Brian On _______

I hate lying.
I hate scheming.
I hate false naivete.
I hate deception.
I hate battingling egos.
I hate feigned modesty.
I hate conspriracy.
I hate innuendo.
I hate wolves in sheeps clothing.
I hate half-truths.
I hate intentional ommissions of fact.
I hate witch hunts.
I hate it when people automatically assume the worst about actions and motives.
I hate it when people knowingly twist the truth.
I hate clandetine attempts to gain personal glory or fame.
I hate lying.

I'm not a theologian and I do not claim to be able to correctly interpret John 8:32. Still, I'll take my best shot at "You will know the truth and the truth shall set you free."

I've always thought this an excellent verse to live by as a journalist. One of my fellow jouralism majors at OBU told me that here truth was metaphor for Jesus (after all, Jesus does refer to himself as "the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6) and Jesus can set us free). I maintain the "truth" refers to the Gospel and God's Word and therefor I think it applies to all truth in general, since the Gospel is literally nothing if not true. Therefor as a Christian and journalist, I should strive for nothing less that 100 percent prime choice USDA certified grade-A TRUTH.

All that to restate my first point. I hate lying. Truely (ha!), honesty is the best policy according to God. Not only is lying the direct opposite of honesty, it's explicitly forbidden by the ninth commandment. Is it any wonder Satan is somtimes called "The Deceiver?"

It's sad day when people you know cling to lies with grips so firm their mental knuckles turn white and they begin to sincerely believe their own lies. It's even worse when they've been decieved (by Satan or something less malevolent) and they velieve they know what is best for leading Kingdom work.

There. I said it. It's not too well thought out or organized but you get the picture.

I HATE LYING!

It is widely accepted among theologians that among God's better (yet more unknown) gifts to mankind is... 2-in-1 Shampoo + Conditioner.

To ask for anything more would be ungrateful and potentially blasphemous.

But lo, God, in His infinite wisdom, has deemed mankind ready to handle...

I don't know if I can wait until 2016 for my Richard Nixon coin.
Seriously.

Happy Trails, Curly

Jack Palance, one of the best character actors cinema has ever known, died this weekend. He was 87. He was a man, and by "man" I mean MAN.

He had a tremendously smoky voice that just oozed that Western American version of machismo. How much of a man was he? When he won his one and only Oscar in 1992, he accepted his award, put in down the stage, dropped to the floor himself and amazed the audience with 20 one-armed pushups. HE WAS 73!

Oddly my first and most vivid memory of Jack was in a commercial for Skin Bracer aftershave. Actually, I remember it more becuase it was the first time I'd ever heard the word "sexy." And no, there's nothing gay about making that association.

"Confidence is very sexy... don't you think?" (go about 3/4 down to "skin bracer").

Yes, Jack. I do.

I'd like to know who decided "Continental" meant a four-day-old bagel and a luke-warm glass of orange juice.

I'm a Republican, so it goes without saying the past three days have not been a high point in my life. That said, there's still no reason to let this ruin my life. Although I admire the snark (and fashion sense) of the cynic, I'm an optimist at heart and I can't help but look at the bright side of my party's political defeat.

Although Republicans lost the House and the Senate, I can at least take some solace in the fact that, as a party, we have been very cordial losers. To my knowledge, there has been no kicking, screaming, demands for recounts or the like.

If Democrats had lost by the same degrees the Republicans did earlier this week, there would be shouts of voter fraud, "This ballot is too confusing!" and "BUSH STOLE THE ELECTION! BUSH IS SATAN! WAH-WAH-WAH!"

What was Bush's response? "Well, I've got to admit I'm a little surprised and dissapointed." Liberals make thinks he's an idiot, but at least he is a good sport when he's beaten fair and square.

As cheesy and Robert Frost-ian as it may sound, the fiery reds. oranges, yellows and browns (yes, brown can be bright and firey!) of autumn are truly a sight to behold. The drive from Jefferson City to Cape Girardeau was particularly striking.

There is a lot of evil, strife and hardship in this world and I understand how that can cause some people to question the existence of God, but defy you to look at an Ozark hill face in late October and deny the All Mighty.