Q: “How can you tell if a politician is lying?” A: “ ” The First Amendment assures us of a right to free speech. It does not, unfortunately, explicitly assure us of a right to not be lied to by our government and its various officials. Any hope of holding government officials accountable for their lies rests with the political process, in the voting booths and through the impeachment process, which themselves have become so ineffective as to offer little real hope of transparency, accountability or reform.
We have been lied to so much, for so long, and on every subject, by government officials of every stripe that political lies have become our norm. It says something about the sorry state of our nation and the low bar we have set for those we elect to represent us. However, although there are few consequences for government officials who lie to the public, the Deep State continues to wage war on those who challenge its lies, half-truths and obfuscations.
Case in point: Julian Assange. Although the news of Mr. Assange’s plea deal was quickly overshadowed by the drama that is the 2024 presidential election (the WikiLeaks founder pled guilty to a “ ”), his persecution at the hands of the Deep State was a warning shot over the bow for anyone who dares speak truth to power.
The Deep State has embarked on a ruthless, take-no-prisoners, all-out assault on truth-tellers. Activists, journalists and whistleblowers alike continue to be terrorized, traumatized, tortured an.