Quote of the Day

"Truth has a way of asserting itself despite all attempts to obscure it. Distortion only serves to derail it for a time. No matter to what lengths we humans may go to obfuscate facts or delude our fellows, truth has a way of squeezing out through the cracks, eventually. But the danger is that at some point it may no longer matter. The danger is that damage is done before the truth is widely realized. The reality is that, sometimes, it is easier to ignore uncomfortable facts and go along with whatever distortion is currently in vogue." --Senator Robert C. Byrd

This is from a speech on the floor of the US Senate; you can read the entire speech here.

Some random thoughts:

It's seems odd to me--alarming, even--that Byrd (who's what--pushing 80?) is the only politician who is talking this way, given all that's happening. There used to be a lively political debate in this country. Eloquence used to move people; truth used to matter. Now a sort of rhetorical paralysis has set in, and lies are shrugged off. The climate in this country is very weird right now, like nothing I recall in my lifetime. All because of 9/11, I suppose. But it's interesting that that event seems to have traumatized the rest of the country--in political terms--far more than the New York area, where I live and where it happened.

Another quote:

"It is expected that despots can force the blind allegiance of their people to falsehoods. But it is frightening in the extreme when lying matters not at all to a free people. The only plausible explanation is that the tragedy of September 11 so traumatized us that we are no longer capable of the outrage expected of a patently deceived citizenry. The case for connecting Saddam Hussein with that tragedy is increasingly revealed as false, but it seems to matter not to a populace numbed by incessant government propaganda." --Robert Scheer