Commentary on Political Blogs

This week's assignment is to select and discuss political blogs - one from the "left" and one from the "right. For me, this is difficult, as it is in my nature to avoid all things politics whenever possible. I personally do not care for all of the hype and drama that seems to be inherent in politics. With that being said, I will TRY to be objective in my comments, but keep in mind, this is merely the opinion of a person who knows little about the political machine.

For this assignment, I've looked at The Huffington Post for the left, and Hot Air for the right. With opposing political ideals and opinions, both of these blogs appear to use similar techniques in their arguments, intended to sway the reader's opinion into their arena. One of the techniques is the use of name-calling. On the right, claims are made that The Huffington Post is siding with terrorists - and - shh.....don't tell the DNC because their claim is that if you are amused by Obama's being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, you are on the side of terrorists. Uuugghh!! Really? If one questions whether an award winner is deserving of the award he has been given, how exactly is that "siding with terrorists"?! On the left, one commentary thinks its a great thing that Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, but puts forth a call for him to earn the award given. BUT....isn't one supposed to have earned it in order to receive the award in the first place??? The left comments about the on-going war and suggests that troops should be returned home, and that the issues being addressed by armed forces in that region of the world should actually be addressed by the people of those nations. On this, I lean toward agreement. Although I believe that if these nations ask for the assistance of the US Armed Forces, it should be given - with limits, it is actually ultimately up to the people who want freedom or change to fight for it, not have it forced upon them by the US or any other nation.

Both sides of arguments seem to have a tendency to use multiple political rhetoric techniques - name-calling, argumentum ad hominem, transfer of guilt, faulty cause and effect, and the two-extremes fallacy. It is difficult to weed through all of the sarcasm and rhetoric on either side to determine if there's any true message at all...