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arcana imperii :: the book of j

1.4.04

lies, lies, lies and more lies just a credibility gap don't make...

«the bush administration has perfected the art of being dishonest without lying. unfortunately, a compliant press (and public) have allowed them to get away with it.»

mathew yglesias comments in a web exclusive at the american prospect.

«writing in the 29 march issue of newsweek, jonathan alter described democrats as 'over the top' in their constant references to the president's dishonesty. 'because bush & co. were as shocked as anyone at the absence of wmd' in iraq, he says, 'that's more in the category of grotesque hype than outright lie.'

for a real 'example of dishonesty and, yes, corruption at high levels' we need to look to medicare, where chief actuary rick foster calculated that the bill would cost over $150 billion more than the administration was claiming and was kept silent only through the threat that he'd be fired if he released his work to the congress.

in a sense, alter's right. the administration learned the true cost of the bill, realised that the truth was politically inconvenient, and decided to cover it up and continue to feed the public and the congress information it knew to be false. that is a lie