In academia, one of the most common criticisms in research and discussions is that correlation does not mean causation. It refers to the logical fallacy for some who draw a cause-and-effect relationship between two events. The logical fallacy is captured in the Latin phrase cum hoc ergo propter hoc (‘with this, therefore because of this’). With the horrific attacks on Israel this week, some well-known commentators have been criticized for using the killing of hundreds by Hamas as a criticism of conservative figures or Republicans in general. That includes the Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin who appeared to blame the GOP for inviting the attack and Professor Laurence Tribe who suggested (and later retracted) that the war was actually a “wag-the-dog” operation by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to distract from corruption allegations.
Rubin (who goes by the moniker “Jennifer Truthful, Not Neutral Rubin”) immediately attempted to use the attack as another attack on Republicans: “How about this: With US House in chaos and US military promotions on hold, Hamas struck. Republicans’ weakness invites terror.”
Putting aside the effort to use this tragedy as a political cudgel domestically, Rubin ignores the fact that the motion to vacate the chair succeeded due to a unanimous Democratic vote and just eight dissenting Republicans. The Democrats wanted to vacate the chair even though McCarthy was being criticized by the dissenters for working with them and they will now likely receive a far more strident speaker.
Rubin has also called for expelling Republican members, who voted against certifying the 2020 election. She further declared that “we have to collectively, in essence, burn down the Republican Party. We have to level them because if there are survivors, if there are people who weather this storm, they will do it again.”
The Washington Post has repeatedly failed to take down or correct columns containing false claims by Rubin. Instead, it has run her calls to end impartiality and neutrality in journalism.
Now Rubin is suggesting that Hamas decided to launch this massive attack because there is an acting Speaker in the House until next week. It appears that Hamas was just waiting for the motion to vacate to pass.
Laurence Tribe immediately used the massacre to attack Netanyahu. Citing the Washington Post, Tribe wrote “Is Netanyahu wagging the dog of war to take attention away from his own war on the independent judiciary? Can anyone put that past him?”
The response was fast and furious. It was even too much for figures like Keith Olbermann who condemned Tribe stating, “Well this is a moronic and indefensible POV.”
What was striking is that the media finally called out Tribe, who has regularly posted bizarre legal theories and personal attacks against conservative figures, including attacking Bill Barr (erroneously) over his faith. On MSNBC and other outlets, Tribe regularly makes profane or personal attacks against those who hold opposing views of constitutional interpretation, including myself. These attacks include false assertions that had to be later corrected.
These controversies highlight the need to restore an element of maturity and civility to commentary. The “everything-goes” mentality has now taken hold of major media outlets, which regularly feature trash talking and sensational claims. If the target of these attacks is a conservative or Republican, there is a sense of license to remove the safeties in public engagements.
Once again, it is possible to restore a modicum of civility and accuracy in our public discourse. All it takes is for people of good faith to turn away from the rage and return reason in our commentary.
What specific examples of political attacks or criticisms did Jennifer Rubin and Professor Laurence Tribe make regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict, and how have they been received?
If Rubin and tribe wish to blame republicans
That is free speech
Free speech is import because idiots can expose themselves
This was planned for months no minutes
Many factors contributed
A very large portion arose from the incompetence and idiocy of this administration
Most people grasp that and will judge tribe and Rubin accordingly
And that is as it should be
The moral equivalency crowd scolds us to mourn equally the dead Israelis (the ones butchered by Hamas) and the dead Gazans (the ones whose deaths are on the hands of Hamas and Iran).
Pity for the perpetrators (and their casualties) is treason to the innocent Israelis.
Sam
Mehdi Hasan: “What the past 48 hours or so has revealed is that there are a lot of people who mourn for dead Israeli civilians but not dead Palestinian ones, and a lot of people who mourn for dead Palestinian civilians but not dead Israeli ones. What has happened to our collective humanity?”
And we see this in the comments here.
Nobody mourns the death of a nest of killers and savages.
Well, that means 24X more don’t mourn for the mass murdering killers and savage jews.
Not much different, all dead within the day or hour or instantly, and at 24X the rate it’s no doubt a wash with all that is covered up.
SO THAT’S A BIG FAT ZERO WHINE.
It’s all been rewritten, the new text says : 24 eyes for an eye.
Anon – I don’t want anyone to go to their death having been demonized, as the Hamas terrorists clearly are. In my belief they will spend eternity in a dark place (and not with 72 virgins). But some people choose to become demonized and bring that fate on themselves. Their evil cannot swallow up the good in the world. In the end, G-d always wins.
God may disagree with you, you fool.
Yes, they ALL think they are holier than thou. None will accept their own faults, which are many and egregious.
So a bunch of big fat loud mouthed dummies lying with full estrogen doused insanity, politics at it’s finest.
I’ve ordered the tamps for em.
“From 1976 to 1982, Islamists, including the Muslim Brotherhood, fought the Ba’ath Party“
Shakdi, congratulations. You found a story (the wrong one) in Wikipedia. There are better ones elsewhere, though, for you, the ‘People’s Encyclopedia’ will suffice. Thank you for admitting how brutal Assad was. I was beginning to think you believed him to be a pussycat.
That was ‘war’, but with Assad, it was a rebellion of repressed people whom one cannot sympathize with because they did the same horrific actions as Assad. Is that endemic in your preferred area (MB, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the many other groups that kill without restraint?
The Gaza war is different. The Israelis gave Gaza to those who lived there. The Israeli military forced the Jewish settlers out. They left Gaza with considerable assets, much of which the Gazans destroyed. The Israelis kept to their side of the border in peace while supplying Gaza with many needed things, including letting them use Israeli hospitals and obtain jobs that increased the financial well-being of Gaza.
What did Gaza do? Instead of using international aid and increased wealth from Israel to improve life in Gaza, they spent it building and attacking Israeli civilians. They also taught their children to hate Jews and how to kill them. They built tunnels and prepared to attack Israel. With their heinous schooling, it was easy for them to kill babies, 40 of them in one area, and take hostages to use as human shields in a similar way they use their own people and children. That is why Hamas launched missiles from schools. Such actions cause unintelligent people to think untrue thoughts that Israel has no heart when they attack the missile base for personal defense. This devastation occurs while the Hamas leaders live a life of luxury in Qatar.
Your home is your castle, and if someone wishes to break into it, rape, and kill your wife and all the young ones, you have a right and, as a man, an obligation to protect your home. It is the same for Israel when terrorists attack them and kill babies while raping the women.
LMMFAO – ANOTHER GIGANTIC LIAR ! BUSTED AND STILL LYING !
“Shakdi, congratulations. You found a story (the wrong one) in Wikipedia.”
Thus you no doubt provided the “correct link” – oh gosh you didn’t what a big surprise, may I get you some finger gel ?
No, your brains are FRIED, and your lips move with the devils abandon. Congratulations.
Did you take the jab, like a good little dummy ?
Oh, most CERTAINLY. Certainly.
That’s the other thing that fascist state did that was horrendous, pretty much a dictatorship in the “only democracy” over there huh. I suppose all those investments in the pharma meant do it or else.
no guns
take the jab by force
I’m finding out amazing things.
No one on the wall at Nir Am, all the forces absolutely missing, the response not coming for HOURS in a tiny nation….. what’s up with that bud ? Were they all 3 sheets to the wind on some holy day ?
Soldier on fella.
“oh gosh you didn’t what a big surprise”
Shakdi, when I linked to your site, on the top they provided a link to the Wikipedia site that dealt with the massacre under discussion. Do you have to be spoon-fed? You can now take a look and blush.
About Pfizer’s Covid vaccine, I think we have considerable agreement. Deflection is a method to have another focus away from your ignorance. It doesn’t work here. Look up the Hama Massacre under discussion.
@ ‘S.Meyer”.. Re:”What did Gaza do?” Why one persists in attempting to undertake rational and intelligent discourse with a fire hydrant in these pages is beyond me. Demagogues who morph their twisted philosophies into rhetoric intended to justify and exhort the actions of sawdust brained butchers who would carry out the wholesale extermination of a people are no stranger to the human condition. They need to be dealt confronted and dealth with by those willing to adopt a moral compass which has been lowered to a level their adversary comprehends and understands. Such adversaries too often forget that objects of their aggression have been historically willing to do so. Hence, in Tokyo, in Dresden, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. humankind needed only to be able to gather together the collective cojones to accomplish the task. Failing that, to the necessary end of the present conflagration, all else is merely sound and fury, signifying nothing.
Gee, what is going on here ? Jennifer Rubin, jew, laurence tribe, jew, netenyahoo, jew, jeff bezos wapo owner, jew, JT, jew.
Is this synagogue dot com ?
Maybe the rabbi’s need to admonish their flocks, take JT’s tips.
Oh boy, bidens bruh was posting his jaybird photos on gay dating websites. I heard Hunter was impressed.
Yes, the whole family is an embarrassment to the entire country and all of its history
The entire Biden family is one of the most screwed up bunch of dumb, degenerate, sick, greedy sell outs. They are beyond disgusting, every last one of them. FJB right out of the White House and into prison where he should die in shame for what he has done selling out his country to our enemies. Disgusting people, every last one of them. No one votes for this crap. Biden was installed. No one voted for this POS. Biden was shoved down the country’s throat. Stolen election. Joe Biden could not win a national election if he tried. And he did NOT “try”…..he never left the basement. He did not get 81 million legit votes. What a bunch of crap.
White Trash
The message has been delivered from Israel to Gaza. Get out. Flee to Egypt. If you stay, you die.
Its about to get real.
I assume the will have checkpoints to screen for hamas or anyone who looks like hamas.
People shouldnt have as their battle cry, the elimination of an entire people who have the capability to do just that to them.
The Palestinians must be remarkably stupid to do an attack like this against the country that supplies them with food and water and electricity.
Already they are complaining about not having it.
Keep it turned off. Maybe they will go to Iran.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/?post_type=liveblog_entry&p=3119023
After all, we didn’t supply power and water to Nazi Germany while we were bombing them to dust. No need to be foolishly generous here.
Meanwhile, drop big things on any ‘spokesman’ who pops his head up. We would have done on Goebbels. Same here.
They did it! Dropped a bomb on the home of the Hamas ‘spokesman’.
Now do the next one.