The Art of Lying..............Let's Bring Back Dueling!!!!

I was in Court not too long ago with a notorious sleazeball lawyer as my adversary. The guy is a liar and he outright lied to the Judge while insulting my honor. I walked his way and came within a couple inches and loudly called him a liar.  As it appeared that I was going to punch him, the deputies sprang into action and the Judge admonished me. I could have very easily been locked up, but I have no regrets for defending my honor. This other lawyer, who has no respect for the truth will lie to the Court again and again simply because he can get away with it. There are few consequences to being untruthful in our Court system and in our national political arena, and this my friends is much of what is wrong with our country today.
 

This other lawyer has no shame to lie, no moral compunction nags at his conscience telling him not to lie. It would be damaging for him to have the Court sanction him for lying, but he knows that this is a remote possibility, because Courts don't have the time or inclination to pursue such things and if they did, he could always lie about the lies he told. Thus, lying to the slippery, parasite lawyer is a legal standard that has to  be adjudicated, instead of a simple right and wrong standard adhered to by one's soul.  The fact that others know he is a liar means nothing; there is no shame. These are the types of folks who become politicians (this guy ran for office) and sadly these are the folks who inhabit Washington.
 

Dueling Pistols

I understand why dueling was so prevalent in America and lasted well into the 19th century, especially in the South. The only way to protect your honor is to be willing to sacrifice everything to keep it. The one being "called out" had the opportunity to retract his lie or modify his misstatement. Surely, this system helped keep the pettifogging political classes in check,  as the consequences, a bullet at 20 paces, outweighed the immediate benefits of the lie.
 

How Do You Know When
 A lawyer Is Lying?

Our culture is being rotted by the fact that, among our so called leaders,  there simply is no shame or stigma to lying; in fact, the bigger liar one is, the more rewards there are. If the art of lying is perfected and executed, peerage status among the Washington nobility awaits. My work brings me in touch with all kinds of elected officials, including on occasion various congressmen and senators in DC.  I recently called to congratulate a member of the Board of Supervisors (pseudonym "Homer") in a rural Virginia county who I had had the privilege of working with. Homer, a hard working good ole boy, just won re-election. He is awesome because he is unscrupulously honest and humble. Upon concluding our conversation, he stated "Robbie, if I start getting too big for my britches, I want you to tell me and keep me in line." I love this guy. Sadly, Homer will never represent us in Washington, because Homer cannot lie, he cannot manipulate people and he cannot advocate anything that his conscience tells him is wrong.

If every politician in Washington was like Homer, we  would have a very limited government and no national debt. Instead, we have the opposite, and virtually no Homers. The Big Lie in Washington is that "Big Government Works." The charlatans who advocate on behalf of the omnipotent state deserve to be called out for their lies and manipulation.

There will always be good and bad people. However, we as a country (and a culture) need to bring back the stigma and shame associated with lying, such that we can be led by the "good people," instead of the "bad."

 Dueling anyone?
 

Some Thoughts On Southern Lit.............

I grew up in a Eudora Welty novel. When I travel north or west, it is not unusual for people to comment on my "southerness." As I am penning this narrative, I am enjoying a hunk of corn bread. I love the South and am firmly ensconced in its ethos.  However, surprisingly, I am not a fan of southern literature. I have devoured and reread Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Gogol and Chekhov, but I cannot sink myself into the macabre abyss of "southern literature."
 
Several times I have read the first 40-50 pages of "As I Lay Dying," and could not go on. The DVD was in the New Releases section of the video store Sunday night, so here was my chance to be "literate" in a venue  to which I feel embarrassment and guilt that I am so underwhelmed. While I can acknowledge Faulkner's genius, I simply don't like reading him. It hurts and makes me feel creepy. Thomas Wolfe, Walker Percy, Pat Conroy all bore me. I can't help it. Perhaps because he is a fellow Tidewater Virginian, I like William Styron, and Peter Taylor's "Summons To Memphis" is a great book. Yet, most of what has been acclaimed as "great," depresses me. Perhaps these writings hit too close to home, and I feel trapped and can't wait to "get out of the book."
 

I don't know the grotesque, dark South. My southern sensibilities are rooted in happiness, laughter and endearing friendships. There is an underlying social connectedness that binds us to one another. I like good manners, grace, civility and humility (although I have never been accused of being humble, it is a good virtue in others). Tradition, pretty girls, soft voices and beach music. One cannot be thoughtful or even smart without recognizing the frailty of the  human soul and our purpose in this world. Southerners wear their Christianity because they have thought and pondered. Perhaps this makes them nicer and more pleasant to be around?  Ham biscuits, family, the smell of good bourbon, college football, the "land."
 
The South conjures up lots of images; none of them are particularly Faulknerian to me.
 

SAVING AMERICA AGAIN !!! I JUST FIXED THE HEALTH CARE CRISIS.

So instead of me just going to my doctor and negotiating how much he will charge me for a visit and paying him on the spot, like virtually all  other goods and services I purchase every day, President Obama tells me that I must pay a third party intermediary  (much more than I want to) to negotiate on my behalf ( big government liberals think we are all idiots and cannot do anything without their help). As a result, I have to shell out hundreds of dollars a month for something I don't need or want. On top of this, there are such things as co-pays and deductibles, leading to health insurance bills of over $5,000/year.  My family doctor has about 2,500 patients/year visit him, so many that he can only spend about 7 minutes with each patient. Now if each one of those patients takes that $5,000/year and pays  my doctor directly, he would have adjusted gross revenue of $12.5 million/year!  However, he is working 60-70 hours/week and only making $140,000/year. Now, if each one of his patients simply slipped him $ 150/year, he would have $375,000. If they paid him $400/year, he would have a cool million. There would be tens of thousands of people clamoring to get into medical school and no Dr. shortages.

Fixing the problem is as easy as simply paying doctors directly. How did things get so hopelessly out of whack? I can answer that in 3 words: Big Government Liberals (BGLs for short). Virtually every out of whack economic problem we have in this country is the fault of BGL's trying to help us because we are  too stupid to help ourselves. Social Security? Folks are too stupid to plan for themselves so the govt creates a giant Ponzi Scheme and bankrupts the country. Higher Education? The govt creates the student loan program and the costs of college soars and 22 year olds are saddled with $100,000 in debt. I can go on and on, but you get the picture.

During WWII, the govt under FDR enacted a wage and price freeze (another idiot BGL idea that never works). In order to get around the law, businesses started providing health insurance as a means  to pay workers more. Guess what, it was tax deductible to the employer, but individual health insurance was not. Thus, the govt created an incredibly stupid and perverse dynamic that eliminated the incentive for a consumer to monitor his medical costs. 70 years later, we are still saddled with this idiocy. Want to reduce health care costs dramatically? Easy. Take the tax deduction away from employers and give it to the individual. Better yet, do away with the tax deduction all together and it will drive health care costs even lower, as it will not be subsidized via the tax code.

Folks, the reason I  have such a grasp of economics is because I understand (liberals don't) that economics is ALL about human behavoir. Nobody cares about you or is going to make a better economic choice for you than you are. It ain't that difficult. It really is that simple.

I wish I could be humble, but...that would be no fun.  Please note that in the course of writing this column, I just saved America. Thank you.