Working Blue

Desperation

A sure sign that progressives are losing a debate is when they shift from their primary arguments (such as they are) and resort to strategies heavy on deflection, misdirection, and obfuscation. Of course, those tactics (along with time-tested logical fallacies like the straw man and the red herring) usually show up pretty early in the proceedings, as progressives are not known for their logical and evidentiary rigor on the contentious issues of the day.

We certainly appear to have reached this point with regard to the Planned Parenthood investigative videos produced by the Center for Medical Progress.

Bill Nye, Science Propaganda Guy

Exhibit A is Bill Nye. Although his only formal credential is a B.S. in mechanical engineering, he has parlayed a breezy and entertaining delivery style into a career as "The Science Guy." Nothing wrong with that, of course. My generation had Don Herbert, aka Mr. Wizard (about whom Nye wrote a touching obituary). Like Nye, Herbert wasn't an actual scientist (he was an English and General Science major who wanted to be an actor).

The problem I have with Mr. Nye at the moment is his recent attempt to use his celebrity status to influence the ongoing debate about abortion.

Specifically, he produced a witless YouTube video in which he attempts to use "science" to paint pro-life advocates as ignorant religious zealots. And, of course, his celebrity has led some people to tout his video as a brilliant critique of the pro-life side of the debate. All that tells us is that the folks praising the video either didn't watch it, or decided to praise it in spite of its obvious flaws because it argues for the "right" side of the issue (i.e., their side).

Don Herbert would have been offended to see such an amateurish, pseudo-scientific polemic held up to the public as "science." Mr. Nye clearly cares more about politics than scientific truth.

"Babies come from...from...the stork? No?"

The urge progressives have to wave "science" around like some sort of trump card would make more sense if they actually, you know, understood the science. They mostly don't.

Another recent example of this kind of thing comes via pompous jackhole Chris Cuomo, currently scamming CNN out of paycheck by pretending to be a journalist. A few weeks ago, he did an interview with Senator Marco Rubio in which he demonstrated an appalling lack of knowledge about basic biology.



That Cuomo thinks himself qualified to discuss these issues at all, much less to take such a high-handed attitude, is astonishing. Then again, maybe it isn't...

"I only wear the actual clown makeup at parties."

Then there's this guy:


"BREAKING: The videos we've been telling you didn't exist for weeks have been analyzed by experts who say that they might, maybe, possibly show what was claimed, although we will use this as a pretext to say we have proof the pro-life folks are lying."
--Michael Scherer, TIME Magazine

"Information? I don't need no steenkin' information!"

And for today's progressive pièce de résistance, we have Washington Post columnist and occasional MSNBC circus clown Jonathan Capehart, who continues to defend Planned Parenthood despite admitting that he hasn't watched and won't watch the videos that are at the heart of the current debate (pun intended, always).

As someone who devoted his professional life to teaching young people how to reason and how to argue persuasively, I don't know whether to laugh or cry that such rhetorical incompetence gets so much undeserved attention.

"False dilemma. You can laugh and cry."

A fair point...

Sports Bummers

The primary reason most of us follow sports is so that they can serve as a distraction from whatever it is about our lives that makes us unhappy. In my own case, my need for such distractions is dire. And so, when even my sports teams are making me unhappy...

My beloved Missouri Tigers, having been upset by Kentucky 21-13 last Saturday, now have to face SEC East rival South Carolina without their No. 1 quarterback.

The university announced today that Maty Mauk is suspended for this week's game due to an unspecified violation of team rules.

True Freshman Drew Lock will lead the Tigers against the Gamecocks. Needless to say, a third consecutive SEC East title and berth in the SEC Championship Game will be almost impossible for the Tigers to achieve. Where is the Music City Bowl held, again?

My beloved Kansas City Royals continued their September Swoon last night, losing 4-2 to the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. It was their second straight loss (on what was originally scheduled to be a day off on Monday, the Royals played a makeup game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, thanks to a rainout earlier in the season, and lost 1-0 in 11 innings). Johnny Cueto's record fell to 3-7, 4.95 ERA since joining the Royals, and the Royals most likely won't start him in Game 1 of the ALDS.

For the month of September, the Royals are 10-17, and despite having the best record in the American League for almost the entire 2015 season are now trailing the Toronto Blue Jays for that honor (and home field advantage should the two teams meet in the ALCS).

On Tuesday it was announced that closer Greg Holland would have the Tommy John Surgery on Friday in Los Angeles. It wasn't unexpected, but it's still depressing.

It might have been unreasonable to expect my beloved Kansas City Chiefs to beat the Super Bowl favorite Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, especially after the Chiefs had been stewing over their gut-wrenching last-second loss to the Denver Broncos in their previous game. But would it have been asking too much to at least play well and be competitive?

The Chiefs did neither of those things, and lost 38-28 on Monday Night Football in a game that was definitely not as close as the score indicated (the Chiefs trailed 24-7 at halftime). The offensive line in particular played horribly, and as a result QB Alex Smith had a dreadful night. He looked worse than ordinary.



Of course, Chiefs fans are no strangers to disappointing play from former San Francisco quarterbacks. It's something of a Chiefs tradition, in fact.

Do you think I exaggerate? Steve DeBerg played for the 49ers before coming to Kansas City. So did Joe Montana. So did Steve Bono. So did Elvis Grbac. From 1988 through 2000, the Chiefs starting quarterback in almost every game was an ex-49er. And now we're trying desperately to win with yet another San Francisco castoff.

The Chiefs now have to hit the road again to play the 3-0 Cincinnati Bengals. Great...

Damn It, Nabisco!

I'm trying my hardest to stay away from fattening treats, and you go and do this?

There are no words for this level of evil...

No. No I do not.

Until Next Time...

There are days when American blues music hits me in a way that no other music can. How many more years have I got to let you dog me around, world?

Today's send-off is my hero Joe Bonamassa performing Howlin' Wolf's "How Many More Years" during his Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks concert on August 31, 2014. Enjoy...