We all tell a fib now and then, and those little white lies we tell to spare the feelings of others probably won’t land us in hell. We also know the lies we tell deliberately to deceive others for our own benefit; but our conscience has a way of alerting us to these faults. But what of the lies we tell ourselves? We do it all the time. In fact it’s become a part of the social structure, a norm if you will.

We are compelled to lie these days or face onerous social repercussions. We are under constant pressure to tell the proper lie instead of confronting the truth. And we all go along with it; whether from moral cowardice, or obliviousness, it’s hard to tell.  But we do it nonetheless. This has to change; it will ruin the nation if left unchecked.

Every time I hear the politically correct crowd spout their blather, I see their lies go unchallenged. Profiling is wrong! Why? Why must we believe that a ninety-year-old woman from Des Moines is as threatening as a twenty three year old swarthy male from Yemen named Muhammad? To accept this logic is nothing less than to actively participate in an obvious lie.

If we don’t condone changing traditional marriage to conform to the radical agenda of a small but vocal activist minority group, we’re “homophobic”. This is patently untrue, but we go along to get along, afraid to confront the reality of the matter for fear of being unjustly accused of this falsehood; and traditional values are sacrificed at the alter of political correctness. The truth is those seeking this change haven’t made, and can’t make, the case for doing so and traditionalists are under no obligation to defend the status quo against an unpleasant and unpersuasive whining radical minority.

If we object to expanding a health insurance program that was passed ostensibly “for the children” to include adults, illegal aliens, and people that obviously have the means to provide this coverage themselves, we’re somehow against the best interests of children. This is also a lie, yet we fall silent instead of confronting it. We sit silent to avoid being accused of something patently untrue. To object to increasing government intrusion into healthcare is not anti-children; in fact it is in the children’s best interests in the long run, since they will inherit the ultimate costs of this program. But no one voices this obvious truth.

The dysfunctional family structure of the African-American community is the biggest root cause of the many maladies suffered there; but we must profess that more government action is the solution when we all know that prior government action is largely responsible for the problems that currently exist. To offer any constructive analysis about the problems suffered by the black community is to be tarred as a racist or a sellout, depending on your race, and dismissed; so the truth is buried and we all pay lip service to the trendy new policies which are nothing more than the old ones dressed up in new rhetoric. And the problems remain unsolved and festering and the truth remains unspoken.

Anyone with the ability to reason will readily conclude that if women were truly paid only 77% of what men make, no man would be able to find a job until every available woman was fully employed. No capitalist worth their salt would dare hire a man if a woman were available for seventy-five cents on the dollar for equal work. Yet this bromide continues to be presented as fact and goes unchallenged. It is an obvious statistical lie, but we silently accept it for fear of being falsely labeled misogynists. The truth is men work longer hours at jobs that are so unpleasant, or so dangerous, women won’t do them; and that is the root cause of the differential.

We are told that if we could only ban guns, violent crime would cease to be a problem. This runs counter to our intuition and our constitution, but the position is purveyed unchallenged by those that seek to punish the law abiding in order to avoid dealing with the criminal element. An element, by the way, that would benefit tremendously from a disarmed and vulnerable population; which is the net result that would be achieved by enacting this insane policy.  But to argue against this is to be labeled a “gun-nut” and dismissed, so we let yet another obvious lie pervades the public discourse unchallenged. The truth is cities with the strictest gun control laws are the most crime ridden and violent; think Washington D.C.

It is impossible to remain the greatest nation on the planet if we allow these caustic agents of untruth to saturate our national discourse unchallenged. I challenge you all to think for yourselves, to question the conventional wisdom, and to challenge those things you suspect are false. We must return to being a nation of people that can look themselves squarely in the mirror and see an honest person reflected there. It will not be a single argument that turns the tide, but numerous small ones. Now go forth and wage truth! Your nation is depending on you.

Scottie

“Oh, it’s Mr. Landlord! Can you say scumbucket boys and girls?” – Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood on SNL

With the start of the new school year here in the Heartland, I’ve been running pretty hard getting my rental properties cleaned up, performing repairs, and the myriad other activities being Mr. Landlord requires. Sometimes I meet myself coming back the other way from Home Depot; other times I find myself at the tool truck trying to figure out why I am there. The relentless August heat and humidity doesn’t make things any easier.  This has restricted my time on the blogs for the last couple of weeks, but I do try to put in an honest hour over breakfast reading the posts and comment threads of my compatriots. Rest assured this too shall pass and I’ll be back in good form soon. In the meantime, here is a thread to keep in touch. Thank you all for your forbearance.

Scottie

"In the most advanced countries the following will be pretty generally applicable:..a heavy progressive or graduated income tax." – The Communist Manefisto

It’s time to rethink the income tax system in this country. It really boils down to fundamental fairness. Currently, nearly half of the people in this country pay virtually no income tax at all while the bulk of the burden falls increasingly on fewer and fewer wealthy taxpayers. This is a receipe for disaster. Eventually, if the current system continues, the wealthy will move their money offshore and the system will collapse. Simply mandating that everyone shall eat steak doesn’t produce any steak.

Why should the people receiving the benefits our society provides be excused from paying anything for it? When a majority of voters have no stake in the cost of government, can more and bigger government be far behind? Isn’t this the essence of Universal Health Care? A class of people that pays little or no taxes wants the rest of society to pick up the tab for them, even if it ultimately destroys the system for everyone, including themselves. How long before this majority demands transportation, food, shelter, utilities, and every other conceivable human need from an ever shrinking minority paying for it?

How much care and consideration will be given to the fruits of this largess? Don’t people naturally devalue things that are free and protect the things that come dear? If the majority can demand whatever it likes, and the politicians will certainly respond to that demand, what is to prevent them demanding everything essential to life as if it were an entitlement due them? And once they have enshrined their “right” to it, will those receiving these benefits have any appreciation for the value of what they receive? Not likely.

If you mull this over, you may well come to the conclusion I’ve come to. The income tax system as it is currently configured is really just Marxism by other means. It takes from the most productive in order to give to the less productive. It takes from those that have the resources (from their ability), and gives the spoils of this taking to those less fortunate (to their needs). You can bet the recipients of this largess will fight tooth and nail to maintain the status quo. But it’s a fight worth contemplating. In my opinion, this is a more existential threat to our nation than radical Islam.

It’s time to give a solid look at the Fair Tax plan. It has much to recommend it, but the principal reason I support it is that it creates a sharing of the burden by all but the truly poor in a straightforward manner. That it also returns to the people the power to control the amount of money available to the government is just icing on the cake. Can you imagine a democracy based on the cummulative votes tallied at the nation’s cash registers replacing the current system of Marxism by other means? Poetic justice in its truest form. Wreck the economy, no money for you!

Scottie

There seems to be a lot of discussion about whether or not the Republicans should accept a debate in the YouTube format recently enjoined by the Democrats. I must vote a well considered no. This process may be entertaining, but it doesn’t add anything of substance to the political process. Let me explain how I arrived at this conclusion and see if you agree.
 

This is really a chance for the MSM to cull through thousands of questions submitted by “normal Americans” and select a set of questions to pose to the candidates. While the actual questions come from the population, the MSM still maintains editorial control over which questions are asked, and which are discarded. In so doing, they’ve created the impression that the questions are not theirs when in effect they really are. It gives the MSM cover to ask questions no journalist would dare soil their hands with while appearing completely neutral. Kind of like using Triumph the Insult Comedy Dog as an intermediary for questions you wouldn’t dare ask yourself. In a sense, the MSM is using the submissions as a proxy for a sock puppet. It gets to control the debate without having to defend the questions asked by attributing them to someone else.

Also, there is no upside to participating. How does one maintain a presidential bearing while engaging a question from a sock puppet? In the last debate, the candidates got to engage with a literal sock puppet on the subject of Global Warming. Even if the puppet is Lambchop, it is impossible to convey a sense of decorum while so engaged. Remember, the MSM is actually in control of the questions, the format only gives the appearance of coming from the hoi polloi. Is there really a Republican alive that trusts the MSM to be objective and fair in its selection of these questions? I would have no problem coming up with a nice round of “Gotcha” questions, nor would you. I’d wager even money that the DailyKos would have a contest for the most obnoxious question submitted. Given the volume of the entries that will be available from the nutroots, and the MSM selecting the questions from this pool, would you put your candidacy on the line? Me neither.

To the taunts that will surely follow from the Left, the reply is a simple question: “Why is it OK for Democrats to refuse to debate in a dignified forum moderated by Fox News, but not OK for Republicans to decline to reenact a media circus? No matter how tough Fox News may have been on the Democrats, they certainly wouldn’t have reduced them to responding to literal and figurative sock puppets.” Why do the Democrats get to decline dignified forums that garner an educated audience, while requiring the Republicans to perform like trained seals in a media Circus Maximus? A YouTube debate for Republicans is a horrible idea. And with the recent experience of the Democrats on vivid display, it would be unbelievably dumb for them to follow suit. Surely they know better than to play along with this thinly veiled sock puppetry of the MSM. If not, they likely don’t have enough political sense to be elected anyway. At least, that’s the way I see it anyway.

Scottie

Scottie

The party holding the wooden end could kill the deal, ostensibly by smacking the other guy between the eyes with the steel end of the metaphorical hammer. The party holding the steel end had to be more cautious, as popping the other guy with the wooden end of the hammer wouldn’t damage him, it would just tick him off. In my years working with him, the first question he always asked was, “Are we holding wood or steel?”

I was often mystified when he would pursue a deal where we were clearly holding wood, but the other party was acting as if it was. In the beginning I would often ask, “Why don’t you just pop him between the eyes and get this over with?” He would reply, “Not just yet.” I would ask him, “Why not?” And his reply was usually, “Because that would kill the deal!” I would shrug my shoulders and mull it over, totally confused. We had the upper hand; we didn’t have to put up with this nonsense.

Over time I was drawn ever deeper into his confidence. One day we had a little time to chat and I told him I just didn’t get it. Why would we let someone act like they had the upper hand, when we knew and they knew that they didn’t? What was the point of the metaphorical hammer if we never used it? His explanation was very enlightening.

“I get paid to put deals together. Our company is well funded and has a great reputation, so there are plenty of opportunities for me to create deals. But don’t confuse my unwillingness to use the hammer with understanding the underlying concept. If I use the hammer, the deal is gone. I don’t get paid to kill deals; I get paid to put them together. This isn’t about ego, at least it isn’t for me; this is about getting the best deal for our side while still making the deal attractive enough to keep the other guy in tow.”

“If you have the wooden end of the deal, you can kill it anytime you want to. It’s like holding the ace of spades in your pocket. It’s golden, it will always win, and it will always work. So why sweat it? Why be in a big rush to lower the boom? Both sides know you can do it, so what’s the hurry? Why not just be nice, you can afford to be.”

“If you have the steel end of the deal, the other guy can kill it, so you don’t want to aggravate them. You can bluster, and cajole, and whine all you want, but you really don’t want to kill the deal; you just don’t want to give too much away to make it happen. So if you’re holding steel, it also makes sense to just be nice.”

So there you have it. It doesn’t matter whether you have the better end of things or not, the proper course is always the same: Just be nice! While knowing about the hammer is valuable, actually using it seldom is. So the next time you’re holding wood in the game of life, don’t be too eager to pop the other guy.

Scottie

If you are allergic to peanuts, don’t learn to deal with it. Why on earth should you do that? It’s much easier to whine about it and pretty soon, there are no peanuts on airplanes anymore and kids can’t bring peanut butter sandwiches to school anymore. Just a little wailing and gnashing of teeth and the whole world becomes a goober free zone to avoid inconveniencing you. Pretty neat, huh?

Coworker wearing perfume you don’t like? Take a page from the anti-smoking lobby and have a hissy-fit about it until the entire office is declared a perfume and cologne free zone. They can’t let you be inconvenienced by those hundreds of other people. They’re not as important as you are, are they? Just think of the office as your own private little world to shape however you wish and pretty soon you’ll find all kinds of things to be offended by. Calendars, cartoons, even the flowers a coworker gets on her anniversary are fair game.

Now we’re cooking. Can’t get around in your wheelchair? Well pitch a fit! Make every business and public building bow to your wishes. It’s not like the inconvenience and expense of changing the world around you is your problem to deal with, heck no. Keep it up and no matter the cost to society, no matter how many businesses go under, eventually you will have access to every place imaginable. Your whole crowd, what is it twenty or so of you, will have their way at the expense of everyone else. Of course, you’ll take a hit on sympathy and goodwill, but it doesn’t matter. It’s a small price to pay for changing the world, isn’t it? And while you’re at it, ask for a good parking spot as a kicker!

Don’t like the discomfort you experience when confronted about your lack of moral clarity? Well don’t just stand for it! Demand the removal of every vestige of religion in every place you find it. Don’t be concerned with providing a replacement, that’s not important. Just squall and babble until the whole world changes to prevent your discomfort. Now, demand schools teach the religious ideology of an enemy intent on destroying your nation and moan about how we have to tolerate and understand them. That’ll make it easier for them to finish changing the world after you get bored with it.

After those warm up exercises you’re ready for something more substantial like eliminating capitalism. Now that you've got that religion stuff suppressed, it's getting easier. Whip up a Global Warming boogie-man and demand the entire world start doing what you say on no real basis whatsoever. Of course, you don’t have to change your lifestyle, only the little people and anyone that disagrees with you will have to actually do anything. Isn’t this fun? Once you get some momentum started, pile on the “right” to healthcare for good measure. Don’t be concerned with the consequences; you haven’t been so far, why start now? Just jump in with your newfound power and start arbitrarily changing anything you don’t agree with or don’t understand and make the world in whatever manner suits your particular desire. Like God did.

Scottie

The left may think this is George Bush’s war, but the rest of the world doesn’t see it that way. The rest of the world is watching to see if the bloated, atrophied carcass of the world’s only remaining superpower can finish a fight it initiated with a backward third world country or not. And if we can’t or won’t finish it, it will have repercussions well beyond the Islamists. Every nation in the world will have proof positive that America doesn’t have the fortitude to honor its commitments anymore. We talk the talk, but we can’t be bothered to walk it anymore. We are in a contest of wills with an implacable enemy and the only thing they have that we don’t is the will to see it through, no matter how difficult, no matter the sacrifice.

A nation with a will can put a man on the moon in less than a decade with less computing power on board than today’s automobile has using slide rules to make all of the calculations. If this nation truly had the will, a fence along our borders could be built in a matter of months. The flood of illegal aliens could be staunched in short order if we only had the will to do so. It’s not lack of resources, or manpower, or even a matter of it being the right thing to do: it’s a lack of will and nothing less. We are fighting to maintain our sovereignty with about the same gusto as we are prosecuting the war against radical Islam; half heartedly with half measures in a half assed way.

This nation had better rediscover its backbone soon and drop a pair, or all we believe in will become a thing of the past. A nation that can’t or won't protect itself and its interests, that can’t or won't control its borders, is a nation that cannot long endure. Whatever the course this country is to take, let it take that course either with a will or with a sense of nostalgia for the ambition of generations past that were greater than, and failed by, their progeny.

Scottie

"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." – Ben Franklin

“Why would you worry about the government having cameras at every corner if you aren’t doing anything wrong? They’re only recording what everyone can see anyway.” How does one respond to this seemingly sensible observation? Let me take a stab at it.

Our country was founded on the concept of limited government. The powers not specifically delegated to the government are reserved by the people. In other words, the people are at liberty while the government is held in check. That the government would record our every move is antithetical to the principles upon which this country is founded.

Our founders never contemplated a citizenry living under the constant watch of the government. In fact, it is far more reasonable to assume the founders intended a government constantly under the watchful eye of the people. The recent immigration debacle was cooked up behind closed doors and sprung on the country as a fait accompli. OSHA is circumventing the second amendment through administrative rule changes behind closed doors and quietly presenting these changes in the hope that no one will notice. Our government has demonstrated a penchant for operating in secret and inflicting rules upon us “for out own good”. Do we really trust them to act reasonably anymore? I don’t. They deserve our constant vigilance; and thanks to the internet, they are receiving it as never before.

As for street cameras, there is a huge difference between seeing something and recording it. Recording every move of the citizenry is documenting it. With no suspicion, no probable cause, and no compelling need to do so, the government seeks to create a permanent record of every action, by every citizen in the public square, at every hour. No police officer would be allowed to shadow us throughout our day to day activities in such a manner without the sanction of the court. Last time I checked, we still had a fourth amendment detailing when and how the government was allowed to engage in this sort of activity. Why is it OK for a technological Robocop to do this? The only difference between the two is efficiency, not intrusiveness.

While the government will proffer that it is “for our own good”, isn’t this action really for the benefit of the government itself and not for the citizens it serves? I think it is. It may come as news to the folks in Washington, but the government serves the people, not the other way around. As we slouch ever onward toward the Nanny State the socialist left dreams of, one of the most outward signs of their success will be the omnipresent government cameras on every street corner documenting our every move. They’re coming soon to a street corner near you. Don’t forget to smile for the camera. You’ll want to look good in the government’s dossier detailing every move of your life.

It seems George Orwell truly was a prophet; only his timing was off.

Scottie

Almighty God, as we gather to celebrate our nation’s independence, help us to be ever mindful of the sacrifices of our forbearers. We thank you for your divine providence, without which our nation could not endure. Extend your protection to those that fight to preserve this nation and its ideals on battlefields at home and far away. As our country long ago threw off the bonds of tyranny and rightfully took its place among nations, let us today reject the tyranny of complacency and remember our responsibility to preserve that place and to uphold those ideals. Give us the strength to make the sacrifices required of us to maintain the precious gift of liberty you have bestowed upon us. We humbly thank you for the prosperity, the freedom, and the majesty of a nation unlike any other ever created in the history of mankind. Watch over us and guide us, and help us to be ever mindful of the fragility of the gifts you have provided us. God, please continue to Bless America.

§ Build the infrastructure to handle the problem: This includes the fence, detention facilities, special courts, a transportation arm, and databases to keep track of who is here and who has left. Increase the size of our Border Patrol and quit tying them up with counterproductive restrictions. I don’t care about the cost so much as real world action and results here, not lip service. We’ll more than make up the expense in savings in our schools and hospitals. Demonstrate the will to build what is required to get the job done.

§ Sanction Employers: We don’t chase drug users, we chase drug dealers. In that same vein, quit chasing the illegal aliens and start rounding up the people that hire them. These cheaters will stop once there is a cost associated with it and word will get around, fast. The job market will dry up overnight. The private sector will find a way to determine whether someone is here illegally or not once the stakes affect rich employers instead of poor immigrants. Demonstrate a will to stop the gaming of the system without consequence.

§ Clarify the Fourteenth Amendment: Many legal scholars believe it is being misinterpreted and this has never been settled by the Supreme Court. If being born here by illegal parents doesn’t make you an automatic citizen, the anchor baby phenomenon goes away. I don’t think these “anchor babies” are citizens; let’s take it to the Supremes and find out. Whichever way the decision goes, let’s demonstrate a will to find the answer once and for all.

§ Enforce the Law: Withhold all federal funds from sanctuary cities. Whenever an illegal alien brushes up against the system, they are detained, have a hearing, and are deported. Second time through gets them a two year vacation with Joe Arpayo, and deported again. Once you’re discovered here illegally you are by definition a criminal; as such you can never become a citizen. Demonstrate the will to enforce the law.

Once we have the tools and facilities to do the job, dry up the job market, resolve the false assertions about ‘anchor babies’ and actually enforce the law, things will change. But before we can do any of that, we have to have the will to do it. Once we demonstrate the will to be serious about this issue, the illegal immigrants will have to find a new plan. Like maybe cleaning up the cesspools they come from instead of importing the dysfunction here at our expense.

Scottie