Radio Trash Talk

The Illinois State Journal Register pounced on a comment made by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood when he criticized talk-radio "trash-talk." (full article)

The newspaper asked Springfield radio executive Kevan Kavanaugh of WMAY about the comment to which he responded saying he sees "nothing inappropriate about publicly discussing policy matters."

If this was a game show, the buzzer would be blaring and sign would drop down from the ceiling on a string. The sign says "OVER GENERALIZATION".

Logical error: Kavanaugh implied by this comment that LaHood was attacking all of talk-radio in general. Following this logic, one could infer by Kavaugh's statement that Ray LaHood was implying that all of talk-radio must be trash-talk by equating "trash-talk" with "publicly discussing policy matters."

In truth, LaHood was not being specific or general about his opinion of talk radio. Trash-talk is not conventionally associated as a general statement enveloping all of radio broadcasting. He would have to specifically say "All of talk-radio is trash-talk," which he did not.

• Trash-talk includes OVER-GENERALIZATIONS.

Another form of trash-talk is name-calling.

Name-calling can be calling something or someone stupid, crazy, way-out, far-left, far-right, fringe, unhinged, or saying that something stinks, sucks, or is described as generally terrible.

When you name-call, you are making a claim about someone or something. Every time you make such a claim, you must support your claim with Evidence.

For example, when Kirk Farah of WMAY doesn't like certain music, he tends to say that it sucks rather than saying he doesn't like it.

Because Kirk has the privilege of talking on the radio, he is regarded by most of his audience as an authority on whatever he talks about. Most of the listeners take him seriously simply because of this status.

If he said he didn't like it, that would be fine because most people understand that not everyone has the same personal tastes and such a statement does not need any supporting evidence, just an opinion will suffice in this case.

But, because he says certain types of music suck, Listeners may take him at his word and avoid that type of music. In rare cases, the listeners might never know that they actually like something because they were told that it sucked so they stay away from it.

Kirk has said on several occasions that MSNBC is "way-out there" without ever supporting this claim with any legitimate evidence.

• Name-calling without evidence is TRASH-TALK.

TRASH-TALK has another longer name. It's called a "Fallacy of Argumentation." You can read more about fallacies of argumentation at http://sageofspringfield.com/argument/home.html.

Dennis Miller

Dennis Miller seems like a smart guy. Part of his humor is based on sarcasm. He's a real smooth talker and sometimes you get the impression that he draws upon the common sense from the middle-ground. But he said President Obama's speech on Health Care Reform was partisan, when in reality his speech was based on facts.

Living must be difficult when facts are partisan and the truth hurts so much you must block it out of your mind and scream "You Lie!" (Joe Wilson) or walk out in the middle of a joint session of congress while the President of the United States is giving a speech (John Shimkus).

What does it take to break you from your coma of denial? A total one hundred percent Democrat majority in every branch of government? You only have the Supreme Court as your last bastion of conservatism, but you complained forever that they legislate from the bench. Are you willing to flip-flop on that opinion?

It's time to wake up and piece together this nation as a truly stable civilized nation where people don't have to freeze to death in the streets or be denied insurance coverage. A nation where education is top priority.

Economic Recovery.

ABC news radio reported that the economy is improving. The economy is measured by performing cost-profit analysis of industry.

Industry is doing just fine because they cut their labor costs. But labor also happens to be customers.

Prepare for the worst Christmas in U.S. History.

Chris Matthews on MSNBC asking people if they are for public health care abortion.

Christ Matthews keeps asking people if they are for or against government subsidized abortion. Abortion is a medical procedure. Chris Matthews, last I heard, is not a doctor and does not have a uterus.

Medical procedures are nobody's business but the patient and her doctor. There is no room on the political table for abortion because politicians will never be able to enforce restricting abortions.

If the pro-lifers got their way and legislation passed to ban abortions, how much of a tax increase would they be willing to sacrifice in order to support an Anti-Abortion Czar, Anti-Abortion Taskforce, and an entire "War on Abortion?"

Maybe that's the real agenda. Not the morality of the movement, but the raking in of more tax dollars for yet another bloated bureaucracy that can be loaded with political patrons.