Stormbringer's Thunder

Leftists celebrate and Conservatives warn against the increase in politically correct activism, especially when it infringes on personal freedoms. We read how "surveys show", but how accurate are they, really? Questions are often loaded, and the questions that are asked (as well as the people selected to participate in surveys) are frequently neglected during reporting. We should know that there are sidewinders who will selectively cite and manipulate data, but it seems that many people simply take "reporting" as unbiased and factual. Not hardly! Generated at Add Letters There are surveys and research results for many purposes, including "evidence" for evolution that conveniently leaves out pertinent data , and more. Ask your friends how many people they think are of the homosexual persuasion. Some think it's about half of the population, when the actual figure in the United States is closer to five percent or less ! The inflated number percept...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen For several years, I've been emphasizing how identifying logical fallacies can not only sharpen our own presentations, but help us spot deception coming from certain people. While I focus on evolution, creation science, and theology, it's easy to see how sneaky wording is used in other areas, especially those that are politically orient ed . It seems to be increasingly important t o have people to define their terms, and to nail down an understanding for a discussion, debate, or reporting. That is because there is a great deal of deliberate confusion going on, especially regarding connotations of loaded words. One of my favorite examples is "fundamentalist". That word is often used as a pejorative because of the connotations of a dour legalist , and the definitions are flexible; Calvinists, Lutherans, me, others can be considered fundamentalists because we believe in the fundamentals of the faith (we ll, duh) . Many of us don't cott...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Because humans are complicated beings, we respond to a number of different stimuli. Some are at very basic reflex and chemistry levels, such as "fight or flight". At the other end of the spectrum, we can intelligently consider various pieces of information and arrive at reasonable conclusions. Somewhere in the middle is the complication of emotions. Although they can respond to logic when recognized and a decision is made to bring them under control, they often arise unbidden. People have been "thinking" through their emotions for a very long time; I believe it is worse now than it used to be. There are people who want to manipulate others through emotions (whether deliberately or intentionally) , and we need to be on guard against such tactics. That is one reason I wrote a series about common logical fallacies . By recognizing fallacies and the way so many are based on appeals to emotions , we are less likely to fall for tricks, and can ...

A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal, But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel. — Proverbs 12.10 NASB This picture was circulating on Facebook and has upset quite a few people. There are over 30,000 comments on the main photo and 176,000 "shares". No idea how many total with all of the comments on the shared versions. I saw several comments where people wanted to personally harm and even kill the man in the picture. I'm warning you, it is upsetting to animal lovers. Be sure to read this all the way through.  Click for Larger; Picture is viral, original source not found.  From your initial glance, what do you feel? Outrage? A desire to hurt the guy? Sorry for the puppy? Now, what do you see? A fellow forcing a puppy to drink vodka? Animal abuse? In addition to the rage that was expressed, some interesting comments and observations were made. There is considerable argument about whether or not the cap is on the bottle in the fi...

Know how atheists prove that they are right, evolution is true? They attack and ridicule. That's it. No logic, no evidence, just bolstering their egos and dodging the truth by attacking people. It seems that theophobes are not always unaware of their lack of reasoning abilities. In fact, they actively use them to self-justify their hatred of God, Christians and the Bible. Further, they attempt to manipulate emotions to convince people that they are correct in their dreadful quote mining and misrepresentation of the Bible. Knowledgeable Christians are not fooled by these childish displays on the pooling of ignorance sites, but we are dismayed that people can be so vituperative in their ignorance. Further, skeptics think that because they make accusations, they deserve the benefit of the doubt. But that is not the case . A series of articles at the "True Free Thinker" Weblog takes on some of the bad logic and manipulation of certain obstreperous misotheists and their sites...

Revised 8-20-2012. Buon giorno. I have been wanting to call CARM Radio and ask Matt Slick if he supports my hypotenuse hypothesis: Atheists are control freaks. I have had several instances of control freakness that cause me to wonder if it is more than just a couple of individuals that indulge. My latest experience is typical, so here we go. An atheist decided to try to get to me by insulting my creation science Weblog . (Yeah. Playing the Ridicule Card or otherwise attempting to insult and hurt someone is a frequent opening gambit in lieu of actual thought.) I told him (her?) that it's a Weblog . There are links to assorted articles, many of which are of a technical nature. I dared him (her?) to actually read and debunk the science on the site. So, I rejected his insult and essentially told him to "put up or shut up". Eventually, he said that he would "have a glance at it". Then I received, " Okay, had a read through the first section. Firs...

Buon giorno. I have talked to you about gaining and building trust . Today, I'm going to go in the opposite direction: How we lose trust. And in that negative, I'll make it positive. Trust me. I need to point out something fundamental. Different people will have their own experiences and "emotional baggage" or psychological scars that they bring into a situation. Someone that has been hurt and betrayed often and/or deeply will be less likely to be trusting. For instance, I am very suspicious of people at the top of The Organization because of harsh experiences that I've had. (I'm also suspicious of that guy hanging around outside, wearing the dark glasses and a long coat, but never mind about that now.) The opposite is true as well, that if someone has had successful experiences with trust will be more willing to trust again. When someone wants to be trusted, they can be in for a disappointment when that trust is not forthcoming. You can demand trust a...

Ernie the Gambler, Neil and I were having an interesting talk about control freaks the other day. We were trying to figure out what their problem is in the first place, and how to disarm them. Remember when I did that piece about manipulation and being manipulated ? Well, the control freak is worse. Everyone wants to have some control of their lives, their destiny, their workplace, their front porch, whatever. And mentally healthy people don't want to be controlled, they want at least some say in their relationships. These people are so weak minded that they are in so much fear and anxiety in their own lives, they want to control your life as well. You don't have much say when you're in a relationship with a control freak: Do what you're told. The problem is, when a control freak is a raving psychotic, there is no pleasing them; the rules constantly change. When you do what you're told or forced to do, this worst of controllers is still not pleased. Control freaks ...