Comments on: X is true if and only if…

By: SChristie

SChristie — Tue, 31 Aug 2004 12:39:09 +0000

Although Truth is a function of time (eg. if I tell you that it is 2:20pm right now, it is the Truth…five minutes from now, it is no longer the Truth), Truth is NOT a maleable, bendable, undefineable concept whose sole purpose is to reinforce someone’s political agenda. Any human utterance, irrespective of whether the person speaking it believes it to be true, is Truth ONLY if it is TRUE! There is no gray area, and we all know THAT to be true. Rhetoric has nearly killed the once easily-grasped concepts of Truth and Lies, particularly in the political arena.

By: Hunting The Muse

Hunting The Muse — Tue, 15 Jul 2003 23:48:44 +0000

Political Truth

Rhetorica: Press-Politics Journal: X is true if and only if… This is a great explanation of what truth is, in…

By: This is Not a Blog

This is Not a Blog — Fri, 11 Jul 2003 17:49:54 +0000

Tenet Falls on Sword

How terribly disappointing. George Tenet, acting director of the CIA has fallen on the political sword in order to demonstrate his loyalty to his glorious leader, the Bush-man currently in Africa. As Reuters reports: CIA Director George Tenet took resp…

By: acline

acline — Fri, 11 Jul 2003 13:57:22 +0000

“Tells” are interesting because they appear to be involuntary communication, which offers a challenge to those of us who think all human communication is, to some one extent or another, rhetorical.

By: JSteele

JSteele — Fri, 11 Jul 2003 13:28:04 +0000

I hate to marginalize your excellent discourse with what amounts to a conspiracy theory, please forgive me…

Is there any room for circumstantial evidence in determining the veracity of the State of the Union line? As any decent poker player would tell you, controlling your “tells” is an important aspect of the game. Sitting at a poker table one makes a conscious decision to wear a “game face”, as there is an expectation the other players will be watching you.

President Bush surely had his game face on during his State of the Union address. What about Vice President Cheney? It’s been reported that at the very least, VP Cheney was one of the persons who would have known the veracity of the statements being delivered. At the time of the address, did VP Cheney expect anybody to be watching him other than peripherally?

The next time you see the video clip of President Bush delivering the “Africa line”, take a close look at VP Cheney in the background. Leading up to the fateful line you can distinctly see him blinking erratically — a classic tell.

(Yes, the TiVo helps and No, I don’t have anything better to do)