Let’s see, George. Fitzsimon’s pop-gun attack provides a wealth of illogic in practice. For space considerations, allow me the liberty of ellipses (you can scroll down for the full quotation) and underlining when necessary:
… Apparently financial aid means lower grades. Who knew? [straw man] (explanation)
… It must follow that since Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard and he is the richest man in the world, making significantly more than an usher, maybe the key is to attend college, but never graduate. [straw man] At the heart of the criticism of the group, which ought to be renamed The Pope Center to Dismantle Public Universities, [reductio ad argumentum ex detestari] (explanation) is the fact that [straw man to follow] the evil government is investing tax dollars in a pubic institution that serves the people of the state [argument ad misericordiam] (explanation)
… the university system is an important economic engine for the state. [argument ex nihilo] (explanation) … it?s hard to imagine [argument ex ego] (explanation) Research Triangle Park existing without the research universities that surround it. [red herring] (explanation)
But investing in public anything is inconsistent [straw man] with the free market fundamentalism that seems to drive much of the anti-government crowd. No room in their radical world view [argument ex terrori] (explanation) to make opportunities to succeed available to everyone. [straw man]
… Most of us implicitly understand those benefits. [argument ab origine fictis] (explanation) This week, the radical right once again denied them and showed how far from reality their philosophy has strayed. [argument ex terrori, straw man]
