Famed Aussie anti-nuke activist and physician Dr. Helen Caldicott appeared on last evening’s “Politically Incorrect,” prattling on about the “5000 innocent people” killed by US bombing missions in Afghanistan (“paging Dr. Rall, Dr. Ted Rall“) and about the Chicago “leukemia epidemic” that will result from a catastrophic waste spill (a foregone statistical conclusion, Dr. Caldicott informed us, given the percentage of roadway accidents and the number of trips we’ll need to make) should we attempt to transport spent nuclear materials to the proposed Yucca Mountain containment site.
Because evidently scientists haven’t thought through the safety issues thoroughly, and have proposed storing the toxic goop in porcelain tea cups — which, of course, will then be balanced on the ends of sticks by circus clowns (who’ll spin them continuously to keep them aloft).
To his credit, Bill Maher was having none of this, and tore Dr. Caldicott a brand new bomb shelter for her troubles. Hell, even David Crosby inched away from her once she began arguing that violence never solved anything, and that when you go to war, what you’re really doing is (wait for it)…. killing people.
“Killing people,” Maher reminded her, “is sometimes a good thing.”
The doctor remained unpersuaded. “No,” she said, seizing the moral highground (where she’d left a picnic basket filled with sweets for the meadow fairies and the unicorns), “killing is almost always wrong.”
Twit.
So. Did I mention that Dr. Caldicott is an Aussie?
That’s right. Just like funny boy Tim Blair…
[update: Richard Bennett saw the show, too. And he applauded Bill Maher. ‘Nuff said.]
I think this explains why a friend of mine recently lectured me on the need for peace, not war, and why didn’t I understand that people hate us because the US treats the rest of the world like crap. He had just returned from a Strine vacation, and must have met with the Good Doctor.
Wait, wait, wait. “Killing people is <b>almost</b> always wrong.” Is that what she said?
Would the gracious and learned Dr. Caldicott please give us an example or two of exactly when killing is not wrong?
And, unless her standards are somehow given by God or science, could she explain why her standards are somehow superior to those of, say, a democratically elected government?
Dean–
She was forced to concede that killing Hitler might have saved some Jews, and so killing him might have been a good thing.
Cheap shot at Tim Blair! What if he saddled you with Susan Sontag. Play fair. Priceless paragraph about the picnic though.
Now you’ve done it, Melissa. You’ve gotten me aroused with all your talk of Sontag and saddles…
And I was only kidding Mr. Blair. He’s to Ms. Caldicott what the later Elvis Presley was to a sprout sandwich.