Factual Errors in Paul Ryan's Convention Speech

This blog is reluctant to play political favorites during an election.  The last post I made on dishonest politicians was evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans.  Neither party has a lock on absolute honesty.

However, whenever mistakes are made in political speeches, it is important that they be pointed out so that politicians are held accountable for their remarks.  It doesn't matter which party to which they belong.

When Paul Ryan gave his speech during the August, 2012 Republican convention, he made several factual errors or, in some cases, painted a somewhat dishonest picture of his views vs. the policies of his opponents.  These errors were pointed out in the Yahoo News article "FACT CHECK: Ryan takes factual shortcuts in speech."  What is especially surprising is that his speech writers and the fact checkers for the Republican Party did not catch these errors before he went on national television.

Factual Distortions in the Paul Ryan Speech

Ryan:  President Obama told the residents of Janesville, Wisconsin that their GM plant could be saved.

Truth:  The GM plant was already closed weeks before Obama took office.  He never made such a promise to the people in Janesville. In addition, Ryan actually voted for an auto bailout under President Bush, but criticized bailing out the auto industry once Obama was President.

Ryan:  Obama stole $716 billion from Medicare.

Truth:  Ryan's plan would take more money from Medicare.  Obama's plan doesn't affect Medicare recipients; it affects hospitals and other medical providers with the goal of making them more fiscally responsible.  Ryan's voucher plan for senior health insurance would affect Medicare recipients directly.

Ryan:  Obama didn't follow the recommendations of the bipartisan debt commission.

Truth:  It is true that Obama did not follow the recommendations; however, Ryan was on the commission and he voted against the recommendations that they made.  Neither Ryan nor Obama agreed with the suggestions.

Ryan:  Obama was responsible for Standard & Poors downgrading of the U.S. Credit Rating

Truth:  Standard & Poors made a public statement that the reason for the downgrade was because the Republicans in Congress continued to resist any measure to raise revenues.  They were very clear and specific about their reason for the downgrade, and they did not attribute the decision to any Obama policies.

I prefer not to make any additional comments on any of these factual errors and will let others decide whether or not they are important.  In addition, I promise to point out any factual errors that are made during the Democratic convention, if they are brought to my attention.

Let's try to keep politicians honest and politics clean.  We need to made decisions based on the facts, not distortions of the truth.  It can be very difficult to learn the facts, but this blog will make every effort to try.

You may also want to read these non-partisan articles:

The Collapse of Lehman Brothers
Politics and Lies
The Government Will Not Pay Your Utility Bills
Misinformation about Affordable Healthcare Act

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com

Photo of President Obama and Paul Ryan courtesy of www.wikipedia.com/commons

Lance Armstrong and Doping

Like most Americans, I have always been impressed by the achievements of Lance Armstrong and proud of the way he has represented America over the years.  He won seven Tour de France titles, more than any other bicyclist in the history of this prestigious race.  He managed to win despite the fact that he is a cancer survivor who suffered from testicular cancer that spread to his lungs and abdomen in 1996.  His experience with this disease inspired him to establish Livestrong, a foundation that supports other cancer patients.  Everything about the life Lance Armstrong has lived over the past fifteen years has been remarkable ... except for the fact that he may have been using performance enhancing drugs in order to achieve his extradinary success.

It is heart-breaking to learn that his success may be tainted by his suspected use of testosterone, EPO, cortisone, HGH, blood transfusions and other forbidden drugs.  This is one of those times when we all want to scream, "Say it isn't so."  Although Lance Armstrong has made the decision to stop fighting the accusations, he still insists that he is not guilty.  He has passed hundreds of drug tests over the years, and points to them as evidence that he is telling the truth.  He asserts that his negative drug tests show that the USADA has "zero physical evidence" to support their accusations.  In addition, he had the backing of the International Cycling Union in fighting the charges against him.  However, rather than continue to fight and face his accusers, Lance Armstrong has chosen to back down.  He said he was simply tired of fighting the accusations any longer and that the USADA was running a "witch hunt."

However, if Lance Armstrong is telling the truth, then the ten former teammates and friends who testified about his illegal doping to the USADA must be lying, and there is no reason why they would all do this.  One of his former teammates was Floyd Landis who lost his 2006 Tour de France title after he had a positive drug test. Another is Tyler Hamilton who admitted doping.  Perhaps there is some legal benefit to them if they implicate Lance Armstrong in their activities, although there is no indication that this is so.

Once Lance Armstrong gave up the fight, the USADA treated his decision as an admission of guilt.  Because of the scandal, Lance Armstrong has been stripped of all seven of his Tour de France titles.  He has also been banned from competitive cycling for the rest of his life.

Lance Armstrong insists that he is at peace with his decision to stop fighting his accusors.  He continues to work to raise money to help cancer patients and insists that he is innocent.  However, someone is lying.  Personally, I want to believe in Lance Armstrong.  After all, it's hard not to admire the guy!  On the other hand, his accusors are very believable, as well.

If you have an opinion on this case, you are welcome to share them in the comments section.

You may also be interested in reading:

Why We Lie and Cheat
Politics and Lies
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You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com

Photo courtesy of http://www.wikipedia.org/commons

The Collapse of Lehman Brothers

On September 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers, the fourth largest investment bank in the United States, declared bankruptcy, causing confusion and chaos in international investment markets.  The effect of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy was the financial disaster that we are living through right now and it continues to affect people around the world.  Essentially, the domino effect of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy caused the worst financial disaster in 70 years.

Since the 2008 bankruptcy, there have been no prosecutions of the major executives, even though they intentionally manipulated their quarterly investment reports and financial records so that they did not reflect the real financial condition of the company.  Both the president of Lehman Brothers,  Richard S. Fuld, Jr., and their Ernst and Young auditors were considered culpable by financial examiners because Mr. Fuld oversaw the manipulation of the financial records and the auditors did not question the accounting practices of the company.  This is despite the fact that both the company president and the auditors received written objections from Lehman Brother's chief accountant who was concerned about the misleading financial picture that was being painted. 

According to the court appointed financial examiner, Anton Valukas, Lehman Brothers was using accounting gimmicks at the end of every quarter to make their finances look better that they really were.  The accounting tricks were called REPO 105, a system they devised in which they created repurchase agreements that would temporarily removed some obligations from the company's balance sheet so it looked as if they were better off than they really were.  In November 2007, their chief accountant refused to sign off on the accounting procedures being used by Lehman Brothers.  When he catalogued his concerns in writing, he ended up being fired.

When Lehman's case was settled, there were claims against it for approximately $370 billion.  Unfortunately, most of the investors had to settle for about 20 cents on the dollar.

Although Anton Valukas, the court appointed financial examiner, published his report about Lehman Brothers on March 11, 2010, according to a CBS "Sixty Minutes" television interview with him shown on August 19, 2012, no arrests have been made.  The SEC declined to discuss the case with the reporters at "Sixty Minutes."  According to a "Wall Street Journal" report in March, 2011, the SEC said that they were not pursuing a criminal case against anyone at Lehman Brothers or Ernst and Young at that time because they were not confident that US accounting laws had been broken.

Whether or not laws were broken, there is no question that executives at Lehman Brothers were intentionally lying to investors and to the American public.

You may also be interested in reading:

Politics and Lies
The Biggest Ponzi Scheme in U.S. History
Biggest Tax Fraud in Oregon

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com
Photo of Lehman Brothers headquarters courtesy of:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lehman_Brothers

The Amityville Horror Lies

In the mid-1970's, the charming New England home pictured here was the subject of intense interest around the world after the residents, George and Kathleen Lutz and their three children, left the home after living there only 28 days.  They fled to the home of Kathleen's mother, and never returned.  They sent movers to remove their belongings.  During the following months, they told their elaborate tale on morning television talk shows, and in a popular book called "The Amityville Horror,"  It was an extradinary story of ghosts, poltergeists, demons and paranormal phenomenon such as black slime oozing down the walls.  Their story left the nation in shock as they listened in fascination to the terrifying events this family appeared to have experienced.

The home did not have a history of hauntings or strange events occuring within its walls prior to the mid-1970's.  However, the owners that lived in the home before the Lutz family was the DeFeo's.  Tragically, the eldest son, Butch DeFeo, murdered his entire family in the home on November 13, 1974.  He was angry with his parents because he felt they did not give him enough money.  The Lutz's contended that this violent act set into motion all the terrible events they experienced.

After the arrest and conviction of Butch DeFeo, the house sat empty until December 18, 1975 when the Lutz's moved in.  They fled the house on January 14, 1976, only 28 days later.  They insisted that they feared for their lives, and they began to tell an elaborate story of all the events they had experienced while living there.  By the end of the 1970's, over 3 million copies of the book about their experiences had been sold and the film grossed $40 million in one month alone!

However, even during the time that millions were being made off the story, there were rumors that the entire tale was a hoax.  The family that moved into the home after the Lutz's did not experience anything strange.  When curiosity seekers finally caused them to move, they had a house sitter stay there. He saw nothing unusual either.

To read in detail the history of the Amityville Horror house, as well as a complete explanaton of how and why the events that the Lutz's experienced may have been exagerated, see the articles listed below.  They were written by freelance writer Vic Dillinger, who has done extensive research on the topic.  He tells a fascinating and compelling story that is sure to fascinate anyone who is interested in "The Amityville Horror."  After you read what he has to say, you can decide for yourself if the house was really haunted, or if the story was a hoax.

Real Amityville Horror of Mass Murderer Ronald DeFeo, Jr.

The Amityville Horror Hoax

The Amityville Horror Conspiracy

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com

Photo of the Amityville Horror house is courtesy of www.wikipedia.com/commons

Are College Student Loans Financial Aid?

When our daughters were in their senior year of high school, there were several private organizations that sought out the parents of these seniors.  They advertised that, for a fee, they guaranteed they could help you obtain financial aid for college.  If they were unsuccessful, they would return your fee.

Although this company did encourage parents and students to complete and submit a few college scholarship applications, this is not what they were guaranteeing.  Instead, they also had each parent and student submit an application for a student loan.  Since virtually all of the students and most of their parents qualified for student loans, the company was able to announce that they had been successful in obtaining financial aid for you.  However, the question I had at that time, and still have, is this:  Do college student loans really qualify as financial aid?

Of course, since tuition rates have quadrupled in the past 30 years (while many salaries have not), it is virtually impossible for many students to attend college if they and their parents do not take out student loans.  However, easy student loans have also made it possible for colleges to initiate these huge tuition increases.  Without student loans, colleges would have been forced to hold the line on student tuition, or their only students would be those who had wealthy parents.

These college student loans are doing much more than allowing high college tuitions.  Because parents are also taking out student loans in order to help their children, these student loans are putting a heavy burden on many parents of retirement age.  As a result, this so-called financial aid is actually wrecking the financial security of many Baby Boomers, as well as their children.  Although there have been some efforts to petition the government for student loan foregiveness, so far these petitions have fallen on deaf ears.

Perhaps these college loans should be called by their real name:  consumer debt.  Anyone who reads anything about financial planning or retirement planning knows that consumer debt should be avoided at all costs, even if it means that your child must work their way through college, or that they must live at home and attend a local, two-year community college.

Let's keep things honest at the college level.  Student loans are crushing many young college graduates, as well as their parents who are reaching retirement age and who often can no longer afford to quit working.  What kind of "financial aid" puts this kind of burden on families?

By the way, you cannot get out of this debt, even if you declare bankruptcy.  About seven or eight years ago the federal bankruptcy laws were changed so that bankruptcy could not clear out student loan debt.  Our only choice is to continue the student loan repayment.  Perhaps federal officials saw what was happening ....

You may also be interested in reading:

Retirement Deferred by Parent Student Loans
The Scam that Promises to Fix Your Credit
College Does Not Guarantee Success
The Retirement Lie


You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com

Photo:  www.morguefile.com

How to Tell When Someone is Lying

Do you ever get that feeling that you are being told a fib, but you aren't sure how to tell if someone is lying?  You feel skeptical, but you are afraid to trust your instincts.  The uncertainty is driving you crazy.  You want to believe what others are telling you, but you don't want to be taken for a fool. 

In most cases, you should trust your instincts.  Our subconscious brains are able to pick up subtle clues that tell it how to spot a lie, even when our conscious minds try to overrule it.  What are some of the clues that will help know how to detect a liar?

The Body Language of Lying

The first clue that someone is lying is when they will not look you in the eye.  Of course, experienced liars know this, so they are prepared to stare you down, if necessary.  Because of this, you have to look a little deeper when you want to know how to spot a liar.

Liars tend to hide their hands behind their back, because they don't want to seem fidgety.  They may also pull their arms up in front of themselves, as if they are trying to shrink. This can be a telltale sign of a lie.  In other cases, a liar's hand and arm movements can seem stiff.  They may also touch their face, mouth, throat or ear.  They may set things between you and them, such as coffee mugs or stacks of books, as though they do not want you to see them clearly.

The expression on a liar's face, or their general behavior, may contradict what they are saying.  If he tells you that he loves you, but can barely smile or look you in the eye when he says it, you have to wonder if he is telling you the truth!  In addition, any sign of emotion may seem out of sync or delayed.  There can be a long pause before the recipient of a gift may think to say "I love it."  In general, you may just get the feeling they are being fake.

Watch the other person's face closely if you think they are lying.  If they are blinking rapidly, nibbling on their lips, breathing deeply, blushing, or their nostrils seem to be flaring, there is a high likelihood that they are lying.  Another sign of a lie is if a right-handed person looks to their left, or a left-handed person looks to their right.  This can be an indication of a made-up answer, although it isn't foolproof.

Another odd sign of a lie is that the liar may make statement without using a contraction.  Instead of saying "I didn't do it," he may say "I did not do it."  (Remember Bill Clinton saying, "I did not have sexual relations with that girl"?)

Liars are often quick to change the subject.  They may try to use sarcasm, humor or other diversions in an attempt to change the subject.  You may notice that politicians do this all the time!

These tips are not meant to turn you into a human lie detector.  Instead, they are only intended to help you understand the clues that your subconscious may be using when it tells you that you are hearing a lie.  If you also use your conscious mind to evaluate some of these tricks to help you detect a liar, you may feel less confused when you think someone is being dishonest with you!

You may also want to read:

Politics and Lies
Online Dating Scams
Common Lies Men Tell Women
Common Lies Women Tell Men

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com

Photo courtesy of www.morguefile.com