Who Can You Believe Anymore?

First John Kyl and now Kobe Bryant...well-known figures have come out recently with the important information that what we SAY does not ACTUALLY have to have anything to do with the truth or how we feel...it's just...stuff we say.
Kyl, a senator from Arizona claimed last week that "If you want an abortion, go to Planned Parenthood, and that's well over 90% of what Planned Parenthood does." When PolitiFact questioned his number, saying that, in reality, the amount of input PP had on abortions was actually about 3%, Kyl's office responded that the senator's words were "...not intended to be a factual statement." I cannot even respond to that with anything other than rage. If that's the kind of person we have making laws for our country (and it IS)... I cannot do anything better than Jon Stewart so I'll give you his take on this:

http://www.businessinsider.com/jon-kyl-jon-stewart-planned-parenthood-video-2011-4

Then, Last night, Kobe Bryant got a technical foul, stormed to the bench, distinctly mentioned the official's name, and then made a slur that involved sexual orientation. Even the game's announcers picked it up and indicated to the camera (and microphone) people that they should probably move away for the sake of the kids in TVland.
When questioned about the homophobic comment, Bryant offered this in his defense: "What I said is not to be taken literally."
How else would one take such a comment?
It's not bad enough that ordinary folks cannot avoid making ignorant statements on Facebook and in tweets, but making such outright prevarications in the face of facts to the contrary just makes me lose a little more hope for us. Maybe the Mayans knew this would happen all along.
Well, maybe not literally.