"Lies the Government Told You" is the latest book of Judge Napolitano, a professed libertarian and former Judge of New Jersey Superior Court (1987 to 1995). He believes that the government is simply not to be trusted. It is interested more in acquiring more power than in actually serving the public. Simply, the government is not your friend. This is his fourth book which amplifies this theme.

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"Lies the Government Told You" is the latest book of Judge Napolitano, a professed libertarian and former Judge of New Jersey Superior Court (1987 to 1995). He believes that the government is simply not to be trusted, and is interested more in acquiring more power than in actually serving the public. Simply, the government is not your friend. This is his fourth book which amplifies this theme.

Before discussing his latest book, let me have a review of his earlier works that will provide a deep insight into the thinking of Judge Napolitano who quit judgeship in 1995 to return to private practice began television broadcasting in the same year. He currently serves as the senior judicial analyst on FOX.

His first book "Constitutional Chaos: What Happens When the Government Breaks Its Own Laws" was published in 2004 in which Judge Napolitano argued that government law breaking is a serious and hidden problem that is recognized primarily by those who benefit from or are victimized by it. He said unchecked lawbreaking will lead to tyranny.

In his second book (2006), "The Constitution in Exile: How the Federal Government Has Seized Power by Rewriting the Supreme Law of the Land," he made the case that the feds have systematically stolen power from the States and freedom from individuals, under the guise of interpreting the Constitution. He believes that much of that power and many of those freedoms will be impossible to reclaim.

In "A Nation of Sheep," published in 2007, Judge Napolitano argued that government in America hates freedom. He said that the government defends its power and not our rights, even though our rights are natural, come from humanity and as Jefferson stated, are "inalienable." He blames Franklin D. Roosevelt of promulgating a doctrine of legal positivism or legal realism, by which "the law is whatever the lawgiver says it is," any time the lawgiver says it.

Napolitano proudly proclaims his personal devotion to the concept of natural law. "Natural law teaches that our rights come from our humanity. Since we are created by God in His image and likeness, and since He is perfectly free ... freedom is our birthright. Thus, the natural law informs that freedom comes from our humanity, not from any outside source, like, for example, the government." For an enumeration of these natural rights, Napolitano turns to the best sources anyone could find: the Declaration of Independence and other essays by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

In "Dred Scott's Revenge: A Legal History of Race and Freedom in America" published in 2009, Napolitano explores the contentious debates over allowing or prohibiting slavery in the territories, as well as famous court cases that dehumanized blacks and reduced them to mere property.

He stressed that any government that thinks it can suspend free will of the innocent is fatal to life, fatal to freedom, and breeds horrors that can last for centuries.

Judge Napolitano has pugnaciously and provocatively titled his latest 256-page book published this month by Thomas Nelson, "Lies the Government Told You." He enumerates 17 lies the government has told the American people. The book begins with the following quotations which set the tone of his study:

"For this reason I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone, who is of the truth, bears my voice. Pilate said to him "What is truth?'" John 18:37

"Men are so simple, and so subject to present necessities, that he who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow him to be deceived." Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince

"Everything the State says is a lie, and everything it has it has stolen." Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra

"Their final objective toward which all their deceit is directed is to capture political power so that, using the power of the state and the power of the market simultaneously, they may keep the common man in eternal subjection." Henry A Wallace, Vice President of the United States (1941-45)

Napolitano builds his argument to prove these quotations. Elaborating on his theme that the government is anyone's friend, he says that "the lies told to us by our government and accepted by our grandparents and our parents and our children, have destroyed the lives, stolen the freedom, crushed the God-given rights, and seized the property of those who got in the way of official government deception."

He says that throughout our history, the federal government has lied to send our children off to war, lied to take our money, lied to steal our property, lied to gain our trust, and lied to enhance its power over us.

However, Napolitano holds us also responsible for erosion of our liberties. "In acquiescing to the government's continuous fraudulent behavior, we bear partial responsibility for the erosion of our individual liberties and the ever-expanding federal regulation of private behavior."

He takes his readers on a very informative journey in exposing these 17 lies that he believes Americans have bought into:

Lie No: 1 - All Men Are Created Equal
Lie No: 2 - All Men...Are Endowed by Their Creator With Certain Inalienable Rights
Lie No: 3 - Judges Are Like Umpires
Lie No: 4 - Every Vote Counts
Lie No: 5 - Congress Shall Make No Law...Abridging the Freedom of Speech
Lie No: 6 - The Right Of the People To Keep And Bear Arms Shall Not Be Infringed
Lie No: 7 - Your Body Is Your Temple
Lie No: 8 - The Federal Reserve Shall Be Controlled By Congress
Lie No: 9 - It's Only A Temporary Government Program
Lie No: 10- I'm From The Government And I'm Here To Help
Lie No: 11- We Are Winning The War On Drugs
Lie No: 12- Everyone Is Innocent Until Proven Guilty
Lie No: 13- The Constitution Applies In Good Times and In Bad Times
Lie No: 14- Your Boys Are Not Going To Be Sent To Any Foreign Wars
Lie No: 15- We Don't Torture
Lie No: 16- The Right Of The People To Be Secure In Their Persons... Shall Not Be Violated
Lie No: 17- America Has A Free Market

Like his earlier works, Napolitano has maintained his sharp libertarian edge in this book. He is using many modern legal cases and historic events to prove his points. Numerous historic court cases are cited, and even the more famous cases are presented with a unique perspective. With his extensive knowledge and experience of law and history articulates his case and unmasks the motives behind government policies which are promoted as serving the people.

At the end Judge Napolitano warns the people that if they accept government's deceptions and lies and take no action to redress them their freedoms are doomed. He says: The Big Government Party crowd is not afraid of lying or being caught in a lie. Its members do not fear their own lawlessness or our loss of freedom. They only fear the loss of their own power. So let's use the fear against them Jefferson understood and articulated this best when he said: "When people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty."

It will not be too much to say that "Lies the Government Told You" echoes the message of David Wise's 1973 book: "The Politics of Lying: Government Deception, Secrecy, and Power. David Wise wrote: "Through official secrecy, we now have a system of institutionalized lying."

Not surprisingly, there is a skepticism among the masses about the government policies. Last month's survey by CNN/Opinion Research Corporation, indicated that a majority of Americans think the federal government poses a threat to the rights of Americans. Fifty-six percent of people questioned said they think the federal government has become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens.

According to another February 2010 poll by CBS News, most Americans are dissatisfied or angry about the way things are going in Washington these days. Eight in 10 say Congress is more interested in serving the needs of special interest groups rather than the people they represent.

Authors Bio:
Author and journalist.
Author of
Islamic Pakistan: Illusions & Reality;
Islam in the Post-Cold War Era;
Islam & Modernism;
Islam & Muslims in the Post-9/11 America.
Currently working as free lance journalist.
Executive Editor of American Muslim Perspective: www.amperspective.com