The Foibles of Big Gov't... On ABC???

ABC TV, and 20/20 website ^ | Oct. 17, 2008 | ABC 20/20

[Paul R.]

(John) Stossel says, ''Give me a break,'' politicians' ''fixes'' often have unintended consequences that are worse than the original problem. Do we really need a president to plan our lives, to direct us? Or does most of life work best when you are in charge?

[Paul R.]

One tiny ray of light: John Stossel on ABC’s 20/20 tonight had an entire show that was basically a great takedown of socialism / big government. He had Walter Williams and others on, extensively, making great points. Then Stossel would documenting them with real life examples and situations, such as the miserable gov’t rebuilding effort in New Orleans (compared to volunteer efforts.) Rarely (since Reagan?) have I seen a presentation that would “get through” to the average voter so well, on the subject of citizen power vs. government power. If that show could could be shown to every voter, a good conservative could win easily.

The video is on the 20/20 website for $30 (ouch).

http://abcnewsstore.go.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/DSIProductDisplay?catalogId=11002&storeId=20051&productId=2024459&langId=-1&categoryId=100013

[SMCC1]

John Stossel is the best journalist on abc.

[eyedigress]

His book “Give Me A Break” is pretty good.

[roses of sharon]

Na, Americans are idiots.

Notice the black guys and the movie stars in N.O.interviewed complaining about big government?

They still vote overwhelmingly for Democrats.

[Paul R.]

We don’t have to convince THEM. Just 10% of the average people who are not idiots, but not geniuses either. A 60% 40% election would surely be considered a landslide.

[eclecticEel]

Big government republicans like Bush and McCain make it hard to get the message through.

[Paul R.]

I really got a kick out of the prime time exposure for Walter Williams.

[RepublicanChick]

Stossel is one of the good guys in the media. I believe he is a Libertarian.

[roses of sharon]

Oh please, lol.

The UnAmerican Democrat party is filled with moochers and looters.

Americans vote for goodies, and they know which party loves sending out gov cks.

[Red Dog #1]

Great post!!! I doubt we’ll ever have enough John Stossel’s in the MSM to effectively spread this message. But that’s not a show stopper. All of us need to be patient mentors.
Everyone…Trying to directly change another’s political views is rarely successful. Arm yourself with basic micro and macro economics knowledge and then go out and talk about it with others when conversations turn in that direction. Read about the history of counterinsurgencies so you can effectively discuss why Iraq’s current state is actually about two or three years ahead of historic example of successful COIN wars. Prepare to talk about the tax rates, inflation rates and GNP growth of the 1970’s (let the other person in the conversation make the Carter connection). Above all else be patient and don’t’ get angry. A hard core lefty probably can’t be flipped, but with patience you could help an “independent” become a solid conservative.

[Melissa 24]

John Stossel is one of the best journalists on TV.

[So Circumstanced]

Call me a conspiracy theorist, but did you notice that much of the terrific piece had a real noticeable delay between speaker’s voices and the video images?

(My guess is that Gibson was behind the scenes in the ABC control room, trying to jam the signal.) -sarc.

[jazzlite]

I agree..He is the best..However, I doubt that the “sheep” out here watch him or even care to focus on such wisdom.

[Paul R.]

Interesting.

The part about the skating rink could be debated, of course: You have to have a certain blend of overall control and “on the spot” flexibility in, for example, military operations. But, then again, who wants our entire society to be run like the military?!

[Paul R.]

Right. An effective argument I’ve been able to make about global warming is to send people to easily found information, such as long term climate records (charts) on Wikipedia. I tell them to study the wild peaks and troughs that go back for millions of years, maybe pointing out some of the more interesting quirks (such as the current interglacial period has NOT ended and dropped back into 10,000 years of deadly cold, as the prior several cycles would indicate should be happening.) Then I ask them to draw their own conclusions. If nothing else, they realize that what they thought they knew is pretty incomplete... information.

[Paul R.]

Maybe ABC only gives Stossel their old equipment to work with?

[Paul R.]

BTW, could you supply a few links or info. on those histories of counterinsurgencies? I’m somewhat familiar with the U.S. actions in the Philippines a century ago...