[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] Little Fishes.

Well, since I'm still sort of bopping around the shady, seedy back alley of the internet that is Dinesh D'Souza's AOL's Newsbloggers' scribbling, I learned today that he actually responded to a comment of mine.

I feel so special that such a beacon of The Burning Stupid would address me --a lowly muttering member of the Plebeian, atheist masses. And, though it's a pretty grime I've got smattered upon me from Dinesh, it is still dirt nonetheless, and just reading his quibbling little collection of lies addressed to me is enough to make me feel as though I need a shower afterwards.

Anyway, here was my comment to D'Souza's Burning Stupid about Galileo:

1. Jesus, you are freakin' dense. Galileo didn't prove the world was round. He proved the Copernican concept of a heliocentric solar system as opposed to the geocentric model cooked up in the book of fables that is the Bible.

And, well... I at least hung onto the truth of the matter. Dinesh was dumb enough to bring up Galileo to state his bizarre, little case in his odd argument about how everyone sees Christians as dumb for thinking they believed the world was flat (though it does say that in the Bible). I actually pointed out that D'Souza built an argument upon a blatant lie. His entire argument failed the second he evoked the name of Galileo in the first freakin' sentence. It's pretty simple really, and, when one is debating, it's usually good to try and stick to the truth.

Oh! And while you read Dinesh's response, please keep in mind my use of Copernicus above, okay? You'll thank me later.

Anyway, here's Dinesh's latest deviation from reality as he finds himself backed into a rather unfortunate and scary corner where his pride won't let him say "Oops. I was wrong.":

Postscript: No sooner did I post than the atheists were in there, seeking to divert attention from their Flat Earth myth by claiming that Galileo is actually famous for being the first to demonstrate the truth of heliocentrism. Even here, they are wrong on two counts: a) It was Copernicus who advocated heliocentrism more than a half-century before Galileo and b) Galileo's proofs of heliocentrism were mostly wrong. For instance, Galileo argued that one reason we know the earth goes around the sun is because of the ocean tides. Galileo thought it was the earth's motion that caused the water in the oceans to slosh around! Actually, the tides are the result of the moon's gravitational force acting upon the earth. So Galileo was right about heliocentrism, but largely for the wrong reasons. Count on our "enlightened" atheists to keep getting their facts wrong.

See what he did there?

It's kind of cute, actually.

First, he assumes I'm an atheist for no other reason than I don't agree with him. I'd like you all to show me anywhere in my comment above where I shared my beliefs or lack thereof.

More importantly, nowhere in his response to me does he address his actual error of trying to lump Galileo in with those who would study and prove the earth was round (something Pythagoras proved around 570 BCE --which is my best guess at who was the first westerner to stumble upon such information, but I may be wrong). Instead, he wanders off into some seemingly safe, little cave full of shiny red --but very smelly-- fishes where he simply pretends that I neglected to mention Copernicus in my response to his lie (But, it's in bold above, so I don't know where he's getting his information. I mean, it's right there on the page at comment number one).

Morever, to make matters sillier, he rambles his oblivious little way into irrelevancy by going out of his way to mention that Galileo was wrong as though it actually somehow matters. I wish there was some sort of name for that sort of logical fallacy... oh wait... There is.

It's called Ignoratio Elenchi, I believe. Or, maybe you'd be more comfortable with the term Red Herring, Dinesh. Either way, as someone who perpetually thumps his chest about what a "skilled debater" he is, you really do tend to dance among a minefield of logical fallacies while holding that pistol pointed squarely at your foot.

I honestly pity Dinesh D'Souza, and I really feel sorry for AOL for employing such a foolish person of such glaring bigotry, hatred and ignorance. But, I would like D'Souza to address the issue as to how he could quite possibly use Galileo in an argument about whether or not the world was flat or round and still expect to sustain his argument without promoting further ignorance. I mean, it's one thing for him to broadcast his own Burning Stupidity, but it's an entirely different kettle of fish to expect people to not come away more misinformed after reading his senseless, blatantly untrue and erroneous meanderings.

So, grow some stones, D'Souza and admit you made a mistake. Also, in the future, if discussing the notion of a flat-earth, do your loyal (albeit brainwashed) readers a favor by reading Washington Irving's biography of Columbus, and pay very close attention to the unfortunate license he took in reinvigorating the Biblical notion of a flat earth in an attempt to sell more books. After all, without that little slice of fiction, I'd imagine the story of Columbus would have been considerably more boring as a result of all that time just floating upon the open sea. Unfortunately, Irving's lie, like your own lies Dinesh, continue to do great harm to humanity as well as your precious Christian beliefs.

-DP

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 11/12/2007 03:48:00 PM