Stossel: parents were brainwashed

ABC News commentator John Stossel said Wednesday that he is not happy that network higher-ups ordered that interviews he conducted with children for a Friday-night special be deleted. Nevertheless, appearing on Fox News Channel’s The O’Reilly Factor, Stossel remarked. “I see their point … If parents don’t want their kids on, who are we to force them?” He accused the parents of being “brainwashed” by “the totalitarian left.” But Ken Cook, president of the Washington-based Environmental Working Group, which initially criticized the special and contacted the parents, called Stossel’s words “preposterous.” He added: “He’s a bully and he’s finally been challenged.” ABC spokesman Jeffrey Schneider said Wednesday that the five-minute segment featuring the children would be replaced by a “discussion” of the parents’ complaints. But Thursday’s Los Angeles Times said that one parent fired off a letter to ABC Wednesday saying that he did not want Stossel even to paraphrase his child’s remarks.