Philosophy
Whenever a shooting massacre takes place in the US, and we raise the question of whether there ought to be some kind of regulation on fully automatic assault rifles and machine guns, conservatives lose their shit (about the regulation, of course, not about the abuse of gun rights and the innocents killed). Led by the NRA's bipolar and simplistic rhetoric based on catchy bullshit soundbites rather than reasoned and principled arguments or on well-formulated statistical analyses of crime rates patterns, gun enthusiasts and advocates predictably defer to the constitutional right to bear arms (well, as long as it's for whites and not for black people, and as long as we ignore the fact the 2nd Amendment starts with a clause referring to the right to bear arms conditional on our need for a national militia, which is utterly unnecessary when we happen to have the most powerful army in the history of the world). Unfortunately, moderate and reasonable people who don't think in such simplistic black-and-white terms, can't get through to the other side.
Fortunately, there's Jim Jefferies. Well, he might not be able to get through to the other side either, but he can at least call the bullshit arguments for what they are. :)
Hey, any reference to Descartes can be an excuse to post on this blog. :p
- Rhetorical Insanity
A second element of the right-wing commentator's element that they bear absolutely no responsibility for the attempted assassination of Gabrielle Giffords is that Jared Loughner is CRAAAAAAZY. They are pleading innocence by reason of someone else's...
- The 2nd Amendment, Military Spending, And Abortion: A Curious Conservative Conundrum
Contemporary American conservatism has a deep commitment to originalism as a means of interpreting the Constitution. We need to understand the words of the Constitution, they argue, in the sense that they were intended by the framers. The Constitution...
- Bullshit Or Not: Descartes Edition
There's an old sketch film called Amazon Women on the Moon and one of the bits is a parody of the old Leonard Nimoy show, "In Search Of..." called, "Bullshit or Not?" with the tagline "Bullshit or not? You decide." It's a line I like so much that...
- Bullshit Or Not: Js Mill Edition
There's an old sketch film called Amazon Women on the Moon and one of the bits is a parody of the old Leonard Nimoy show, In Search Of... called, Bullshit or Not? with the tagline "Bullshit or not? You decide." So I've stolen it for an occasional...
- Jon Stewart Pwns Bill O'reilly On Profiling... And Math
We all know that Bill O'Reilly is a petulant, loud-mouth who bullies and yells at people he disagrees with (even when they are invited guests in his show), and it's kind of hilarious to watch him and Rush Limbaugh go at it every now and then,...
Philosophy
Jim Jefferies on U.S. Gun Control
Fortunately, there's Jim Jefferies. Well, he might not be able to get through to the other side either, but he can at least call the bullshit arguments for what they are. :)
Hey, any reference to Descartes can be an excuse to post on this blog. :p
- Rhetorical Insanity
A second element of the right-wing commentator's element that they bear absolutely no responsibility for the attempted assassination of Gabrielle Giffords is that Jared Loughner is CRAAAAAAZY. They are pleading innocence by reason of someone else's...
- The 2nd Amendment, Military Spending, And Abortion: A Curious Conservative Conundrum
Contemporary American conservatism has a deep commitment to originalism as a means of interpreting the Constitution. We need to understand the words of the Constitution, they argue, in the sense that they were intended by the framers. The Constitution...
- Bullshit Or Not: Descartes Edition
There's an old sketch film called Amazon Women on the Moon and one of the bits is a parody of the old Leonard Nimoy show, "In Search Of..." called, "Bullshit or Not?" with the tagline "Bullshit or not? You decide." It's a line I like so much that...
- Bullshit Or Not: Js Mill Edition
There's an old sketch film called Amazon Women on the Moon and one of the bits is a parody of the old Leonard Nimoy show, In Search Of... called, Bullshit or Not? with the tagline "Bullshit or not? You decide." So I've stolen it for an occasional...
- Jon Stewart Pwns Bill O'reilly On Profiling... And Math
We all know that Bill O'Reilly is a petulant, loud-mouth who bullies and yells at people he disagrees with (even when they are invited guests in his show), and it's kind of hilarious to watch him and Rush Limbaugh go at it every now and then,...