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head, heart, & feet

unsplash_526360a842e20_1If something is good, right, and true, it should change us from our head to our heart to our feet. Such has long been my mantra about faith. If a faith is good, right, and true it should totally change us… establishing the reasoning in our head, molding the emotions of our heart, and prompting the action of our feet. If any of the three are omitted, the validity of the faith may be in question. On a day such as Easter — a day unlike any other in the course of history — I find myself examining all three…

The reasoning in our head…

The Intramuralist will always advocate for a respect for all religion. Note that a respect does not equate to accepting all religion as equally good, right, and true. Hence, when I examine the world’s religions solely from a position of intellect, I don’t find myself spending much time, for example, on wrestling with the validity of Scientology. When I take note of the fact that the Church of Scientology was established by a science fiction writer, who taught that, Xenu, the dictator of the “Galactic Confederacy”, came to Earth 75 millions years ago, bringing billions of people here who were then killed by hydrogen bombs — etc. etc. — I will be respectful of Scientology, but I do not question if it’s true.

My head is most affected by the resurrection at the core of Christianity. The bodies of all other religious leaders are dead and decaying in a tomb somewhere. Jesus Christ’s dead body, however, was never found, and multiple persons attested to seeing him alive after his death. My head simply can’t let go of the unparalleled uniqueness of that account.

The emotions of our heart…

If a faith is good, right, and true, it should magnify the most virtuous, contagious, character change. Granted, we each are still capable of error, but for the most part, love, selflessness, compassion, humility, and empathy should be magnified — and magnified not only in singular, limited aspects of life, but magnified in how we interact with all people.

It’s the glaring flaw in the Islamic extremists desiring to murder the “infidel”… in the unaffiliated Westboro Baptist Church known for their hate speech… and in the plethora of people last week on Facebook — often in the supposed name of Jesus — on both sides of the religious freedom issue — who also utilized hate speech. My sense is so many of us have allowed our faith (or lack of it) to mold only a portion of our heart; it’s as if we only allow it to affect certain compartments — selfishly holding onto places were we say, “Sorry, God, but that doesn’t apply here.” No faith that is good, right, and true will advocate or encourage such justification.

The action of our feet…

Knowing what we know, therefore, and feeling what we feel — meaning our heads and hearts are totally submitted to the teachings of our faith — even to what’s humanly hard to comprehend — our feet should be moved into action. Our faith prompts our service…

It’s what I witnessed from afar in Mother Teresa, a selfless woman who intentionally chose to live among the poorest of the poor, attempting to meet more of their physical needs…

It’s what I witnessed in Chuck Colson, a once ruthless man who was so changed that he established a worldwide ministry to give hope to the hopeless — to encourage the imprisoned…

And it’s what I witnessed in my sister, a beautiful young woman who inspired so many so deeply, holding onto her positive, confident hope in Jesus, even as the shadow of death closed in.

A faith that is good, right, and true changes us. It changes our head, heart, and feet. It’s also contagious. Thanks, God…

Respectfully…

AR

Posted on

c’mon feel the noise

photo-1415226581130-91cb7f52f078There are times the noise in my house is too loud. Sometimes it comes from one of my kid’s rooms. Sometimes it comes from my spouse or me. The reality is that when the noise is too loud, no one can hear.

Like many, I have been watching the ongoings in Indiana surrounding the passage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Also like many, I have yet to read the bill in its entirety.

My desire is to understand what this bill says and what it doesn’t — what it means and what it doesn’t — but transparently speaking, it’s hard to discern accurately because I can’t hear. There’s too much noise.

What I do hear is the rhetoric. What I do hear are the chants. What I do hear are the passions and protests and bold proclamations from all corners of the room telling the rest of us what to believe. And you know what? Sometimes I get sucked into believing them — allowing my emotion to determine reality — forgetting that I haven’t read the bill in its entirety.

The reality is that Indiana’s religious freedom act is similar (but not exact) to the law in 19 other states and the federal act signed by Pres. Clinton in 1993. It’s similar to the law Arkansas is currently considering. The specific language of the law has varied slightly as varied courts have made varied judgments. While the aim is to provide legal exemptions when primarily a business’s religious beliefs are substantially burdened, the concern is that the language creates the possibility of legalizing discrimination. Such is why Indiana congressmen are beginning this morning to discuss a so-called “fix” — ensuring LGBT customers, employees, and tenants are not discriminated against. Note that any time discrimination is believed to be the reality, more than simply someone — understandably — will make a lot of noise.

Therein lies a significant problem, no less. The noise on all sides keeps us from having the tough conversation this country needs to have. We need to respectfully discuss whether or not religious freedom ever equates to discrimination. And if it does: is that constitutionally allowed?

Because of the deep emotion already embedded in this topic, many of us will struggle with anything less than 100% agreement from another. Some obviously feel justified into verbally pounding another into like thinking — believing we all must agree on what discrimination is, is not, and what’s ok in the name of religion. And if we don’t agree, the other person must be either ignorant or idiotic. Way too many (on television and social media especially — outside the confines of real relationship) are generously justifying the ignorant and idiotic identifications. That’s concerning, as we will not make wise, lasting progress when we justify the use of tactics eerily similar to bullying — as outlined in our most recent post. Forcing a person to believe what we believe only magnifies the disrespect and prolongs the lack of a solution.

The reality is that multiple admired individuals disagree on how to legislate religious freedom and therefore if/how/and when to mandate compliance…

  • Is it ok to mandate that a Christian homeschooler adhere to all public school policies?
  • Is it ok to mandate that a Muslim inmate shave his beard? … or a Muslim t-shirt maker prints a satirical picture of Muhammad?
  • Is it ok to mandate that a Jewish deli serve ham?
  • Is it ok to mandate that any Christian, Muslim, or Jewish baker, photographer, florist, or leader serve at a gay wedding?

Is it ok to force another to contradict practices consistent with their faith? Is it ever ok to discriminate? And better yet: can we have that conversation?

I’m not comfortable adding anything to the “no shoes, no shirt, no service” mantra that is based solely on sexuality, ethnicity, or any other demographic, entire people group categorization. I also believe we must specifically discuss what is discrimination and what is not — and where can we be more respectful of all people… that includes respect for the LGBT community — and the Christian homeschooler, Muslim inmate, Jewish deli, baker, photographer, florist, leader, etc.

If a religious freedom law becomes an easy escape clause allowing people to be treated poorly, that does not seem wise. But if opposition to any law becomes a tactic designed to silence all opposing opinion, that seems equally unwise. Both ignore the deeper conversation that needs to be had.

What’s the relationship between religious freedom and discrimination? I’d like to have that conversation, but right now, there’s too much noise.

Respectfully…

AR

Posted on

judgment

photo-1421809313281-48f03fa45e9fA friend directed me to a recent article about school suspensions and their effectiveness. The author, Ashley Nicole Black, began as follows:

“When I was in high school, I was almost suspended twice. Bad to the bone trouble maker that I was, the first time was for being late to ‘zero period”’(the optional early morning class for honors students) more than five times in one semester (I literally lived on the wrong side of the tracks and would get stuck behind long trains on my way to school). And the second time was for a stash of “drugs” that fell out of my backpack in front of a teacher. I carry pain pills on me at all times because I’ve always gotten debilitating migraines. So when a bottle fell out of my bag a teacher took pity on me and didn’t report me… doing me a big favor because I went to a zero-tolerance school where I would have been expelled for a bottle of aspirin.”

So today’s students are disciplined for tardiness and Tylenol. I get it. I get that schools need standards. I simply question how we measure.

One of the trends of the past decade, for example, is to eradicate bullying. Bullying is bad — no more celebration of “bad, bad, Leroy Brown.”

Campaigns have existed. Many have stood and cheered at their onset… The Bully Project… The National Bullying Prevention Center… Stop bullying now! I agree. I have cheered as well; there is no place for the aggressive, intimidating behavior that is intended to make another person feel lesser because of who they are. There’s just one, small, but still huge problem…

In the evolving, litigious society in which we live — in a culture that rarely, willingly cedes vengeance to the divine — we like to take things into our own hands (… stop it now, remember?). Please hear me; bullying should not be allowed in any form. But we are challenged in authentic discernment of the bullying, because we are not always fully capable of discerning the heart of another. We often examine only the external factors or behaviors, making judgments and decisions completely from them — because measuring the heart is hard… measuring motive might be errant. And so we arrogantly justify making judgments solely on the external. I think that’s dangerous. I think that’s also a gaping pitfall for even the seemingly most intelligent.

Several years ago, one of my three sons was suspended from school for two days. He had said something inappropriate to another and then shoved the elementary student strongly. My son was the agitator and completely in the wrong. (Tangent note: it’s ok to admit when our kids are wrong.) Because my son’s physical behavior was (1) a repeated offense, (2) accompanied by a verbal threat, and (3) because he aggressively attempted to dominate another student, suspension under the school’s bullying policy was considered. All incidents which meet such criteria are treated the same way.

I’ll say it again: I get it. There’s just one problem; this was my son with Down syndrome.

Now let me briefly offer two relevant side notes. Just because my son is deemed by society as “special” does not qualify him for sainthood; he, like every other thriving young man does some things well and some things not. He is just as in need of discipline as you and me. That means when he makes a mistake in my absence at school, the teachers and administrators will have my full support; we’re in this together.

My frustration, though, was not with the suspension — Josh deserved it. My frustration was the suspension possibly falling under the bullying policy. Bullying implies an internal intent — yet we as a society aren’t good at measuring the internal. We think we are; we make judgments off of the external instead because it’s far easier. The challenge is that man cannot fully judge the heart. We have blindly lost sight of that reality.

We live in a society which likes to think we know it all. In my opinion, that equates to failing to recognize that only a one, true God has the omniscience we subtly proclaim. If we recognized that reality — that judging the internal is not something of which we are fully capable — we’d be more comfortable with the subjective, less judging of the external, and be ok with tardiness and Tylenol.

Respectfully…

AR

Posted on

the best bracket

photo-1421091242698-34f6ad7fc088We always have to pick one…

  • Best Dressed Man
  • Sexiest Man Alive
  • Best Picture
  • Best New Artist
  • The #1 New York Times Best Seller

We make things into a competition… for everything from presidential nominations to “who will be the next Pope” to the People’s Choice Awards. We’re a competitive people. We like to crown one winner.

Such awareness leads me to the competitive manifestation found in the madness of March. Again today, college basketball teams will pair off on the tournament hardwood — each fighting to be the best… each wanting to win.

Many of us have joined in the contest — filling out our own brackets — entering either the annual office pool or family challenge, or perhaps even, simply competing for a point of personal pride. According to Slate.com in recent years, an estimated 45% of us filled out a bracket (…granted, approximately 43% of us have also already wadded them up and thrown them away). As evidenced by the 11.57 million people who completed a bracket on ESPN, “bracketology” has taken on a new meaning indeed.

I was struck this week by something else I found wadded up. This sheet was crumpled in the corner in one of my son’s upstairs bedrooms (…I know… shocking that I would find anything on the floor of a teenager’s room…).

Yet when I slowly unfurled this crumpled sheet, I found a goldmine of wisdom. Here, roughly designed with undoubtedly valiant efforts at perceived symmetry, was a bracket created by my 13 year old, sports fan son with special needs.

He did not use a pre-printed bracket, however; he made up his own.

On both the left and the right, he crafted slots for 16 teams, thus including 32 entries. But this bracket had a different title. It said nothing about the 2015 Men’s NCAA Championship. Instead, boldly printed on the top of the page was:

“BRACKIT FOR BEST MAN AND TEAM”

Then down the sides of the page, I sat still as I read the names. There I would find the listings of my son’s father…

… his brothers… some aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins.

I did chuckle — realizing Josh must have ran out of names to write — when added in on his “brackit” were LeBron James, the University of Florida, and our cat, Zipper. But I loved and admired his precious list.

My only pondering was why he never completed the bracket — why it was instead crumpled and discarded. So I soon asked, “Why no best man and team?”

To which my wise son responded, “There are lots of good teams. It doesn’t matter. Winning and losing are the same… if you win, you’re awesome; if you lose, you’re still awesome.”

It didn’t matter. No one had to win.

Respectfully…

AR

Posted on

bizarre

On Monday, Texas Senator Ted Cruz became the first person to officially announce his candidacy for the President of the United States. One word of initial disclosure: while the Intramuralist has never endorsed a candidate nor has any plans to — although we will make observations regarding a candidate or campaign — of all candidates presumed to be running (including those who apply way too much effort attempting to convince us they’ve yet to make up their mind), Ted Cruz would not be my choice to be President. I’m not being critical. I’m simply saying there exist others that I personally believe would be better and more gifted at the job. I may be wrong.

Still, each candidate regardless of party, presents his or herself with a unique resume. Each candidate will have strengths. Each will also have weaknesses. One of my greatest — albeit arguably utopian desires — is that each candidate would transparently share their strengths and weaknesses with the watching public. After all, in any job interview, that’s what each employer wants to know… What are you good at? What are you not?

Hence, I was fascinated after Cruz’s announcement by a singular Tweet. Meredith Shriner, a political reporter for Yahoo News — a previous employee for both Roll Call and Politico and a journalism alum from Duke University shared the following on Twitter:

MeredithShinerTweetOnGodGivenRights032315

 

 

 

 

 

Shriner suggests talking about God-given rights is bizarre.

Bizarre. That equates to strange, peculiar, funny, outlandish, unusual, nuts, weird, wacky, and somewhere totally off the wall. Outlandish that rights are God-made.

While the Intramuralist would quickly suggest revisiting the Declaration of Independence — and its clear acknowledgement of rights endowed to each of us by our Creator — I suggest the more significant point is the questioning of a candidate because of his belief that God is the bestower of rights — life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and far, far more. When we refuse to recognize what our Founding Fathers knew and thus penned, we begin justifying entitlement.

Chew on that for a minute… When we believe that rights are determined by man and thus self, we feel entitled. When we feel entitled, we miss the humility prompted by submission to an omniscient, omnipotent Creator — recognizing God as the giver of all things good.

Hence, while I have no current intention of voting for Sen. Cruz, I find this reporter’s post to be somewhat foolish.

Bizarre, actually.

Respectfully…

AR

Posted on

arrogance vs. confidence

photo-1422728221357-57980993ea99Arrogance or confidence — how can we tell the difference? I’ve heard some say a healthy dose of arrogance is needed. I’m not so sure. Far more valuable and necessary is a humble confidence. A humble confidence is evident in the one who never puts too much emphasis on self… who never thinks more highly of himself than he ought… and one who willingly defers to other people…

  • The arrogant man looks down on other people.
  • The confident man wants to learn from other people.
  • The arrogant man believes the world revolves around him.
  • The confident man teaches others that it does not.
  • The arrogant man cares more about impressing supposed superiors.
  • The confident man never measures the difference between superiors or the perceived below. (Note: there is no such thing as “inferior” in the confident man’s mind.)

I believe the most attractive professional, politician, and person is one who is confident — not arrogant.

So help me; is it arrogance or confidence exuding from the following?

From Mark Twain: “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”

From Hillary Clinton just after Bill became President: “I’m not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers. We are the president.”

From then candidate Barack Obama after winning the nomination: “I’m LeBron, baby.  I can play on this level. I got game.”

Not to mention talk radio’s Rush Limbaugh in his seemingly daily proclamation: “I’m Rush Limbaugh. I have talent on loan from God.”

And from the Wall St. Journal’s Ben Cohen just this week: “It was obvious from the first day of this college-basketball season that there was one game everyone in this sport wanted to see: Kentucky vs. Duke. Now, after the first week of the NCAA tournament, this dream matchup is more than a mere possibility. It’s the likeliest national-championship game.”

Arrogance or confidence. Some say it doesn’t matter. I say it does. It gives us a window into the integrity of a person’s heart…

  • Arrogance is unattractive.
  • Confidence is attractive.
  • Arrogance manipulates people.
  • Confidence genuinely leads people.
  • Arrogance is fleeting.
  • Confidence lasts.

Hence, the question isn’t so much whether it’s arrogance or confidence that exudes from the man; the better question is: to us, does it matter?

Respectfully…

AR

Posted on

gifted

photo-1423753623104-718aaace6772For years many encouraged this former HR director to be a graphic designer. I could see things and draw them with ease, often adding that clever, artistic touch. Despite the consistent encouragement, I instead pursued a management career.

Later there was one of those “seasons in life” when I thought, “I could do that… I could be a graphic designer, too…” I even set up my own design company — working with multiple clients — corporate and individual — designing logos, storyboards, even complete marketing campaigns. It was fulfilling and fun, and many even raved at my work. There was one problem: it was never quite my actual “gift.” It wasn’t my deepest passion. While I could do it, I wasn’t certain that I should.

Yes, I could accomplish the tasks and do the job. I was able to create some fascinating designs, but there was something more — something deeper within me… something laborious… something that just didn’t flow as naturally… something that was more work than talent… more strain than strength, and more burdensome than actual brilliance.

Then it dawned on me. As much I was able to fulfill the role of a graphic designer, it wasn’t my “gift”; it wasn’t something where all flowed naturally…

  • … like the highly intelligent doctor with a rude bedside manner…
  • … like the articulate preacher who can’t selflessly relate to the persons in the pew…
  • … or like the salesman for whom cold calling is especially uncomfortable.

Maybe they want to be a doctor, preacher, or salesman, but the necessary skill set may not be completely compatible with their actual gifts.

It’s part of what I observe in Hillary Clinton — a person who seemingly, strongly desires to be President, but yet seems so calculated and uncomfortable handling conflict. It’s what I saw evolving in former VP candidate, Sarah Palin — just a repeated awkwardness in moments of significant limelight. It’s the same awkwardness I’ve observed manifest in varied forms within Al Gore, Rick Perry, and Ron Paul, for example. While each possesses a credible resume (even from varied parties), there’s something within them that makes me question whether they also possess the actual “gifting” necessary for the job.

One of the Intramuralist’s long habits has been reading varied biographies. From athletes to politicians — from Ronald Reagan and Zell Miller to George Stephanopolous and Louie Zamperini. One of my favorite biographical reads in recent years, no less, is that of Condoleezza Rice.

Condi Rice has an incredibly impressive resume. She became the first black, female and youngest provost of Stanford University at the age of 38. She later became the National Security Advisor and then Secretary of State. She is considered an expert on Soviet and Eastern European affairs. Prior to each of those accomplishments, however, Rice had long planned on pursuing a professional music career; she is an exceptional pianist — even playing Mozart with the Denver Symphony at age 15. But Rice realized something fairly early on.

As shared by the New York Times: “At 17, she attended the prestigious summer school at the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado and came to believe that though she was a very good pianist, she was ‘not great,’ she said. ‘That was really the revelation,’ she added. ‘And it wasn’t just that experience. You start noticing prodigies, and you realize that I’m never going to play that way.’ There is ‘just some intangible’ in music, she said. Whatever it was, she said she felt she didn’t have it. She decided to major in international relations instead…”

There is just some intangible. I call that a gift… something that comes more naturally — less laborious… more talent than work… more strength than strain… an obvious, innate ability.

Just because we can do something, doesn’t mean we should. Just because we are good at something, doesn’t mean we’re gifted. My sense is we each function best when using our gifts.

Respectfully…

AR

Posted on

madness

FullSizeRenderSo today it’s exceptionally tempting to talk about the plethora of games currently being played. Lest I be unclear, “games” such as…

  1. Hillary’s uncanny defense of a private email account.
  2. The rhetorical ping pong between the Executive and Legislative branches on who has the constitutional authority to negotiate foreign treaties. Or…
  3. How (un)pleased the administration is with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu winning a 4th term…

Oh, the games people play.

Sometimes, it seems, with all due respect, intelligence doesn’t extinguish the game-playing; it only makes us use bigger words when we play. Hence, let’s instead focus on the onset of this year’s “madness” — moving from the hardheartedness of Washington to the hardwood of NCAA basketball. After all, there are so many diverse entities and aspects to focus on…

From the perennial Tigers and Bears to multiple Bruins and Bulldogs… From the Utes, Rams, and Ducks — while I continue to ponder the ease of a duck playing basketball…

I wonder, too, what exactly a Hoosier is — although perhaps others would wonder about my precious, beloved Boilermakers (… Boiler up… always… wait… aren’t Boilermakers actually still Hoosiers?)

From Cavaliers to Chanticleers, excellent names abound, as arguably evident in those intimidating Anteaters out of UC Irvine.

Shockers will shock. Lumberjacks will lumber. Tell me: what does the color Crimson do?

We’d be amiss not to mention the Great Danes from Albany or Xavier’s far more than three Musketeers. There are also Friars and Flyers and Mustangs and Mountaineers.

For the record, Terrapins are turtles, and the Irish are one of the seemingly few allowed to keep “Fighting” in their name.

Too bad, though, that Manhattan’s Jaspers were ousted in “The First Four,” the NCAA’s catchy play-in game system (note: see “NCAA Attempt to Make More Money”). We still, though, have North Florida’s Ospreys to root for. Go Ospreys, go.

 (Oh, wait… they lost in that money making attempt, too… dang it…)

Of course, we have our more familiar Buckeyes and Badgers, Cardinals and Cowboys, along with those Sooners and Spartans. Don’t forget the Bearcats and Blue Devils, Colonials and Crusaders, in addition to the Razorbacks and Red Storm. Perhaps neither will be bested by any Terrier or Tarheel — or even Aztec or Aggie (… uh… what really is an “Aggie”?).

So there’s no Dasher or Dancer but still Panthers and Pirates… Eagles and Rebels… also, on Cyclones, Huskies, and Leopards — not to omit the blossoming Beta fraternity, represented by the Bulls, Bison, Blazers, and Broncos. 

Don’t forget the birds — the Hawkeyes and Jayhawks — nor the wilder Cougars, Longhorns, or Valvano-less Wolfpack. It’s inspiring how NC State legend, Jim Valvano, still makes so many of us smile.

Wait… did I neglect the Wildcats? Far more eyes than super fan Ashely Judd are on those ‘Cats from Kentucky, although Wildcats also freely roam from Arizona, Davidson, and Villanova. Go ‘Cats, go (… good thing they’re not playing the Ospreys…).

Oh, the games people play.

Respectfully…

AR

Posted on

do hillary’s emails matter?

a9e669092997acc60eede37ba8aeab1c-620x394The Intramuralist posted last week that they don’t care if Hillary Clinton used only a private, personal email server during her entire tenure as Secretary of State.

But I do. Here’s why….

I want to know what happened during Benghazi.

Four American diplomats lost their lives on September 11, 2012. They had requested additional security measures, and those requests were denied. Then the President and the Secretary of State advanced a cockamamie story about this being about some YouTube video rather than a preplanned assault by a group affiliated with al-Qaeda. The Secretary even made reference to “an awful Internet video” at the victims’ funeral. And we are to believe that the Secretary never sent any emails during this incident?

I want to know about foreign donations.

The Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation accepted millions of dollars in donations from seven foreign governments while Hillary was in charge of United States foreign policy as Secretary of State. The countries are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Algeria and Brunei. Sure, the foundation does some good work. But these countries have never heard of the Red Cross? I’ll bet emails from these countries were deemed “personal Foundation business” and not subject to State Department retention.

No one should be their own judge and jury.

In allegedly coming clean, two years later than the law required her to do so, allowing Hillary herself to delete who knows how many emails, she still didn’t turn them all over. There were 62,320 emails on her personal server. She only turned over 30,490, and she says she deleted the rest. Who decided which emails were State Department business? She did. Or her closest inner circle of staff and lawyers. No independent verification. “I fully complied with every rule I was governed by,” simply by her own declaration.

Are we really to believe that more than half of the Secretary of State’s email was personal?

She insults our intelligence.

Her alleged reason for keeping her email system off the grid as Secretary of State was “for convenience…. I thought it would be easier just to carry one device.”

Except I only carry one device, and I have separate work and personal email accounts on that one device. That sure was a whole lot more “convenient” than setting up my own personal server to run all of my email.

And just last month, when asked in an interview if she prefers iPhone or Android, Hillary responded, “I have an iPad, a mini iPad, an iPhone, and a Blackberry.”

Hmmm. More than one device.

There has to be more to the story.

Hillary could easily have made this whole story go away. Walk into that press conference carrying the physical server itself. Tell everyone she made a mistake in setting up her own email server, but she doesn’t have any secrets. Hand over the server and ask an independent third party to review it in its entirety to make sure the State Department obtained everything the law requires and that national security has not been compromised.

Except she didn’t do that. She deemed riding out this controversy as preferable to coming 100% clean.

She must be hiding something.

And it must be big.

– Guest Contributor

Posted on

expectation number one

Barack_obama_houstonI’ve just started a new job, and I laid out specific expectations for the employees who report to me. Number 1 – Honesty. I told them, as long as you shoot straight with me, then I can trust the things you say. As soon as you tell me something that isn’t true — just once — then for the rest of our time together, I have to evaluate everything you tell me as to whether or not I can believe it.

This is the problem I have with the current leader of the free world. These are some things he’s said:

“If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.”

We now know this to be patently false.  Obamacare defines specific requirements it deems necessary for all health plans, and if yours did not include them, you’ve already had to kiss it goodbye. Politifact named that one the 2013 Lie of the Year.

There is “not even a smidgeon of corruption” at the IRS.

This was a strong candidate for 2014. The executive branch was using the IRS against its own people, targeting conservative groups. After numerous White House visits, a convoluted story of thousands of lost but now found emails, and several “I take the 5th”s later, only the blindest apologists accept this at face value.

“Here’s what happened [in Benghazi]….  You had a video that was released by somebody who lives here…who made an extremely offensive video directed at Mohammed and Islam. This caused great offense in much of the Muslim world…. Extremists and terrorists used this as an excuse to attack a variety of our embassies, including the consulate in Libya.”

Ample evidence has been accumulated showing the attack to be a preplanned assault carried out by an al-Qaeda affiliated organization — and that there was no spontaneous protest outside the consulate the night of the attack over an anti-Mohammed video.

“I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I am not in favor of gay marriage.”

Top political advisor David Axelrod now admits that he convinced Obama to conceal his long held position in favor of gay marriage for political purposes. With no more elections standing before him, he now says that legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States is one of the things he has seen that represents “America at its best.”

“Keystone is for Canadian oil to send that down to the Gulf. It bypasses the United States.”

A report published by Obama’s own State Department estimates that 70% of the oil transported by the Keystone Pipeline would be used in the U.S.

And last, the tried-and-true, oft-repeated…

I learned about Hillary’s use of a private email system “the same time everybody else learned it through news reports.”

Except he personally had sent emails to “hdr22@clintonemail.com” for four years.

Over the years, The Intramuralist has taught me to be respectful in all circumstances. I respect the office of The President, and I will always respect the one who holds it, including the current occupant, as having authority over me. I am simply laying out the evidence that the man considers untruth a legitimate weapon in his political arsenal.

Just as I told my staff, I no longer have any way of knowing whether what he says it true.

– Guest Contributor