Passive voice is a shifty desperado

Somebody named Sherry Roberts has a booklet out called 11 Ways to Improve Your Writing and Your Business. Avoid it. Several of the "ways to improve your writing" are just gimmicks (look out the window or visualize a blank piece of paper before beginning), or are self-evident ("Train yourself to answer in your writing all the questions your reader might ask. Everything you write may not have a who, what, when, where, and why, but at least ask yourself if it does.") She's very big on "plain writing" (four of the eleven). Alas, she has to interject stylistic prejudices in as rules: she's a which-hunter and doesn't like sentence-modifying "hopefully".

And finally, here's her section on the passive voice:

If you were one of those people who yawned when your eighth grade English teacher began her lecture on active and passive voice, wake up. What you don't know about active and passive voice may be putting your readers to sleep or making them suspicious of you and your ideas or product.

A sentence written in the active voice is the straight-shooting sheriff who faces the gunslinger proudly and fearlessly. It is honest, straightforward; you know where you stand.

Active: The committee will review all applications in early April.

A sentence written in passive voice is the shifty desperado who tries to win the gunfight by shooting the sheriff in the back, stealing his horse, and sneaking out of town.

Passive: In early April, all applications will be reviewed by the committee.

Passive writing is popular in business because it helps the writer avoid responsibility and remain anonymous. Customers are suspicious of writing that evades responsibility. Employees and managers distrust ideas that appear more vague than strong.

That's ludicrous. Literally - it makes me laugh.

Her active sentence is about what the committee will do. Her passive is about what will happen to the applications. Neither is automatically preferable. And I see absolutely nothing in the passive helping the writer avoid responsibility and remain anonymous. The sentences are equal in that respect. And equally there is nothing vague or weak about her passive example. (The shift of "in early April" to the front is a red herring; in either sentence that phrase could go either place - the question is, is it new information, or sequencing? Do the other sentences in the hypothetical document have time-hacks on them as well?)

And, as usual with such people, she doesn't follow her own advice. Here are the first two sentences in the booklet:

Clear, effective business writing is more important than ever. Thanks to the facsimile machine, our skill (or lack of skill) with words is beamed around the world in black and white.

Sadly, the woman teaches writing seminars...

Update: as a commenter pointed out, Language Log has (of course) already noted this booklet and taken it apart in much greater depth. I probably read this (it's from May) but didn't remember it - and I do mention things they don't, whew. Check out Arnold Zwicky's take-down.