The claim led me to think about other claims that have been made through the years.  As feminism came to the fore and even more importantly women entered the workforce in large numbers various academics, often female, produced study after study showing that children benefited more from happy mothers.  There were studies that showed that quality time was more important that a lot of time for children.  It is interesting that most all of these studies demonstrated what one presumed that academic believed before the study was done.

I have come to find virtually all political debates over the environment to be largely useless as I expect both sides are lying.  Environmentalists have cried wolf once too often for me to ever to believe them.  On the otherside to believe in the begnine effects claimed for corporate poluters is unbelievable as well.

All the above is one reason why academia has become so marginalized in today's public debates.  However, with the above said two articles in the Times today illustrate how insidious the Right is about molding the truth and the concept of truth.  

There is now a dig being done in East Jerusalem.  Whatever the structure that was found turns out to be it is going to be a significant find.   However, this dig is being funding by various Rightwing groups including one on which Irving Kristol is on the board.  What these groups want is for this find to be King David's Palace not for historical or reasons of knowledge but for political reasons.  The implication is that these groups if not the archelogists are perfectly content to see the findings skewed as they wish  them to be.

Paul Krugman's entire column is debated to this theme.  From the silliness of supply side economics to the more serious efforts at discrediting global warming and evolution Krugman points out how much the anti-relativists are in favor of slanting the truth.

The Left must understand two things.  As the various funders of the constellation of Rightwing thinktanks understood tying to gether media coverage of ideas, linking to politicians who are amenible to their ideas is just as important as generating the ideas in the first place and especially generating truthful ideas.

The Left has to do a much better idea of getting ideas out to the public.  It has to be done deliberately and constantly.  The otherthing that the Left can do to distinguish itself from the Right is to care about the facts and the evidence even when they do the agree with the favorite notions and hope.