SACRED TEXTS

John Stossel, in a Daily Beast interview, discussing his new libertarian-leaning show on the Fox Business Channel, which starts this week:

Tell me a little bit about what the show is going to be.

It will be one subject. The first subject will be maybe Atlas Shrugged or global warming -- Atlas Shrugged because I think 50 years ago, Ayn Rand predicted today. It sort of sums up what I'm going to be reporting about.

Ayn Rand predicted what?

Big government, nice-sounding legislation like "The Preservation of Livelihood Law," which mandated that Hank Rearden’s production must not be bigger than any other steel mill, to make it a level playing field. It's silly.

Yeah, he's right, dammit -- that sounds exactly Obama's proposal to ... um ... well, I can't think of any specific Obama proposal it sounds like. But it sure sounds like something he'd probably like to propose -- doesn't it? Doesn't it?

Which is pretty much what Stossel says:

Is that a new law passed by this Congress?

No, but it's what Wesley Mouch, the evil bureaucrat in the book, passed. And what Tim Geithner and what Barney Frank might like to pass.

Yeah -- Tim Geithner, the great enemy of wealth-amassers.

But really, I love it: Stossel can address any burning issue of the day on his first show, and he's probably going to talk about ... Ayn Rand.

But really, why not? Why not an entire show devoted to books Fox viewers have already read? Hell, why not an entire series devoted to Ayn Rand?

I think Fox News or Fox Business should take a cue from Christian broadcasting and just do entire series devoted to exegesis of the Sacred Texts -- the works of Ayn Rand and the words of Ronald Reagan. Fire-and-brimstone Randian and Reaganite preachers on Fox should wave the Sacred Books while citing chapter and verse and explaining why the Holy Writ demand certain actions of the devout. Preachers would pass over in silence the uncomfortable parts of the Word -- Rand's atheism, Reagan's tax increases -- because what's preaching without picking and choosing? Hymns could be composed from the texts and sung by berobed choirs (or maybe there'd be Randian rock -- oh yeah, there already is). And what's televangelism without frequent requests for donations? This could be a new revenue stream for Murdoch in a tough media environment.

I think Fox should just go for it. This is religion for Fox's audience. The Fox fans would feel spiritually cleansed.