On Jun 20, 2008, at 9:00 PM, Andrew Fildes wrote:
>
> Read carefully - his hypocrisy whether real, imagined or invented by
> his enemies has ABSOLUTELY NO BEARING WHATSOEVER on the argument
> itself.
Never said it did. Said he was a uber-hypocritical windbag who has
enriched himself by being at the vanguard of a global hysteria.
> His motives and behaviour are not part of the problem at all.
Wrong, utterly and absolutely. Because of his position as High
Priest, his behaviors are very much a part of the problem. If, for
example, we are shoveling coal into the boiler of our own extinction,
then his behavior undermines the credibility of his argument and
gives his adversaries some well-fashioned ammunition to use against
him. Where's the good in that?
> His substance or lack thereof does not bear on the validity of the
> argument.
See above.
> It's like claiming that God can't exist because some preachers are
> evil hypocrites.
Hum. You sure _you_ want to go there? <g>
> Can you not see that?
Speaking of ad hominem irrelevancies. Like you, I believe I see quite
clearly. Unfortunately, neither of us will be around to see that I
was right. <g>
> It is an ad hominem irrelevancy (attack the person, not the argument).
As I recall, British courts have ruled that teachers who use Mr.
Gore's movie in their classrooms must also include a list of at least
10 corrections to the material presented. Never mind that attacking
Mr. Gore's _personal energy consumption_ is anything _but_ ad
hominem. It is relevant to the issue. Like Robert Kennedy going on a
TV show to say that Americans who drive SUVs are bad Americans, and
then having to admit that he'd used a private jet to get to the city
where the show was taped. Whether you're a spokesman for traditional
religions or new-aged enviro-religion, your behavior matters. True,
no one is perfect, but there's a difference between imperfection and
being a blowhard hypocrite who points his finger and lectures the
rest of us while sitting back and home and consuming enough energy in
a night to run several Ethiopian villages for several years.
> Shoot the messenger because he limps.
Damn right! (If the message has do do with everyone else's bad
posture. And double-damn right if the message is flawed. Judging
modern messengers, from the personal to the corporate, I think a bit
more shooting would be in order.)
> If you can't, you are in the company of smug, ignorant millions,
> but...
Oh, thank you My High And Mighty Truly Informed Global Resource of
Truth and Knowledge Who Never Errs and is Always Right to Boot. Or is
that Ripe to Boot? <wink>
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