Taking a Page from the Bad Guys' Book

You know, I've always been wondering where the chickenhawks get their act from. And I finally figured it out: these crazy islamic theocracies! Let me give several examples. When Yassir Arafat was ill, there were all these reports that he was in the hospital, etc, and his spokespeople would come out and say "This is simply not true. He is alive and well, and in fact went for a horsey ride this morning". And then a day later he's dead. So now, this dude in Iran (I can't say or spell his name so I won't try), in response to accusations that he was one of the infamous 1979 captors, says:

"It is not true," Mr. Ahmadinejad said. "It is only rumors."

Oh, ok. I see. You say it so it is so. Very good! Bravo! Encore!

Now I'm not implying that he was responsible, but his rebuttal seems to be lacking something...what is it? I can't quite put my finger on it...Oh! I got it!

SUBSTANCE

And of course who could forget this guy? I still consider him a personal hero when it comes to bloated rhetoric and empty denial. My goal in life is to be that good.

But my question to all of our loyal readers/posters/ranters: Since when have substance and hard facts become optional? And are threats of death and dismemberment the only way to reverse the trend?