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An Extra Helping of Stossel
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Minimize Not Maximize
“We have to recognize that lawsuits are useful sometimes, that we need them sometimes to protect rights just as we need armies and tanks and nuclear weapons. But we ought to also recognize this: they are horribly destructive and we should avoid using them the way we avoid using nuclear weapons.
“They (lawsuits) aren't great things that solve problems. They are trashy, horrible, privacy-invading, money-eating machines that we ought to minimize not maximize.
“Judge Learned Hand said we should avoid them (lawsuits) like sickness and death. Instead we are creating laws that encourage lawsu
its
."
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Lost In A Sea Of Labels
"Because of the fear of lawsuits, you have so many labels you don't read any of them. There are 21 labels on ladders...have you read the label that accompanies birth control pills lately?" asked Stossel pulling out a list of instructions printed front to back on a sheet the size of a fold up map.
"Does this make us safer? Does it save lives? No, because nobody reads it now. The doctors don't even read it. If you did read it, you wouldn't need the pill any more."
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If You Can't Put A Face On It
The Story Doesn't Get Reported
"Some years ago, the FDA announced they were approving a new heart drug. This new beta blocker, they said, will save 14,000 American lives a year. Why did no one at the press conference stand up and say 'excuse me but didn’t that mean last year you killed 14,000 people?' Because it did mean that the year before; and the year before, all through those 10 years. But the press doesn't report on that because we don't know who those 14,000 people might have been."
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Make Way For The Exercise Police
"If it's good to protect us from ourselves why not outlaw ice cream and chocolate cake? That kills people. Maybe we should have exercise police who come to our homes and make us run laps and do push ups. Where do you draw the line between a free people and a government telling us what to do?"
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