As noted in article below, facts are given less importance: Barry Bonds

[wake.up.america]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/03/09/BAGSVHL5KK1.DTL

We can apply this to politics as well

[genie_weenie]

1. Common Human Predilection

ignore facts that do not conform to your current cherished theory. Humans have been doing this for years...

[jokerman93]

2. Indeed

In our therapist-couch of a country, all truth is personal. There is my truth and your truth, and those truths are not to be contradicted by facts. We believe what we want. And we don't hold to account those who lie to us because the lies were "understandable".

The "cult" of the fact is dying. Long live abject subjectivity and solipsism! The idea of the article could just as well apply to what passes for religion these days too. Substitute your favorite dogma here. Who needs facts when gut-feeling, conformity and thoughtless conviction will do? These are good days for joiners and followers of all stripes. And sadly, a good time for mob rule.

[genie_weenie]

3. If you listen to Fools, the Mob Rules

Ahhhh, Ronnie James Dio has shown us the way yet again!

[fishwax]

4. being printed in a book does not equal fact

I haven't read the book, so I don't know how strong the evidence is, but the fact that someone wrote a book detailing evidence against Bonds doesn't mean that all that evidence is "fact" anymore than the fact that some wingnuts made a movie about Kerry means the information included in it are "facts" against Kerry.

I can agree (and mourn) the logic of a "post-truth" society (the facts are biased against bush), but at the same time it seems to me the author of this column makes similarly flawed assumptions as well.