I think there is another category of lie, a much more subtle and difficult to determine one. It’s the sort of lie – or “lie” – told when someone makes an assertion that he or she should know is false, and would know is false if he or she had not purposely shut out and/or denied all evidence to the contrary even if that evidence is obvious.

That actually happens quite a bit, I think. And if it’s not a lie, what is it? A self-willed delusion?

Come their declaration of martial law, being able to count on law enforcement will be a necessity. One they’re busily destroying.

“Never interfere with an enemy committed to stupid.”

“Most of them will remain on the dole forever, just like Obama’s aunt in Boston.” Cicero

Nope. Come the revolution, anyone not able to prove American citizenship at birth or legal naturalization will be shown the proverbial door.

In George Costanza’s case, he is indeed such a person and convincing himself there’s a nugget of truth behind his lie is part of his deliberate strategy for lying convincingly.

For everyone else, an honest but mistaken belief is not a lie.

A lie must be a) false, b) known to the speaker to be false, c) intended by the speaker to be accepted as true and d) intended by the speaker to deceive.

Without a) the truth is a lie. Without b), mistakes are lies. Without c), irony and fiction are lies. Without d), art is a lie. No one uses “lie” without condemnation but these others can be done innocently.

Well, that’s true. If you say something you believe to be true but is in fact false, you are not lying, you are mistaken. You may be culpably mistaken, or deluded, but you’re not intending to deceive.

I’m being nit-picky about this because conflating “false statement” with “lie” is a major weapon used by the Democrats. It’s part of the technique they use to come up with those enormous counts of “lies” told by Trump and anyone else they dislike. And of course they creatively extend it by conflating statements of opinion with statements of fact. “Critical race theory is a bad thing.” “Liar!”

This “law” does have some applicability where the accused is such a deeply dishonest person that he has come to believe his own lies, which on some level he knows to be lies. That no doubt applies to Biden & Co.

A lot of our elite and near-elite are actually awful people who think their social status provides all the moral justification they need.

I once read someone who literally argued that there should be one set of rules for important people and one set of rules for the rest of us. I’m not joking or exaggerating. He didn’t say there ARE different rules for important people and it can’t be avoided. He argued there SHOULD be different rules for important people.

It was in regard to the military and this guy’s viewpoint was that if an enlisted grunt violated a rule, it was perfectly fine to court martial the guy and either throw him in jail or out of the service. But if a high-ranking officer violated the exact same rule, he should receive absolutely no punishment except the barest slap on the wrist which would be quickly forgotten.

Mike

Among their greatest crimes is legalization of murder of unborn American citizens–how many millions now? 60? It’s a great contribution to the Democratic fight against “climate change”; consider how many million megatons of CO2 were not caused to be produced by those dead 60 million.

We are replacing those dead with illegals not just from Central America but from the Mideast and West Africa, sneakily distributing them all over the country with night flights. Most of them will remain on the dole forever, just like Obama’s aunt in Boston.

We are in the hands of Dr. Faustus, paroled from hell by Lucifer just for this very excellent opportunity.

But taking away the horses, reminds me of the rules of engagement Obama used that put our military at risk in Afghanistan. Biden does things that likewise makes our border agents vulnerable. Missing bus and agents attacked on a tarmac? The Haitians know which side Biden supports.

Same with climate change as an existential threat. He thinks he’s right because a bunch of “climate scientists” ( I use scare quotes because there really is no climate science – only the study of meteorology over long periods of time.) told him it was so. He hasn’t heard from the “climate scientists” on the other side of the debate because it isn’t useful to his idea of controlling the population’s energy use. It’s his opinion because it’s useful to him.

As tcrosse said, it’s not a lie if you believe it.

The way to handle liars is to firmly confront the liar. Every time Biden, Psaki, Pelosi, Schumer, AOC et al appear in public they must face confrontation. Calm confrontation that doesn’t back down. Simply say, “Stop lying, have you no shame? (briefest of pauses, then as they open their mouth…) Just Stop. (short pause) Stop the lying…” Keep repeating it in every instance. It won’t stop the liar but it will affect the listener.

Repetition. A constant drip, wears a hole even in granite.

This needs to happen in Congress, at press appearances. If enough people speak out, it will begin to have an effect. No yelling, no violence, complete cooperation when the ‘hall monitors’ tell them to leave. But relentless “speaking truth to power”. Alinsky’s rule # 4 can be applied to them.

We need to stop doing what isn’t working or the only means left will be force.