One simple word that could FIX American political discourse

There are MANY things wrong with American political discourse- and these break down into 3 areas: the politicians say ONLY what they think people want to hear, the media may ask questions but NEVER demands answers (with the exception of FOX news, which is given questions AND answers from Administration talking points), and the people (we cannot be called "voters" with such poor election-day turnout) only hear things which reinforce whatever they already believe. It is thus no surprise- AND NO SECRET- that TRUTH has for decades had no place in politics. There have been many articles written decrying the loss of "truth" in politics, many promises made and broken, and NOTHING has changed. I OFFER A SIMPLE, IMMEDIATE AND COMPLETELY EFFECTIVE PLAN FOR MAKING TRUTH ONCE AGAIN (or for the first time?) CENTRAL TO AMERICAN POLITICS-

Teach everyone- the media, the politicians and the people (who then MAY be voters) the meaning- AND USE OF- the word "LIAR"!

It IS that simple. The media starts telling the people when someone is LYING, and after a short period of adjustment, during which most politicians probably will not speak at all, the politicians will have to start telling the truth. It will take some people time to understand that the truth doesn't ALWAYS support their preconceptions, but for MOST eventually they will adjust and start making decisions based on facts. For nearly all this will result in a strong urge to VOTE!

LET'S TRY SOME EXAMPLES:

Dick DeVos runs a TV ad in which he talks about a company that declined to move its jobs out of state. He then says that while he was running a business, he also considered moving jobs out of state, but decided not to.

At this point in the commercial there should be a large hand with a huge rubber stamp paste the word "LIAR!" across his face while a sound effect of a loud razzing sound "ptttthhhhh!" is heard, followed by the course of the Cranberries' hit Liar:

"Liar, liar, liar You know you're a liar, Liar..."

Of course the truth is that Dick DeVos didn't just "move out of the state," instead, he moved out of the country. From 1993-1998, DeVos invested $100 million in China. Then in 2003, Amway continued its expansion outside Michigan, adding another $120 million in China investments AND MOVING AT LEAST 1,080 jobs from Michigan to China.

Now that the lie was removed people could see the fact left behind- the company that was offered a tax break to move to another state BUT DID NOT GO. Hmm, so the tax situation in Michigan DID NOT send this company running- AND OFFERING A TAX BREAK ELSEWHERE DID NOT INDUCE THAT COMPANY TO RELOCATE. In fact, it was Governor Jennifer Granholm and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation that assisted the company, Trenton Forging. The Granholm Administration and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) provided investments in job training programs that helped create and retain that company's MICHIGAN jobs!

Another example. President Bush gives a "major policy speech" and once the various LIES are excised we end up with a truthful speech which reads, in total, "And may God Bless the United States". This is at least something we all should agree on.

OK, that last was a joke. Kind of. But my point is valid- if we just pointed out even the OBVIOUS lies we could all make better decisions. I watched a debate on CNN a few weeks ago on the issue of "Gay Marriage". The "con" position was supported at one point by citing several studies which "proved" gay families were "bad" for the children raised in them. The opponent stated that "there is one such study, constantly referenced but completely discredited, but many others have shown the exact opposite." Polite, and an interesting debate. THE PROBLEM WAS THAT THE "STUDY" REFERRED TO HAS BEEN COMPLETELY AND REPEATEDLY SHOWN TO BE FALSE- MEANINGLESS AND MISMANAGED. Both debaters, the moderator and the commentator knew this, and yet instead of saying simply the conclusion was false, they acted like it was simply in error. And since this keeps happening millions of people have heard "something" and think this is a matter which is still open to interpretation. WHY NOT CLEARLY AND FORCEABLY state that the one and only study that found children of gay parents to be "troubled" was conducted by a disbarred and discredited psychologist who used improper questions and methods and then drew unsupportable conclusions in a study so filled with inaccuracies that NO ONE has been able to duplicate it and no one would publish it until the author himself PAID for its publication in a "psychiatric" journal that prints ANYTHING for $3.00 a page.

Maybe if people had FACTS, and were told when they were being LIED to, they could begin to make better decisions. We can start simply by noting that it is not impolite to call a liar a liar. What is "rude" is allowing someone to be lied to and doing nothing about it. From now on you have MY PROMISE that I will not allow a LIE to stand unchallenged. No matter WHO the liar is.