Comments on: David Barton promotes The Jefferson Lies

By: Warren

Warren — Wed, 30 May 2018 22:14:30 +0000

In reply to David. David - Thanks for the kind words. My view is that there are bad actors among all ideologies and Fischer seems to excel at proving that point. .

By: Zoe Brain

Zoe Brain — Wed, 30 May 2018 22:06:36 +0000

First, please read this:
http://www.traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/a02rStatistcs.html
Now see what’s still being said by pastors in political fora:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3CiMaYweeE&feature=share

By: Jayhuck

Jayhuck — Wed, 30 May 2018 19:49:51 +0000

Patro-

personally I believe in reason. I don’t believe in authority – neither the authority of masses, nor the authority of professionals.

So you don’t believe in doctors, or engineers, or psychologists, or biologists, etc? I find it difficult to interpret this phrase of yours. SURE professionals get things wrong some times, but so what? Doctors get things wrong sometimes, but that doesn’t mean I want to run to the guy trumpeting reason for a medical procedure. “Professionals”, at least the way you seem to be using the term, are people who’ve dedicated their lives to a particular area of study. If a majority of historians are saying something, I think it would do us all well to at least listen.
It sounds to me like this is a way for you to just dismiss “professional” proclamations that you don’t like.

By: ken

ken — Wed, 30 May 2018 19:49:51 +0000

Patrocles# ~ Nov 24, 2011 at 12:20 am
“personally I believe in reason. I don’t believe in authority – neither the authority of masses, nor the authority of professionals. Meaning, I’m not much interested in “what every professional historian in the United States” thinks. Every professional historian in the United States has been wrong before.”
by authority, I’m assuming you mean expertise. Now to be an expert in a field, doesn’t make you infallible, and using such a criteria for determining expertise would never work. An expert in a particular field is someone who has a significant amount of knowledge of the field and (more importantly) the ability to defend his/her ideas in rational discourse with other experts in the field.
From what I’ve seen, Barton not only doesn’t have significant knowledge of US history, but he also only picks venues where he can AVOID any sort of confrontation with experts in US history.

By: Patrocles

Patrocles — Wed, 30 May 2018 19:37:32 +0000

Timothy Kincad.
personally I believe in reason. I don’t believe in authority – neither the authority of masses, nor the authority of professionals. Meaning, I’m not much interested in “what every professional historian in the United States” thinks. Every professional historian in the United States has been wrong before.
Resulting from the fact that professional historians form a particular class with its particulat culture and particular prejudices.