I am an umpire.  It is not what defines me but like a lot of us it is how I think of myself.  I own a small, small business but I don’t identify myself in my own mind as a business owner.  Nope.  I am an umpire.  I think it is because I love both baseball, and rules.  I believe there is right and wrong.  I believe that the moment you cheat you stop playing baseball and start playing some other game that the other team  isn’t playing.  So, even if the final score may show you scored more runs than the other guy, you didn’t win.  You weren’t even playing the same game.  Life is similar.  If you are debating the finer points of an issue and you have to resort to half truths or outright lies to make your point, you didn’t really have a point.  You weren’t even playing the same game.  I listened to a lot of sports talk show hosts this week debating the Barry Bonds trial verdict.  A common thread was that the government wasted millions of dollars trying a guy about a silly thing like lying to a grand jury.  I am an umpire.  I think they should have gone this far and maybe even farther.  I am holding out hope that they will retry the man on the remaining issues that resulted in a mistrial.  I think most people miss the point of trials like these.  The whole of our legal system relies on the participants, willingly or not, telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  And, when a prominent citizen lies to the Grand Jury or a Judge in a legal proceeding as did President Clinton, the impact on the integrity of the process is even more severe.  If the President of the United States is held to the same standard I am in a legal proceeding then we are a nation of laws and equal justice.  If the President or a man of great fame and fortune like Mr. Bonds is allowed to skate on the fundamentals of telling the truth when you swear to God that you will then we are a feudal society of Lords, Ladies, peasants and serfs.  Guess which one you are?  You see in life like in baseball there is a way of doing things.  A proper order must occur for fair play to be maintained.  Many folks think the pitcher can never fake a throw to first.  He can.  He just has to step off the rubber to declare himself an infielder first.  But when he is on the rubber he is the pitcher and if he starts a motion to throw to first he must finish it true to his actions.  If not there is a penalty.  If you swear to God or the court that you are gonna tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth then you must or fair play breaks down; chaos ensues and the nature of the game changes.  It seems on its face a silly thing. But in truth it is all.