Epshteyn Poisons the Well of the FBI

Epshteyn’s recent “Bottom Line” is a classic case of the “poisoning the well” tactic: if you don’t like facts, attack the source of the facts as somehow suspect, and perhaps you can get your audience to think the facts themselves aren’t what they are.

Fidelity, bravery, integrity. That is the motto of the FBI. These days it is that integrity which is being called into question.

Note the use of passive voice.  The FBI’s integrity is “being called into question.”  By whom?  By Epshteyn? It’s not clear.  By choosing the passive voice, Epshteyn avoids putting his own reputation where his mouth is while also implying that this integrity-questioning is “out there” in the public sphere in general, not that it is pointedly coming from specific parties who have something to gain from doing so.

Sinclair Broadcasting vs. John Oliver: "This F&%#-ing Guy"

John Oliver’s piece on Sinclair was a thing of beauty, and you owe it to yourself to see it. And he certainly doesn’t need any help defending himself, particularly given the impotence of Hyman’s attempted rebuttal (apparently Sinclair folks haven’t gotten the memo not to respond to someone who is smarter and funnier than you—it never ends well).

What is worth noting, however, is how Hyman manages to undercut his own points.

Hyman frames his response by advising us that we shouldn’t take anything John Oliver says seriously, and then goes on to do precisely that, with the twist being that he misreports (or misunderstands) the content of Oliver’s argument.

Hyman says “Oliver wanted his viewers to be horrified at Sinclair’s size” (but, weren’t we told Oliver was just about being funny? Ah, details.). The rebuttal to this is that Oliver works for HBO, which is owned by Time Warner, which is much bigger than Sinclair Broadcasting.