Your lips are moving

Do you ever have the urge to yell at a speaking head on TV, pundit on radio, or writer on a website?  (Let alone politicians.)  I do.

I want to yell, "Your lips are moving, but nothing intelligent is coming out."

Normally my reaction is prompted by one of these folks uttering one of the following:

• What we know is...
• You know that...
• There's no doubt that...
• The numbers show...
• The opposition [fill in the blank] is wrong, because...
• It's an indisputable fact...
• The American people want...
• Average Americans want...
• I know that...
• The opposition wants to ruin America...
• I demand that...

On and on they rant, throwing out comments purported to be facts, but which have absolutely no basis in truth.  It has become so pervasive that the Washington Post has a fact checker who routinely rates the lies and absurdities.  How does one rate a lie?  A statement is either true or false and doesn't require a rating.

Intelligent debate has fallen to the wayside, replaced by the twits who tweet and text unsubstantiated comments.

Outrageous commentary fits within protected freedom of speech.

But just because one is free to say (almost) anything doesn't mean that most will say something intelligent.

Their lips are moving, but nothing intelligent is coming out.