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Tag Archives: weak man
An interesting weak man argument
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 Jonah Goldberg, Straw Man, weak man
3 Comments
Troll feeding
The injunction against feeding trolls is one part logical and one part rhetorical. The logical part consists in the implication that feeding the troll misrepresents the troll's contributions. In addressing a troll's view one implies that it strongly represents the dialetical … Continue reading
Posted in General discussion
Tagged iron manning, Rush Limbaugh, Sandra Fluke, Steve Almond, Trolls, weak man
3 Comments
Something had to be done
Richard Cohen, (allegedly) liberal columnist for the Washington Post, writes a column in favor of the Libyan military intervention. Unfortunately, he's spent enough time around his right-wing counterparts at that paper to believe that making a rhetorical case against his … Continue reading
Posted in False Dichotomy, hollow man, Straw Man, weak man
Tagged False Dichotomy, hollow man, libya, only a fool or a Frenchman, Richard Cohen, Straw Man, the Nation, weak man
2 Comments
Cast across the Rubicon
Juan Cole, a guy who knows a lot about the Arab world, makes a case for military intervention in Libya. This is not particularly surprising, as he also supported the invasion of Iraq. I don't mean to question his authority … Continue reading
Poe’s Law and Straw Men
Poe's Law is one of the many eponymous laws of the internet. It runs, roughly, that you can't tell the difference between religious crazies and people parodying religious crazies. And vice versa. That means that anything you find, for example, … Continue reading
Letters to the editor
A post or two ago I made the claim that columnists and arguers in general ought to have some lattitude in defining their opponent's argument(s). One only has 750 or so words, so one can't possibly be expected to provide thorough references. The breadth … Continue reading
Nut Picking
I love meta commentary–that's why it's so much fun to read George Will and Charles Krauthammer–that's what they do: they make (usally wrong) observations on the logic of argument. Well, at least someone is doing it. For this reason I was glad … Continue reading
Posted in Hasty Generalization, weak man
Tagged nut-picking, tea party, tea party movement, tea party racism, weak man
6 Comments
Raw deal
It's farmers' market season, so it's time for a food-related post. Slate ran an article by a professor of science journalism on the possible ill effects of consuming raw milk. To be more precise, Slate ran an attack on weak … Continue reading
Nothing’s Sacrosanct
Ann Coulter’s been paying attention to Elena Kagan’s SCOTUS nomination proceedings. She even read a profile of Kagan from the New York Times. Kagan’s aunt notes that the family was intellectually engaged: “There was thinking, always thinking,” Joyce Kagan Charmatz, … Continue reading
Posted in Hasty Generalization, Straw Man, weak man
Tagged Ann Coulter, Elena Kagan, Straw Man, weak man
3 Comments
