Sex, Lies and Videotape

 

 

 

"It seems that in government work, lying has become a form of art..."

No, this is not about the 1989 movie starring James Spader. In fact, it is not about sex at all. It is however, about videotape. And lies. Lots and lots of lies. What we find out over and over again is telling lies and videotape make a bad combination.

So who lies? We all do from time to time. Most of us try not to, but we will tell little white lies for a variety of reasons. However, there is a huge difference between telling a little while lie to make someone feel better, and a "whopper" told to deceive. In our present Administration, we have been told one "whopper" after another.

Something very few people know about me is I have been polygraphed. Not by the police for doing something wrong - I was polygraphed at NSA when I went there for training one year. It was a new policy they were trying out. Before you could enter the Copper Palace, regardless of the amount of time spent there, you needed to pass a polygraph. Don't worry - I passed. However, next to throwing up, it was one of the more unpleasant things I have gone through.

Even though unpleasant, I was fascinated by the entire event. Once it was over, I asked the technician some questions. For example, I wanted to see if anyone who was a liar could fool the machine. His answer surprised me. "Absolutely!" he said. "Some people become so skilled at lying they believe their lies to be reality. Telling a lie does not trigger a GSR, blood pressure or heart rate change. The machine is then fooled."

I think we have been misled by some very skilled liars in our government. The ACA is a great example. We were sold a bill of goods by people who could tell us lies with a straight face. Then, when Dr. Gruber's ego got the best of him and he decided to "spill the beans", he became instantly disavowed by everyone down to the dogcatcher in Washington. But there is that pesky and annoying videotape. Many of the people who are now disavowing Gruber, thought he was Mr. Smarty Pants in 2009. 

To our leaders who are chronic liars, let me give you some sage advice. The American people don't like being lied to. They don't like being played. We really do value honesty and veracity. If you are lying, come clean. Remember what most of our parents taught us - lying is very hard work. Keeping track of lies, and telling more lies to cover them up is exhausting. Telling the truth is very easy in comparison.

Let's hope the housecleaning that started this month and should continue into 2016 will set a new and more truthful tone in our nation's Capitol.