Enormous Lies from Steven Milloy and Fox News

[Buzz Clik]

Steven Milloy, of junkscience.com fame, has recently posted an article on Fox News in which he is comparing the records of Bush and Kerry on environmental issues. In the third paragraph of his article, he stated this:

"When Bush proposed more stringent regulations for arsenic in drinking water (search) — something the two-term Clinton administration never got around to doing — the environmental community ran a television ad campaign implying that the president was actually going to permit more arsenic in drinking water."
Fox News

I must confess that I have never seen such an amazingly blatant misrepresentation of fact in a major news outlet. As I am sure you all know, Clinton signed the order for the arsenic standards (reducing the drinking water limit from 50 to 10 ppb) and Christie Whitman revoked them days before they were due to be enacted. Bush restored them when the level of criticism against him became unbearable.

Milloy's Junk Science is very popular among those on the right because of his relentless and uncompromising position that global warming is a hoax being carried forward by scientists whose funding depends upon ecological panic.

With this article, Milloy has crossed the line from simple mouthpiece for big business to just another online writer with no regard for the truth.

[Viking12]

1. He crossed that line a long time ago

Milloy has crossed the line from simple mouthpiece for big business to just another online writer with no regard for the truth.

Why waste your time reading that crap??

[Buzz Clik]

3. I would never seek Milloy's input on any issue.

I never go directly to Fox News or junkscience.com for any reason. Milloy's article was waved in front of me as evidence that Bush is the real environmentalist; I was truly amazed at Milloy's willingness to spin such obvious untruths.

Considering Cato's basically decent reputation, I wonder why they allow him to be associated with them.

[LibLabUK]

5. Cato

"Considering Cato's basically decent reputation, I wonder why they allow him to be associated with them."

You're kidding right?

Cato is an organisation set up purely to produce "research" favouring big business. THAT's why they employ Milloy.

CATO is a right-wing, corporate think tank that espouses the most vile Libertarian propaganda.

Read some of their position papers sometime, and you'll see just how ugly that group is.

Look here: http://world.std.com/~mhuben/cato.html and here: http://www.skepdic.com/refuge/junkscience.html

[BigDaddyCaine]

6. Cato's basically decent reputation

Thats the first time ive heard someone say that. :-)

[Buzz Clik]

7. Cato ...

My point was not that Cato speaks to me and my political outlook. However, I have never seen such a blatant lie from their organization. They have their agendas, but this was unbelievable.

By the way, I sent an email directly to Milloy pointing out the multiple inaccuracies and suggesting that he had to know he was not telling the truth. Mr. Spineless has yet to respond -- I'm not holding my breath.

[acmavm]

2. Arsenic in the drinking water, warnings not to eat fish and seafood.

Destroying the forests so the lumber companies can make more money (which screws up the quality of the air we breath). You name anything that effects the quality of life environmentally, and you'll find that the bush* administration has allowed big business evade the duty to protect the environment we live in in order to make a profit.

This is just another form of murder. Not outright maybe, but don't think that present and future generations will not develop horrible and debilitating illnesses because of the pandering to corporate interests of this administration. Young children and pregnant women are already being told to avoid tuna because of the horrible pollutants that they are being contaminated with. How is this justifiable?

[NNadir]

4. Question: Why would you be watching Fox News for science reporting?

Wouldn't that be something like reading the Journal of the American Chemical Society to understand something about the Bible?

[Buzz Clik]

8. Read Fox? um... no

I don't read Fox at all.

A colleague found the article and asked me to read it and respond to it.