is indeed the gist of this blog. I thought you would have figured that out by now. If that offends you, then perhaps you'd be more comfortable watching Fox News.
 
Well, that's true, Fox News just reports the news, I don't get a biased view there, but my point is that you can do better than to just post the liberal line - its so predictable - not so interesting. I know that you hate everything conservative, and love everything liberal (o.k., not EVERYTHING, you do have some morals...) - who cares? Give me something more, something more substantial and meaningful, share the truth, or at least what you think is the truth, and, to the best of your ability, try and share it as someone investigating what the truth is, not someone who has decided what he would like the truth to be, and then tries to justify it. Maybe I'm asking too much..I'm going to turn on Fox News, I'm sure you're watching ABC, NBC, oCBS, or NPR on the radio.
 
Your comment that I solely report the liberal line is so off-base and misinformed that I shouldn't even bother to respond. I think you need only look at my June 15 posting or any number of other postings to know this isn't true.

Not only have I consistently argued throughout the history of this blog that the conservative movement has been destructive to our nation's economic and social fabric, but I also have been equally pointed in criticizing liberals for their ongoing insistence in responding to conservatives with the same rhetoric that makes us such an easy target. Consistently, I have argued that liberals need to change and refocus if they are to be a meaningful alternative to the current conservative trainwreck that is ruining our country.

If you haven't seen this, then you aren't paying attention, or perhaps you are so sold out to an ideology that you can't hear or appreciate anything that hasn't come straight from the mouths of the right-wing noise-making apparatus. That you find no bias in Fox News further illustrates that point.
 
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