litary coup in Venezuela. It is
             unclear what exactly Bush administration officials said to the coup
             planners in meetings over the past few months. Conflicting anonymous quotes
             mean that there is some lying of the conventional sort going on. But a
             simple "Just don't do it: The United States believes in democracy" was
             obviously not the message or the coup would not have gone ahead.
             One problem with reality of the traditional sort is that the pieces
             have to fit together. In alternative reality there is no such tedious
             restraint. We brag about our devotion to spreading democracy, especially in
             Latin America, but we don't care at all for this pesky left-winger these
             fools in Venezuela seem to have elected. Oh, him' "He resigned," said White
             House spokesman Ari Fleischer with no basis and no twinkle in his eye. It
             would be convenient if he had resigned and so: He resigned.
             The historian and political analyst Hannah Arendt states that lying is
             always a form of action. The overriding idea is that (re
             ...