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|5.10.06 @ 12:59PM|#
The link was inadvertantly created as a "mailto" link. The actual link is http://www.reason.com/0605/fe.js.the.shtml
Viking Moose|5.10.06 @ 1:01PM|#
pssst. David - the link needs an adjustment
"All of the public officials identified by 7 Action News insist they never hired any hookers�and admittedly we have no proof to the contrary.�"
according to some on this board, shouldn't the Michigan Boys be forced to prove that they didn't engage in such actions?
And a very interesting point:
" Both are likely doomed because the FCC has�correctly�ruled many times that it shouldn�t be involved in second-guessing news judgments. "
the culture wars can continue their battle on the public airways - just wait until conservatives realize what they have at their disposal. They'll soon be in favor of NPR and PBS style media outlets!
Cool posting, David!
cheers,
VM
|5.10.06 @ 1:23PM|#
"according to some on this board, shouldn't the Michigan Boys be forced to prove that they didn't engage in such actions?"
Whah? Care to elaborate on that statement?
Dave W.|5.10.06 @ 1:36PM|#
according to some on this board, shouldn't the Michigan Boys be forced to prove that they didn't engage in such actions?
No, but they should not be allowed to treat evidence of illegal activity as secret and legally privileged either. Sometimes these two concepts (burden of proof and discoverability of evidence) get conflated here at HnR. Especially by the non-lawyers.
Their reporting did not contribute to the scientific debate, but it did disclose some moderately interesting Florida angles, such as grocery stores� refusal to disclose to consumers the use of the chemical.
As a person who has proposed (right here at HnR and more than once) replacing the FDA with expanded responsibilities in the area of consumer information (as a way of making this administrative area more libertarian than it is now), I think there is more than moderate interest in this point about the consumer info. I think Wilson earned his crummy $45,000 on that one.
This is one of those little digs that make me wonder whether Reason is better described as libertarian or, alternatively, as pro-big-business. It is not always the same thing.
alkali|5.10.06 @ 1:59PM|#
Wilson�s beatification as an icon of the left
...
Who is this guy? I was embarrassed enough when I learned that I was supposed to be idolizing Ward Churchill and I had no idea who he was. Is someone leaving me off the lefty mailing list?
Dave W.|5.10.06 @ 2:02PM|#
It should also be understood that Wilson is not a prostitution prosecutor. Rather, he is the one who helps the Michigan audience judge the credibility of the Michigan boys when they make an affirmative plea for a tax break or relief from a costly pension contract. In that context, I don't think you need videos and such.
The videos might help if the Michigan boyz brought a libel suit. That is what usually keeps on-air personalities from lying -- the bracing tort law discipline of a good libel suit. Maybe Suggsy should take up a collection so that the Michigan boyz can afford a lawyer. their claim is airtight from what I can see from Suggs'es article.
|5.10.06 @ 2:03PM|#
Dave, are you actually proposing giving the FDA expanded abilities to decide what grocery stores may or may not do, and claiming that this will make "this administrative area more libertarian" than the present situation?
You've lost me completely -- WTF do you mean?
As for this specific case, my grocer doesn't disclose whether or not fresh cowshit was used to fertilize the fields where my frozen corn was grown. Should the FDA wade into that because some consumers might want to know?
Or should it be left up to the market, maybe, just maybe? A consumer to whom this matters might start asking for, and shopping for cowshit-free corn; the grocer, if he saw a pattern of such requests (or was personally interested) would ask his suppliers to find such, and would doubtless label the product on the shelves accordingly.
A smart consumer might even make the assumption that unlabeled corn was not, in fact cowshit-free, and could make her purchasing decisions accordingly.
Voila - a free market at work.
Dave W.|5.10.06 @ 2:13PM|#
The proposal is:
- no FDA
- more labelling responsibility (backed by tort liability for inaccurate labelling) for makers of products that can injure or kill.
At least in the drug area, I have a fairly specific idea of what this labelling would include. It is almost certainly *not* what you might be guessing in your head now. I can find a link to one of the previous thread(s) if you are interested in more details of my proposal.
I would also second alkali's point about Wilson. I was aware of the Corporation, skimmed the book, was unimpressed and forgot the author's name the second I put the book down. Quite a hit piece here given the modest target.
|5.10.06 @ 2:28PM|#
Very interesting.... Grad students I know assign the film "The Corporation" to the undergrad classes they teach. And by "assign," I mean, put the DVD in the player when class starts so they don't have to write a lecture for that week. Or two weeks... how long is that movie?