countrycousin

hmm - let me further say, that, as an article of faith, I believe we -all of us- are better off in general making decisions based on true information rather than on false. One could no doubt prove that under suitably restrictive assumptions. :<) But in real life, it is an article of faith - one not shared by most successful politicians. Interestingly, I believe that is because, as a tested practice, politicians find they are more successful the more they can successfully control the information their constituency receives. (Other segments of society find that, too.) We, as a society, try to build in penalties for release of false information. As an article of faith, I think societies that are more effective at doing that are better societies. I suspect a good social scientist could say that a lot better, with less reliance on faith. :<)