loseyourname said:
Argumentum ad hominem means argumentation against the person. It's a way of deflecting from the actual arguments being made by your opponent. It is and has always been considered an informal logical fallacy. If you think this:
I am older and more experienced than you.
Therefore, you are wrong.
Nope. You wrote that.
I stated that I am older than you and I have therefore had experience with this type of legislation before from a professional standpoint and in my personal life.
Tell me ... if some kid is working in a garage and is half way through hooking up a scope to an engine and a guy who has 25 years in the business walks in and hears a tic and says, "It's missing on the third piston", is this an ad hominem attack too?
loseyourname said:
You have the same amount of experience with this particular bill as I do - none. Heck, I might have more experience than you since I bothered to take a look at the thing before deciding it was all bunk. I decided to make up my own mind instead of accepting the headline accounts of what it contained.
Look, kid, I keep telling you that the thing is a dog because of the premise being based in TAX REBATES.
Again, you're in loseyourname lalaland. How many people in the SENATE read the bill before the vote?
Here's a hint. Go and look at the Patriot Act and see if you can read the thing in the two days they took before IT was passed.(No that wasn't an attempt at digression. That was an attempt at pointing out to you that most legislation is not even read by the people who vote on the things. I suggest you watch F9/11 where Moore asks that same question and is invited to 'sit down while the facts of life are read to him'.)
loseyourname said:
Not at all. I find plenty wrong with it. But they had to pass a policy of some sort and this is as good as anything else that was proposed. I'm asking you to read it because I feel that knowledge of a given bill is a prerequisite for intelligent discussion of the bill.
Do you actually know how long this bill as been around? Do you think I don't actually know what is in it? This is the same pig that Bush has been trying to push through since day one of his presidency where he wanted to open up nature preserves in Alaska to drilling.
loseyourname said:
What "type?" All you've complained about are the rebates, which make up something like 11 out of 40 titles in the bill. There is a lot more to it than that, including many of the things you are saying should be included.
Well, hey ... it must be good. The People's Daily thinks it is.
http://english.people.com.cn/200507/30/eng20050730_199280.html
loseyourname said:
If you insist, but guess what? There are men as expert as you, more expert than you, that think otherwise. The appeal to authority doesn't work when the authorities can't come to agreement. That's why I'd like to at least see a specific objection to this legislation. Besides, you're wrong on at least one count. Tax rebates for energy conservation here in California have been very effective, and I'm glad this bill expands them.
Wow, now you are quoting the record of the state that just a couple of years ago was in default on their energy bill which allowed the 'Governator' to assume office.
loseyourname said:
Or perhaps you thought the conservation rebates were primarily for energy providers, not individuals and businesses that actually use the energy. Maybe if you read the bill you wouldn't think that.
Okay, I'll give you your merrit badge in 'Bill Reading'. Then, we'll forbid anyone who has not read the 1,200 page tome from even commenting on it because they just can't hold a candle to you!
Is that what you want?
Most people in the USA will never read your 1,200 page 'act' and you know what? ... they will all manage to debate the issue quite comfortably.
Heck, if you go over onto 'fox news' and do a search on 'Energy Bill' they even have some accountants sponsoring links to get you the best deal on the dollar ladder. No, that wasn't how to set up a business doing research or drilling a well, or getting a quicker permit or any of the things the bill purports to do. It is a direct link to 'accounting your way to wealth'.