Monday Open Thread
In Iraq, a day after celebrations for a victory in a regional soccer tournament , violence returns as 58 die in bombings and violence
in addition to 3 US soldiers killed.
Also, a humanitarian crisis is emerging in Iraq as nearly a third of the population of Iraq is in need of immediate emergency aid.
Bush and the new UK PM Brown try to establish a friendship during a visit.
A good question: how much jail time does an abortion deserve?
Get back to work! This is the Monday open thread.
Submitted by Specter on Mon, 2007-07-30 08:06
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Second Life Meeting Reminder: Tonight 7PM CDT
Or whenever you decide to show up.
SL has been acting up and the system is currently unstable, so when you arrive, limit your activities to talking and walking. Don't run unnecessary scripts or buy anything. Teleporting is not always functional either. Bleeding edge technology, bleh.
The Dem party meeting is at 5:30 SLT (Pacific Time) and the Rep meeting is at 8:00PM SLT.
Also, for those who are interested, there will be an Impeachment Ball (8/3, from 18:00 SLT to 21:00 SLT, at the Basilica) held during the SL Yearly Kos convention.
"Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge" -- Kahlil Gibran
SL's instability killed my dog
My virtual dog, "Smelt", has been killed by Second Life.
I tried to "place" him on Purpleface's land, got an error when doing so, and he disappeared out of my inventory.
Hours later he returned to my inventory, but when I tried to place him, I got "unable to rezz object".
Linden Labs killed my dog. Bastards.
He was a good dog too. But he was very ugly. Ugly as a GoRight point-of-view.
(100% joking)
So he peed on purpleface's floor once. We all make mistakes.
And now he's dead.
RIP, Smelt.
b: November, 2005
d: July, 2007
I'll be at the meeting tonight after 7pm SL time. I'll be wearing black.
“Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” --- Albert Einstein
You're not typing funny
But I bet you talk funny. Novocaine. Such fun.
Everyone will wear black in Smelt's honor. I'll even let you kick my cat.
"Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge" -- Kahlil Gibran
I'll try not to space out again
no promises.
I hope the difficulties get ironed out because I'd like to show people what I have so far on the SC objects. It's still just the color orientation based on political orientation but still I think it's pretty nice for a morning spent coding. I haven't been back yet to work on adding an ability to hover around or above the avatar.
Right now the mesh is just a cube primitive. I don't see why I couldn;t add the script to any object though. I was sort of thinking if anyone had a sword mesh they liked I could try to make that the object and make it so the blade was the part that changed color.
Too geeky?
I came. I saw. I posted.
Veni, Vidi, Bitchy.
Not at all
There should be a Celtic Sword object in your Library folder. You might be able to copy it or whatever and add a script.
If it works, we can find some sword fight animations ;}
They are trying to install Voice in SL, and rumor has it that it is Voice that is playing havoc with the servers right now.
Imagine. Being able to have an actual SC debate in voice in SL. OMG. We did play with it a bit over the weekend and it seems like it works best if you treat it as simplex, even though it is full duplex. So we'd have to actually let the other person finish talking first. . . . but it could be fun.
"Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge" -- Kahlil Gibran
Yeah, right:
Bwahahahahaha!
At any rate, I'm back in Michigan, so I no longer have SL. I'll try to download it on my laptop, but it's already running slow, so I'm not optimistic. Y'all have fun.
Saint, n. A dead sinner revised and edited. - Ambrose Bierce
Maliki wants Petraeus out
source
I came. I saw. I posted.
Veni, Vidi, Bitchy.
Cranial detonations
Rassmussen poll, 1000 adults, 07/25-26/07, +-3%
I'm guessing a few heads on the right will explode when they read that.
I came. I saw. I posted.
Veni, Vidi, Bitchy.
Several ways to take those numbers...
Hillary has very high name-recognition... around 99%. That means that 72% of the people trust someone else more.
Giuliani's name recognition numbers are much lower... only about 60%. This means 40% of those surveyed don't even know who he is. So a 20% showing by him is the equivalent of a 33% showing by Hillary.
I'm not a "head on the right"... but when someone with a Q rating (media term to define how well-known a person is) as high as Hillary's is only polling at 28% on such a question, her people should be worried.
Another factor that needs to be addressed... of the 72% that didn't have Hillary as #1 in the poll.. how many had her 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc... ?
For example... if 28% had her first, but 50% had her dead last... that's a damning number for her. If 20% had Giuliani first, but 30% had him 2nd, and only 2% had him last... that's a good number for him.
It measures how hard the numbers for and against are.
“Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” --- Albert Einstein
I think you are mistaking the type of poll
I don't have access to their crosstabs but it looks like this was a simple question where they only recorded first choices.
Given that the issue is national security it is impressive that the dems beat the reps at all. But to have Clinton who has been so thoroughly demonized by the right come out as a clear leader (as in when you figure in the margin of error the second place contender does NOT over lap with her) is amazing.
Hardly. The poll probably prompted the seven choices listed since they included the three tier 1 dems, the three tier 1 reps and Thompson who is very likely to bump McCain from the tier 1 reps if he ever gets off his ass and commits. So among the seven people who are in the lead for becoming president she was far and away the most trusted on the issue.
Thompson and Romney are the only two in the bunch that could pass off their scores on lack of name recognition:
source
That was back in may, btw. Hillary of course cannot go up meanwhile the other candidates can and almost certainly have with the campaign underway and debates going on (to say nothing of the rampant speculation about Thompson).
Personally the part that surprises me the most here is that Hillary is by far the most hawkish of the dems. My guess is that people are misattributing to her the foreign policy position of the rest of the party. If that's true then as people become more familiar with her stance her numbers will drop and the numbers of the other dems will rise.
One thing we can be sure of is that Hillary is not poaching the conservatives, so if her numbers go down it won't be boosting the reps at all.
I came. I saw. I posted.
Veni, Vidi, Bitchy.
To be clear...
I am in no way supportive of Rudy Giuliani.
I'm just saying that, at this stage of the game, those numbers don't mean much.
If you went up to 100 random people on the street and asked them if they had heard of each of the candidates, 99% would say yes to "Hillary"... while I'd wager to bet that only 30 or 40% had heard of Fred Thompson and only about 10 or 15% had heard of Dennis Kucinich.
Most people aren't engaged in the political discussion like we are. ;-)
Hillary is by far the most well-known player at this early stage. That will change. The "Q" rating of Obama, Richardson, Giuliani, Thompson, and Romney has lots of room to grow... and it will. The "Q" rating for Hillary has nowhere to go.
Everyone has heard of her. Most know who she is and what she is about. The fact that the most well-known (by far) candidate can only get 28% of the population to choose her on a question like this is a number her people probably do not like very much.
If she still is polling the highest on this question one year from now, then that's a different story... because the other remaining candidates in both parties will have a much higher Q rating.
Wiki article on Q rating
“Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” --- Albert Einstein
Taliban kills 2nd hostage; Democrats silent on torture.
Many news articles here: http://news.google.com/?ncl=1118366404&hl=en
After the Taliban has killed a second hostage the Democrats have apparently declined to comment on the obvious torture and war crimes of one of the opponents of the United States in the GWOT.
The silence is deafening. In a stunning lack of consistency in denouncing torture, war crimes, and Geneva Conventions violations both the Democrats and the left wing political hack front pagers at DailyKos all seem to be avoiding any discussion or denunciation of these tactics in the very place which they have consistently portrayed as the true front in the GWOT.
After ripping the United States for months and years over these topics they don't seem to want to denounce the actions of our enemies in a similar fashion. Critics of the Democrats continue to raise questions regarding where their true allegiance lies. Failing to denounce these crimes while also seeking to establish close relations with Iran and Syria both suggest cause for concern, charge some critics who were speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Republican Maverick at Large
-4:Strongly Disagree; 0:Meh; +4:Strongly Agree
What lack of consistency?
The democrats don't have to go out of their way to denounce the Taliban because the taliban is not our own government.
Not a difficult concept- you bear a special responsibility for the government you yourself are part of and support through taxes. Conversely you do not bear any special responsibility for those governments you do not belong to and do not support.
Your objection is based in a false dichotomy.
I came. I saw. I posted.
Veni, Vidi, Bitchy.
So, you don't feel a need to "denounce"
torture, or war drimes, or Geneva Conventions violations when they are committed by our enemies? Interesting. And you wonder why people are confused about which side you are actually on?
Republican Maverick at Large
-4:Strongly Disagree; 0:Meh; +4:Strongly Agree
Clarity
Of course not. What point is there in me personally denouncing something I have no connection to? Should the UN denounce it? yes. Should the various human rights operations (Amnesty internationa, Red Cross, Human RIghts Watch) denounce it? Certainly. Do I hope that some Afghanis denounce it? Of course.
Those are the people who are involved or have some oversight or monitoring responsibility.
I have no connection to the Taliban. If you want to ask my opinion feel free but I am under no responsibility to announce my disgust at such things because they are in no way directly connected to my actions.
I came. I saw. I posted.
Veni, Vidi, Bitchy.
OK.
So you feel that Abu Graib was "somehow directly connected to your actions?" :-) Or is that not why you denounce the activities there?
But to clarify, my point is focused more on "the Democrats" (i.e. the leadership of that group as Specter would argue) than on you personally. But thanks for weighing in on the fact that you don't feel the need to denounce the torture, war cimes, or Geneva Conventions violations of our enemies!
Republican Maverick at Large
-4:Strongly Disagree; 0:Meh; +4:Strongly Agree
more clarity for the benighted
The tortures at Abu Ghraib were carried out by US military and Intelligence officers. People whose paychecks come from US taxes. Taxes I pay. In other words I essentially paid people to torture helpless prisoners.
Your damn right that's my responsibility.
Anything and everything done by the government I support is in some measure my responsibility. They are actions I have made possible in some small measure.
And there's no reason they have to either. It's quite simply not their job. If they choose to speak about it that;s fine, but there is no reason on earth they have to.
Do you take the time to daily denounce the various crimes against humanity committed around the world by everyone everywhere? Gee, why not? Because it's not required of you. Nor is it even possible for you to be aware of everything vile thing that happens. The best you can hope for is to try and clean up your own house and support those organizations that provide international monitoring.
Always happy to correct your mistakes.
I came. I saw. I posted.
Veni, Vidi, Bitchy.
RE: more clarity for the benighted
Fair enough.
I agree it's not their job, but that in some sense that is exactly the point. They take the time out of their jobs we are paying them to do in order to trash the US, but then can't be bothered to talk about our enemies on the same topics. I am just questioning their motives for making these particular choices in how to spend their time.
You seem to be fine with their choices. Me? Not so much.
Gee, I thought it would be appropriate for the Democrat Leadership to side with the United States over its enemies, but I guess I was mistaken. Thanks for clearing that up.
Republican Maverick at Large
-4:Strongly Disagree; 0:Meh; +4:Strongly Agree
hypothetical
What if the US is wrong and the "enemy" is right? Should the dems still take the US side?
I came. I saw. I posted.
Veni, Vidi, Bitchy.
Hypothetically speaking, of course not.
But are you suggesting that this is, in fact, the case in our current situation in the GWOT? That we're the "bad guys" and al Qaeda are somehow the "good guys"?
Republican Maverick at Large
-4:Strongly Disagree; 0:Meh; +4:Strongly Agree
It's never that simple...
nor are Alqaeda our only enemies according to the right.
but lets take them as an extreme example.
They're a**holes of the first order. No doubt about that. But that doesn't mean all their grievances are automatically invalid. On the contrary some of their grievances are very well founded and rational. In those matters they in fact are right (at least in position if not in reasoning) and we are wrong. An example would be the stationing of US troops in the middle east. We shouldn't be doing it for a number of very good reasons. Now AQ's reasons may not show up on that list but however they did it they reached the right conclusion and we reached the wrong one.
Of course some of their grievances/goals are rubbish. I hope the people of the middle east don't accept their vision of a reborn calimphate. But that's really up to the people of the middle east. Just as we get to choose our style of government.
There has never been an issue of importance where one group was entirely right and the other entirely wrong. Even the Nazis had a point about the punitive terms of the first world war surrender.
You can't approach these matters in a simple binary us=good, them=bad manner. It's just not the case. Not even for Al Qaeda.
I came. I saw. I posted.
Veni, Vidi, Bitchy.
Spin
I haven't heard any Republicans comment either. Heck, I haven't heard a statement from the White House on this event either.
The "apparently" in your statement is a very important word. Have you done a Nexus search of Democratic office-holders and candidates to see if any of them have commented?
Please post the comments from Republicans concerning this event.
Spin, spin, spin.
The event just happened. Do you know that they won't comment?
...and your most important word here is "seem".
Again... the word "seem" is very important here. If a week or so goes by, and they still have said nothing... you have a (small) point.
Let me be one of the first to say that I 100%, wholeheartedly, denounce the use of torture by the Taliban and everyone else.
There.
A Democrat who commented. Thus putting the lie to your allegation.
(using your loose definition of "lie" used in other threads)
"Spin = lie", according to you. And you're spinning like a top in the above post.
Finally, let me state that this whole incident is the very reason why we as a country should not be engaged in torture ourselves. By committing torture ourselves, we have ceded the high-ground on the issue and can make no legitimate complaint about other parties doing the same.
We reap what we sow here. As a nation, we cannot denounce torture while committing it ourselves. All the Taliban has to do is say that they'll stop it when we do... thus allowing them to morally take the high road.
You see why it was bad for us to resort to it? John McCain had it right. Abu Ghraib put every terrorist organization on the planet on an equal footing with us morally with respect to torture. We ceded the high ground. You don't appear to understand how damaging that was.... we lost a large percentage of world opinion when that occurred. And we can't win this war without the backing of the rest of the world.
You don't win the GWOT (which is unwinnable as defined anyway) by emulating the enemy. It is a battle of competing world views. We have to show the world that our world view is better.... and that goal gets muddied when we stoop down to the level of the terrorists. We win the war of ideas by being able to state "We in the west don't behave that way. We are not barbaric like they are."
We lost our ability to say that with a straight face by committing acts of torture ourselves.
So... I denounce all torture. I wish we Americans were in a place of holding the moral high-ground on this issue, so we could effectively denounce the conduct of the Taliban. Our denunciations now will simply fall on deaf ears across the globe.
“Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” --- Albert Einstein
RE: Spin
The Republicans aren't the ones who have been raising the issues of torture, and war crimes, and Geneva conventions violations against the US so their lack of discussion on this front isn't a significant departure from their normal rhetoric. The same cannot be said of the Democrats.
Even so, truth of my statement is not affected by what the Republicans do or don't say on this topic.
I don't have access to Nexus. I did do Googles for Reid and Pelosi.
Yep, it is important to be careful with one's words on this site. Besides, my comment was accurate at the time of the posting. Are you saying that I can NEVER make such an observation simply because someone MIGHT some day actually do something to contradict my point?
You, of course, are not relevant (at least for this point). By Specter's "Referencing a Well Defined Group means Referencing its Leadership Rule" says that "the Democrats" is understood to be the group's leadership, of which you are not a member.
You are the one lying here. Don't try and associate that loose definition with ME.
The "loose" definition of which you speak is NOT mine. I have argued in favor of a strict definition that relies on intent. The loose definition is the prevailing definition used by most LIBERALS on this site when talking about what they assert to be Bush's lies.
Fortunately we haven't commited any torture as has been discussed in the not so distant past. So we should still be good to go on that front.
Are you really saying that the naked pyramid is morally equivalent to murder? Somehow that seems just a bit skewed to me. But maybe it's just me.
We aren't emulating the enemy, only the Democrat spinmeisters want people to believe that we are. And that is the point. The Democrats throw charges of torture and war crimes at the US all the time, but never seem to accuse the enemy of the same. Take from that truth whatever you want. Some critics of the Democrats find this to be suspicious behavior on their part.
Yes, yes. I see how it works. The Democrats throw accusations of torture and war crimes at the US and everyone will listen, but throw those charges at the enemy and they mean nothing. How convenient, some would say.
Republican Maverick at Large
-4:Strongly Disagree; 0:Meh; +4:Strongly Agree
Not quite (again)
You are using 'democrat' wrong according to what I said
.
In this instance, you should say 'Democratic Party', not democrats.
This is just more blowing hot air anyway since you (GoRight) don't believe this was an example of inductive logic.
I too condemn all uses of torture but agree with Tlaloc's original statement on this one.
P.S.
I haven't heard any democrat suggest we sanction torture by the Taliban or that we stop fighting them. As I recall, it is the Republican party that advocated the truce
.
Also, the democrats (rather the democratic party was) were not the only ones
to denounce torture.
(edited to fix link)
RE: P.S.
Did I ever claim they did?
See, even you consider the term "the democrats" to be synonymous with "the democrat party".
And people generally considered to be RINOs don't actually count on this point.
Republican Maverick at Large
-4:Strongly Disagree; 0:Meh; +4:Strongly Agree
Is Frist
a RINO also? That's a mighty high position to hold if he is.
Why does the former majority leader support the enemy instead of the US?
RE: Is Frist
I assume that you are refering to this comment from above?
First off, I notice that you are taking the position of one person, Senator Bill Frist, and attributing that position to the Republican Party. Regardless of whether your use of the term Republican Party in this context is actually referring to all members of that group or only the leadership of that group*, it is clearly referencing MORE members of the group than just Senator Bill Frist. As such that statement is a clear example of the "Specter Rule of Bad Inductive Logic" at work.
As to the issue of whether Senator Bill Frist is generally a RINO or not, resolving that question would require an exhaustive review of his past record which would be a significant digression from the topic at hand. In light of that, suffice it to say that on THIS issue, yes, Senator Bill Frist is a RINO also.
-----------------------------------
* You have argued for both interpretations in other contexts.
Republican Maverick at Large
-4:Strongly Disagree; 0:Meh; +4:Strongly Agree
RE: Not quite (again)
LOL, man you have argued both sides of this coin so much I can't tell where you land anymore. Your position just seems to be whatever you need at the time. *
(1) In this case I am not even talking about inductive logic, so that quip is irrelevant. I am only discussing your interpretation of the English language which seems to vary on an almost daily basis.
(2) Examples from your previous statement:
(3) You can't try to make some kind of distinction between "the Democrats" and "the Democrat Party". Any such distinction is artificial at best. Who are the members of "the Democrat Party" if not "the Democrats"? Conversely, who are the leaders of "the Democrats" if not the leaders of "the Democrat Party"?
-------------------------------
* Consistency?
Republican Maverick at Large
-4:Strongly Disagree; 0:Meh; +4:Strongly Agree
Almost
Full post:
I've been entirely consistent here. You could at least post my entire comment to give the full context and not your disingenuous version.
Just because reading comprehension is required does not make me inconsistent. :-)
Speaking of which, if this is not an example of inductive logic why are you just piping up for no reason?
RE: Almost
(1) I notice that you have tried to simply gloss over (3) above.
(2) What is your definition of "Group Proper"? Are "the Democrats" not a proper group? Do I not reference a specific group of people when I invoke that name? Does that group not have a recognized leadership structure?
Note that I specifically CHOSE to use the term Democrats here as opposed to the looser term, LIBERALS, exactly because it was a well defined group.
Note also that, while not a formal mechanism of the English language, I was also utilizing the distinction between (big D) Democrats and (little d) democrats which is generally understood to be a clarifying mechanism withiin political parlance in today's society, is it not?
(3) I am not only arguing your with your "Inductive Logic Rule" which I lovingly refer to as "Specter's Rule of Bad Inductive Logic." When I am arguing the inductive logic point I will reference this rule.
There are other related subrules on which all of your arguments always depend. Being efficient, I seek to adopt those as well.
An example would be the "Unqualified References to Groups Mean ALL Members of the Group Rule" which first appeared as PART OF the inductive logic meme but was it's own point.
When the opportunity suited your purpose, the "Unqualified References to Groups Mean ALL Members of the Group" rule (to which Brendan was a party) was morphed into the "References to a Group Means Only the Leadership of that Group Rule" as cited above.
An unforeseen advantage of making this categorization of your rules of debate is that we can watch the evolution of the nuances as you twist the meanings to suit your need du jour, as we are are here.
Republican Maverick at Large
-4:Strongly Disagree; 0:Meh; +4:Strongly Agree
My hands are
full at the moment, and this is kind of a threadjack that is off-putting to many others here, so I will get back to these issues in its own thread later.
BTW, if you read and understand my examples in my original comment we both cited, most of your complaints/questions are answered already, but I will expand on them later anyway.
RE: My hands are
Thread jacking? Isn't this my thread in an open thread? I promise I won't be mad at you if you respond! But take your time. :-)
The issue before you is one of reconciling these two, apparently conflicting, rules. If you have explained the distinction then I admit that I fail to comprehend your explanation thereof so please try again.
I want to make absolutely sure that I am invoking your rules properly. :-)
Republican Maverick at Large
-4:Strongly Disagree; 0:Meh; +4:Strongly Agree
Members vs Leadership
I can't believe I have to explain the difference
between the leadership of a group and its constituent members, but here goes.
You state:
First clarifications: Democrats are part of the Democratic party and the leaders of the Democrats are the leaders of the Democratic party.
1st distinction: the members of the Democratic party are not the leaders of the party, just as 'Catholics' are not necessarily clergy. Group members are not culpable for every action of their leaders. Your neighbor (or some of us on this blog) may be democrat(s) (by self-identification, registration, or even habitual votes), but we are not culpable for every action of the party leaders.
2nd distinction: big D and little d are the same for me--both democrats. 'Democrat' is a proper noun, so it should always be capitalized but in the age of on-line forums, we usually abbreviate and become informal in our writing styles = dems, democrats, etc.
3rd distinction: group members are not culpable for every action of their leaders. Group members often change their leaders when dissatisfied with performance.
4th distinction: 'group-proper' I used loosely, but in the context of our discussion it is a defined organization with agendas and goals. For example, 'blacks', 'gays', or 'conservatives' do not fall into what I meant by a 'group-proper'. In our original conversation when I wrote these comments, we were discussing the Bush administration which is an organized group according to this definition. As in distinction #1, 'liberals', 'conservatives', and 'whites' are not groups as far as organizations with leaders, representatives, etc. Of course there are gray areas here such as the NAACP which try to improve the lives of all blacks, but blacks in general are not culpable for the actions of this organized group (NAACP). Likewise, conservatives may find greater organization and power to carry out their goals in a formal group such as the Republican party.
5th distinction: 'leaders' are the representatives of these organized groups (group-proper). There are too many different kinds of leaders to go into detail here, but leaders are often elected, appointed, etc. to guide the organization's goals and agenda.
With these distinctions in mind, I don't understand your confusion between leaders and members of a group.
Ok, now for your post's questions and comments:
RE: Members vs Leadership
Well, I guess I really DO need to start using simpler sentences with you since you seem to miss the point quite frequently. The post above has several sub topics so in the interest of not confusing things further I will address each with it's own comment.
:)
I definitely give you points for finding a clever way to try and disassociate yourself from your own comments! Your desire to do so is understandable, of course, under the circumstances.
Unfortunately, I am not going to be generous enough to let you off of this hook that you have created for yourself.
In both of the instances than you reference above (i.e. calling me and here also) I am clearly discussing bigotry, not inductive logic. As someone who is a champion of PC I would have thought that you would understand the difference. Let me refresh your memory on the definition of a bigotry:
Bigotry is a state of mind and/or a set of hateful or intolerant beliefs, which is clearly NOT the same thing as inductive logic.
Now it may be true that the use of bad inductive logic may be one of the potential causes leading to the development of bigotted beliefs but it is clearly NOT the same thing as holding those beliefs which is what I was highlighting in the posts that you reference.
Republican Maverick at Large
-4:Strongly Disagree; 0:Meh; +4:Strongly Agree
Really?
Uh-oh! GoRight found his dictionary (and wields it twice in one day) as if it is the last word in argumentation. Where did you lose it for so long, under your bed? :-)
It seems to me you just did not know the vocabulary. You did not talk about me hating a group per se. You talked about me overgeneralizing and referencing 'all' group members.
Explain these:
and
Hmm, sounds like particular to general language to me. That's inductive logic and not necessarily bigotry you are arguing here.
RE: Really?
These are just me throwing your own PC words back at you. This is exactly the type of language used in any debate about prejudice merely as a means of illustrating why it is wrong. For example, "blacks are lazy" is a negative stereotype which is obviously wrong because that stereortype cannot be applied to every individual. The stereotype is the bigotted mindset, not the bad inductive logic that may have contributed to the mindset. It is the stereotype that blacks are objecting to, not the fact that someone was using bad inductive logic to arrive at it.
This is all within the context of PC debate and my opening point in both cases was a charge of bigotry, not bad inductive logic. YOU are the one who started throwing that term around, not me.
My opening statements from calling me:
Not an inductive logic statement to be seen. If in the course of explaining why your steretype was flawed I happened to point out that it didn't apply to everyone in the group you had slurred, well, how else is one to describe that?
In the opening comments of here also we find:
and
Again, not a single complaint about bad inductive logic. My primary point in both examples was a charge of bigotry, as I said.
Republican Maverick at Large
-4:Strongly Disagree; 0:Meh; +4:Strongly Agree
Saw this on a T-Shirt at onion.com
"Stereotypes are Time-Savers"
;-)
“Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” --- Albert Einstein
Ok
We've been down this road too many times for me to care to see it again.
I'll just say that those are not PC words (as I use them--you call them 'your own') and stereotypes are bad inductive logic by definition.
RE: Ok
What would you call someone who believes that "blacks are lazy thieves"? Do you have a term that you would use to describe such a person? [ Hint: I think bigot might come to mind even in your lexicon. ]
Well, let's see ...
Gee, this sounds like state of mind speak, not bad inductive logic speak, doesn't it? Oh, and oversimplification is NOT the same thing as over generalization in case you were all excited about that particular point.
You don't like my dictionary? Fine. Which on-line dictionary do you prefer? I will be happy to adopt that one as well as your definition of various terms.
Republican Maverick at Large
-4:Strongly Disagree; 0:Meh; +4:Strongly Agree
Infinity
What is your dictionary definition of infinity.
Is there an infinity of excuses that make the case that bad inductive logic, stereotypes, generalization is worth parsing, and assigning it a mathmatical quantity greater than the definition of a countable number.
This 'debate' could go on ad infinitum, or literally to infinity.
For some of us the point of this excercise has been lost.
It is the economy, stupid.
RE: Infinity
(1) Words have meanings in common usage. When people twist those meanings to suit their own purposes it is customary to go to a standard reference so as to correct the record.
(2) It is not MY dictionary. It is Meriam Webster's dictionary. It is a standard reference for the definitions of the meanings of words.
(3) The point of this discussion is to get Specter to define a similar standard for terms of the form "The [Insert Name of Group ]" so that it can be used as the standard interpretation (at least between Specter and I).
(4) Having (3) is important for the same reason that having a standard reference like Meriam Webster for the meanings of specific words. If the interpretation starts getting twisted we can consult the standard reference to resolve the matter. This facilitates communications.
I realize that this explanation entails 4 things to think about all at once, but this seems to be the simplest I can make it without loosing meaning. Hopefully you can keep up.
Republican Maverick at Large
-4:Strongly Disagree; 0:Meh; +4:Strongly Agree
RE: Members vs Leadership - Part 2
Well this isn't actually the point I was asking you to clarify, but I thank you for taking the time to so thoroughly address the topic from your perspective none the less.
You have argued for two differing interpretations of an unqualified reference to a group:
This interpretation is significant because it is the basis of all of your invocations of "Specter's Rule of Bad Inductive Logic." Thus, when I see instances in conversations where this interpretation is advantageous I will invoke this interpretation as you have done.
This interpretation is significant because it forms the basis of your own refutation of Interpretation #1. Thus, when I see circumstances where I need to defend against Interpretation #1 I shall invoke this interpretation as you have done.
Now, to avoid confusion moving forward I am seeking to adopt your conventions for the use of these interpretations so as to reduce your ability to quibble about them.
So, can you please clarify your rules for when Interpretation #1 applies and when Interpretation #2 applies?
Additionally at this point, can you please also reveal any additional interpretations of a term of the form "The [Insert Name of Group]", along with the rules for when each such interpretation is applicable?
Thanks.
Republican Maverick at Large
-4:Strongly Disagree; 0:Meh; +4:Strongly Agree
The rules
It's quite simple, really. The first time the phrase "The [Insert Name of Group]" is used, it means the entire group. The second time it is used, it means just the leadership, except on Tuesdays. If it is used a third time, that's a "shronk" and is grounds for disqualification. Unless it is dark out, of course. The final use is a "kronk" and that's when we sucker punch you and make our escape.
We are the environment. There is no distinction. What we do to the earth we do to ourselves. —David Suzuki
This does seem to be consistent ...
with Specter's usage as far as I can tell...
Republican Maverick at Large
-4:Strongly Disagree; 0:Meh; +4:Strongly Agree
My rules...
"Republicans or Democrats" means the majority of the leaders from those parties.
"republicans or democrats" means the majority of the rank-and-file members of the parties.
"All Republicans or All Democrats" means the entire leadership of the parties
"all republicans or all democrats" means every member of the parties.
"left wing nutjobs" means those democrats and Democrats that disagree with me
"reasoned and enlightened individuals" means those democrats or Democrats that agree with me
"misguided fools" means those republicans or Republicans that sometimes agree with me, but usually don't.
"right wing nutjobs" means GoRight.
(100% joking!)
“Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” --- Albert Einstein
You sound so bitter. Why? n/t
Republican Maverick at Large
-4:Strongly Disagree; 0:Meh; +4:Strongly Agree
I said "100% joking", GR.... n/t
“Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” --- Albert Einstein
Ok, I guess we have to
walk through this.
Who is 'America' in this sentence:
America declared war on Iraq today.
(Hint: 'nations' are abstractions and cannot talk.)
RE: Ok, I guess we have to
"I" apparently don't know. That's why "I" am asking "you" to tell me.
While we are at it, how about interpreting this one for me too:
Liberals declared war on the 2nd Amendment today.
That way we can compare how the answers match up between the two groups.
Republican Maverick at Large
-4:Strongly Disagree; 0:Meh; +4:Strongly Agree
I'm not
answering your question until you answer mine.
Go ahead, give it your best shot. Don't be scared. :-)