I turned on CBS News last night and was treated to the idiot on the right saying this:
I'm saddened and shaken by the shooting at an Amish school today, and last week’s school murders.
When my son Dan was murdered on the sidewalk at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, I hoped that would be the last school shooting. Since that day, I’ve tried to answer the question, "Why did this happen?"
This country is in a moral free-fall. For over two generations, the public school system has taught in a moral vacuum, expelling God from the school and from the government, replacing him with evolution, where the strong kill the weak, without moral consequences and life has no inherent value.
We teach there are no absolutes, no right or wrong. And I assure you the murder of innocent children is always wrong, including by abortion. Abortion has diminished the value of children.
This was followed by some supportive words from Katie Couric. I remind you this was all on primetime network news. Turns out this is CBS’ “free speech” segment where they are apparently going to allow any random moron with a viewpoint a soapbox.
I won’t go into the ways Rohrbough’s comments are wrong. OK, I’ll list a couple. Evolution doesn’t necessarily say the strong kill the weak – it often favors cooperation in groups, especially groups of primates. More to the point, Rohrbough gives not one shred of evidence that any of these killings were due to teaching evolution, or “expelling God from the school”. In fact, the killer in the Amish school reportedly:
wrote in suicide notes that he was mad at God for how his baby, Elise, died…
Sounds like he had too much God, not too little.
Still, I can sympathize with a guy whose son had been killed in a similar incident. I can’t sympathize with the network morons who decided it would be a good idea to have a daily soapbox section on a national news network. Of course Rohrbough should be allowed free speech to express his ideas, no matter how dumb. But that means he can write a blog, write letters to the paper, stand on the street corner with a bullhorn if he so chooses; it doesn’t mean he gets a section on a national news network where his nonsense is presented as fact, with no one calling him on it. The news networks are already “presenting both sides” of issues where one side is clearly wrong, on the basis of “fairness”. In this section they’ve abrogated all pretence of journalism. And I would say this no matter what the views being expressed. CBS should cancel this segment if they want to retain any credibility.
I was taken aback, too. I don't want dogma with my news. The "Free Speech" segment has become tiresome. It reminds me of the old OpEd segment on a local channel that launched the political career of Jesse Helms.
Posted by: vampire406 | October 03, 2006 at 04:38 PM
This type of thing is exactly why, having moved here from the UK in February 2006, I still try to get my news from the BBC either via the internet or PBS when they broadcast the BBC World News.
The US news media is a massive waste of space. What happened to the likes of Morrow, Cronkite, Woodward and Bernstein?
Posted by: Jimmy_Blue | October 03, 2006 at 04:51 PM
Rant'd!
Side bonus rant'd!
Posted by: BronzeDog | October 03, 2006 at 05:39 PM
It gets worse, unfortunately. When Bill Mahr was going to do the free speech segment CBS presented him with an approved list of topics, but he wanted to do a piece that was anti-religion. CBS said no and Mahr pulled out. So Bill Mahr's free anti-religious speech is unacceptable to CBS but this poor man's dubious claims based on religious punditry is acceptable? Not only was last nights segment logically and factually wrong, there is no hope, apparently it will be balanced out eventually.
Posted by: B8ovin | October 03, 2006 at 08:41 PM
Pardon my language kids but you know what really pisses me off aobut this take on why these school shootings happen (well one of the things anyway...there are so many to choose from)? Many of these kids were the victims of bullies and finally got fed up in the worst way possible. Can't say that I don't understand why kids with that specific issue snapped like this (having gone through it myself at one point). SO for every parent and teacher saying, "Oh it's so horrible," I want to know where they were when their precious "innocent children" were tormenting other kids for being different (poor, dressed funny, whatever). Because I can tell you when I went threw it that 1) it was god fearing christian kids doing to tormenting and 2) not a teacher to be found who would doa thing to stop it. This whole topic seriously raises my effing blood pressure.
Posted by: mouse | October 04, 2006 at 03:16 AM
I do not sympathize with this man in the slightest. I know of no words that are suitable to describe the disgust I feel at the sight of a man who would use the murder of his son to promote his political views.
Posted by: valhar2000 | October 04, 2006 at 04:15 AM
God is omniscient and all-powerful. Being omniscient and all-powerful, he has the power to stop violence like that which took Rohrbough's child. Because God let Rohrbough's child die, we can assume Rohrbough, or his child, lacked favor in God's eyes.
Posted by: Ompus | October 04, 2006 at 11:27 AM
Having "free speech" segments is a good idea, I think, but requires better execution. After all, it is one-way nature of television that is responsible for the inhibition of this nation's "marketplace of ideas". I think it is worth experimenting with and exploring further.
Posted by: L6 | October 04, 2006 at 12:01 PM
B8ovin:
It is possible that Maher was wrong and that he was not prevented from talking about religion, according to this and this.
Posted by: Skeptico | October 04, 2006 at 05:55 PM
"For over two generations, the public school system has taught in a moral vacuum"
The Amish killer was a homeschooled Christian.
Link
Posted by: has | October 05, 2006 at 02:30 AM
Skeptico, this is Stuart from Daily Irreverence. I just wanted to say that your latest comment nearly had me in tears, and that I will definitely be reading your blog now. I have no idea how you muster the patience to deal with people like him, I simply cannot do it.
Posted by: Stuart Coleman | October 05, 2006 at 08:58 PM
Oh you mean Mr. Fantastic? It comes from years of debating on the JREF forums. I find it amusing actually. And once they resort to name calling you’ve basically won.
I’m glad you think I’m patient. Some of my opponents on this blog have been less complimentary at times. ;-)
Posted by: Skeptico | October 05, 2006 at 09:20 PM
I just love the gimmick you use of taking their words and substituting one noun for another, and how they never seems to realize what you did...
Posted by: valhar2000 | October 06, 2006 at 07:20 AM
Hey Skeptico,
Those quotes from Bill Maher on the first site you posted were taken out of context. Maher didn't apologize in the way they were suggesting. (not suprising consider the bias of the site) I saw his entire response, and he definitely wasnt changing his claim. He was actually challenging CBS.
The video of it is in the september archives of www.onegoodmove.org.
As for the demented man on the stupid box.... that is the least 'free' speech i've heard in quite awhile. It seems quite expensive, in fact.
Posted by: gregory | October 06, 2006 at 07:28 PM