There Are People Who Really Think Like This
by DarkSyde
Wed Apr 30, 2008 at 06:45:12 AM PDT
Stand aside Michael Crichton, you have been upstaged. A whole pod of right-wing sci-fi has beens are chiming in with the most peculiar suggestions for fixing social shortcomings heard this side of the Puppeteer Homeworld. What makes this crew spooky is the Department of Homeland Security is reportedly listening to their advice, and that's not fiction:
Sadly, No -- The group has the ear of Department of Homeland Security Undersecretary Jay Cohen, head of the science and technology directorate, who has said he likes their unconventional thinking. ... Among the group’s approximately 24 members is Larry Niven, the bestselling and award-winning author of such books as "Ringworld". Niven said a good way to help hospitals stem financial losses is to spread rumors in Spanish within the Latino community that emergency rooms are killing patients in order to harvest their organs for transplants.
It isn't the first crazy thing Niven has said, but it may be the most despicable yet: Larry Niven is the great grandson of oil tycoon Edward L. Doheny whose clumsy bribe kicked off a corruption investigation that eventually led to the Teapot Dome scandal. Buoyed by a massive trust fund set up by grandpa Doheney, Niven's never had to worry a day in his life about healthcare or anything else for that matter. I doubt it would knock any sense into him, but right about now I'd say Larry could use an uninsured visit to the ER, after a bone snapping wake up call administered by a pissed off Pak Protector suffering from Tree-of-Life withdrawal and a litter of starving Kzinti kits chewing on his raw, salted ass. Anything left over can go to the alleged organ banks. After all, as Niven was fond of writing, they're always empty.
