Debbie Schlussel

This is related to my thoughts on how people make their arguments with bluster rather then logic. Debbie Schlussel is a columnist whose articles are designed to evoke emotion and simplify complicated issues into polarized viewpoints.

As she tells us in her bio, Debbie is a member of Mensa (which she explains is "High IQ") and is also in the "Who's Who of Executives", but fails to explain that the later is basically a paid advertisement. My belief is that the truly effective and intelligent amongst us don't bother trying to convince us they're smart, rather their arguments and presentation of the subject matter at hand draws us naturally to that conclusion. Debbie is in reality an entertainer who pretends to be a serious pundit. She tries to incite our emotions through faulty syllogisms, omission of fact, and outrageous acts of sophistry so that we'll believe that things are good vs. evil, black and white, and there is only one real choice.

One of my favorite articles, "How Democrats treat their child molesters" (by the way, I'm not angered by any of this, but rather sadly amused) discusses how the Republican party handles sexual misconduct responsibly whereas the Democrats are quite unconscionable. My favorite line in the article claims that Newt Gingrich is an example of virtue in this area, never mind he is arguably a more committed adulterer then Clinton. This captures the details quite well.

Thought for the Day I wonder if I'm a good man in "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing".