Rhetorical Argumentation

Argumentation theorist, rhetorician, student of Greek Philosophy.
Twittering in a personal capacity.

[Rhetorical Argumentation @cwtindale]

AofW,
Mohsen Rezaei:
The President of the United States is betraying diplomacy for the third time. By continuing the naval blockade and making excessive demands in negotiations, he has once again proven that he is not inclined toward negotiation and is pursuing other objectives.

[Rhetorical Argumentation @cwtindale]

AofW
Publisher Karen Brochu
The fact that [AI detector] Pangram is unable to identify something written in a culturally specific voice – [like] Vincentian oral storytelling tradition – as anything other than AI-generated is further proof of the well-documented biases found in AI.

[Rhetorical Argumentation @cwtindale]

Arg of the Week:
Maya Wang, the deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch:
“President Trump has been pretty hostile to the concept [of human rights] … it would be hard to imagine in a Trump-Xi meeting that human rights would figure meaningfully if at all in their discussions.”

[Rhetorical Argumentation @cwtindale]

Arg of Week:

Ali Vaez, Iran project director for the International Crisis Group think tank:

“There is no real policy process in this administration. The president makes decisions based on impulse more than process, therefore there are inconsistencies that happen all the time.”

[Rhetorical Argumentation @cwtindale]

Argument of the Week:
Marcello Guarini:
Action is needed to make sure AI systems are safely constructed and regulated. But a prerequisite for that is noticing what is going on. We all ned to take responsibility for noticing both the promise and perils of AI.

[Rhetorical Argumentation @cwtindale]

AofWeek:
Michael Pollen:
“The belief you can create a conscious machine depends on this metaphor that brains are computers. And that is just a sloppy metaphor. In brains, you do not have that neat separation between hardware and software.”

[Rhetorical Argumentation @cwtindale]

ArgofWeek:
Trump to Japanese Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi:
"We didn’t tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan, OK? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor, OK? Right?”

[Rhetorical Argumentation @cwtindale]

AofW:
Dmytro Kuleba:
“American commentators are talking about a ‘short war’. They said the same about Russia’s war against Ukraine. It will be short only if Washington quietly scales down its goals, gives up on regime change in Iran, and sells a much smaller outcome as victory.”

[Rhetorical Argumentation @cwtindale]

AofW
Dmitry Medvedev
The peacekeeper is at it again. The talks with Iran were just a cover. Everyone knew that. So who has more patience to wait for the enemy’s sorry end now? The US is just 249 years old. The Persian Empire was founded over 2500 years ago. Let’s see what happens

[Rhetorical Argumentation @cwtindale]

AofW:
Jonny Dymond, BBC
it is a body blow to the House of Windsor...the King's brother, the late Queen's son, a senior member of the Royal Family whose activities for his country have led to investigation and arrest. It is hard to think of a much greater challenge for the Palace.

[Rhetorical Argumentation @cwtindale]

Aof W
Globe
Trump claimed that foreign countries were paying for his tariffs, not Americans. But...research published by economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of NY suggests that...through Nov. 2025, 90% of the economic burden of the tariffs fell on U.S. companies and consumers.

[Rhetorical Argumentation @cwtindale]

AofW:
Bill Clinton The Hill:
“Over the course of a lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decisions we make and the actions we take will shape our history for years to come. This is one of them...It is up to us who believe in the promise of American democracy to stand up”

[Rhetorical Argumentation @cwtindale]

AofW:
Carney, Davos:
The old order is not coming back...from the fracture, we can build something better, stronger, and more just.
This is the task of the middle powers, who have the most to lose from a world of fortresses and the most to gain from a world of genuine cooperation.

[Rhetorical Argumentation @cwtindale]

AofW:
K. Roth, Guardian:
what would a world dominated by unrestrained force look like? The crime of aggression – against invading other states – would not disappear altogether, but it would be badly weakened...Trump’s vision would turn that weakness into a governing principle.

[Rhetorical Argumentation @cwtindale]

AofW:
President Trump to Republicans:
"But you gotta win the midterms, because if we don't win the midterms, it's just going to be, I mean, they'll find a reason to impeach me. I'll get impeached."

[Rhetorical Argumentation @cwtindale]

AofW:
Ian Sutherland & Lucas Orfanides, Globe

So, what’s the value of a liberal arts degree today? In the age of AI, it is the human intelligence of the liberal arts, built on critical thinking, ethical leadership and strong interpersonal skills, that will matter most.

[Rhetorical Argumentation @cwtindale]

AofW
John Rapley, Globe
Mr. Trump appears to have fallen into the same trap that tanked Joe Biden’s presidency – responding to bad pocketbook news with aggregate figures, like the growth of GDP...or the revenue from tariffs. None of these measures resonate with the vast majority.

[Rhetorical Argumentation @cwtindale]

Argument of the Week:

Nancy Pelosi (NYT):

“Hillary Clinton was the best qualified person to be president at that time …[but] nobody wants to know what you have done. Nobody gets elected because they deserve it. They get elected for what they’re going to do.”

[Rhetorical Argumentation @cwtindale]

AofW:
E. J. Dionne Jr.
NYT
in 2025, Trumpian flimflam hit its limits...Republicans in the Indiana Senate defied the president’s demand for a midterm congressional redistricting. His power to intimidate is ebbing. A reasonable majority exists. It’s searching for alternatives

[Rhetorical Argumentation @cwtindale]

AofW: Douglas Sanderson
Globe
Indigeneity, like Orientalism, was never a thing. Indigeneity is a projection of meaning, but our cultural embrace of capital-I “Indigenous” has created..[a] false identity and fake symbolism. We must render “Indigenous” as ineffectual as “Oriental”