Thanks to Mediaite for the tip.“You think making it illegal makes that go away?” asked Stossel. Then there was this exchange:
Stossel: You don't have wine cartels in france, you don't have tequlia gangs in Mexico, because it's legal. It is the illegality that causes the need for the heroin addict to maybe sell stuff to children…
O’Reilly: So you want to legalize all the drugs?
Stossel: I want to legalize all the drugs for adults, then you can police the kids…
This is a good clip and I'm glad you put this on the blog as it shows some balance to include Fox news and also someone from the right like John Stossel. Although, I have to say that O'Reilly guy really doesn't give people much time to answer his own questions...
ReplyDeleteIt's great to see Stossel going hard at the drug war. When he posted on Reason to announce his move to Fox, he asked readers to suggest overarching themes he should focus on for his work there. The drug war was easily the most popular response.
ReplyDeleteI remember a 20/20 report Stossel did when I was in middle school about "vice laws" in general -- prostitution, gambling, and drugs being the big three. I still remember that report, which must have first aired 10 years ago or so. There was a great exchange with some government suit, who claimed that the problem with using illegal drugs was that they were used only for intoxication. Stossel turned that right around by saying he enjoys the buzz accompanying a martini now and then, and asking if that made him a bad person. So Stossel was certainly a heavy influence on the development of my opinion regarding drug laws.
As far as this interview goes, he did a good job standing up to the sometimes overbearing O'Reilly. I think alcohol prohibition is a rhetorical flip that's not used enough in debates like this. I would love to see someone try to get O'Reilly on record supporting a ban on alcohol consumption and sale. It's a tactical win-win -- either you expose his hypocrisy when he fails to apply his criteria evenly, or you expose him as a supporter of alcohol prohibition, which is an extreme fringe position.
All politics aside, that O'Reilly man it totally annoying. I can't stand "interview" shows that have guests on but never let them speak! He interrupts John Stossel constantly and even interrupts himself often!
ReplyDeleteI've met people who despise O'Reilley's views, but they act just like him! They work to turn everything into an argument, they're so pure and since you're not breathing venom like them, it must mean you're against them, etc…
Having a rational discussion of ideas, pros and cons, trying to reach intelligent conclusions is so foreign to them. So sad and so frustrating.