I listen to a lot of podcasts. I find them to be informative
and diverse. I have the flexibility of listening at work, on my commute,
while working out etc.. I get a wide variety of information from this medium.
I have a steady supply of libertarian podcasts (EVC, Tom Woods, Part of the
Problem, Jason Stapleton and more) but I also listen to Glenn Beck, Joe Rogan,
Jocko Willink, Upfirst from NPR, Ezra Klein, and Preet Bharara.
One thing you get very good at in listening to this many diverse
opinions is the framing each side makes. Sometimes this is conscious and
sometimes it is not, but rather a function of world view, input information
(meaning the stories and articles this person has consumed), or
laziness.
The latter type, typically, does not bother me so much. Obviously, if you are trying to persuade
someone of your view, you use the most persuasive language possible. The
former type, does bug me. I find it disingenuous and
manipulative.
One such example came from a recent Stay Tuned with Preet
episode. I, obviously, think Preet Bharara is a fool. He worked for
the government, he doesn't understand how the market actually works, and he
enforces laws that punish victimless crimes. Clearly, he isn't my cup of
tea. During the episode, he claimed that the recent Mueller indictment of
13 Russians is clear evidence that Mueller being appointed as special counsel
is justified.
I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS.
Last I checked, Mueller was appointed to see if Trump colluded
with Russia and now finding out that some Russians bought Facebook ads and
tried to hack the elections means the counsel is justified? I think plain
as day, Mr. Bharara is very mistaken.
The questions is this: Is Mr. Bharara lying and manipulating his
listeners by saying this or is he honestly losing his ability to think
critically and skeptically at reason and evidence?
I do not know the answer to this. I tend to think he most likely
made an honest mistake. However, this one really bugged me. Perhaps
it is because I see thousands of reasons to be critical of Trump (dropping more
bombs in one year than Obama, the budget, cracking down on weed, banning bump
stocks etc...) but I found this statement to be particularly irritating.
It is a clear example of moving the goal posts.
Mr. Bharara is relatively less unhinged than most people as far
left (politically) as he is, but if someone that appears to be as thoughtful as
Preet Bharara is still either lying intentionally or unable to see that his
logic (or lack thereof) is completely inconsistent I do not see much hope in
people agreeing on facts.
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