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Sheila Jackson-Lee on 20/20 last Friday

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20/20 last Friday featured a John Stossel report that was quite good. Of course it wasn't perfect, but it did bring up lots of good points. This section particularly pushed my buttons, particularly starting at about 7:15...

Stossel gives them the facts and they just refuse to acknowledge them. Jackson-Lee at least answers his question honestly. Is it just me, or does that smile remind you of the Grinch that Stole Christmas when he got his evil idea??

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Stossel does these types of specials at least once per year and on regular episodes of 20/20, he often has a shorter segment called Gimme a Break! You can youtube some of this other shows. He did a pretty good one on health care last year, I think it was. I am not sure how he gets away with it at ABC.

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I often wonder why Stossel's documentaries don't have more impact. He's on network TV, and he aims at a general audience. Yet, one doesn't find people talking about the various boondoggles he exposes. Not sure why.

Edited by softwareNerd
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I think Stossel does a great job of concretizing the problems and the inane stupidity of it. I'm sure it resonates with people.

No solutions tho. Other than govt get out. How does the voter do this?

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He has points he could improve on I won't dwell on but his specials are mostly good and worth watching. Mostly for the real people they have on bring interesting points into it. My economics teacher had us watch his special on the free market in high school. It was the first time I had been made aware that Taiwan was one of the most free countries, and had pulled itself out of poverty in a matter of a few decades.

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I used to watch him all the time back when I was a liberal (and he was too). Then he made the big switchover, and I eventually did, and he's better than ever.

I remember Stossel back to the mid 80s. Back then he used to do mostly "consumer" reports on business practices, services and products. I used to think he was uncommonly rational and even handed. He kept on being rational and impartial as he moved on to other subjects.

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Yet, one doesn't find people talking about the various boondoggles he exposes. Not sure why.

No solutions tho. Other than govt get out. How does the voter do this?

I think Kendall answered your question, sNerd. Many Americans watch and like the show, but since no alternative solutions are provided, no one gets excited about it or knows quite what to do with it. They don't even understand how education could possibly work without big government, much less roads, defense, etc. "That's not practical."

I just thought of a related question...I can't help but feel that the Republicans are the lesser of the evils, at this time, when I hear Democrats, such as Sheila Jackson-Lee, say things like, "you don't want to push us" when asked why the government shouldn't subsidize everything. There are more Republicans out there against subsidies, higher taxes, bigger govt, etc., than Democrats, and since most of them are of the mixed religion sort, are they really not easier to reason with and live with? I just can't help but feel that my life, at least in the short term, will be better with Republicans trying to ruin it rather than Democrats trying to ruin it. :)

Edited by K-Mac
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I think Kendall answered your question, sNerd.
Yes, I agree, maybe its time to tell Stossel so. I posted the following to his ABC-run forum:
Stossel shows are always revealing. The thing that really surprises me is this: with such a wide audience, and with such excellent presentation of the various problems and boondoggles of our system, why don't more people scream for action after seeing these documentaries?

Discussing this with some friends, we concluded that -- while excellent -- Stossel's shows focus mostly on the boondoggles and not enough on the correct alternatives. Perhaps this leaves people angry, but unsure whether things can be any different.

It would nice to have a show that answers: what next? After seeing a show, a viewer can always shoot off an angry letter to his representative, complaining about the system; but that is not enough. Protesting negatives is not enough. Most boondoggles are pretending to solve some problem; viewers need to know what alternative solution to suggest.

The shows a great. Thanks for showing us what's broken. Now, some perspective on how to fix it would be helpful.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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