Rand Simberg wrote:

On Sat, 27 Mar 2004 01:59:26 GMT, in a place far, far away, Dick
Morris made the phosphor on my monitor
glow in such a way as to indicate that:

Human beings are net assets to each other: the
more people there are, the better it is for each of them.

Easter Island disproves that as a general rule.

No, it doesn't. An occasional exception doesn't disprove a general
rule.

General: "Not limited in scope, area, or application as a general
rule"

Webster's II New College Dictionary.

If there are exeptions, it's not a general rule.

Have you ever heard the expression, "It's the exception that makes the
rule"?

That *expression* has never made any logical sense, so of course you
would use it as an argument.

I thought not.