David Sirota: John Stossel is a pathological liar

[Wetzelbill]

John Stossel is a pathological liar

Webster's Medical Dictionary defines a "pathological liar" as "an individual who habitually tells lies so exaggerated or bizarre that they are suggestive of mental disorder." Next to this definition should be this picture - a photo of a self-important, smarmy looking, all-too-coiffed ABC News "reporter" named John Stossel.
You may have noticed that Stossel is out hawking a book called "Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity" purporting to debunk those things. Instead, what we see is that Stossel is spewing them - and using his media platform as a megaphone of dishonesty. Stossel, in many ways, is exactly why I wrote my new book Hostile Takeover - to strip bare the opportunists, shills and half-wits who dominate our political debate and show them for what they really are: pathological liars.

Here's what I mean. According to the right-wing, Scaife-owned Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Stossel appeared on ABC's "The View" to talk about his book's assertion that the minimum wage supposedly hurts low-income workers. The host was surprised that someone could make such a ludicrous claim. "Why does raising the minimum wage -- this one I don't get -- actually hurt poor people?," she asked Stossel. "I don't understand that one at all."

Mind you, Stossel is making this claim at precisely the same time President Bush is claiming we need a guest worker program because there are actually too many entry-level, low-wage jobs that aren't being filled. But beyond that, the actual data exposes Stossel's pathological lying. As I note in my book's section on this very lie about minimum wages supposedly hurting the job market:



http://www.workingforchange.com/blog/index.cfm?mode=entry&entry=8821C5B9-F5E0-57BC-CF2C71D3CF168EC5

[DainBramaged]

1. Gee, we knew that 20 years ago when he faked his

Shame on You shit on the local CBS station in NY.

[Warpy]

2. Stossel just mindlessly repeats the kind of talking points

of the upper classes that got Stupid the contempt of his professors at Harvard's B-school: the poor are poor because they're lazy, supporting a wage floor costs jobs, a rising tide lifts all boats but you gotta start with the yachts, blah blah blah.

There is nothing you can do about blandly witless gas bags like Stossel except laugh at them and ridicule anyone who takes his crap seriously.

Ridicule goes a long way. Use it well and wisely.

[Wetzelbill]

7. I must admit

ridicule is a fun thing. :)

[BrklynLiberal]

3. Al Franken has documented that in detail on his radio show.

[BlueJazz]

4. You know..I first saw John 12 years ago and I thought to myself: "Where...

...in the hell does this idiot get his infomation".
I knew he was a Jerk then and I see he hasn't changed.

[987654321]

5. I can't stand that guy.

My daughter had a government teacher who forced his class to watch Stossel's videos. She used to come home and talk about what she learned and I had to spend hours deprogramming her from his bullshit. One time I remember her coming home to tell me that she learned that recycling actually increased damage to our environment.

Yes, he is a pathological liar. So many people in the media are now-a-days. It's pathetic. There once was a time when people who had different political views could actually discuss these differences, have respectful debates and such. You can't do that with pathological liars. It's sad and a disservice to our democracy.

[Wetzelbill]

6. oh wow

that is a sad, sad tale. That teacher must not have been the swiftest person around. :)

Yeah, you know, I joke about Republicans and so on, but I know lots of people who are naturally conservative, truly good people. Then I have met some serious whackjobs who are absolutely oblivious to the idea of a respectful and informed debate. :)

[wizdum]

25. Very eloquent post. Good points. Thanks.

[MindPilot]

8. Call him a lot of things, but I don't think he's a liar.

I think he believes what he says. He is the quintessential by-the-book libertarian: I got mine, fuck you, now leave me alone.

[NJCher]

13. oh no, he knows

This happened a few years ago but at a speech he made he said that he decided to go for the $$$. He talked about how much more money he made espousing corporate talking points and if I remember correctly, he even got somewhat specific about how much more he made.




Cher

[MindPilot]

16. You're right! I'd completely forgotten about that.

So much for my policy of giving people the benefit of the doubt.

Thanks for the correction. :hi:

[samsingh]

9. stossel needs to give us a break

and go away.

he's an ignorant stupid idiot.

[Wetzelbill]

10. yeah but he is the Scourge of the Liberal Media!

we all bow down to his greatness! Liberals fear Stossell's wrath!:eyes:

[aquart]

12. Tee hee.

[wizdum]

26. Oh the irony. The lies come full circle with that right wing claim.

It's almost laughable really. The corporate media is so controlled and manipulative in its mixed messages to the sheeple. They are masters of deceit.

[Wetzelbill]

28. oh you are right on

I saw a preview of Scarborough last night when I was watching Olbermann's show. He had Stossel on and Stossel was being billed as "One of America's greatest Mythbusters." How effing absurd is that? :)

[Vinnie From Indy]

11. Stossel IS a pathological liar through and through!

Not only is he a liar, he is dumb as a box of rocks. Immediately after Katrina, Stossel was on TV telling everyone that price gouging WAS GOOD! He made a ridiculous claim that folks selling regular sized bottled water were perfectly justified trying to get as much money as possible for their water during this emergency. In short, Stossel was proposing that store owners should charge $20. per 16oz of bottled water because that would keep people from hoarding water. If it was so expensive, people would only buy what they needed. I know for a fact that if an asshole like Stossel tried to extort money from me for water while a member of my family was dying of thirst, I would simply take the water. If Stossel tried to stop me at that point he had better be well armed because I would do whatever I had to get water for my family. I know that I am not alone in that sentiment. He is perhaps one of America's highest paid morons.

[wizdum]

27. Stop insulting rocks, would you please?

:7

[yurbud]

14. Stossel has carved out a special niche between craven MSM and toady

right wing media.

He follows the faxed talking points as religiously as the talk radio people, but because he doesn't say "Thank you, Lord Jesus for your son George W," people don't realize he's a shill.

[Wetzelbill]

15. Blasphemy!

Dubya is God's son not Jesus's! For shame! :)

[yurbud]

18. So Bush can give Jesus noogies?

[katty]

17. Stossel the 'plant' - so who is he servicing on the side?

[hadrons]

19. if you live in NY, Stossel will be B&N on 6/14 (Lincoln Triangle)

if you want to question him ... the thing that bad is that Greg Palst will be at the B&N at Chelsea at the same time

[htuttle]

20. "He's a lying sack of crap. He's a lying sack of crap."

"He's a lying, scheming, stinking, nasty, sack of liquid crap. (plink, plink!)"

[Pierzin]

21. yeah!!!!!

htuttle!!!! I can't remember what i was watching a couple of weeks ago, but I thought, OMG, this is not new!!!

[wizdum]

22. Great post! Top notch writing in that piece. Love it..

Phenomenal piece. Congratulations to Sirota for high achievement in journalism with this little ditty. John Stossel is a major league goof ball. I take everything he says with a grain of salt. And from the looks of his picture on your blog, Sirota leaves Stossel in the dust in the looks department too. Boo-yah!

[depakid]

23. Poster child for media divestment & re-regulation

Any broadcaster who repeatedly airs the likes of John Stossel needs to heavily fined- and then have their licenses pulled- or non-renewed.

Simple as that.

[October]

24. Hate the whiny weasel...n/t (He went to Princeton, right?)

[dorkulon]

29. More good Stossel-bashing in the comments

Longer, more brutal.

http://buffalobeast.com/94/stossel.htm

[Wetzelbill]

30. oh that is good

thanks for posting it.

[Montauk6]

31. That whack upside the head by "Dr. D" David Schultz must've really

shaken up Stossel's grey matter.

But his idea on minimum wage is old hat; when I was "in the life," I bought hook-whine-and-stinker the idea that having ANY minimum wage kills all small business owners and discourages the apprentice system. Supposedly, you let the owner hire someone for slave-level wages, the owner is freed up to impart his vast knowledge onto the employee who will in turn take that knowledge, start his/her own business and become a zillionaire just like Bill Gates, Donald Trump and Paris Hilton.

Sometimes I really get depressed when I look back on the crap I sucked in as truth...