9/25/2003 01:40:00 AM
(1) The Untraceable Trace - "How do you know Christopher Columbus discovered America? Do you remember the name of the book where you saw this? Who, exactly, told you this - do you remember his name? You don't? You must be a liar."
(2) Rubberglue - Circular reasoning. "It's outrageous!" "Why is it outrageous?" "Because he said blah blah and did blah blah and the fact is it's just simply outrageous." Making the premise equal the conclusion (also applies to religious "logic.")
(3) The Redirect - Most often as the word "LOOK." Used to quickly get past some debatable claim. "I've been to the Moon, twice, and even found life there... but LOOK - let's get back to the point..." Occasionally used for a moment where the liberal has, or is on the verge of, scoring a political point. "But wasn't George Bush considered AWOL in the 70's?" "I don't know, save it for another time, but LOOK ..."
(4) The Factpinion - "Two New York City policemen said the situation is chaotic" is a fact. "The situation is chaotic" is not. Real pros wield this tool to curb their opponent's argument: "But the opinions of two policemen do not equal the fac..." "Are you saying they lied?"
(5) Quali-no-Quanti - Qualifying without quantifying. "Your argument is specious," then neglecting to explain how the argument is "specious."
(6) Ignor'Bliss - "Don't know, don't care!" The sarcastic "Yeah, okay!" "Whatever" etc. Best when accompanied by an eye-roll or annoyed-sounding sigh.
(7) Thinking in Blocks - Leads to stereotyping. Psychologists call masters of this tool cognitive misers. An example: Joe, democratic mayor of a tiny town, thinks there are too many American flags on display. Conclusion? "All Democrats are flag-burning communist hippies."
(8) The Pep Rally - Repetitive, space-filling, "morale boosting" coach-speak...
"The NEW YORK TIMES,
the L.A. TIMES,
the Washington Post,
the U.S.A. TODAY"
Etc. Patterned as a rabble-rousing, rhythmically repetetive chant:
"da DAH DAH DAH
da DAH DAH DAH
da DAH DAH DAH..." etc.
(9) The Pseudo'cession - The pseudo-concession; focuses more on the magnanimous gesture of the concession, while ignoring the original act/error. "I was incorrect, but now I'm setting things straight! That's the kind of man I am. I admit my mistakes. Unlike some liberals I know... I admit my errors."
(10) Phony Authority - Twisting a normally valid tool into a lie, as in citing the percentage of liberal journalists while neglecting to cite the opposite & equally tilted percentage of conservative editors and publicists. Embellishing actual statistics, such as the time O'Reilly said, "37% of Florida college students are black!" In reality, 37% of Florida college students were minorities.
Know your enemy.
(2) Rubberglue - Circular reasoning. "It's outrageous!" "Why is it outrageous?" "Because he said blah blah and did blah blah and the fact is it's just simply outrageous." Making the premise equal the conclusion (also applies to religious "logic.")
(3) The Redirect - Most often as the word "LOOK." Used to quickly get past some debatable claim. "I've been to the Moon, twice, and even found life there... but LOOK - let's get back to the point..." Occasionally used for a moment where the liberal has, or is on the verge of, scoring a political point. "But wasn't George Bush considered AWOL in the 70's?" "I don't know, save it for another time, but LOOK ..."
(4) The Factpinion - "Two New York City policemen said the situation is chaotic" is a fact. "The situation is chaotic" is not. Real pros wield this tool to curb their opponent's argument: "But the opinions of two policemen do not equal the fac..." "Are you saying they lied?"
(5) Quali-no-Quanti - Qualifying without quantifying. "Your argument is specious," then neglecting to explain how the argument is "specious."
(6) Ignor'Bliss - "Don't know, don't care!" The sarcastic "Yeah, okay!" "Whatever" etc. Best when accompanied by an eye-roll or annoyed-sounding sigh.
(7) Thinking in Blocks - Leads to stereotyping. Psychologists call masters of this tool cognitive misers. An example: Joe, democratic mayor of a tiny town, thinks there are too many American flags on display. Conclusion? "All Democrats are flag-burning communist hippies."
(8) The Pep Rally - Repetitive, space-filling, "morale boosting" coach-speak...
"The NEW YORK TIMES,
the L.A. TIMES,
the Washington Post,
the U.S.A. TODAY"
Etc. Patterned as a rabble-rousing, rhythmically repetetive chant:
"da DAH DAH DAH
da DAH DAH DAH
da DAH DAH DAH..." etc.
(9) The Pseudo'cession - The pseudo-concession; focuses more on the magnanimous gesture of the concession, while ignoring the original act/error. "I was incorrect, but now I'm setting things straight! That's the kind of man I am. I admit my mistakes. Unlike some liberals I know... I admit my errors."
(10) Phony Authority - Twisting a normally valid tool into a lie, as in citing the percentage of liberal journalists while neglecting to cite the opposite & equally tilted percentage of conservative editors and publicists. Embellishing actual statistics, such as the time O'Reilly said, "37% of Florida college students are black!" In reality, 37% of Florida college students were minorities.
Know your enemy.
