Look: I am eager to learn stuff I don't know--which requires actively courting and posting smart disagreement.

But as you will understand, I don't like to post things that mischaracterize and are aimed to mislead.

-- Brad Delong

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Everything that appears on this blog is the copyrighted property of somebody. Often, but not always, that somebody is me. For things that are not mine, I either have obtained permission, or claim fair use. Feel free to quote me, but attribute, please. My photos and poetry are dear to my heart, and may not be used without permission. Ditto, my other intellectual property, such as charts and graphs. I'm probably willing to share. Let's talk. Violators will be damned for all eternity to the circle of hell populated by Rosanne Barr, Mrs Miller [look her up], and trombonists who are unable play in tune. You cannot possibly imagine the agony. If you have a question, email me: jazzbumpa@gmail.com. I'll answer when I feel like it. Cheers!

Friday, April 23, 2010

WTH?!? Friday, Pt 3 - In Which I Berate Adam Ozimek

Again.

Over at Modeled Behavior, he says this, regarding smoking, the use of salt and sugar, slippery slopes, and, by implication, serrano peppers and meat thermometers.

I left him this comment.

This is an epic – and you’ll have to convince me that it’s not willful, if you even care – failure to see the point.

1) Where does this slippery slope lead? To fewer instances of high blood pressure, ergo fewer heart attacks and strokes. Wow – that’s tragic!

2) Nobody is impinging on your freedom to use salt. Have they come for your salt shaker? Controlling the Na content of packaged products, in fact gives you MORE freedom to make your own sodium decisions, since the food stuff OVER THE CONTENT OF WHICH YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO CONTROL will have a LOWER sodium content. Do the math, and add salt to taste.

3) Re smoking: Nobody has ever said you can’t smoke in the privacy of your own home, or in a variety of open air venues. Smoking bans give non-smokers the freedom to not be exposed to smokers’ effluents.

Remember the old argument that your freedom to swing your arms ends at some distance from my nose?

If that makes no sense to you, then consider that I move my bowels regularly, but I almost never do it in your office.

4) Slippery Slope arguments are inherently fallacious.
http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/slippery-slope.html

For shame.

Really.

Tsk, tsk.

Cheers!
JzB

3 comments:

Cirze said...

I don't really believe that the people who write these type articles believe this nonsense.

It's just a writing exercise that the righties give to their neophytes to prepare them for writing about attacking Iran.

Thanks for the gentle humor!

S

Jazzbumpa said...

Alas, Susan, I am convinced they believe every syllable of it. Corporate freedom trumps personal freedom every time. If your mind set is that Government really is that problem, and that all regulation is bad, ipso facto, then this type of mental gyration is necessary to maintain the facade.

As for the gentle humor - I can be polite, but it takes some effort.

Iran could be the tinder box that sets off WW III. I don't even want to think about it.

Thanx, and Cheers!
JzB

Cirze said...

But it's sooooooooooooooooooo last year.

Duh . . . (stammering) I mean three years ago.

heh

Love ya,

S

If your mind set is that Government really is that problem, and that all regulation is bad, ipso facto, then this type of mental gyration is necessary to maintain the facade.