Brian sez:

Matty,

In some sense you are right. It would be reaching to compare him to Michael Vick. I was not actually comparing him, though. That graphic could be considered humor. Sorry it didn’t come across as such. No, I do not think he is anything like Michael Vick, and I apologize if I caused anyone to think he was.

On the other hand, “caring and compassionate” is relative. In the case of the dog on that trip, he definitely was not. I don’t think you could reasonably defend that he was. I also did not comment if Mitt Romney has done great things, or if any of the other candidates did, either.

That’s the thing about mathematical thinking - we try not to extrapolate where there is no basis. I commented about him and his decision-making in this instance, and how it is wrong to label it “emotion-free crisis management.” Any argument would have to be about that.

I really wish that you would have read the caveat I wrote (see above). See, that’s so important in math - taking in the details. If an equation is 3*4+7=19, you don’t get to say, “Well, if you think that 3*4=19, then it is very obvious you have done absolutely no homework on this problem.” Nobody said 3*4=19, and nobody said they think Mitt Romney wasn’t a caring and compassionate person (nor did I say he was - that’s not basically anything I care to comment about here). I just basically said he was an idiot in this case, and the way he defended it reflected poorly on his decision-making skills. You can make up any stories in your head that you want from there, but they wouldn’t be my stories.

Your statement that, “Mitt Romney has actually done great things, unlike any of the other candidates who are full of diatribe,” is a blanket statement, not backed up by any evidence you offered, and smacks of diatribe itself. Bad logic. Furthermore, it has nothing whatsoever to do with the article.

And furthermore, the use of that kind of argument is the same thing as “Well, Hitler built the Autobahns, so he did some great things for Germany.” Nobody’s “great things” excuse animal cruelty. By the way, my use of that argument does not compare Romney to Hitler. (That is not something that I even remotely think.) It compares the argument. For all I know, Romney may be a great guy to go for a beer and shoot quail with (better than Cheney, anyway). (I say, I say, that’s a joke, son!)

This is not a political blog. I like math, and I love dogs. I detest politics. So we’ll keep it to math, critical-thinking, logic, education and the occasional animal-rights issue. Anyone is welcome to comment on those issues. Political comments won’t be accepted. (Unless it’s pretty funny and insulting to all politicians).