LETTER: Federal judge’s mask decision made some good points
In his Monday letter, Rick Reynolds attacked the decision by federal Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle regarding the mask mandate using the logical fallacy known as the ad hominen. He attacked her rather than addressing the logic of her decision.
Judge Mizelle wrote a 59-page decision. In her decision, she laid out a strong case that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention exceeded its authority and it failed to follow proper rule-making procedures. Here is just one example from her decision: She pointed out that the CDC did not allow for notice and public comment, as required. This despite the fact that adding the opportunity for notice and public comment would have added just two weeks to a process that hadn’t started until almost a year into the pandemic and that the mandate was made at a time when COVID-19 cases were dropping.
It is OK to disagree with a judge’s ruling, but one should address the logic of the ruling, not the person making it.