The following correspondence is from letters to the Editor of the Austin Chronicle. My contribution is the one in the middle. These have appeared in the print edition over the last three weeks.

Why do they lie?

Dear sir,

I would like to know why politicians lie. I know – because they can – but I am not looking for comedic responses. With the convergence of city, county, and state governments in Austin, there is an abundance of politicians and ex-politicians and their friends and associates in this area.

Is there any one of you willing to give an honest reply as to why you lied to the public and how you rationalized it in your thinking either before or after?

Sincerely yours,

Bruce D. Garnett

Because the Sky is Blue

Dear Austin Chronicle,

In your May 4 edition [“Postmarks”], reader Bruce D. Garnett posed a very interesting question to politicians, former politicians, etc. – the question being ‘why do they lie?” Seeking serious responses he mentioned that he did not want any joke responses. Mr. Garnett set a very high bar requesting this information be provided by politicians, former politicians, etc.

I take the seriousness of his question very seriously and would add that as a former third-grade mayor (Gunn School Elementary; Council Bluffs, Iowa, 1991) and a onetime assistant to a Soils and Water Commissioner of Pottawattamie County Iowa by write-in vote (Mr. Michael Edrington, 2004 – interestingly enough I was also a write-in candidate in that same election for sheriff, but alas, did not get elected. I believe I may be qualified to answer this question.

Answering the question of why politicians lie is a lot like asking why the sky is blue. Let’s clear that up:

According to Exploratorium.com, ‘When sunlight travels through the atmosphere, blue light scatters more than the other colors, leaving a dominant yellow-orange hue to the transmitted light. The scattered light makes the sky blue; the transmitted light makes the sunset reddish orange.’

There you go. That’s why politicians lie – because the sky is blue. I hope that I have been of assistance to Mr. Garnett and would care to answer any other inanities that might need answering.

Respectfully,

Bill Latham

REWARD FOR LYING: GETTING ELECTED

Dear Editor,

If reader Bruce D. Garnett believes that politicians lie [“Postmarks,” May 4], did he really expect an honest answer from them? (Bill Latham’s nonanswer was the best he could hope for [“Postmarks,” May 11].) Politicians lie because We the People reward them for lying. We vote for the people who tell us what we want to hear. But, given that serious thinkers claim that everyone creates their own reality, how can anyone claim anybody is lying? The charge requires a common reality. We the People can’t even agree on what scientific facts are. (Global warming, for instance.) Politicians use issues to get our votes, then dis us for being stupid enough to vote for them. They’re right.

Byron Hinderer

I ride the bus everyday.

Yesterday on the way home during the stop in front of the Texas State Capitol building, I looked out the window just in time to see a girl squatting between some bushes & a trash can, drop trow, and start peeing. The only thing keeping her from being visible to the rest of 11th street was the bus. I sort of shook my head surprised and the guy sitting behind me started laughing and said ‘when you gotta go, you gotta go.’

I turned around and looked at him. He was holding his cellphone camera up to the window trying to get photographic evidence.

I can understand having to go and seeing no other options- but what situation calls for taking pee shots of strangers?