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Give Me a Break
ABC's John Stossel, in a column that he pens for a New Hampshire newspaper, is miffed by press coverage of his wife's former boyfriend's book:
Where's the left's interest in open debate? By JOHN STOSSEL WHERE I WORK (in network TV) and live (on the Upper West Side of Manhattan), people say "conservative" the way they say "child molester." It's the worst thing to be called. Everyone here agrees: Conservatives are repressive, while liberals are open-minded and think it's important to hear a diverse range of voices. Except, of course, if those voices aren't liberal. Ironically, in the 19th century, liberals really did want to hear new ideas. In 1869, it was a liberal who wrote, "the peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race . . . those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error." John Stuart Mill argued that debating people you disagree with was the only way to develop wisdom. Compare today's so-called liberals. I recently finished a tour for my book, "Give Me a Break." Weirdly, the same month "Give Me a Break" came out, my publisher released a book by my wife's ex-boyfriend. His book was not political, but he is well liked in the liberal media world. After our books came out, I turned on the radio, and the first thing I heard was Don Imus gushing about how wonderful my wife's ex-boyfriend was. Even my wife rolled her eyes. My publisher couldn't get me on Imus. My wife's ex became a regular on NPR and got on national shows, like "Fresh Air." He was on CNN with Larry King and Paula Zahn, and on PBS with Charlie Rose. He got four columns in The New York Times; my book was never mentioned. I shouldn't complain. I have plenty of airtime of my own, and the conservatives were eager to talk. I got to discuss my ideas with dozens of talk radio hosts, and on Fox News Channel, where Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity have audiences CNN only dreams about. More people bought my book than my wife's ex's. But where was the "open debate" the liberals like to praise? Mostly on the conservative broadcasts. Conservative hosts had me on their programs even though some loathed my hard-core libertarian ideas. Maybe it's because conservatives in media are used to people disagreeing with them. In fact, if they live in New York City, they are used to liberals shrieking at them. Few conservatives wanted to spend much time debating drug prohibition (Sean Hannity was a rare exception), but at least they heard me out. I had thought liberal shows would have me on their programs to trash my arguments. I looked forward to a spirited debate. But debate rarely happened. Nearly every media invitation came from people who already shared my belief in the free market. Those who didn't, didn't want to talk about it. There were a few exceptions: Robert Redford, of all people, flew me out to his Sundance Book festival. Alan Colmes grilled me on his radio program. Larry King eventually had me on; it was only his weekend show, but he said he have me back on a weekday. I'm still waiting. I thought I'd have a shot at a fair debate with Al Franken because we're acquaintances; our kids went to school together. No such luck. He invited me to his studio, but he barely let me make an argument; instead he ranted about a "lie" on page 305. I did have a wonderful time on Air America's "Morning Sedition," with a host who was furious that government doesn't stop Americans from eating too many Big Macs. I treasure the moment of silence that followed my saying that government that's big enough to tell you what to eat . . . is government big enough to tell you with whom you can have sex. That's the debate the media's supposed to advance. I didn't find much of it in the "open-minded" liberal media. John Stossel is co-anchor of ABC News' "20/20." Is he that big of a baby? Gimme a break. |
#2
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Kind of whiney. But overlooking that (if possible), what about his main point, that so-called liberals today are iliberal. They have stolen the name of a perfectly good political philosophy and lobotomized it with political correctitude. Now people who would have been called liberal thinkers 100 or 200 years ago must shun that once-proud label and instead, invent one, "libertarian."
Whatever your political persuasion, ask yourself this: What are the citeria for being a present-day liberal? Back a couple hundred years ago it was just one word, loaded with meaning: Liberty. Free to think and believe as you choose. Free to set your own destiny and live your own life without permission and without apology. Does that describe liberalism of today? I don't think so. |
#3
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Sorry, I can't get past the whinning. The "other guy's" book was by Richard M. Cohen, "Blindsided: Lifting A Life Above Illness" Mr. Cohen was a twenty-five-year-old television news producer when he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. For thirty years he has battled MS, along with two recent bouts of colon cancer. To this, Stossel compares his book and the media attention it recieved?
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#4
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That's why they call it op/ed and not news, I guess. Op/ed needn't be fair and only accidentally factual. B |
#5
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Botnst, it was a self serving op-ed piece, particularly the "my book outsold his" part. As for spirited debate by liberals . . . there's no shortage of that here that I can see, nor in the so called "baised media." There are more than enough talking heads spinning on the left and the right, 24/7, trying to fill up all that air time when people used to sleep or go outside and enjoy the sunshine.
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#6
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I agree that there are sides and raucus haters. What I'm trying to understand is why people think it's like a team.
Like if you agree with x1, then you must also agree with xn. It's what we all enjoy about busting Bonehead, as though because he rejects something then he must accept all of something else. Clearly, he's more complicated than that. And why should he be less complicated? I think that we want that because it agrees with our perception of how he should think. I'm right in there fussin' at him, too. So I'm just as narrow-thinking as teh rest of us. And the same thinking is is used at me. Because I agree with the foreign policy of this administration, I must like certain personalities in government and I must also agree with all of this administration's policies. That isn't even worth arguing about, to me. I reject Republicanism in its present form. I like the term, "corporatism" rather than Republicanism except that it sounds as though I am opposed to business. Far from it. I am opposed to business manipulating the government to pass favored legislation and protection from banruptcy and all of that. I think business should fail utterly and be dismembered completely to pay debts. I think if businesses get the protections as though tehy are some sort of individual, then they should pay the same price as people do when we screw-up. I also like company officers to have some sort of personal liability for corporate malfeasance. If they have a personal stake, maybe they'll be better leaders. I largely disagree with Republican environmental policy. It I short-sighted and intentionally ingnorant and intentionally misleading. Next week I'll give ytou my antidemocrat party diatribe. B |
#7
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__________________
0o==o0 James 4:8 "...let us put aside the blindness of mind of those who can conceive of nothing higher than what is known through the senses" -Saint Gregory Palamas, ---Discourse on the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ Centrally located in North East Central Pa. |
#8
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#9
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#10
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__________________
0o==o0 James 4:8 "...let us put aside the blindness of mind of those who can conceive of nothing higher than what is known through the senses" -Saint Gregory Palamas, ---Discourse on the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ Centrally located in North East Central Pa. |
#11
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Also it seems you guys have just jumped in with the social bashing instead of answering his question. It is like a liberal writer that wishes to engage conservative's on the environment debate so he writes a targeted book but is ignored for some NASCAR driving friend of Limbaugh's who becomes the rage of Fox, talk radio, etc. Last edited by laurencekarl; 07-28-2005 at 10:07 PM. |
#12
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Jon Stewart had Senator Rick Santorum on "The Daily Show" to discuss his book "It Takes A Family" this week . . . doesn't that count?
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#13
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And here we are believing that we're going to keep on doing this in perpetuity. We ain't. We're living in a bubble of inflated expectations. This seems to filter down to folks in a wierd kind of, "I'm omnipotent," brand of denial. So people are tending more and more to be certain that the noise in their own head is God's own gospel truth. A few guys here on OD come to mind, and I'm sure many will say I'm the prime candidate for that. You think liberals are out of whack? You seen some o' these new type conservatives? Listened to Rick Santorum recently? And they's some saying that he's the 3rd most powerful Repub in the Senate and a good bet for presidential timber. Double . ****EDIT**** Whoa dude, this is like, trippy. I wrote the above about Santorum before I had read down to the end of the thread, and then when I posted it, I look up, and like, see the dude staring at me. I'm going to have to buy a lotto ticket tomorrow.
__________________
1986 300SDL, 362K 1984 300D, 138K Last edited by cmac2012; 07-30-2005 at 03:40 AM. |
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