begooode

Sure, how about starting a thread instead to discuss them (esp insider trading and Menendez) rather than polluting this one with deflections in defense of Dear Leader. Bothsidesing has a lot in common with whataboutism—the rhetorical tactic of defending against an accusation by alerting others to a different accusation against an opponent. Both tactics rely on making false equivalences. While whataboutism comes with an element of diversion—look at what the guy over there did—bothsidesing tries to minimize what would often be deemed objectionable by heightening actions of other groups so that they will be deemed comparably objectionable. Some might argue that bothsidesing exposes a paradox about journalism: that sometimes, when both sides are treated fairly and equally, neither ends up shown in a true light. https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/bothsidesing-bothsidesism-new-words-were-watching

...False Dilemma Fallacy (or False Dichotomy): Presenting an either/or situation as the only option. This fallacy means polarizing the matter into two extremes, while in reality, many other possibilities exist. Therefore, it’s another way of oversimplifying an argument. The purpose of this strategy is to make the argument more convincing by dividing the alternatives into two specific dichotomies that hide important considerations or alternatives. The false dilemma fallacy usually polarizes the audience. As a result, people start to praise one alternative while devaluing the other. Cognitive Dissonance & Logical Fallacies Considering the fact that logical fallacies generally prevent people from being rational, frequent use of these fallacies might lead to cognitive dissonance. According to American social psychologist Leon Festinger, cognitive dissonance is an unpleasant emotional state that is caused by inconsistent thoughts, emotions, or behaviors. During this psychological state, an individual experiences an inconsistency in their cognitive system, which breaks the balance and leads to tension. As a result, people try to change their thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors in order to restore balance. On the one hand, realizing that you’re using logical fallacies in the process of debating and that your arguments are based on false reasoning increases the chances of cognitive dissonance. But on the other hand, you might use logical fallacies in order to reduce cognitive dissonance and maintain consistency with your previous arguments that can’t be supported by rational arguments otherwise. https://healthforlifegr.com/understanding-logical-fallacies-and-cognitive-dissonance/

Can you imagine the all out love any repub president would receive for leading the coalition that would decimate, destroy 50% of the conventional weapons capability of Russia without a single American or NATO troop deployed, all for 3% of the annual defense budget -- using weaponry that was slated for warehousing within 5-10 years. And absolutely crippling any chance of rearmament for at least a decade. Instead we have this from the GOP:

These plea deals better still have harsh penalties for anyone cashing in on pandemic relief. And, yeah, given his corrupt nature, his stance on issues rings hollow, imo. Former Florida state Rep. Joseph Harding (R), a lead sponsor of the controversial so-called “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to numerous charges for his involvement in a COVID-19 relief fraud scheme. In a Department of Justice (DOJ) news release, authorities said that Harding, a one-term congressman, pleaded guilty to wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements in connection with COVID-19 relief fraud. According to court documents, his scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration (SBA) — including making false claims to obtain coronavirus-related loans and committing wire fraud — garnered him $150,000 in COVID-19 relief funds and more than $30,000 in other fraudulent monetary transactions. https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3912185-ex-florida-lawmaker-dont-say-gay-sponsor-pleads-guilty-to-fraud-charges/

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) received just 26 percent support in the latest GOP presidential poll from Morning Consult — the lowest number he’s hit in the survey since December. DeSantis, who has not entered the GOP primary but is expected to do so, trailed former President Trump, who won 54 percent, by 28 percentage points in the new poll published on Tuesday. Former Vice President Mike Pence came in third with 7 percent of respondents saying they’ll support him, followed by former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who won 4 percent. Haley announced her presidential campaign last month, while Pence is expected to join the race. Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) received 3 percent of support from those surveyed. Cheney has also not entered the race. https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3910294-desantis-sees-lowest-level-of-support-since-december-in-new-poll-trails-trump-by-28-points/

She should have played the Cassidy Hutchinson card and switched counsel rather than go along with team Fox. Also, I wonder if there is recourse here for her versus the lawyers , if indeed she has significant notes/examples of them encouraging her to not be truthful. That said, she only now realizes that Team Fox protects Fox first and foremost, only because of all the shit that has hit the fan from discovery. The arrogance and avarice of FoxNews executives is on a whole other level.

Good lord, the rats are suing each other while the Goblin King Murdoch decides which of the "nontalents" to sacrifice. But yeah, same as msnbc, LOFL. A Fox News producer on Monday filed a pair of explosive lawsuits against the right-wing talk channel, alleging that the network’s lawyers coerced her into providing misleading testimony in Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation case against the company. The lawsuits filed by Abby Grossberg, who worked as a senior booking producer for Maria Bartiromo and most recently head of booking for Tucker Carlson, accused Fox’s legal team of having engaged in wrongful conduct as it prepared her for a pre-trial deposition in the election technology company’s case. The lawsuits from Grossberg, who has since been placed on administrative leave by Fox, were filed in Delaware Superior Court and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. “Fox News Attorneys acted as agents and at the behest of Fox News to misleadingly coach, manipulate, and coerce Ms. Grossberg to deliver shaded and/or incomplete answers during her sworn deposition testimony, which answers were clearly to her reputational detriment but greatly benefitted Fox News,” the lawsuit filed in Delaware stated. The Delaware lawsuit alleged that the “concerted efforts and actions” from Fox’s legal team ultimately caused Grossberg to testify in a way that portrayed the facts “in a false light” in order to “shift culpability” away from senior Fox News executives and “away from Fox Corporation.” That matter is important because Fox Corporation, the parent company of Fox News, has asked to be dropped as a party in Dominion’s lawsuit by arguing that it does not play a big role in coverage decisions at the network. https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/21/media/fox-news-producer-lawsuit/index.html

Four more members of the Oath Keepers were convicted Monday of conspiracy to obstruct Congress’ Jan. 6 proceedings, bringing the number of members of the group found guilty by juries of felonies related to the Capitol attack to more than a dozen. Jurors found Sandra Parker, Laura Steele, Connie Meggs and William Isaacs each guilty of the most significant charges they faced: conspiracy to obstruct Congress’ proceedings, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy to prevent a federal officer from discharging duties. …Across the three multi-defendant trials, prosecutors have portrayed the group as a key driver of events on Jan. 6, conspiring to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden, with some of them prepared to turn violent to achieve that end. Prosecutors noted that they had amassed a stockpile of weapons that they stashed at a hotel in Arlington, Va. that they discussed ferrying into Washington if the events had turned even more violent than they did. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/20/oath-keepers-january-6-00087904

... maximize sustainable growth over a long-term horizon, in compliance with the spirit of local business practices save for a few explicit deal breakers (ex: bribes, corrupt ethical behavior). My company has won several contracts as we are seen as a leader in sustainability within our industries. In short, green initiatives have moved from feel-good marketing talk talk to driving top line decisions for our customers and production decisions for our supply chain and facilities management. Ignoring it , or just giving it lip service to maximize short-term profits is just not wise anymore.

good lord, you've gone full soxcat

Incoming rant -- Michael Cohen is a complete pos. He was the frontline Trump thug who has managed to play the reverse Uno card and glom onto the Trump animus that he was a huge part of creating and gleefully enforcing. Much of the media is playing along with his image rehabilitation, but I'm not going to be that guy. Cohen went to jail primarily for massive tax evasion related to his opaque NYC Taxi medallion business , period. In his guilty plea Cohen very wisely (Lanny Davis as counsel) made an allocution to include the payoffs to porn stars and position himself for a second career on the "get Trump" team. It was down the list, the fifth offense he pleaded to , iirc. Now 5 years later it's all people seem to say: Cohen went to jail for Trump's payoffs. It's likely 10% of what he went to jail for, and questionable if he would have done any time at all for that single offense. Fuck Michael Cohen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Cohen_(lawyer) https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/politics/2018/08/23/a-look-at-michael-cohen-link-to-the-nyc-taxi-industry

100%. And this tracks directly to a recent Bulwark podcast that traced the same throughline and now "Woke" is the hammer to hit all nails and the trigger word to get the rage juices flowing for their audience. Also allows for a cuddly embrace of DeSantis , the supposed woke warrior.

We all know what happened while his wife delivered their child, so really it will be a bullshit defense offered up from team Trump, and the question moves to acceptance/normalizing the severity of his transgression. per the reporting, it's a relatively straightforward felony wrt to campaign finance accounting law. But it's also a salacious mess , so it's murky enough to allow for disingenuous narratives. Fortunately most Americans are gladly not contorting themselves to carry the guy's water. What is particularly despicable in Trump's public tirades against his prosecutions, is the divisiveness. Per Trump, every black official is a racist attacking a white man. This is so fucked up and should be called out much more. The way this baseless claim taps into aggrievement victimhood mentality of many of his followers is completely irresponsible and would get him fired at ANY job in the US.