Saturday Night Hootenanny

It’s ladies night tonight for the Hootenanny with a shout out for Marianne Faithfull. Godspeed.

9 Comments

  1. I posted this comment on another blog, and decided it was worthy of adulation by anonymous strangers on the internet. However, the anonymous strangers at that blog didn’t adulate enough, so I’m reposting it here:

    It’s a tragically common pattern:
    Academics: “Common sense says X, but we can’t conclude that, because of Y.”
    Leftist Activists: “And therefore, Z is not only true, but a moral imperative!”
    Self-Styled Moderates: “Well, Z seems crazy to me, but it’s what the studies are saying.”
    Conservatives: “What? Z is absurd.”
    In most cases, Z doesn’t follow. Sometimes, it’s because Z relies on so many other assumptions that it’s not even false, just incoherent. Of course, you’ll have no trouble finding examples where Z is neatly false as well. However, the usual result is just the leftist activists accusing conservatives of being “not-Z‘s”.

    • If Not X and Y Then Z?

      It’s possible as a proposition.

      “If it’s not raining and it’s Monday, then I’m at the beach.”

      “If I’m not at the beach, then it’s either raining, or it’s not Monday.”

      In any case, it depends on the accepted validity of “Not X” and “Y.” It’s why people say, “If I accept your assumptions, then your conclusion is logical – but I don’t. I’ve used that with Progressives many times. They hate it.

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