LIE OF THE WEEK: 10-27-2006

President Bush on the American public's support for the war in Iraq:

"I know the American people understand the stakes in Iraq. They want to win. They will support the war as long as they see a path to victory."


THE TRUTH: The President just doesn't get it. The end result of winning the war does not justify the means his administration is using to get there. The American public does not support the war because it is an increasingly immoral war, not just because we aren't winning. It began based on false information and has continued based on immoral and unethical tactics and techniques. We want our brave soldiers to come home and defend our country, not fight and die to clean up a mess created through a broken political process. The ends do not justify the means. It's as simple as that.

LIE OF THE WEEK: 10-20-2006

President Bush on why sixty percent of Americans oppose the war in Iraq:

"Because they want us to win. They believe ‚— they are wondering whether or not we have the plans in place to win. They want to know whether or not we have the flexibility on the ground to constantly meet the enemy."

THE TRUTH: Most Americans oppose the war for several reasons:
- The reasons for the start of war were based on lies, which were not questioned enough due to certain groups desire to fight the Saddam regime.
- The reasons to continue to fight are misrepresented constantly, including during the interview this quote comes from. The majority of those being killed in Iraq are due to sectarian violence and not due to the terrorist enemy that we should be fighting.
- Though the new Iraqi government was democratically elected, it is taking on more and more anti-democratic practices, such as the Interior Ministry sending out death squads to "silence" those who oppose the government.

It's time to tell the truth about the war and figure out a way to actually address the challenges at work in Iraq. There's absolutely no justification in delaying this until after our elections on Nov. 7th. Ninety American soldiers have died in the past three weeks due to our government's failed policies - do we really need to let another 90 die in the next three weeks for this political delay?

LIE OF THE WEEK: 10-13-2006

White House Spokesman Tony Snow on whether President Bush made any mistakes in his handling of North Korea (full transcript):

"Oh, my goodness... it's a silly question... you need to give presidents the benefit of the doubt when national security is involved."

THE TRUTH: The whole point of an open transparent democracy is to hold elected officials accountable by having all of the facts. Asking for "the benefit of the doubt" because the big picture of national security isn't clear without all of the classified data is no different than the dictators around the world who tell their citizens to trust that they are doing what is in the best interest of the nation. From the fear-mongering tactics used to win elections to the limiting of civil rights and liberties in the name of national security, we are unfortunately dealing with an administration that is (knowingly or unknowingly) degrading our freedom and democracy every day while claiming to be spreading it around the world.

LIE OF THE WEEK: 10-06-2006

The Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) in comments filed with the FCC regarding an investigation into the use of "video news releases":

"The investigation has already had a chilling effect on the dissemination of newsworthy information to the public," the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) said in comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), that were then sent to reporters.
...
"Viewers have lost access to video that might explain or illustrate the promises of a newly released life-altering drug, or the potentially fatal dangers posed by a common food," the RTNDA said.

THE TRUTH: "Video News Releases" are nothing but pure propaganda. They are not journalism and should never be used in place of journalistic work, even for a portion of the story. This association's comments are a clear indication that the news departments of many local television stations are primarily concerned about saving money by playing these releases and not concerned enough about journalistic integrity. If they are truly worried about viewers having the latest truthful informative news as they indicate, they should invest in their journalists instead of focusing purely on the bottom line.