Where Is the Imus-Like Outrage Over Lou Dobbs & His Bullshit?

Say what you will about Don Imus and the comments that got him fired, he was (a) an entertainer, nee comedian who was (b) stating an opinion - an obviously uninformed on, to boot. That pales in comparison to the wholesale propagation of false statistics of CNN's Lou Dobbs. Dobbs is a crusader on the illegal immigration issue, jockeying with O'Reilly for a position at the front of the nativist ranks assembling to beat back the "invasion" from the south. Apparently, as Dave Neiwert documents over at Orcinus, his zeal is getting the better of his good sense when it comes to stats and sources.

Long story short (Neiwert has the links and videos) - Dobbs ranted about how an influx of illegal aliens was responsible for a dramatic rise in leprosy cases in the United States - 7000 new cases in just over a few years. Problem is that increase never took place - the total number of diagnosed leprosy cases in the United States over the past three decades is 7029, with the highest one year number of 361 in 1985. Lest this be some kind of mistake on Dobbs's part, the 7000 figure he cited actually comes from a disgraced attorney who, in Dr. Laura fashion, called herself "Dr." and pontificated on public health issues in spite of only possessing a Ph.D. in English and comparative literature. Oh, and she's a raving racist loon, too! But Dobbs won't back down because, well, it would hurt his cause. Why should the facts get in the way of a good nativist rant?