Lies and Deceits

I think I found one of the problems.  Along with not having a particular fondness for the 1^st, 2^nd, and 4^th Amendments to the Constitution (Kamala Harris last week wanted to take away Trump’s ability to Tweet and Beto wants to take away your AR-15), progressive politicians definitely have an aversion to the 10 Commandments, many of which still form the bedrock of our Judeo-Christian society.  I’m hardly an Evengelical Christian, but the 10 Commandments have pretty much stood the test of time and whatever your theological bend, you have to admit that they form a pretty good set of guidelines for human behavior.  Progressives seem to be bent on waging their campaigns and messages as if Commandments IX and X didn’t exist at all.  Remember those?  Thou shalt not bear false witness and Thou shalt not covet Thy Neighbor’s Goods.  Coveting thy neighbor’s goods is the platform for each and every Democratic presidential contender this year.  But what bothers me most among politicians and the media is the propensity to bear false witness….and bear no consequences for doing so.

·        ABC News- A week after using film from an artillery range in Kentucky claiming it was Turks shelling Kurds, ABC news still hasn’t explained how this happened, much less meted out any consequences.  In finance, putting out false financial statements may land you in jail.  In the law, similar behavior will lead to a malpractice suit (same as medicine) and you may lose your law license.  But in today’s world of journalism, false statements and patently misleading images are met with shoulder shrugs, even one as blatant as this one.

·        Similarly, earlier this year, several news outlets misleadingly framed the pictures of the kids from Covington to make it look like they were mocking an elderly Native American, when in fact it was the Native American that instigated the contact.  Nathan Phillips, a known rabble rouser, also lied about his Vietnam service.  The damage was immense, as the social media mob descended on these kids.  The kids have sued several media outlets and celebrities, who are all taking cover under the 1^st Amendment.  So far, no consequences.

·        Christine Blasey Ford most notoriously profited by her unsubstantiated claims against Brent Kavanaugh, as a GoFundMe account permitted her to take nearly a cool million for her efforts. 

And most recently, a guy named Max Stier claimed he was at a frat party with his pants down and his friends pushed his penis into the hand of a female student.  The “victim” has no memory of this ever taking place.  Yet the NYT reported it anyway.

·        It has been mostly the Left lobbing these charges at the Right, but now they have begun to turn on each other.  Hillary Clinton, with not a shred of evidence, claimed that Tulsi Gabbard is being groomed by Russia to be a third party candidate.  Tulsi, refusing to back down, fired off a flurry of tweets at Clinton, labeling her the “Queen of Warmongers.”

·        Former presidential candidate and Utah senator Mitt Romney engaged in a bit of sleight of hand himself, deploying a pseudonym on Twitter to broadcast his views and to criticize President Trump.  At least Gabbard doesn’t hide in the bunker of anonymity and is uninhibited about expressing her views.  She is pretty far left of my views but in a head to head contest with Romney or Kasich, I’d lean toward Gabbard.

We are accustomed to politicians spreading falsehoods and making misleading statements, but our democracy depends on journalists to tenaciously dig for the facts and to exercise quality control over what they publish.  And even politicians need to be called out for making such slanderous statements as Hillary did against Tulsi Gabbard.   And whatever disagreement you might have with Gabbard’s policies, at least she stands behind her positions and stands up to those that spread falsehoods.