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by exe34 482 days ago
> but weren't

Does that imply unaccountable, or does it mean Congress thought they were doing a good job?
2 comments
XorNot 482 days ago
Exactly this. People say "unaccountable" but the follow up question is "for what?".

The misinformation era means there's a gulf of frequently incorrect assumptions about what the Federal agencies actually do.

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try_the_bass 482 days ago
Again, if these agencies are never actually held accountable, this is functionally identical to "unaccountable".

I mean, what if Congress created them to be unaccountable? Then both things would be true!

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exe34 482 days ago
Are you claiming the fbi has never been called to testify before Congress? or are you claiming that it didn't happen enough? or that it didn't happen for the things you personally wanted it to happen over?

these are very different situations, and it appears you wish to defend the motte and get the bailey for free?

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try_the_bass 476 days ago
No? I wouldn't consider the FBI to be an "unaccountable organization".

I never said all government organizations are unaccountable? Just that (practically-speaking) some organizations are unaccountable because they rarely (or never) are called to account by those who are supposed to hold them accountable. This could be due to them simply being a low-stakes organization that demands very little attention, for all I know!

Interesting that you call out a specific fallacy whilst bringing your own strawman into play!

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