LIE OF THE WEEK: 06-30-2006

Former Associate White House Counsel Bradford Berenson on the Supreme Court decision that the military commissions to put the Guantanamo Bay inmates on trial were unauthorized by federal statute and violated international law:

"Nothing about the administration's solution was radical or even particularly aggressive," said Bradford A. Berenson, who served from 2001 to 2003 as associate White House counsel. "What is truly radical is the Supreme Court's willingness to bend to world opinion and undermine some of the most important foundations of American national security law in the middle of a war."

THE TRUTH: This administration has flaunted every aspect of constitutional and international law in claiming executive privilege while prosecuting the War on Terror. Complying with signed treaties is not the same as "bending to world opinion". Undermining civil rights and liberties in the name of national security puts us in the same category as the worst dictatorships around the world who oppress their people in the name of being "in a state of war" or "under emergency law". Though every American agrees that we need to aggressively attack our enemies, violating our laws and treaties can never further these goals, especially when these violations are in the form of torture, kangaroo courts, or other abuses of human rights. We need not lose our core values in the pursuit of defeating our enemies.

LIE OF THE WEEK: 06-23-2006

Senator Hillary Clinton on the Democratic Party divisions over the major issues of our day:

"Although unity is important, it is not the most important value. It is, I think, a tribute to the Democratic Party at this moment in time that we are honestly and openly struggling with a lot of the difficult issues facing our country," Clinton, D-N.Y., told the New Democrat Network.

THE TRUTH: The problem with the Democrats is not their struggle with the issues - it is their struggle to figure out where the majority of the public stands on these issues. As much as many people disagree with conservative Republican positions on some key issues, they can at least respect the fact that many conservative Republicans base their positions both on their principles and the principles of their constituents. The Democrats need to stop swaying in the wind with every public opinion poll and simply stand for something. The fact that they don't understand that tells the whole story of their party's divisions.

LIE OF THE WEEK: 06-16-2006

Congressman Patrick Kennedy on his plea agreement for driving under the influence:

"I've always said that I wanted to accept full responsibility for my actions," Kennedy told reporters outside the courthouse. "Today in court, I did just that. I accepted the consequences of my actions. I look forward today to moving on to the next chapter in my life."

THE TRUTH: Congressman Kennedy clearly consider himself to be above the law. He is not only shirking actual responsibility for his irresponsible behavior, he is falsely claiming to be taking responsibility with a plea bargain that gives him a small fine and let's him walk free. He does not even bother acknowledging the preferential treatment he received from the arresting officers who did not have the ethics needed to enforce a mandatory breathalyzer test after an accident situation which obviously required it. If the Congressman had any ethics whatsoever, he would resign from Congress (since this whole situation prevents him from any meaningful representation of his constituents) and take true responsibility for his actions, as would be faced by any other citizen.

LIE OF THE WEEK: 06-09-2006

Senator Hillary Clinton on the "need" to study the effects of video games on children:

Clinton dismissed those who have questioned the need for such a study. "We don't know the effects," Clinton said. "Never have children been raised in such a media-saturated environment. How do we get more research, better facts and evidence?"

THE TRUTH: We are now well into the third decade of video games playing a major role in the lives of children. From the earliest arcade games showing containing explicit and violent content till now, there have been hundreds of studies done on this subject. Clearly, there are two factors at work when politicians continue to ask for studies and research: First, many "research" organizations in Washington are a source of work for many out-of-work politicians and many of the currently employed politicians like to keep their friends employed with government studies spending our taxpayer money. Second, by continuing to ask for unneeded studies, politicians can defer having to make any judgements on legislation in this area, so they get away with leaving the status quo as is, where many parents' rights organizations want new legislation controlling the sale of video games and the publishers of these video games want to keep on selling them without restrictions to maximize profits. I guess this is just evidence that neither of these lobby groups have made it worthwhile yet for the politicians to take their side, so the checks keep on rolling in until the pressure builds one way or the other. As usual, this is not about Congress doing what's right for America, but about doing what pays for the next campaign victory...

LIE OF THE WEEK: 06-02-2006

Senator Harry Reid on taking a gift of expensive boxing tickets while federal legislation on the sport is pending:

Reid defended the gifts, saying they would never influence his position on the boxing bill and that he was simply trying to learn how his legislation might affect an important home state industry. "Anyone from Nevada would say I'm glad he is there taking care of the state's No. 1 businesses," he told The Associated Press.

THE TRUTH: Senator Reid should be especially wary of the undue influence of the boxing industry on his office because they are from his home state. He is clearly so lacking in his understanding of ethics that he doesn't even realize how this "gift" clearly shows up in the radar of the American public as nothing more than a poorly concealed bribe.