Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Setting Up Your Straw Man

Here's a nice straw man from Iowa Liberal (not surprising, really).

The link regarding poverty shows that in 1999, 5.6% of veterans lived in poverty. The first rightwinger that reads the link will crow that this is a lower rate than the general population, but I repeat my point: for veterans, that rate should be 0%. One veteran living in poverty is too much.

It's a nice attempt to set up an unwinnable argument. After all, who can argue that vets should be poor? The truth is, it would be nice if no one were poor, but there will always be a bottom 20% in any population. By definition, that would make them the poor, even if they were living in million dollar mansions and driving expensive sports cars.

Also notice that no solutions are offered for ensuring that 0% poverty rate for veterans. I'm sure it would involve taxpayer funding, though.

UPDATE: And, of course, Jeromy Brown makes more inane remarks at his site. There's just not much left you can say about the idiots in the back of the classroom.