Can You Say That Naked?
Wednesday, November 9, 2005 at 10:11AM
Figaro

desperate2.jpgQuote:  "Some activists will only see another opportunity to push government as parent, but parents make the best decisions about what [TV] is appropriate for their family to watch and have the tools to enforce those decisions." Jim Dyke, executive director of TV Watch, in the Associated Press.

Figure of Speech:  Straw Man fallacy, attacking a weaker version of the original argument.

The number of sex scenes on television has doubled over the past seven years, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation study -- now five per hour on 70 percent of all network shows.

Instead of admitting that every network is turning into the Porn Channel, industry flack Jim Dyke argues against Government Interference. He uses the Straw Man tactic, which ignores your argument and sets up a rhetorical "straw man" -- an easier argument to attack.

Snappy Answer:  "I hit the remote and you still won't shut up."

Article originally appeared on Figures of Speech (http://inpraiseofargument.com/).
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