Logical Fallacies - Response

Many logical fallacies are used in this episode, and they are both well executed and entertaining. The tv show hosts brings in his guest to actually play the leading role in the strawman fallacy, in which his argument is being set up simply to be knocked down - this makes the opposite point.  Next, a red herring fallacy was used when the guest speaker changed the subject from the original question asked and began to talk about the diseases that illegal immigrants bring with them when they cross over the border.  Then, an appeal to authority was used when the guest speaker defends his point by simply saying, "That's right ... you heard that person on TV say it", and also referencing the fact that many of his key points were provided by "Princeton's finest professor" or "Einsteins own" . At the same time, an appeal to pity is being used when he talks about the "terrible, awful" effects of leprosy on the American public.  And then a bandwagon fallacy is used when the "expert" explains that so many educated scholars agree, so you should, too! I think this comedy is effective in poking fun at the way that many figureheads and proponents debate in current media, and it is a little refreshing to be able to sit back and enjoy that silliness, knowing that I can pick apart what I am hearing and decide on my own what to believe.

Editorials - European Economic Meltdown

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/europes-day-of-reckoning-on-its-financial-crisis-is-at-hand/2011/10/10/gIQAGHnldL_story.html

http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?storyid={9c68e06f-bf3c-4446-a161-8221fc16fc0a}

Both of these editorial articles discuss the economic meltdown that is really beginning to take place in Europe currently.  The first takes on a more dire tone as it discusses all the reasons why every European country is going to soon come to reckoning over the financial crisis, and how there is not much that can be done to stabilize the market once again.  However, the second editorial takes a more global approach, discussing how the future of America’s economy may rest in the crux of what happens to Greece in the upcoming months. I feel like both articles are convincing, but the second offers a kind of hope while the first does not. The second one also pulls the United States of America into the mix, in reference to how we will be affected if Greece defaults, while the other editorial has a stronger focus on the European Union alone. Both articles quote European officials, like the German chancellor and French president, as well as American newspaper reports from titles like The New York Times. Also, both articles agree on the fact that “something big” is about to happen concerning the economic issues that can be seen all around the world. They both emphasize that because of deflation of currency, worldwide recession, stagflation, and entire countries being unable to pay the bills, the world has definitely reached a catch 22. If a country, which is significant to the global economy, goes bankrupt, countries that they owe money to will also go bankrupt … and this reaction can continue on like a chain of dominoes.  This would result in a global economic collapse, and since that has never happened before, no one really knows what will happen.  I would like to better understand this entire concept, so I think it would be really interesting to write an unbiased paper on this topic.

Story Telling from O'Brian - Response

                More than anything, the way that Tim O’Brian tells his stories is honestly. There is no sugar coating, or detail changing, or smoothing out at the corners.  He says that true war stories have no point, and this reminds  me of something my mom always tells me, which is that if you go through something in life that does not seem to have a point, life is the point, and that is all.  But it’s everything, really.  Some parts of O’Brian’s writing made me feel like throwing up:  who could shoot a baby buffalo that way?  Then again, who could kill some young kid in a booby trap that way, sending him up into a tree in pieces?  Who could burn down a whole mountain because of the voices you hear within your own soul?  This is a crazy world, and it is hard to write about. But O’Brian puts the reality down onto paper the way it is, hoping that someone will listen, and I think that that is why his stories are so effective.  Other parts of his writing made my eyes glossy:  the part about it being a love story, albeit a ghostly one, instead of a war story … or the part about waking up in the middle of the night, years later, to finally understand some elusive moral nugget of gold. That is an honestly written story right there.