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To: ransomnote
During the Soviet Era, and continued by Putin, the government there practiced the art of vranyo or telling obvious lies, while not expecting anyone to believe them, but to show the government's power by no one daring to question them.

A longtime Moscow correspondent for the New York Times gave a more nuanced explanation of vranyo. He wrote: A Russian friend explained vranyo this way: ‘You know I’m lying, and I know that you know, and you know that I know that you know, but I go ahead with a straight face, and you nod seriously and take notes.’”

This has been the Biden Administration since Day One.
9 posted on 01/01/2025 8:55:43 AM PST by Apparatchik (Русские свиньи, идите домой!)
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To: Apparatchik; ransomnote; bitt; Melian; little jeremiah; grey_whiskers
SELF DECEPTION IGNORANCE LIBERALISM

“Political correctness is communist propaganda writ small. In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, nor to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better. When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity. To assent to obvious lies is to co-operate with evil, and in some small way to become evil oneself. One's standing to resist anything is thus eroded, and even destroyed. A society of emasculated liars is easy to control. I think if you examine political correctness, it has the same effect and is intended to. ”
~ Theodore Dalrymple [Anthony Malcolm Daniels] (1949-) English writer (generally using the pen name Theodore Dalrymple), retired prison doctor and psychiatrist]

David Mamet had a famous saying, essentially: …"in order for Democrats, liberals, progressives et al to continue their illogical belief systems they have to pretend Not to know a lot of things’… "By pretending ‘not to know’ there is no guilt, no actual connection to conscience. Denial of truth allows easier trespass."

“The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest” – Thomas Jefferson
“Honesty is the 1st chapter in the book of wisdom” – Thomas Jefferson

12 posted on 01/01/2025 9:45:59 AM PST by Pete from Shawnee Mission ( )
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