And since I missed posting 2009 buck...

Buck taken during 2009 rut

Belated 2010 buck

Belated pictures of buck harvested during 2010 rut.

The Truth? You Can't Handle the Truth!

California History Professor and farmer Victor Davis Hanson has an interesting piece on Pajamas Media today entitled "Kingdom of Lies."

It's a subject that's been much on my mind lately.

"I am a subject in a kingdom of lies. At 57, I have grown up with decades of untruth — advanced for the purposes of purported social unity, the noble aim of egalitarianism, and the advancement of a cognitive elite in government, journalism, the arts, and the universities."...Victor Davis Hanson

Politicians lie and spin and pander...the news media slants and spins and panders...and partisans on both sides lie and spin and pander. Nero fiddles while Rome burns...you'd have to admire the image if not for those pesky flames lapping around our feet.

The phenomenon has been particularly grating recently as budget talks heat up in Washington. The fact is we are spending way more than we are making. In local parlance, that's called spending our way into the poorhouse, and the solutions are really pretty obvious...find some way to get more money or stop spending beyond your means. Maybe you could get really creative and do both.

But the obvious solutions are not on the table thanks to the "Kingdom of Lies."

•In the Kingdom, Social Security has a fully-funded "lockbox." Never mind the fact everyone knows it's a stack of IOUs worth nothing until the Government borrows yet more money to redeem them. The fact is, any Social Security expenses above what is covered by current payroll taxes is funded by government borrowing. There is no lockbox full of money...there is only a demographic tsunami of retiring Baby Boomers soon to come face-to-face with the fact politicians spent their retirement withholding to grow the government.

•In the Kingdom, open borders and globalism makes us one big, happy family. In reality, globalism lets corporations enjoy the fruits of an expanded marketplace while also taking advantage of lower employment costs in other areas of the globe. You take production to the place where it can be done the most economically. While that can be a boon to developing nations, it guarantees a slow but steady decline in standard of living for most Americans, as our production costs (including labor and regulatory compliance) are among the highest in the world.

•In the Kingdom, a reduction in a huge planned budget increase qualifies as a "Draconian cut." There is no mechanism to restrain the growth of government, only to encourage it. Entitlements given in good years can not be scaled back in bad times, particularly by politicians of all stripes will to feign outrage "for the little people" to win a few votes.

•In the Kingdom, spending equals results in schools. Never mind the fact that some of the highest spending schools are among the lowest in performance. And never mind the fact that some of the high-performing charter schools are also among the cheapest to operate, thanks to the fact they've been freed from the yoke of the unions.

•In the Kingdom, wars started to intervene against a tyrant can be good or bad depending on your political bent and the affiliation of the President who starts the war.

•In the Kingdom, medical costs can be contained by increasing regulation and preventive care. Hey, if we have preventive care, nobody is going to get sick, right? We can cut doctor's reimbursement for the purpose of cost projection, then abandon the cuts later ("You didn't think we were SERIOUS about those cuts, did you?") In the Kingdom you can rail against unnecessary testing by doctors, but ignore the largest driver of those tests - the malpractice lawyers lobby. And in the Kingdom you can mandate cheap coverage for pre-existing conditions and then expect people to carry insurance until they're REALLY sick.

•In the Kingdom, you can wail endlessly about the evils of consumerism and the sanctity of green technology, then fly 3,000 miles home each weekend in a private jet to a 10,000 square foot mansion on the coast. Once there, Kingdom devotees can eagerly pore over their investment position in green technology and dispatch their on-retainer lawyer to block any attempts at placing offshore wind farms within sight of THEIR home...utilities are for the little people, don't you know.

The worst part of the whole charade is that it makes arriving at a logical solution all but impossible. Nero fiddles as the flames rise higher and the nameless, faceless liars conspire to buy themselves a little more time.

Just a little more time and it will be someone else's problem - another nameless, faceless liar finally forced to tell the truth.