AAPT Members

I've kept an eye out for coverage of our non-discrimination petition from last spring--you'll find previous entries here and here. But this one is useful as an example of loaded rhetoric as well:
American Philosophical Association and Christ-Centered Colleges « Academic Freedom File

As of January 12, 2010, 1471 individuals had electronically signed the petition.
This petition prompted a counter-petition signed by a number of notable philosophers, including Alasdair McIntyre, Alvin Plantinga, Germain Grisez, Robert P. George, John M. Finnis, Roger Scruton, and many others.

Notice, for example, that the author does not give the number of signatures on the counter petition (436) after mentioning the numer that signed the petition to enforce the non-discrimination policy (1471) (I'm # 114). Doing so, of course, would point out that 1035 more philosophers petitioned our organization to enforce our standards than to keep the current policy of non-enforcement. Rather than use the number, he prefers to name-drop a number of notable signatories. One might be tempted here to speculate (in the tradition of Lakoff) on the deference to authority implicit in right-winged political rhetoric--and how the 'left' on this issue (i.e. me) insists on democratic comparisons.

But the far better example of right-wing rhetoric comes at the bottom of the post:
American Philosophical Association and Christ-Centered Colleges « Academic Freedom File

It is unlikely that the APA has violated the legally protected rights of Christ-centered educational institutions with sexual morality policies. Nonetheless, the original petition and the APA’s recent action reflect the relentless effort to marginalize and stigmatize faith-based institutions that maintain conduct standards rooted in traditional sexual ethics. That effort has had and inevitably will have adverse manifestations in statutes, rules, and judicial decisions.

Right. Because rich, privately-funded institutions that are in the religious tradition of the vast majority of Americans and are allowed legally to practice overt discrimination are being 'marginalized' and 'stigmatized' because a secular organization says that they have to be honest about their discrimination policies when the advertise. Oh, so that's what the Europeans did to their colonial 'subjects.' Now I get it.