Critical Thinking 101

[capriccio]

On the advice of Josh Marshall,I've recently been checking into Kevin Drum's Calpundit site since TPM credits Drum with driving the AWOL story. Today's Calpundit was especially enlightening but not so much for the tale it lays out that adds another nefarious layer to the AWOL story, but for the fact that Drum then proceeds to discredit the tale. It's refreshing and remarkable in these heated times to see the actual application of critical thinking. Drum takes what could be a strong piece of evidence bolstering his overall take on AWOL, and then punches holes in it (see below).

I point this out because I think critical thinking like this is in serious short supply in the country as a whole and in DU in particular. There are too many too willing to run with any rumor, twist any story, or buy into any piece of propaganda to advance their own passionate view of things. For those who may have missed out on the critical thinking lesson in school or for those who miss the days when thinking was more valuable than feeling, I highly recommend a visit to Calpundit (as well as TPM, another genuine no spin zone.)

From Calpundit:

Obviously I don't have any inside information and I've never spoken to Burkett. But I've got a few problems with his story:
• It's awfully convenient. He just happened to be in General James' office when Allbaugh called? And despite the fact that Burkett's job was investigating irregularities in recordkeeping, James decided to put this call on the speaker? And then Burkett just happened to see the offending documents in the trash a few days later? This is a remarkably sloppy job on the part of Bush's people.
• When he clarified his remarks in his press release in 2000, why didn't he tell the story he's telling now? It's pretty sensational, and surely deserved an accusing finger.
• Burkett said of the scrubbing, "For most soldiers at Camp Mabry, this was a generally known event." If that's true, why hasn't anyone else come forward to confirm his story?
• Burkett has a big time axe to grind. He was a whistleblower regarding problems in the Texas Guard and was later denied medical treatment for an illness he contracted in Panama, an incident that he blames on retaliation by Bush. He sued the National Guard over this incident but lost the case.
Bottom line: Burkett's story might be absolutely true. I don't know. But there are enough red flags that I'm skeptical of it without further backup. In the meantime, caveat emptor.

http://www.calpundit.com/

[RBHam]

1. You're on to something.

It cetainly takes the media's attention away from the 9-11 commission.