[lbo-talk] the Heritage/WSJ Freedom index is meaningless

Wojtek Sokolowski sokol at jhu.edu
Mon Mar 28 07:07:24 PST 2005


Doug:
> I'm tired of the way these fuckers get away with murder. Ward
> Churchill screws up and the lynch mobs are trying to get him fired.
> Heritage pulls some nonsense out of their butts and no one ever calls
> them on it. Fuck 'em.
>

I agree, but that seems to be a winning strategy on their part. Since it is much easier to concoct and circulate a lie than to refute it, the sheer law of probability gives the spin meisters a tremendous advantage over conscientious researchers trying to subject their statements to rigorous tests, as if they were scientific hypotheses. The only effective way to fight propaganda is ad hominem - i.e. to thoroughly destroy any credibility of the messengers - rather than trying to establish the truth value of their spin.

The correct argument is not "what these guys are saying is not true because x, y or z," but "these guys cannot be trusted, so determining whether they happen to be telling the truth or not is largely irrelevant and a waste of time."

Wojtek



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