United States News
See other United States News Articles
Title: When 'Truth Isn't Truth' -- Mr. Orwell, Meet Donald Trump's Presidency
Source:
Forbes
URL Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/victor ... rumps-presidency/#147d9f046dc8
Published: Aug 19, 2018
Author: Victor Lipman
Post Date: 2018-08-20 11:23:32 by Deckard
Keywords: None
Views: 422
Comments: 5
They've been flirting with it for a while, but they've finally crossed the Rubicon and moved firmly into 1984 territory. I'm referring of course to the dark classic novel by George Orwell, which was written in 1949 and describes "Big Brother" and a future dystopian state characterized by, as Wikipedia accurately describes it, "official deception...brazenly misleading terminology, and manipulation of recorded history." Yep, sound familiar? 'Fraid it does. What pushed me (and our administration) over the line, I'm sorry to say, and into truly Orwellian territory, was this little exchange today between Rudy Giuliani and NBC's Chuck Todd, as reported by CNN, on Meet The Press. "When you tell me that, you know, he [Mr. Trump] should testify because he's going to tell the truth and he shouldn't worry, well, that's so silly because it's somebody's version of the truth. Not the truth..." "Truth is truth," Todd said in response. "No, no, it isn't truth," Giuliani said. "Truth isn't truth. The president of the United States says, 'I didn't...'" "Truth isn't truth," Todd interjected. "Mr. Mayor, do you realize, what... I think this is going to become a bad meme." Got that right. A really bad meme. The lure of alternative reality In a way, though, Mr. Giuliani's verbal truth-stretching isn't surprising. No, not surprising at all. Anyone who's watched our president push the boundaries of veracity for the last couple of years has seen an Administration that regards facts mostly as inconvenient data points to be molded as the mood suits. There's the ever-convenient whipping boy fake news (loosely defined as any news coverage the president dislikes). There's Kellyanne Conway's now-classic reference to alternative facts. There's the Washington's Post's ongoing meticulous documentation of the president's "false or misleading claims" (4,229 as of August 1). There's the president's own recent seriously Orwellian quote, "Stick with us," he told the crowd at a speech in Kansas City, "Don't believe the crap you see from these people, the fake news... What you're seeing and what you're reading is not what's happening." Think about it. What you're seeing and what you're reading is not what's happening. Sound anything like 1984's "official deception, brazenly misleading terminology, and manipulation of recorded history"? I could go on and on about this madness but too much alternative reality makes my head start to hurt. Which I guess is sort of the point. Doublespeak disturbs people. It confuses them. If you're not paying too close attention (which is my problem and why my head is hurting), it wears you down. 4,229 lies (call them what they are) by the Washington Post's careful count, and that was 18 days ago. I usually write about management and I can say with 100% certainty that no CEO of a public company could lie 4,229 times to his or her shareholders and remain in the role. No way, no how, not even close. But at the end of the day the fact that our president lies frequently doesn't even any longer surprise me, nor does the fact that Mr. Giuliani clownishly enables his client by muddying the waters and publicly confusing these lies. No, what's more disturbing is that in the face of all this Orwellian doublespeak so many normally decent Republicans in Congress who surely know better remain silent as amoebas and slugs. Oh well, guess I shouldn't be surprised by such silence. After all, amoebas and slugs don't have any backbone, they lack a spine.
The president's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani: "Truth isn't truth." (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Deckard (#0)
Government pronouncements are the truth. I am happy to see that you subscribe to and support the government declared truth that marijuana has no known medical use.
Seriously? Governments lie - that's what they do. ... the government declared truth that marijuana has no known medical use. There you go again. DEA Makes Shocking Move, Orders Increase In Cannabis Production by 500% to Fight Opioid Crisis
You mean that when the government coerces witnesses to compose and sing, a truthful witness may be met with a choir of government sponsored liars, all signing from the same hymnal. I seem to remember that now. That is why Rudy Giuliani is correct and Trump should not testify.
Giuliani explained it, but the biased and fake MSM didn't report it because they would rather make him look foolish. Giuliani has repeatedly claimed Mueller could accuse Trump of lying under oath if he denies having had a discussion in February 2017 with then-FBI Director James Comey about former national security adviser Michael Flynn. “Trump says, ‘I didn’t tell him.’ And the other guy says that he did say it,” Giuliani said Sunday. “Which is the truth?”
F. Chuck Todd (short for Fuck Chuck Todd) is too stupid and evil to understand what Giuliani was saying. He's as dumb as a democRat. I don't know why any normal person bothers with leftist media. Their biases or fucking stupidity will always prevent any comprehension on their part. Let Fake News leftist media die. Nobody will care; few will notice.
#2. To: nolu chan (#1)
Government pronouncements are the truth.
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
In a Cop Culture, the Bill of Rights Doesn’t Amount to Much
#3. To: Deckard (#2)
Government pronouncements are the truth.
Seriously? Governments lie - that's what they do.
#4. To: Deckard (#0)
"Truth isn't truth."
#5. To: Deckard (#0)
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]