Fallacies R Us

Fallacies R Us: Examples of Various Logical Fallacies

America: love it or leave it. She loves me; she loves me not.

We found that in rural areas where many people tend to own guns, the break-in rate was much lower than in urban areas, where far fewer own guns. From this we concluded that gun ownership directly led to a lower break-in rate.

We found that the shooters had spent an inordinate amount of time playing Doom, a first person shooter computer game. How long will it take until people wake up to the damaging effects of these monstrous games?

How can you say that driving while talking on a cell phone is dangerous? I’ve been doing it for years and have never been in a wreck.

I don't buy that whole seatbelt thing. My uncle Bubba never wore his and when he rolled his F250 he was thrown clear of the wreck and came out with nary a scratch. Not wearing that belt probably saved his life!

The 90s showed a steep decline in both the overall crime rate and the number of states allowing the death penalty, so, clearly, eliminating the death penalty is the most humane means of lowering the crime rate.

In response to the 9-11 attacks: "I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this [9/11] happen.' […] The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this [9/11] because God will not be mocked." Rev. Jerry Falwell, 9/13/2001
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/14/Falwell.apology/

In response to Hurricane Katrina's destruction of New Orleans: “Repent America’s director, Michael Marcavage, suggested that “this act of God destroyed a wicked city. New Orleans was a city that opened its doors wide open to the public celebration of sin. May it never be the same.” He continued, “We must not forget that the citizens of New Orleans tolerated and welcomed the wickedness in their city for so long.”
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_050831.shtml

You should never gamble. Once you start gambling you find it hard to stop. Soon you are spending all your money on gambling, and eventually you will turn to crime to support your earnings.
http://onegoodmove.org/fallacy/ss.htm

If I make an exception for you then I have to make an exception for everyone.
http://onegoodmove.org/fallacy/ss.htm

We hope you'll accept our recommendations. We spent the last three months working extra time on it. http://onegoodmove.org/fallacy/ap.htm

You say I shouldn't drink, but you haven't been sober for more than a year.
http://onegoodmove.org/fallacy/attack.htm

Even though the cameras had no view finders and were strapped to the astronaut’s chests, all of the pictures NASA were perfectly framed. This proves the astronauts couldn’t have taken those pictures.

Evidence the landing is faked: The rocket noise was so loud that during lift off (from earth) you could barely hear the astronauts, but when they landed on the moon, you don't even hear the rockets firing.

“If you think these pictures where genuinely taken on the Moon, then you must be "on something" as you are not in touch with the real world, ie, you cannot distinguish between fact and fantasy. You are also in the minority, as over 90% of world population now know that Apollo was a fake.” -- Dave Homer http://www.apollo-hoax.me.uk/anomalies.html

The last people I'd trust to set logging standards would be the logging industry. The last time I was up in Bonners I saw this truck with the bumper sticker "Earth First! We'll log the other planets later!"

Those animal rights people are nuts, man. They're always blowing up labs and torching people's homes. Obviously none of them have any real respect for life.

It was pretty clear that even the national hero, lead astronaut, and "outspoken critic" Gus Grissom believed NASA would was willing to kill people to cover up the hoax. Before he died, he's quoted as saying "someone's going to get killed."

"Now do you believe that it's possible that the government was able to cover up the conspiracy?" or "Could NASA have faked the evidence?"

Q "Why do you always unbuckle your seatbelt whenever we get out onto the highway?"
A "Because it's a fact: most accidents happen within 10 miles of one's home. And my tripometer reads 11 miles."

"If you loved me, you'd let me have this affair."

A: "Hey, is that your second beer? Don't forget you're the designated driver."
B: "What don't you trust me? So you think I'm an alcoholic?"

"How can you oppose an amendment that protects marriage? Don't you believe in the dignity of marriage?"

The newspaper just ran a story here about a drunk driving illegal alien who got in a wreck that killed this guy I went to high school with. Enough is enough; it's really time to start doing something about this problem! Let's secure our borders and send these guys back to where they came from!

This Echinacea is amazing stuff. Every time I feel like I'm getting a cold, I make a couple big cups of Echinacea tea and go to bed early, and when I wake up in the morning my cold is nearly always gone. You have to be careful which stuff you buy, though, because the stuff I bought from Safeway last month didn't work at all, and I got sick anyways.