LIE OF THE WEEK: 08-25-2006

Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on the war on terror:

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Richard Boucher said the U.S. is "grateful for Pakistan's strong and vital support in the war of terror." U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld says it is a war that must be won: "The war on terror is going to be a long struggle. It's not something we asked for, but neither is it something we can avoid... Only by opposing the small minority of violent extremists at every level will free people be successful."

THE TRUTH: They are absolutely correct regarding the small minority of violent extremists needing to be opposed at every level, but are they really teaming up with "free people" by supporting the current military dictatorships in Pakistan and other Central Asian nations? Are they really that naive to not understand that these dictatorships only encourage public support for terrorists by suppressing all legitimate opposition and leaving the people with only the extremist opposition to support? Let's cut out the lies about who supports freedom and have a policy that only supports true freedom all over the world. That's our best weapon against the extremists.

LIE OF THE WEEK: 08-18-2006

White House Spokesman Tony Snow on the federal court decision declaring the administration's warrantless wiretapping program unconstitutional:

Tony Snow, the White House spokesman, also described the surveillance program as a vital and lawful tool. “The whole point is to detect and prevent terrorist attacks before they can be carried out,” Mr. Snow said‚“The terrorist surveillance program is firmly grounded in law and regularly reviewed to make sure steps are taken to protect civil liberties.”

THE TRUTH: The administration always emphasizes how "vital" warrantless wiretapping is and then follows up by saying that it is lawful. If the first statement is so true, then why don't they solve this issue by simply going to the Congress and writing a law to support this program? The answer is simple: because the second statement is a lie and it would take a constitutional amendment to allow a program without oversight by Congress and the courts. It is clearly unconstitutional for the executive branch to act completely on their own and this is a serious attack on our system of government. Dictatorships all over the world justify immoral laws by declaring them critical to national security and we should not fall into this trap and begin to slide in this direction, even to the slightest extent. We could end up on a very slippery slope - as Benjamin Franklin famously said: "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

LIE OF THE WEEK: 08-11-2006

White House Spokesman Tony Snow on the newest Middle East war:

White House spokesman Tony Snow had a similar message. "As I've said, we do not -- we want an end to violence and we do not want escalations."

THE TRUTH: The truth slipped out there for a minute when he almost said "we do not want an end to violence." It's obvious that the administration has no interest in an end to the violence until Hezbollah is destroyed, so why bother lying about it?

LIE OF THE WEEK: 08-04-2006

Senator Bill Frist on the estate tax:

"This death tax punishes everyday Americans by forcing them to give up their business, to give up their farms," he said.

THE TRUTH: This is pure hogwash. Most Americans are not impacted by the estate tax in any way. It only affects a tiny percentage of the population - those who are the richest. It is morally correct to support elimination of the estate tax because it is immoral to repeatedly tax an American's assets (already taxed when earned and spent), but these lies do not help this cause.