{"id":1179,"date":"2011-05-16T22:46:06","date_gmt":"2011-05-17T04:46:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.orderofephors.com\/?p=1179"},"modified":"2011-05-16T22:46:06","modified_gmt":"2011-05-17T04:46:06","slug":"good-liars-and-bad-liars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orderofephors.com\/?p=1179","title":{"rendered":"Good Liars and Bad Liars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Watching the Sunday morning news programs\u2026 NBC\u2019s Meet the Press <\/em>and ABC\u2019s This Week with Christiane Amanpour<\/em> at 8:00 AM, CBS\u2019s Face the Nation<\/em> at 9:30 AM, Fox News Sunday<\/em> at 10:00 AM, and PBS\u2019s Washington Week<\/em> at 11:00 AM\u2026 it is possible to see a wide variety of very successful and highly paid liars.<\/p>\n

I do not refer, of course, to conservative regulars such as syndicated columnist George Will, of ABC, or either Brit Hume or Bill Kristol of Fox News.\u00a0 These are all honorable, straight-from-the-shoulder men and I would challenge any liberal to disprove what they say or to successfully challenge their credibility.\u00a0 On Fox News, Hume and Kristol at least get equal time with the two liberal commentators, but on NBC it is painful to watch the pained expression on George Will\u2019s face as he suffers fools unhappily, waiting patiently for his carefully rationed \u00bc of the air time.\u00a0 No, I refer to the liberals who sit around the table at ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and PBS\u2026 lying to us, lying to each other, and knowing that they\u2019re lying to us and to each other.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A good case in point was my experience of Sunday, May 8.\u00a0 After watching Fox News Sunday<\/em> I switched over and watched the PBS program, Washington Week<\/em>, moderated by Gloria Borger of CNN.\u00a0 Her guests were Charles Babington, White House Correspondent for the Associated Press<\/em>; Peter Baker, White House Correspondent for the New York Times<\/em>; Tom Gjelten, National Security Correspondent for National Public Radio<\/em>; and James Kitfield, National Security Correspondent for National Journal Magazine<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Following a discussion of the Afghan War in the wake of Osama bin Laden\u2019s demise, Ms. Borger said, \u201c\u2026 but the political arguments it seems to me will remain the same \u2013 the same argument over torture that we\u2019ve had continues after this, right, Peter?<\/p>\n

Peter Baker replied, \u201cRight.\u00a0 Exactly.\u00a0 Did this come as a result of the water-boarding type techniques that had been banned by President Obama (Obama, good!), supported by President Bush (Bush, bad!)?\u00a0 You know, lots of different ways of looking at that.\u00a0 There\u2019s lot of different ways this intelligence came together.\u00a0 But it\u2019s once again brought us back to some of the same arguments we\u2019ve been having for the last couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Translation:\u00a0 What Baker was saying is that viewers should discount any intelligence obtained by CIA water-boarding\u2026 what liberals refer to as torture, even though no bodily harm was ever done\u2026 because, chances are, intelligence gained in other ways may have been<\/em> just as critical in locating bin Laden.\u00a0 He was also reminding us of something that we are not supposed to forget, which is that liberals are still not finished wrapping the torture charge around George Bush\u2019s neck.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ms. Borger then turned the discussion toward what impact the killing of bin Laden would have on Obama\u2019s popularity\u2026 the hope in the hearts and minds of liberals that the killing of Osama would \u201ctap into some sort of national unity that would carry over into big arguments that we\u2019re going to have over the debt and other issues.\u201d\u00a0 She asked about the impact on Obama\u2019s \u201cnumbers.\u201d<\/p>\n

James Kitfield replied, \u201cI think one place where this could be cathartic, and the White House told me this as well (the White House giving the mainstream media its marching orders) \u2013 if you saw the reaction in the Arab world to this, they shrugged.\u00a0 You saw the reaction here and it was just this outpouring of relief.\u00a0 And I think it might be cathartic and they certainly hope so.\u00a0 And getting the American people to sort of downsize terrorism just so it\u2019s a natural place; it\u2019s not this existential threat that maybe it was five years ago when (bin Laden) was at top of this power\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Translation:\u00a0 Now that bin Laden is dead and Obama is given credit for having at least one success in our ongoing \u201coverseas contingency operation,\u201d we can put all that behind us so that liberals and progressives won\u2019t think of Obama as just another bloodthirsty butcher like George W. Bush.\u00a0 After all, the Arabs didn\u2019t care that we killed bin Laden; they merely shrugged their shoulders.\u00a0 Now, in spite of the fact that the terrorist threat makes air travel all but impossible, and in spite of the fact that Chuckie Schumer now wants to require rail travelers and commuters to endure the pleasure of the roaming, probing fingers of TSA agents, as well, maybe we can get the American people to just put terrorism out of their minds\u2026 think of it as \u201ca natural place.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The sole purpose of all those involved in the discussion was to protect Obama from criticism and, if possible, make him look as if he has saved us all from the evils of Islamic terrorism.<\/p>\n

What is immediately evident when watching liberals sitting down together around a table is that they really don\u2019t care how blatantly they have to lie or misrepresent the facts.\u00a0 It\u2019s all a process of mutual back-scratching in which each one attempts to find new and quotable ways in which to promote the liberal ideology.\u00a0 Nothing is out of bounds, so long as the things they say allow them to maintain their reputations within liberal circles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A friend of mine, who likes to tantalize and torment liberals under the nom de plume<\/em> Tommy Telephone, was having similar thoughts over the past week.\u00a0 He had some very interesting thoughts about left wing liars which he passed on to me.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said, \u201cLast Sunday, watching Tom Donilon, Obama\u2019s National Security Adviser, on Meet the Press<\/em> and also on Fox News Sunday,<\/em> an important thought occurred.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter some 40 years in business I have a few very strong talents.\u00a0 One of those is that I can spot liars.\u00a0 Donilon is a classical liar and not a very good one.\u00a0 But I\u2019m beginning to realize that the lying is not really the root of the problem.\u00a0 It goes far deeper than that.<\/p>\n

\u201cTechnology is the thing that has driven my career. \u00a0Because of that I have been very reliant on engineers.\u00a0 Many times I have presented problems to engineering teams and they have never failed to work with me to find a solution.\u00a0 Engineers, however, are very literal people.\u00a0 Engineers think in black and white, and yes or no, but never gray.\u00a0 They always tell it as it is, with no sweet talk. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSolving problems in this environment (is) somewhat like a negotiation.\u00a0 The businessman needs to understand the function of the technology, on at least a high level, get involved and ask many \u2018what if?\u2019 questions.\u00a0 At some point the right \u2018what if?\u2019 question is asked and the answer comes back, \u2018Well, if we did this and that, we could make this do that.\u2019\u00a0 Thus the problem is solved.\u00a0 It is a beautiful thing.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cAs I looked at Tom Donilon, I saw a guy who is very nervous and unhappy.\u00a0 I knew that he didn\u2019t believe what he was saying.\u00a0 But he was convinced by someone that because everyone else is lying, he needed to lie as well.\u00a0 That\u2019s the basic flaw in the liberal logic: \u2018Everyone is lying, so I need to lie too.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

In a nutshell, Tommy Telephone has put his finger on the precise problem that faces Fox News contributors Mara Liasson, of National Public Radio, and former NPR correspondent Juan Williams, who have the toughest jobs in Sunday morning television.\u00a0 Of course, Liasson has the advantage of her gender; she walks a very careful line between Fox\u2019s standards of objectivity and balanced reporting and NPR\u2019s obvious attempt at promoting leftist ideology by flying their red flag just beneath the radar.\u00a0 She is very good at protecting both her position at Fox News and her reputation among the liberal intelligentsia by throwing an occasional sop to both sides.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Williams has by far the toughest job.\u00a0 He knows what the liberal arguments are and what he is expected to say; however, they don\u2019t always come out exactly as liberals prefer because he has a severe handicap for a liberal: he has a steak of honesty in him a mile wide.\u00a0 He was fired at NPR because that streak of honesty was totally unacceptable in a network dedicated to spreading the liberal gospel. \u00a0<\/p>\n

As Tommy Telephone describes it, many of the statements he hears from liberals causes him to exclaim, \u201cThey\u2019re kidding!\u00a0 They can\u2019t really believe that!\u201d\u00a0 But, he explains, \u201cI can see how this might happen.\u00a0 If liberals believe that conservatives are liars, there might be a yearning to tell even bigger lies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe truth is that conservatives are more conscience driven.\u00a0 It is harder for a conservative to lie.\u00a0 Conservatives more often than not\u00a0speak the truth and believe what they say.\u00a0 The problem is with self-esteem and health.\u00a0 Lying is bad for us.\u00a0 It goes against our basic human goodness.\u00a0 Lying can cause us to hate ourselves. \u2018\u2026to thine own self be true.\u2019 \u00a0So how can we love our children if we hate ourselves?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hardly a day goes by that my wife doesn\u2019t ask, rhetorically, \u201cWhy are liberals and Democrats so angry, so unhappy?\u00a0 Why don\u2019t they have a sense of humor?\u201d\u00a0 I think Tommy Telephone has touched on the answer.\u00a0 And that smile on Barack Obama\u2019s face?\u00a0 It\u2019s either an act or a nervous reaction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Watching the Sunday morning news programs\u2026 NBC\u2019s Meet the Press and ABC\u2019s This Week with Christiane Amanpour at 8:00 AM, CBS\u2019s Face the Nation at 9:30 AM, Fox News Sunday at 10:00 AM, and PBS\u2019s Washington Week at 11:00 AM\u2026 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orderofephors.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1179"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orderofephors.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orderofephors.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orderofephors.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orderofephors.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1179"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.orderofephors.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1180,"href":"https:\/\/www.orderofephors.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1179\/revisions\/1180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orderofephors.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orderofephors.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orderofephors.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}