reason.com/archives/2014/06/28/in-defense-of-dr-oz
..."I don’t get why you need to say this stuff because you know it’s not true," said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), the committee chair, in pointed remarks directed at Oz. "Why, when you have this amazing megaphone, and this amazing ability to communicate, why would you cheapen your show by saying things like that?"
Personally, I don't get why McCaskill uses her own amazing megaphone to waste taxpayer money on farm subsidies, dairy supports, and corn ethanol. But then again, I don't wield the power of the U.S. Senate and thus don't have the luxury of demanding that she explain these indefensible stances she's taken."...
..."Gorski, one of Oz's most persistent and thoughtful critics, referred to Oz earlier this year as "America's quack."
“He can’t simply dispense with facts he doesn’t find convenient," Gorski told the New Yorker, in the aforementioned profile of Oz. “Oz has a huge bully pulpit, with the entire Oprah empire behind him."
Actually, Oz can dispense with the facts if he chooses. His bully pulpit and Oprah backing have nothing to do with his right to speak his mind.
It might make Gorski's life less fulfilling that he feels compelled to have to publish post after post refuting Oz's latest claims. But that's how the First Amendment works—rightly defending both Oz and Gorski equally.
Congress ripped Dr. Oz a new one last week. It's not hard to imagine that the Food Babe, Gwyneth Paltrow, and the publishers of 9 out of 10 diet books can't be far behind. What's more, if objective truth is the new standard for permissible speech here in Washington, D.C, then we can at least bask in knowing we're not long for Congress itself."
