Those of us interested in such things sometimes talk about the negative consequences of allowing illegal immigration, but it isn’t always easy to articulate the problem. People need to understand how it might affect them directly. If they can understand how the system currently gives unfair advantages to the illegal immigrant over the legal resident […]
Did you see this? Even if you read the same stuff I do, you may have missed it last month amongst all the holiday prep and the Obamacare/Healthcare.gov mess. It seems the anti-religionists at the ACLU have found another target for their “righteous” wrath: a church-run archery class. The controversy began when a reporter for […]
That’s right, this is a list of lists. But, don’t worry — it’s relatively short. I didn’t actually read a lot of year-end lists, but these three were among the best I came across. They sort of go together, and I (obviously) felt they were worth sharing. Unfortunately, they (mostly) constitute a sad commentary on […]
Part 9: Apples, Oranges, and Character Assassination “When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser.” — Socrates Only two fallacies on the docket today, but they are biggies! Category mistake/error I’m sure you have heard the term, “It’s apples and oranges.” Maybe you have used it, yourself. When Person A says this […]
In previous years, I’ve reproduced and commented on Thanksgiving proclamations made by George Washington (1789) and Abraham Lincoln (1863). They are perhaps the two best-known such proclamations and very notable in what they have to say, particularly considering the difficult times that Americans were going through. I encourage you to check them out. If there […]
Part 8: Validity and Clarity “Most of the arguments to which I am party fall somewhat short of being impressive, owing to the fact that neither I nor my opponent knows what we are talking about.” — Robert Benchley, American columnist & actor Hey, folks! Ready for another lesson in logic? Of course, you are!! […]
“Solid female characters, not just superheroes, are essential for the Arab world at this time of unprecedented violence against women.” — Joumana Merhej, creator of female Muslim superhero “Malaak” (quoted by Salon editor/writer Prachi Gupta) A Facebook friend of mine posted an article announcing Marvel Comics’ new “Muslim Girl Superhero”, which will debut in January […]
“Statecraft is soulcraft.” — Aristotle I usually read during my “lunch hour”. Whether working at a job or taking care of stuff at home (or just hangin’ out), that’s a time I usually set aside to get through at least a few pages in one of the books I have in progress. Lately, I’ve been […]
Originally, I was going to use this in Sunday’s installment of my “Informal Logic 101” series. But, I opted not to, ‘cuz it wasn’t quite what I was looking for. It is still worth commenting on, though, so… An example of a bad argument can be found in a recent editorial in Connecticut’s New Haven […]
Part 7: Causes and Comparisons “Correlation does not equal causation.” — many people, including me (‘cuz it makes me sound smart) We’re baaaaaaack, and we have a lot of ground to cover, so let’s get started! Clear thinking & reasoning require at least a basic understanding of causal relationships. Unfortunately, it’s also easy to make […]
