It Is NEVER “Just Semantics”

A Tiresome Rhetorical Tactic

As I have mentioned on occasion, the main purpose for this blog is to speak out on some subjects I think deserve the attention while I still have a pulse, and to help folks get a better handle on who I was after I'm no longer around. Well, one of the things I am, primarily, is a rhetorical warrior. What that means is that I really enjoy a lively debate on almost any subject. Some of the topics I am most interested in will turn up in the blog, of course (you may have noticed, for instance, that I have a bee in my bonnet about free speech lately), but I also enjoy talking about the meta aspects of argumentation, the nuts-and-bolts of how arguments are constructed and put forth...

Of late I have noticed a fair number of people willing to engage in one of my least-favorite rhetorical tactics: Claiming that their opponent's argument is "just semantics." This sort of thing usually pops up after the advocate has said something spectacularly silly or mistaken, and has gotten called out on it. The advocate will typically thrash about for awhile trying to defend the original statement, but when it becomes apparent to them that that is a hopeless cause, they will attempt to close off further debate by saying that they're not interested in "debating the meanings of words." Needless to say, I find this defense completely unpersuasive.

In his novel The Ball and The Cross, G.K. Chesterton put it succinctly:

Why shouldn't we quarrel about a word? What is the good of words if they aren't important enough to quarrel over? Why do we choose one word more than another if there isn't any difference between them?

Well said. Frankly, when someone uses the "just semantics" dodge, I take it as a sign that they have no substantive rejoinder to my position. It is waving a rhetorical white flag...

Things That Make Me Sad: Royals Edition

Well, at least my beloved Kansas City Royals can't lose today...because they're not playing. After getting swept in a 3-game series at Yankee Stadium, the Royals are nursing a 4-game losing streak (they lost the final game of their home series with the Cardinals) as they head to the Windy City for three games at historic Wrigley Field.

Although the team has only scored five runs in the four-game losing streak, of far more concern to me is the state of the starting pitching:

• Yordano Ventura - 3-4, 4.64
• Danny Duffy - 2-3, 5.87 (now on the Disabled List)
• Edison Volquez - 4-3, 2.77
• Jason Vargas - 3-2, 5.16 (just back from the DL)
• Jeremy Guthrie- 4-3, 6.70

That level of mediocrity can't continue if the team is going to do well. Certainly someone is going to have to be removed from the rotation to make room for Chris Young (4-1, 1.55). Personally, I'd send Duffy to Omaha for awhile. Better to let him work out his problems starting for the Storm Chasers than languish in the Royals bullpen. Unfortunately, Young is only one plug, and the rotation currently has four leaks in it.

One possible bit of good news is that Alex Rios might be ready to return to the team as early as tomorrow...

"All this talk about baseball makes me sleepy...zzzzzzzz."

Go right ahead. Heaven knows you could use some "beauty sleep"...

My Number One...

One of the things I am grateful for is that playing guitar badly is not a crime (yet...if Hillary becomes President, who knows?). It would probably be more accurate to say that I play AT guitar, especially on days when arthritis flares up in my hands. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy myself with my various "ladies," each of whom will appear in this blog from time to time.

Most guitarists who own more than one guitar will say that they have a "Number One," an instrument that for whatever reason they prefer to play most of the time. Although it is a stretch to call ME a "guitarist," I do have a Number One:

"Karla," my 2009 Fender Classic Player Baja Telecaster.

In the early spring of 2010, I decided to take up guitar-playing again, strictly as a hobby. At that time, it had been a quarter of a century since I had picked up an instrument, but I knew what I wanted: a genuine Fender Telecaster. After doing some research, I settled on the particular model pictured above. I loved the butterscotch blonde finish, and the Fender Custom Shop pickups (Twisted Tele at the neck position, Broadcaster at the bridge position, if you care), but what really sold me was the relatively thick neck (what some guitarists call the "baseball bat" profile). Fender calls it a "soft V," but whatever it's called, I fell in love as soon as I held it.

That actually took a little time, as I couldn't find a guitar store that had one for some time after I started shopping (I don't like buying a guitar without laying hands on it first). Eventually, I walked into a place in Omaha...

...there she was, just hanging on the wall waiting for me. Sadly, Russo's is no longer in business. I really miss that place...

Things That Make Me Happy: Wild Kingdom Edition

A pair of House Finches has built a nest on the underside of the deck above my patio. I enjoy their singing, and they appear to be enjoying my patio...

"We do. Fucking with your cats is just a bonus..."

It's a bonus for me, too. If you didn't know, cats will often make this weird sort of chirping noise when they see a bird, apparently in the (vain) hope that they can trick the bird into coming close enough for them to pounce on it. Hilarious...

I'm now in the market for a bird feeder and seed. Any recommendations would be most welcome. Please leave a comment (see the next section) if you have some ideas to share.

"Sure, you'll put food out for some stupid birds. What about me?"

Don't be a crybaby. Foraging for your own ants helps keep you from getting fat...

Housekeeping

I'm still fiddling with some of the blog's settings, but little by little it is starting to look the way I want it to look. I should also point out that if you'd like to leave a comment, all you have to do is click on the link right next to the time stamp at the bottom of each post (it typically says "No comments," but that only means no one has posted a comment yet, not that comments are not allowed). I'd love to hear from you...

Until Next Time...

In the fall of 1995, I returned to classroom teaching for the first time in five years. The band Live released their wildly popular Throwing Copper album in the spring of the previous year, but I wasn't paying attention at the time. I didn't start following popular music again until I knew I was going to be neck-deep in teenagers every day (being passingly familiar with their music is essential to doing my job reasonably well). It wasn't long after that that I saw a rerun of a Saturday Night Live episode where the band appeared as the musical guest. As with most music videos, the clip below is a little silly (although I love the color of that Stratocaster!), but this song led me to Throwing Copper, and after that I was a fan. Enjoy...