by Henry Oliner | Apr 29, 2021 | Politics, Progressivism
Bulverism is a great word coined by C.S. Lewis in the 1940s that describes identity politics. An argument is not to be addressed by its evidence, reason or logic but by the identity of the proponent or opponent. That identity may be the sexual desire or psychological...
by Henry Oliner | Mar 6, 2021 | Media
From Jonah Goldberg at The Dispatch, Toxic Asininity: The other day, Jim Geraghty lamented the conservative “habit of showing up and opening with the tenth step of a ten-step argument.” I think that’s very apt. But I also think it describes a broader phenomenon. I’d...
by Henry Oliner | May 20, 2020 | Media
I have often quoted Peggy Noonan’s observation in her book Patriotic Grace of the great media shift. In the days before cable and internet we had fewer sources, but we all read the same news, heard the same stories and generally with the same frequency; a story did...
by Henry Oliner | Mar 16, 2019 | Uncategorized
How often have you experienced an idea rejected only because of its source? Is an argument that the minimum wage causes unemployment in lower wage jobs to be rejected because it was made on Fox? Should a criticism of tariffs be discounted because it was made by a...
by Henry Oliner | Mar 5, 2018 | Politics
from Kevin Williamson at National Review An Enemies List Is Not a Philosophy : But these are stupid times, especially for Republicans, who in their pursuit of fleeting political advantage must pretend to be something other than what they are and pretend that Trump is...
