I had not been keeping up with this thread, but started to read it this morning and saw MY name tossed in as a trustworthy judge of arguments. Geeeze....it's about time! *grin*
Well, Bruce, I have to say that I DO find you guilty of using various forms of the "straw man" fallacy on a number of occasions. As Don Firth's little list notes, the 'straw man' is often composed of little truths, arranged...restated...and emphasized differently to characterize someone's points in a bad light.....and I have tried to point out where you have done this on several occasions.

I simply do not have time to go collect examples right now and dissect them word by word and show how your occasional use of several types of "informal fallicies" make conducting these discussions harder. "Straw Man" is just the most common. It is VERY easy to assemble several 'sorta' true facts and come up with a conclusion that is not supported by them. It can be a very subtle and hard to clarify point...which is why people fall into it easily.

   (The first time I remember trying to show the problem was regarding Teresa Kerry's use of language on TV...yes, Democrats DO also spout off sometimes...