Tag Archives: Straw Man

Here’s the skinny

Posted on 5/12/2013 by John Casey

Putzing around the internets the other day I ran across an example of an interesting and very common kind of downplayer.  Some context, the CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch (see above), a clothing retailer, has claimed he only wants to sell clothes to thin, … Continue reading →

Posted in General discussion | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Civility for jerks

Posted on 2/18/2013 by Scott Aikin

Mallard Fillmore’s got a nice way to capture the civility problem — with a straw man followed by a  tu quoque! If President Obama charged the Republicans with wanting to kill the elderly and starve the poor, I don’t remember … Continue reading →

Posted in Ad hominem tu quoque, hollow man, Specious allegations of fallacy, Straw Man | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Flopper

Posted on 1/25/2013 by John Casey

I thought this segment of the Daily Show underscored just what distinguishes it from much of the rest of Cable TV media.  Despite being a comedy show, they somehow managed, by the art of just stopping and thinking for a … Continue reading →

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An interesting weak man argument

Posted on 7/5/2012 by Scott Aikin

Jonah Goldberg has a nice piece over at National Review Online about the way the recently upheld Affordable Care Act has been received at National Public Radio.  He picks out Julie Rovner's question about whether there are really any losers … Continue reading →

Posted in General discussion, Jonah Goldberg, Straw Man, weak man | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Fish tales

Posted on 3/28/2012 by John Casey

**Updates for clarity thanks to Brandon Stanley Fish is still not worth reading.  He's the guy at the party who iron-mans the holocaust denier by straw manning the holocaust historian.  On another matter–his fondness for false equivalence–he writes: Dawkins and … Continue reading →

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Romney won’t say anything to get elected

Posted on 3/27/2012 by John Casey

Mitt Romney has learned a thing or two about electoral politics.  He's learned, for instance, that if you say anything specific about anything, people will challenge it.  What he takes away from this is that if you make an argument, … Continue reading →

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Shooting fish in a barrell

Posted on 2/9/2012 by John Casey

David Frum is the new moderate Republican, but he's still a Republican.  I think he's an inveterate straw manner.  That's annoying.  Here's a recent example: In December, Obama traveled to the Kansas town of Osawatomie to deliver one of the … Continue reading →

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My views are underappreciated by those who disagree with my views

Posted on 11/16/2011 by John Casey

There is a natural tendency to iron man one's own arguments; that's why self-assessment is not an accurate measure of a position's cogency. It also often turns out that such self-ironmanning comes along with underestimating the strength of positions opposed … Continue reading →

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Iron man versus straw man

Posted on 10/18/2011 by John Casey

Here is serial straw manner George F.Will on Elizabeth Warren, candidate for Senate in Massachussetts: "There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there — good for you. But I … Continue reading →

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It belongs to him

Posted on 9/23/2011 by John Casey

In the "can't tell if troll category" here is Michelle Bachmann on taxation: KELLY: Thanks, Bret. Congresswoman Bachmann, after the last debate, a young member of the California Tea Party said he didn’t feel he had had his question fully … Continue reading →

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