This was a rare treat. Seeing a self-described liberal hitting the Washington Post for liberal bias. In this case the writer, one Philip Evans of Kensington, Md., sees the bias stemming from a case of lazy reporting:
Regarding the May 23 Metro article "RachelCarson Bill From Cardin on Hold":I'm a knee-jerk liberal, but sometimes I find myself sympathetic to conservatives who see bias in The Post.
Does The Post lack the reportorial resources to confirm whether Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) is a physician? The story reported Coburn's opposition to a resolution to honor environmentalist Carson on the 100th anniversary of her birth, and his pithy rationale, "junk science."
The next paragraph began: "Coburn, whose Web site says he is a doctor specializing in family medicine, obstetrics and allergies . . . ." The Web site attribution of such an easily confirmed fact seems intended to cast doubt on the senator's medical credentials. Would you report, "Sen. Barack Obama's Web site says he attended Harvard Law School"?
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It's nice to see that princ
June 10, 2007 - 04:23 ET by sarcasmoIt's nice to see that principled people with other philosophies exist. I've certainly spoken quite a bit about the palpable bias against my own ideas, both in places like the Post and here on NB, and it's often to no-response (especially when you make a good case...) so it's also nice to see that the Post's letters editor had the character to let these words see the light.
JMR
If people really care about g
June 10, 2007 - 11:59 ET by mattmIf people really care about getting at the truth of an issue and discovering the best solution, then any debate from multiple points of view will be constructive.
The people described as "Liberals" are not truly liberal. They are socialists (basically) who have no intention of doing what's best for people if it means a market-based or a morality/faith-based solution. (Imagine if we tried Medical Savings Accounts and SS reform and it actually worked! But, nooooo! We can't have that...)
This is why the Left usually resorts to some form of debate suppression, which includes everything from name calling to one-sided news reporting.
It figures that Liberals (not
June 10, 2007 - 07:25 ET by liberal_bug_zapperIt figures that Liberals (not the guy in question) would want to honor a person who is single handedly responsible for more death and suffering than Joseph Stalin and Adolph Hitler combined.
The death count from Malaria alone has been roughly 120,000,000, Dengue Fever (which by the way is excruciatingly painful), nearly a million people have died.
Rachel Carson was a plague on humanity and should be vilified as a criminal for having DDT banned.
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"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both." ~ Dwight David Eisenhower
I didn't know any of this.Was
June 10, 2007 - 10:19 ET by dahliatraversI didn't know any of this.
Was DDT mis-used originally? What's the deal with the birds' eggshells and the other side effects?
Yes. At least in Florida, w
June 10, 2007 - 10:31 ET by sarcasmoYes. At least in Florida, where the government (not big business) was giving it out FOR FREE at Miami International Airport and probably other places, people used too much of it. Look, it got rid of mosquitos, and people LIKE too much of a good thing. You've probably never been really attacked by mosquitos like they had back then, but it was miserable, I can assure you, so we should try to understand peoples' reaction to this miracle-chemical. DDT's downside is that it tends to mimic sex specific hormones. In tiny quantities, it tends to thicken birds eggshells, but in large quantities -- especially on apex predators like the bald eagle, a bird people are rightly emotional about, but a bird still subject to science and physics -- DDT tended to thin eggshells. This had tragic results at the time in areas where there was overuse, but over time eagle populations have come back well. Still, as the eagles' fellow apex-predators, humans who eat fish were and are rightly concerned about such chemicals. Right now, what's most-scary to me as a guy is that gators around central Florida are getting smaller penises. Because DDT hasn't been used for years, something else is obviously to blame, but it's something in my environment, and frankly I'm "cross my legs scared" of it, whatever it is...
JMR
Sarc,That's pretty amazing
June 10, 2007 - 10:44 ET by BlondeSarc,
That's pretty amazing about the alligators, the article stated that penis size is a marker in this type of research, something I didn't know. Seems it's localized to Lake Apopka, though. I thought it interesting about the DES....wasn't that the same thing that caused the lobster armed children in the early sixties? IIRC, Obgyn's were prescribing that for nausea, or somesuch.
I remember the DDT spraying, and you are correct, mosquitos were a huge problem in South Florida at the time.
Thanks for the link.
Blonde, i think the birth def
June 10, 2007 - 10:48 ET byBlonde, i think the birth defects were caused by thalidamide?(sp)
Supreme Court, National Security, Borders, Fiscal Restraint, my litmus test for President.
Bruce,You are correct. But
June 10, 2007 - 10:59 ET by BlondeBruce,
You are correct. But for some reason the DES has set off bells clanging in my brain.
Did you read Sarc's link? Pretty interesting...particularly if one is a Gator...gotta worry about our good buddies in the swamp.
Not sure about why the bells
June 10, 2007 - 11:10 ET byNot sure about why the bells try this place
Supreme Court, National Security, Borders, Fiscal Restraint, my litmus test for President.
As an aside, thalidomide is s
June 10, 2007 - 22:55 ET by MikeBAs an aside, thalidomide is still used today in the treatment of multiple myeloma. And, there are all sorts of warnings on the information sheet about unprotected sex while using the med.
"A communist is someone who reads Marx. An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx." Ronald Reagan
What's weird to me is that
June 10, 2007 - 10:51 ET by sarcasmoWhat's weird to me is that I've told this story numerous times, I know it's true, but I wonder how I can find whatever exact DDT-subsidy Florida House bill from the late '40s could PROVE it's true, because I'm sure it was some politician trying to buy votes and Dad's going to die someday, sadly... And for non Floridians, imagine a screen (no air conditioning back then, so you bake or have an open window, sorry!) coated with 1/2 inch of seething mosquitos, to the point that it's dark in the morning with them, all of them trying to get to YOU. That's what it was like, so you better believe that DDT bought a few votes if what I suspect is true...
JMR
Sarc,An odd fact I picked up.
June 10, 2007 - 11:13 ET by BlondeSarc,
An odd fact I picked up...Floridians used to paint their screens with motor oil to keep the no-see-ums out. I'd imagine the no-see-ums had as much to do with the DDT-subsidy to which you refer as the mosquitos did. (For those of you who are unfamiliar with no-see-ums....the are what they sound like, tiny, tiny insects...smaller than a flea, with a wicked bite / stinging effect....NASTY).
I read about it here...Charlotte's Story...a book written by a Miami woman who lived with her husband on Elliott Key (raising limes & catching lobsters) in 1934 - 35 (she survived the big hurricane that killed so many of Flagler's railroad workers). It's a fabulous account of life in South Florida at the time, a book that you hate to see end. I can't tell you how many copies I've bought (check out the reviews on Amazon for further details on the book...they say it all).
I'm speechless about the gato
June 10, 2007 - 12:17 ET by dahliatraversI'm speechless about the gators ...
You don't have to convince me about mosquitoes; they're awful.
Okay, so the stuff can be used but under strict controls. Maybe not for sale commercially but to be administered by each country's government. (Thank you, Sarc, and everyone for the info. Something else I've learned on Newsbusters.)
All unproven.... but sure was
June 10, 2007 - 10:38 ET by liberal_bug_zapperAll unproven.... but sure was touted as the reason. Much like the scare tactics always used by the left. It was this woman’s book: "Silent Spring" that was the spearhead into the scare mongering of hte left.
The consequences of her words, and those out there who took action on those words is written in stone, the headstones of those poor children who suffered and died because of her. Like all liberals, she made claims about DDT that were completely unfounded. She and all the liberal fear mongering scientists doctored up the studies to be more convincing. Her extreme rhetoric generated a culture of fear, resulting in policies that have denied many people access to life-saving chemicals. Most notably, there was a global ban on the pesticide DDT for malaria control because Carson created unfounded fears about the chemical.
The liberals in congress and the wussy Republicans who won't stand up to them have this idiotic bill honoring a woman who sanctioned the death of millions based on trumped up and sexed up lies.
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"We can only reason from what is; we can reason on actualities, but not on possibilities." ~ Thomas Paine
The point is, DDT seems onl
June 10, 2007 - 10:46 ET by sarcasmoThe point is, DDT seems only to have bad side effects with overuse, and the thing which promoted overuse was big government according to my Dad (see above) who saw it with his own eyes, and has since seen them try to employ even-more big government as a "solution" to the problem big government itself caused by distorting capitalistic incentives with give-away socialism. I'm sure whatever politician who funded that pile of insecticide got some votes for it, but like modern "earmarking" America was poisoned, literally and figuratively, for the long term once we lost our Constitutional anchor.
JMR
Yep, overuse of anything is b
June 10, 2007 - 10:48 ET by liberal_bug_zapperYep, overuse of anything is bad. Just look at the stupid woman who drank herself to death... by drinking water of all things. Over use of things which are normally good for us can be bad.
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"We can only reason from what is; we can reason on actualities, but not on possibilities." ~ Thomas Paine
And the invisible moral of
June 10, 2007 - 10:52 ET by sarcasmoAnd the invisible moral of the story is simple. "Socialism bad, capitalism good." For the environment, too. Karl Hess Jr. has a lot of good stuff on this subject. Off to play poker and quaff brewskis!!
JMR
Dahlia
June 10, 2007 - 11:46 ET byDahlia
Go to the recent blog posts in the right hand column, just above recent comments, click on the Rachel Carson Debunked one for more info
Supreme Court, National Security, Borders, Fiscal Restraint, my litmus test for President.
Thanks, botg!
June 10, 2007 - 12:19 ET by dahliatraversThanks, botg!
libs
June 10, 2007 - 08:58 ET by iveseenitallLiberals are too SENSITIVE to ever be biased about such a SENSITIVE subject as pollution. Besides, have you ever known a reponsible news organization to write a slanted article? No, neither have I. What's wrong with this guy Evans anyway.? Scheech!
NEVER,NEVER trust a liberal
Many left-wing sites do not
June 10, 2007 - 10:00 ET by daveinbocaMany left-wing sites do not allow a post critical of their musings to be posted---and it is difficult to enroll on some. "Editors" eliminate contrary postings. The intolerance of the International Left is commensurate with the hollow shallowness of their "arguments," which are frequently based on made-up confections like the WMD controversy---which is now portrayed as deliberate lying by US Govt agencies. Saddam removed the offending WMD to Syria, like he removed his Air Force to Iran during the First Gulf War.
The British MI6 still insists that Saddam was trying to buy yellowcake from Niger.
It does not help that we have
June 11, 2007 - 00:33 ET by liberal_bug_zapperIt does not help that we have a wussy President who lets the lie stand. What we need is one who will take the fight to the enemy.... and I mean the raving lunatic Leftists in this country. Until our leaders grow a backbone and take it to them on the airwaves and in the public forum... they win.
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"We can only reason from what is; we can reason on actualities, but not on possibilities." ~ Thomas Paine
Good to notice
June 10, 2007 - 11:49 ET by SportPoliticsIt's catching on. That's a good sign. People are noticing or mentioning what they didn't before.