I'm surprised, given the amount of research you've done on this subject alone, that we would have seen each other on other threads.
Regardless, I recognize other names here. Some may know my current affiliation, some may not. It's certainly not because I've been hiding it. A couple of my comments here are relevant because I'm currently at Target, but the majority are just common sense.
Maybe he need not "recuse" himself, but for the majority of FReepers who, on any given thread, do not know that he and his spouse have a financial interest in spinning this Target story, full disclosure on each thread on which he is spinning seems appropriate.
My bone with you is about your claim that I need to "recuse" myself. This sounds a bit like censoring any opinion but that of your own. I see you're backing off that a bit. But as to "disclosure": the fact that it was me, not you that "outed" myself negates your entire argument.
Therefore, I simply wanted to raise a flag for my fellow FReepers who might not have understood where Egon's persistent defense of Target originated.
My persistent defense would be the same for BestBuy or any of the other companies you discovered to be taking the same tact. The fact that I'm not on a BestBuy thread is because, as luck would have it, Target threads jump out at me (given my obvious bias and affiliation) and BestBuy's don't. Point me at a BestBuy thread and I'll head right over and "spin" for them too.
Then relax, because I backed off on that ;-)
Ok Sherlock, if you say so.
I'd be happy if, on Target threads, you simply put in your Tagline, "Full Disclosure: I have a financial interest in spinning negative publicity regarding Target."
Fair enough?