New at Reason
Nick Gillespie reviews a freewheeling new history of lies, calumnies, and other bullshit.
Comments to "New at Reason":
Some dude | December 14, 2007, 1:22pm | #
You forgot "truthiness."Your Steadfast Friend | December 14, 2007, 1:25pm | #
Hello, Matilda Fairbourne! I miss you every day.Jamie Kelly | December 14, 2007, 1:32pm | #
You forgot "truthiness."Truth? Truth? You can't handle the truth! I deride your truth-handling abilities, you non-truth-handler!
I think one of the fundamental problems in the United States is that the rich and powerful ruling elites do not fear the people and so they are able to lie to them. If lies are allowed to go unpunished we can expect the same over and over, but if the liars in power fear for their jobs or their lives, I think we would be able to expect more truth.
Warren | December 14, 2007, 2:28pm | #
Damn you Nick! Damn you all to hell. How dare you tread upon Napoleon of the Stump's historical image.Awik Dunderderooooo | December 14, 2007, 2:47pm | #
All of those who oppose the war against MexiCatholic-Fascists don't understand the true power that these religious fundys have. The war on Mexico is a just and righteous war to save America from those that would change us! When Polk leaves office you will have only one choice, Rudi Giuliani, for president. Only he will stand up to the MexiCatholic-Fascists!! Anybody who says that this war is false is nothing more than a lefty pacifist!!Guy Montag | December 14, 2007, 11:49pm | #
Nick,Polk "began to prepare his declaration of war, at no time recognizing that...the attack had occurred in disputed land. By not addressing the point, he was able to make the strongest case possible to a skeptical Congress."
You missed the Lincoln antics that go along with this one I disagree with Dr. Monroe in that these antics are what kept him from ever being reelected to the Congress, i.e., becoming so unpopular in Illinois as to not even bother running again.
In his "Spot" resolutions of 1847, he called on Polk for proof of the president's insistence that the war began when Mexicans shed American blood on American soil "That soil was not ours; and Congress did not annex or attempt to annex it." Lincoln voted for a resolution that declared the war unnecessary and accused Polk of violating the Constitution in commencing it. He nonetheless voted to supply the American army and he did not support legislation that would have prohibited acquiring territory from Mexico as part of a peace settlement.
Tillman Fan | December 15, 2007, 1:03am | #
Why did Abraham Lincoln hate America?Jacob | December 15, 2007, 1:29am | #
James,"rich and powerful ruling elite"
who constitutes this exactly? government officials...? and what are you endorsing....more government power?
I will never understand this logic.
The "Lets give all these corrupted officials more power but beg and plead them not to use it to benefit themselves" policy just doesnt work man.
Russell | December 15, 2007, 1:35am | #
From President Polk's old stomping ground comes the news that the nation's doyenne of Public Diplomacy, Karen Hughes, is being displaced by Jim Glassman, who will henceforth be creating reality for real, instead of for profit, or AEI.Of course it could just be an advertorial ploy by Tech Central Onion.
DS | December 15, 2007, 3:44pm | #
The lies politicians tell aren't even that interesting, it's those moments when they accidentally say some that is absolutely true without meaning to.My favorite was 10 or 15 years ago a prominent Democratic Senator, whose names escapes me, was in a heated discussion on some talk show talking about taxing the rich or regulating something or other. The point was that since people earned their money they were free to do with it what they pleased. In a moment of accidental clarity he retorted that "the government creates the money so it has the authority to regulate what you do with it."
This is like the "interstate commerce" clause on steriods.... or the "necessary and proper" clause on acid. Basically anything that is done with government produced money (which is pretty much everything) can be regulated by the government to any standard they see fit. In other words if you use our money (which nobody has any choice but to do) you have forfeited the right to free will.
It is distgusting and vile but he was actually correct.
LarryA | December 16, 2007, 5:43pm | #
Polk lied through omission, a disturbingly common characteristic of many of the "lies and propaganda" campaigns gathered in this volume.Astounding. A history of political lies in one volume. How did he choose?
I mean, talk about a target-rich environment...
James | December 17, 2007, 10:31am | #
"who constitutes this exactly? government officials...? and what are you endorsing....more government power?"I actually think that one of the fundamental mistakes that some Libertarians make is this inherited belief from the cold war that government is the only agent of authoritarianism, when I would say that big business and private power probably actually holds the greatest threat to freedom in the next 50 years.
Roque Nuevo | December 19, 2007, 8:55pm | #
Yeah, well...Polk did it for the children. Just think what California would be like today if it were Mexico: garbage-strewn streets, dead dogs lying around bloated in the sun, wife-beaters, corruption, unemployment and so forth. There's no doubt that, in spite of the racist treatment the Mexicans got after the annexation of their territory, they got a higher quality life by being annexed.