The authoritarian left is at it again: this time against John Stossel, a reporter who has the gall to report that our environment is far cleaner and healthier today than thirty years ago. For an ABC News show on phony environmentalism, Stossel interviewed some children to learn their views about the environment. Of course, they all reiterated the view dinned into them by most sources – that the earth is sicker than ever. Enviro-lefties subsequently got hold of the kids’ parents, smeared Stossel, and persuaded the parents to yank permission. Sure, as Stossel acknowledges, the parents have every right to keep their kids from appearing on a TV show. But the context stinks. And we all know the Environmental Working Group’s real agenda: to end any dissent on environmental matters, and stifle free speech by any means possible. The left did it to Dr Laura. They will try to do it to anyone who dares take their often-silly ideas on. Kudos for ABC News for standing by Stossel. And kudos for Stossel for fighting back.
PETARD HOIST WATCH: Yesterday’s New York Times had a telling story about some bus shelter ads for HIV testing in New York. One poster showed two men together with the slogan: “I’m not gay, but I sometimes have sex with other guys,” and provided a number for a health-line. This is exactly the kind of campaign needed to target men who have sex with other men, especially Hispanic or black men, but who do not identify as “gay.” Alas, some people objected to the sexual dimension of the ads, and the ads have now been pulled. The piece quoted no gay activists complaining – but then how can they any more? Who, after all, campaigned to remove other HIV ads in San Francisco and elsewhere, because they found the content – that people with HIV can be healthy, sexy, positive people – offensive? All of this helps show how gay attacks on freedom of expression will backfire sooner rather than later. No group needs the First Amendment more than gays. When gays attack it for p.c. reasons, they will only remove the surest defense they have against a sometimes oppressive majority.
The Dish 