Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me� well, so says the quote. But honestly, with so many conflicting claims and lies, I�ve become increasingly frustrated by my own inability to figure out what�s actually true. Whether it�s lying through omission, lying through misdirection, or outright lies, it�s awfully hard to extract nuggets of truth from the noise.
So, being a civic minded individual, I did some extensive research, and am pleased to offer this guide to detecting who is lying during this joyful campaign season:
- Anyone who explicitly claims to be telling the truth � is lying. Groups with �truth� in their name, lie �Swift Boats for Truth� � dead giveaway. If they weren�t lying, they wouldn�t need to convince you otherwise.
- Every political advertisement lies (by omission- obviously).
- All issues ads lie (you know, the kind that aren�t sponsored by the candidate, but rather by their best friend, leading contributor, ex college roommate, etc.).
- All news broadcasts lie. The one exception: Jon Stewart�s Daily Show, which claims to lie, has a higher degree of truth than any news broadcast. This is not surprising because all comedy is ultimately based on truth.
- Anyone claiming the other side is lying, is lying (Michael Moore, Rush Limbaugh, you know the type).
- All the candidates and their spokespersons lie. You see, if they actually said anything truthful the media would squeeze it of any ounce of subtlety and portray it as a mistake or gaff. So the campaigns must stick with caref
…excerpt from: Dan Appleman: Kibitzing and Commentary