# Should NASA sue Fox for slander? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 16, 2001, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-nasa-sue-fox-for-slander/54739 "2001-02-16T14:07:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2001, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-nasa-sue-fox-for-slander/54739/21 "2001-02-16T21:26:47Z")
The Fox presentation was a farce, of course, and it’s a shame that such garbage was ever aired at all. It’s also a shame that Gus Grissom’s family was gullible enough to buy into conspiracy theories. However, to be fair, we shouldn’t be surprised that Grissom’s family is ready to believe the worst of NASA. In the aftermath of the Apollo I disaster that killed Vergil Grissom, Roger Chafee and Ed WHite, NASA stonewalled and lied, again and again, for decades. Oh, to be sure, NASA’s motives weren’t completely malicious: they were covering their butts, trying to keep public morale high, and trying to console the grieving families (“the men died at once, and didn’t suffer”). Of course, we now know that the men DID suffer. They were burned alive, and suffered a slow, agonizing death. So, it’s no wonder that the Grissom family wonders what else NASA might have lied about. Now, I’d LOVE to see a lawsuit, but I can’t imagine what good it might do. Whom would NASA sue? Fox? Fox could claim (truthfully, if disingenuously) “WE didn’t make any claims. We merely gave others a forum to present their theories. We presented both sides.” That would leave NASA with the option of suing the conspiracy theorists themselves, but those clowns are generally crackpots who don’t have a pot to pee in. What good would it do to sue THEM? ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2001, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-nasa-sue-fox-for-slander/54739/22 "2001-02-16T22:44:26Z")
astorian wrote: > [@](#): > > Of course, we now know that the [Apollo 1] men DID suffer. They were burned alive, and suffered a slow, agonizing death. What?! I thought the cause of death was smoke inhalation. That’d knock them out toute-suite. ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2001, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-nasa-sue-fox-for-slander/54739/23 "2001-02-16T23:49:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LonesomePolecat \* > **Last night morbid curiosity overcame discretion, and I watched Fox’s special about how the moon landings were supposed to be a hoax perpetrated by NASA.** Me too. I wish I had watched _CSI_ on CBS instead. The FOX show was infuriating! ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2001, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-nasa-sue-fox-for-slander/54739/24 "2001-02-16T23:53:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ElvisL1ves \* > **Yes, it’s just a tad ironic that one part of Murdoch’s operation can be preaching about the decay in traditional family values while another part is producing “Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?” and “Temptation Island”, don’tcha think?** That isn’t irony, that’s _hypocricy._ > [@](#): > > \*\*Trust no one … \*\* The truth is out there… ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2001, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-nasa-sue-fox-for-slander/54739/25 "2001-02-17T00:00:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LNO \* > **My question is, why hasn’t NASA killed off Senator Buzz Aldrin?** [Aldrin](http://www.buzzaldrin.com/) is not now, nor has he ever been, a Senator. I think you mean John Glenn. By the way, there have been eight manned missions (though 8, 10, and 13 never landed, by either accident or design) to the Moon (and Jim Lovell made the trip twice). That’s a lot of other mouths to shut up. ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2001, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-nasa-sue-fox-for-slander/54739/26 "2001-02-17T00:17:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pldennison \* > **when Jim Lovell called Bill Kaysing, the conspiracy kook featured in this show, a kook, Kaysing sued him for libel.** What happened? Who won? ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2001, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-nasa-sue-fox-for-slander/54739/27 "2001-02-17T01:02:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jab1 \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by pldennison \* > > **when Jim Lovell called Bill Kaysing, the conspiracy kook featured in this show, a kook, Kaysing sued him for libel.** > > What happened? Who won? \*\* It was thrown out of court in 1997. And I flubbed it a bit–Lovell didn’t call Kaysing a kook, he called him “wacky.” ---
**Author:** ![71-Hour\_Achmed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/7/57b2e6/32.png) [@71-Hour\_Achmed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/71-Hour_Achmed)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2001, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-nasa-sue-fox-for-slander/54739/28 "2001-02-17T02:52:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Revtim \* > \*\*If there was an atmosphere of not being able to question what NASA says it accomplishes, we would probably be seeing film of Taco Bells being constructed on Pluto on the 7 o’clock news. \*\* Are we at war with the Plutonians then, that we would consider constructing such horrible restaurants on their planet? ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2001, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-nasa-sue-fox-for-slander/54739/29 "2001-02-17T19:13:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LonesomePolecat \* > [T]hey a[c]cused NASA of murder. > > Should NASA sue? **Can** NASA sue? Is there any legal action NASA can take against Fox and the producers of this tripe? If there isn’t, should there be? Let’s face it, this “documentary” was grossly irresponsible, to put it mildly. I watched _The Insider_ last night (for the first time) and the film mentioned the lawsuit filed against Big Tobacco by the state of Mississippi. (You should recall that eventually, every state filed and won similar suits.) If a government can file suit against a private corporation for selling a dangerous product and lying about how dangerous said product is, why can’t a government sue someone for accusing it of committing murder and of perpetrating the biggest hoax in history? IANAL, but it seems to me they should be able to do so. There is precedent for a government suing a private organization. Even if they don’t collect any damages, they would at least have proven in a court of law that there had been no hoax. * * * Hey, I LIKE Taco Bell. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bad_Astronomer)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2001, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-nasa-sue-fox-for-slander/54739/30 "2001-02-17T20:36:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Clucky \* > \*\* > Why would they want to even bother with this crap? > \*\* Because it’s like a disease, and if you ignore it it can hurt you. That’s why I fight such things, and, as a matter of fact, NASA has a link to my debunking of the show on their homepage, [http://www.nasa.gov](http://www.nasa.gov). Gloat, gloat! ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2001, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-nasa-sue-fox-for-slander/54739/31 "2001-02-17T20:52:00Z")
You’ve been noticed by NASA?! Way to go, **Bad As’**!! ---
**Author:** ![dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f19dbf/32.png) [@dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dude)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2001, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-nasa-sue-fox-for-slander/54739/32 "2001-02-18T17:06:26Z")
If NASA sue Fox for a HUGE amount not only will it make people realise what rubbish these people talk but stop others doing the same. SUE SUE SUE - then they can use that money for the damm expensive space program instead of more tax ! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-nasa-sue-fox-for-slander/54739.md?page=1)