The FBI excuses its unconstitutional behavior with a cascade of logical fallacies

John Mukasey, who was confirmed to head the Justice Department by Democrats from California and New York (no less), has just "made public [...] a plan to expand the tools the Federal Bureau of Investigation can use to investigate suspicions of terrorism inside the United States, even without any direct evidence of wrongdoing" (source).

In response to the following concern,

After they were shown the plan, civil rights leaders said they were troubled that the new guidelines would allow the F.B.I. to use racial and ethnic factors to focus on Middle Easterners and others. “Racial profiling by any other name is still unconstitutional,” said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union.​

the FBI proferred this rebuttal:

“It is simply not responsible to say that race may never be taken into account when conducting an investigation,” Brian Roehrkasse, a spokesman for the department, said in a statement. “The reality is that a number of criminal and terror groups have very strong ethnic associations (e.g., the I.R.A. was Irish, La Cosa Nostra is Italian; Hezbollah is largely Lebanese).
“If the F.B.I. is charged with knowing whether there are elements of such groups present and operating within the United States, it cannot ignore those ethnic connections, any more than it would ignore the identification of a bank robber as a short white male when trying to solve the bank robbery.”​

Can you spot the numerous logical fallacies here? If you can, you're more astute than the majority of our indolent press corps and the American people. Here's one place to start.


This, the FBI which has repeatedly been exposed for using its War on Terror powers irresponsibly and illegally. It has aided the president in creating vast and permanent databases to catalogue the activities of millions of Americans - simply another humdrum instance in which "Bush has cited his constitutional authority to bypass a law" (source). This, the FBI which secretly recorded details of Martin Luther King Jr's sex life in an approach "aimed at neutralizing King as an effective Negro leader." Yes, the same MLK described at the time in an FBI memo as the "most dangerous and effective Negro leader in the country" (source). This, the FBI which tracks journalists' phone records in an effort to "keep Americans safe" (and ignorant).

Why shouldn't we shut our mouths for the good of the Motherland when the FBI insults our intelligence with absurd rationalizations for its persistence in unconstitutional and ineffective programs?

Pax

 

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If the answers are logical, they cannot be fallacies, for to be Logical they have to be true, illogic cannot be true as it is made on false assumption.

 

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This is a good example of ignoratio elenchi.

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e.g. if WWI and WWII were caused by white Christian men, all white Christian men are possible war mongers.

 

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That's a very stupid stretch. Why not just take the next step? Go ahead and say it - all wars were started by people, therefore ALL people are warmongers!

Stupid!!!

 

Nope, WWI and WWII were started by white Christian men. Lets look at the two in this thread. Both from Christian nations, both fought in wars. Yup. There you go.

-brown Muslim non-warmongering woman.

 

§outh§tar,

When police are looking for prostitutes should they regard as equal women wearing skimpy small skirts standing on the corner at 3AM the same as 85 year old women canning it by at 3PM?

Come on, if there is a problem with FBI over reaching in authority then limit that reach, but lets not play stupid.

Michael

 

Right! Just ignore the main point and continue to act stupid. (Figures!)

 

Should you be in Iraq or Afghanistan or some military base somewhere? You're skewing the percentages. :bugeye::bugeye::bugeye:

 

as should you if you're found working the corner in a mini skirt

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Not to get off topic, but do you actually believe that the creator of the Universe came to the middle east in the form of Mohammed and wrote the Koran?

 

The BBC was running a story on how the London police captured a group of suicide bombers. Their first start was to look for Muslim boys/young men from Pakistan or ethnically from Pakistan because that fits the profile for suicide bombers. A month later - bingo. Now, I wonder if they should have instead targeted 75 year old grannies instead :bugeye: or how about 8 year girls?

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When police profile serial killers I believe one of the assumptions is that the person is most likely a man, white, middle aged, no kids, perhaps living with their mother. That doesn't mean that every 35 year old loser is a serial killer but that's the profile so that's where they dedicate a bit of extra attention.

So, again, I'm not sure where the logical fallacy comes in?

 

So Pakistanis are suicide bombers? How many so far?

 

countless ... which isn't really all that surprising. I'm sure if I grew up in such a shit hole I'd want to blow something up too.

 

Hahahaaahhahaaa.... I'm just kidding. Pakistani people are the most rational nicest people's in the world, simply smurfy, they're a great example of Smurfy virtue, ingenuity - the shinning mushroom on the hilll.

 

Look i can't doubt at all in the sincerity of FBI Members and they protect our back in the whole time while we are working playing sleeping or living our normal lives
so if they did some little exceeds i think that this is their rights to get wrong way for sometime but it doesn't mean that they are loyal and do their Job in better way
Don't watch this American movies a lot that try to disfigure their good and respectable reputation in the whole world
by the way in another prisons and with another cops in another countries such like Egypt people innocent or not being tortured and raped and even killed and it done with them things you can't imagine even in your worse nightmares so thank your God you have polite and good people like FBI and ask Lord to save them and help them all

 

no they don't.

 

Please give a example of a logical answer not being true?

 

If its valid but not sound.

 

No give a real example, not your definition, your example is a personnel equivocation.

If it is valid it is sound, validity has to be sound, as something not sound is not valid.

So now give a real life example of your contention.

 

Ok the republican arguement that you should vote for them because the democrats want the terrorists to when. It is valid in that if everything is true than your conclusion will be true.

Way to show your complete ignorance of 2 of the most basic logical concepts.
Validity is if all your premises are true than your conclusion must be true in a valid arguement
A sound arguement is a valid arguement in which its premises and conclusions are true in real life.

um how about the republican answer to the question is Sarah Palin a pork reformer. The answer yes being valid but not sound.