A FALSE STATEMENT
Our plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories.
We are not going to impose anything on anyone by force. 
~ Vladimir Putin

A TRUE STATEMENT
I never said half the things I said. ~ Yogi Berra*

A FALSE STATEMENT
I didn’t mean what I said when I said
I’ve had it with this guy. What he did is unacceptable.
Nobody can defend that, and nobody should defend it.
He bears responsibility for his words and actions.
No ifs, ands, or buts.
I asked him personally today, does he hold responsibility
for what happened? Does he feel bad about what happened?
He told me he does have some responsibility
for what happened.
And he needs to acknowledge that.
The only discussion I would have with him is that I think this will pass,
and it would be my recommendation you should resign.
~ Kevin McCarthy, House Min. Leader (R-Calif.)

A FALSE AND A TRUE STATEMENT
I never said half the things they say I said.
I said all the things they say I said.
~ Donald Trump

IT’S HARD TO HIDE A LIE

The moral, spiritual, ethical, and civic health of a partnered couple, a family, faith community, organization, company, country, international organization, or global relationship resides in its capacity, commitment, and ability to be HONEST. When partners, co-workers, and especially leaders turn their back on HONESTY and TRUTH, there is certain to be a deep, far-reaching, and perhaps irreparable Humpty-Dumpty-like fall. And, there are some lies that lead not merely to the demise of the liar him or herself, but to the community and world at large.

By moral, I mean keeping faith with one’s relationship to his or her own integrity and God-given dignity. By spiritual, I mean a person’s or community’s willingness, desire, and effort to transcend oneself for the good of others, whether in faithfulness to a perceived Divine summons or a higher ideal than self-interest. By ethical, I mean the commitment to make good on one’s relationships with others by conduct that is reverent, fair, just, and characterized by integrity. By civic I mean the assurance of living out one’s shared responsibility to ensure and promote the common good of the body politic.

Unless and until people start calling out their own—bold-faced liars and deceivers and fork-tongued achievers, the shakers and groovers, self-aggrandizing takers and mendacious movers, the jokers and jivers, the smooth-talking connivers, the gaslighters, the card-carrying canard carriers, the white lie liars and Charlettesville torch bearers, the fame-seekers and power-chasers, the guilt-free soulless dignity debasers, the talk-out-both-sides-ers and the incriminating text, email, and recorded message hiders, the shame-faced but blush-free fibbers, the guileless less guile ones and the “I NEVER said that” ad-libbers, the bloviating, unapologetic self-servers, and the—Father forgive me—Hades-Sheol-Gehenna deservers or at least a long-long-long time-out and the prohibition to run for office ever againers—we are in BIG trouble. Those who live by (or beside) the lie, will die by the lie. And very few people will be left to be sad about it and seek another way.

* Hall of Fame, New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra was known for his unintentional Zen-like aphorisms. These popular quips came to be known as Yogi-isms. As tends to happen with celebrities, Yogi got credit/blame for a lot more sayings than he actually spoke. The above cryptic comment was in response to this.

And in light of all the above Today’s Life-Line is:

There is probably no greater cause of violence
in the world than the lie.
~ Rev. Emmanuel Charles McCarthy

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