SOCRATES EXPLAINED CAMPAIGN LYING IN ANCIENT GREECE

Today, though others may have mentioned it, for the first time I heard a journalist.talk show host question why the media is handling things in a 'business-as-usual ' way when it is clear that speakers a lying.  He indicated that he was ashamed of behaving in contradiction to everything he had been taught as a journalist.  What was missing in his statement was why he does it.  It seems to be the order of the media channels of the day.  Forget the truth, keep the audience coming back and making the channel money.  Forget the ethics of your profession.  If you want the pay check, follow the channel rules.

Socrates was forced to drink poison for his pursuit of truth while the rich leaders did not find it went along with their wish to deceive the citizens,  Some things don't change in human nature and the process that greedy people develop.  This is an interesting article about history of lies back to ancient Greece.

Quoted from this article: The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates taught his students that the pursuit of truth could only begin once they start to question and analyze every belief that they ever held dear. If a certain belief passes the tests of evidence, deduction and logic, it should be kept. If it doesn’t, the belief should not only be discarded, but the thinker must also then question why he was led to believe the erroneous information in the  first place. Not at all surprising was the fact that this type of teaching didn’t go very well with the ruling elite of Greece. Many political leaders throughout history have always sought to mislead the thinking of the masses. Socrates was tried for “subversion” and for “corrupting the youth”. He was then forced to take his own life by drinking poison. 

Throughout history it has never been easy being an independent thinker!  Robert F Kennedy, Jr wrote an article a bit more than a year ago on  the reason Fox Cable News is not allowed in Canada because of the number of lies they tell.  (Bravo, Canada!) Canada considers them as delivering false and misleading news  

Lastly, an interesting article on truth and the media, commentaries from many we may know and respect. .

WHAT DO PAWLENTY AND BACHMANN HAVE TO INDICATE COMPETENCE FOR THE PRESIDENCY?

Tim Pawlenty's governance of Minnesota was thrust under a microscope as the government of Minnesota has just been shut down.  The move throws, as one minor example of the catastrophic results to residents of the state, 23,000 state workers out of jobs.  Even with the Democrat currently as governor, the state is in the control now o9f a decided Republican majority in both houses.  They seem to be totally without heart about the citizens who voted them in.

Taken from an article in The Wall Street Journal by Patrick O'Connor and Neil King, Jr.:
"Mr. Pawlenty presided over the state's last government shutdown in 2005. He frequently highlights that impasse on the campaign trail as evidence of his dedication to cutting spending. The former governor eventually resolved that fight partly by offering to raise a fee on cigarette sales, a measure he still declines to refer to as a tax."  To read the entire article, click here. 

While Mr. Pawlenty doesn't believe it will impact on his bid for Presidency, it shocks me how ridiculously low the Republican candidates hold preparedness and competence for the Office of US Presidency and its complex problems.

The Minnesota shutdown puts Bachmann also in the limelight.  ABC News in an article by Matthew Jaffe writes:  "The other candidate, Rep. Michele Bachmann, solidified her standing as Tea Party darling when earlier this year she urged Republicans in Congress not to fear a federal government shutdown -- or "slowdown," as she called it -- in their own funding fight in Washington."   Click here for the whole article.  I, for one, would never vote for either of them who reflect a total disconnect with the way their actions impact their constituencies.

May the 'Force Be With Us' because, clearly, trust in God isn't working!