Tag: stupid is as stupid does

Posted on

Instapundit poos the scrootch on this one

Class vs Individual: Glenn Reynolds makes an error of composition*
 
Darn.  You’d think a guy as sharp as Glenn Reynolds—and a law prof to boot—would know the difference between an individual part and the whole in an argument.  Read this post and come on back.
 
Yes, I understand he never actually says that all Home Depot stores are like the store he refers to, but he “disses” Home Depot as a whole by implication by including in and framing his remarks around a reference to a site that does “diss” Home Depot Stores in general.
 
Now, if he were to shop at the Home Depot and Lowes stores nearest me, he’d have a flip-flop of the experience he relates on his site.  Does that mean that I should generalize the nature of the local Lowes store and mention a site that regularly “disses” all Lowes stores, as a group, just because I find the nearest Lowes store to be dysfunctional?  Does it mean that I should imply that all Home Depot stores are as well-run as the one nearest me?  No to both, because I do not know the other Lowes and Home Depot stores. (Well, I do know one more of each, and—in my neck of the woods—they are each like the ones nearest me: Lowes, so-so; Home Depot, very good.)
 
Of course, do note that Glenn only implies (by framing his remarks in the context of another site’s “dissing” of Home Depots in general) that his experience at one Home Depot store is normative for the whole. But that’s a sloppiness that really ought not to be in such a widely-read blog… by a law prof.
 
;Error of composition: assuming, implying or stating that what is true of the parts of an entity is true of the whole. “Some whites once owned slaves;  therefore all whites were slave owners,” is one such error of composition.  “I know a man who abused his wife, therefore all men are abusers of women,” is another such error of composition.  “Shopping at my local Home Depot store is a lousy experience and The Corner doesn’t like them, either,  therefore… ” heh. Indeed.
Posted on

Did someone say, “Kipling Tuesday”?

Cold Iron
Rudyard Kipling
 
“Gold is for the mistress — silver for the maid —
Copper for the craftsman cunning at his trade.”
“Good!” said the Baron, sitting in his hall,
“But Iron — Cold Iron — is master of them all.”
 
So he made rebellion ‘gainst the King his liege,
Camped before his citadel and summoned it to siege.
“Nay!” said the cannoneer on the castle wall,
“But Iron — Cold Iron — shall be master of you all!”
 
Woe for the Baron and his knights so strong,
When the cruel cannon-balls laid ’em all along;
He was taken prisoner, he was cast in thrall,
And Iron — Cold Iron — was master of it all!
 
Yet his King spake kindly (ah, how kind a Lord!)
“What if I release thee now and give thee back thy sword?”
“Nay!” said the Baron, “mock not at my fall,
For Iron — Cold Iron — is master of men all.”
 
“Tears are for the craven, prayers are for the clown —
Halters for the silly neck that cannot keep a crown.”
“As my loss is grievous, so my hope is small,
For Iron — Cold Iron — must be master of men all!”
 
Yet his King made answer (few such Kings there be!)
“Here is Bread and here is Wine — sit and sup with me.
Eat and drink in Mary’s Name, the whiles I do recall
How Iron — Cold Iron — can be master of men all!”
 
He took the Wine and blessed it. He blessed and brake the Bread.
With His own Hands He served Them, and presently He said:
“See! These Hands they pierced with nails, outside My city wall,
Show Iron — Cold Iron — to be master of men all.”
 
“Wounds are for the desperate, blows are for the strong.
Balm and oil for weary hearts all cut and bruised with wrong.
I forgive thy treason — I redeem thy fall —
For Iron — Cold Iron — must be master of men all!”
 
“Crowns are for the valiant — sceptres for the bold!
Thrones and powers for mighty men who dare to take and hold!”
“Nay!” said the Baron, kneeling in his hall,
“But Iron — Cold Iron — is master of men all!
Iron out of Calvary is master of men all!”
Posted on

Reformation theology at a slant…

Credenda Agenda: I’ve enjoyed it for years in both print and online versions
 
Serious, droll, thought-provoking and hilarious.  Here’s a sample from the “Cave of Adullum” column:
 
Believe Bowling [see it here]
Not that we are against faith or anything, but an outfit called Chinaberry is marketing something called a “believe bowl.” The front of the bowl has the raw exhortation to “believe” and the copy drawing our attention to these alluring wares said, “Whether it’s faith in God, faeries, or St. Nick, it sure feels good to believe. This small bowl proclaims a powerfully big statement, especially when used as a reminder to believe in yourself. . . .”

On one of those hard mornings, when you find it hard to get going, just get out your luminous blue bowl, and reflect on the fact that it is just as hollow as you are.
 
The current issue‘s theme is Cheese.  Try a few slices. 
Posted on

Email from masochists

I’ve gotten some email from some folks who hate their eyes…
…asking for a more complete pic of my ugly mug. Well, I’ve decided to honor their request and take pity on their eyes at the same time.
Here I am somewhere back in the middle of the previous century, being a good boy (for once), even if my mom took away my cowboy hat and messed with my hair (!?!) for the pic…
  
 
…took away my cowboy hat. Combed my hair. (Meanie)  Kinda makes you wanna cry, don’t it? It’s no wonder I turned out so warped. Man, I was a sweet kid to smile so nicely for the mean lady…
 
🙂
 
Posted on

Yum!! Worth waiting for! (But didn’t have to wait all that long… )

Technical issues (someone pled too many daquiris in the Big Easy) delayed the Carnival of the Recipes a tad, and I missed its posting…
 
…but it’s actually been up since Friday (it Be a great job on short shrift :-), and I’ve just caught onbto some of the really great recipes. MORNING GLORY MUFFINS! (But Kris, ya gotta know I’ll modify the recipe… it’s not you; it’s me. ::LOL::) Sweet n Sour Chicken, Herbed Rice, UK-Style Shepherd’s Pie and lots and lots more of the good stuff.
 
Ahhh… just go there and start making out your shopping list!
Posted on

The Problem With Penguins

Who says the TSA isn’t profiling potential problem passengers?
 
The Thousands Standing Around  as theater of the absurd:
 
 
Yep.  Really. I guess the Thousands Standing Around crew at Denver feared the penguins might’ve hijacked the plane or something (“Book two to Bogota!”)… (tip from a reader of Jerry Pournelle’s Chaos Manor)
 
Oh, and apparently, one TSA goon in San Jose, CA, thinks that the Thousands Standing Around ban on more than 2 matchbooks means any kind of book. (This is the only report I know of.  But it certainly fits the profile for Thousands Standing Around employees… ::heh::)
 
They seem get these guys by weeding out anyone with an IQ over 80.  And the normative curve for Thousands Standing Around goons seems (by evidence of reported behavior) to cluster around the average intelligence of yeast.
 
But they are only doing their duty (as the stupid man claims whenever he finally understands that what he is doing is stupid… ).
 
Posted on

“Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you… “

Yeh, you wish… well, at least I do
 
If only.  Scrappleface has penned a piece of comic “news” that actually posits one of the most significant steps that could be taken to fix public education.  That it would have a salutory effect on public education is, of course, the primary reason politicians will NOT do it… Sample:
 
“The ‘No Bureaucrat Left Behind’ reforms will completely shut down the federal Department of Education, however, all former employees are expected to find jobs with education lobbyist firms which will soon have to sell their ideas to thousands of school boards nationwide, instead of just a handful of Congressmen.”
 
 
Posted on

Politicians, Lawyers and Creeps, Oh my!

But I repeat myself…
 
I promise myself, every time I see a particular road sign to write a post about it.  But before I do, a side trip down an apparent rabbit trail.
 
I once knew a lawyer who had descended beyond scoundrelry and rascelry into downright disgusting. One of his shady—though completely legal—deals was the management of a trust he’d devised for the bequests of a client, a very foolish, trusting client.  (Hereafter, instead of citing this lawyer’s name, in its place, I’ll simply use the name “Damned Lawyer”) When the client died, the lawyer had full control of managing the donations from this trust to various charities and non-profit groups.  In each and every case, the lawyer’s name was attched in some way, such as the Damned Lawyer Memorial Methodist Church (the lawyer was still alive, but he stipulated that the church be named after him in that way when he gave the church money from his client’s funds to build a new building).  And every road leading into the little town where that church was had a huge billboard proclaiming the Damned Lawyer Memorial Church.
 
He used someone else’s money to proclaim himself benevolent.
 
Every time I saw those signs, I felt the disgust I feel now when I see a similar sign proclaiming the G. Damned Congressman Highway.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  I do not see the idea of naming a portion of a highway after a public servant, as is done around here in naming portions of roads after state troopers who are killed on duty, as a bad thing.  Indeed, naming public works after public servants (such as the slain state troopers) is a good thing.  But naming public works after a politician, someone whose “benevolence” is all taking money from someone else to spend it on something the politician can claim “credit” for is beyond distasteful and into downright disgusting.
 
The only monuments, IMO, that ought to bear the names of politicians are their headstones.
 
 

Posted on

Hide n Seek

revealing at last the secret location of America’s Third World Countyâ„¢


Best resolution available to me of satellite image of America’s Third World Countyâ„¢. Now you know where I am. Posted by Hello