So why all the protests about those unicorn-including Harry Potter books?

I would suggest the great Unicorn be born in a house, not a stable.

I think you forgot about equestrianist businesses refusing to serve non-equestrianist customers, and advertising their equestrianist credentials as arguments to patronize their business over yours. And the funny looks when people say “Horn bless you” and you don’t return the favor–as if you’ve spit in their face by not lying and thus insulting them worse. That’s never a good feeling, having no socially acceptable options to not be a dick.

Seerak said:
“I attribute it to the weakness of his opposition; he is convinced that no one out there can answer his arguments, in particular his claim that faith has forever been ‘rationally’ validated by Immanuel Kant.
“He’s wrong, of course — such opposition does exist…”

Yes. Objectivism has a lot of intellectual ammunition on this topic. I recommend Ayn Rand’s book “Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology” (heavy reading, but worth it), and her novel “Atlas Shrugged”.

As for the description in Salvo, this is a magazine that bills itself as “Blasting holes in scientific naturalism”. They live in an alternate reality.

I attribute it to the weakness of his opposition; he is convinced that no one out there can answer his arguments, in particular his claim that faith has forever been “rationally” validated by Immanuel Kant.

He’s wrong, of course — such opposition does exist, but in small enough numbers for D’Souza to pretend that they don’t.

For now.

Fixed now.

It’s every bit as good as the Planet of the Hats post in Pharyngula.

“The first thing you notice about Dinesh D’Souza is an intellectual swagger that borders on cockiness without crossing over. Such confidence could be attributed to his Dartmouth education, to his position as policy advisor in the Reagan administration, to his near ubiquitous presence on television news shows, or to the library of critically acclaimed books that he has published on everything from racism to economic prosperity. But you get the feeling that it actually stems from the knowledge that, at any given moment, he is probably the smartest person in the room. Don’t get me wrong; he’s not arrogant in the least. It’s just that he knows, deep down, that he’s smarter than you; he’s smarter than me; and perhaps most importantly, he’s smarter than the New Atheists whom he routinely debates at universities across the nation.”

Holy Jupiter!!! I don’t mean to sound unnecessarily elitist or anything, but if this guy is truly “the smartest guy in the room”, then by some manner unbeknownst to me, the Jerry Springer studio audience has grown to encompass the whole world! Have you seen this guy’s debates? Have you read his articles? D’Souza is a FRAUD, pure and simple. His arguments, if you can even call them that, are laughable! He has no grasp of the scientific method whatsoever; he’s simply a panderer to the rah rah crowd, and seemingly has no qualms about misrepresenting his opponents, as well as the facts of whatever he happens to be talking about. The atrocious logic, which you’ve so elegantly pointed out, is par for the course for this pretender to intellectualism. I’ve never heard him utter a coherent sentence. The real shame is that, by having participated in debates with his intellectual superiors, he’s been able to adopt a mein of credibility which he in NO WAY deserves.

Sorry for the rant, but this guy truly makes me sick to my stomach. I leave you with a little bit of comic relief, just to cleanse the palate…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5IllB80MEM

Yeah, f*****g brilliant…