Wednesday, December 18, 2013

I'VE READ THE BOOK AND I KNOW HOW IT ENDS

War has been declared on religion in general and on Christianity specifically. The left wing progressive liberal movement has decided that they prefer to worship the god of big government. Along with them are the radical environmentalists. They have attempted to advance the Godless and arrogant theory of man-caused global warming with the idea that man is in charge of nature instead the other way around with man being subject to the laws of nature. One would think if you are hugging a tree, you would realize that man cannot, and has never been able to, create a tree. Just a thought.

As a rule I have tried to stay away from religious matters in my columns. I have always believed that one’s religion is very private and personal and should remain that way. That having been said, and since we are in one of the most holy seasons of the year for Christians, something needs to be said about Christmas in the face of this war. As for me and my house, Christmas is the “Mass of Christ.” While we have a joyous time with the tree, the presents, and the great music, in the final analysis Christmas is a celebration of the birth of the Christ child. We never forget that and encourage you to do the same.

In a recent poll, some 67% of those polled proclaim Christianity as their religion. Christians don’t deny anybody else whatever religion they choose. In fact Christians even tolerate those with no religion, the atheists. Christians are not at war with anybody. All we have ever asked is that non-Christians tolerate our beliefs as well. Whether you choose to celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday or a secular holiday, that is your choice. Please have the grace to tolerate our choice of celebration.

I believe I know the truth. I further believe that someday we all will know the truth. If you would rather hug a tree or even a politician as your religion, that’s okay with me. Just leave me and mine alone to our choice as to whom we will hug.

A short time ago I had the very good fortune of visiting with a gentleman who was a retired preacher and a sufferer of terminal heart disease. Some of you might remember him from the web. He was Tommie Joiner or, as he was known to his blog readers, Bo Lumpkin. He knew his time on this earth was short. In fact I learned just today that he had died last month.  I asked him then how he was dealing with his condition and the fact that he may soon die? His answer was both simple and profound. He said, “In many ways I’m looking forward to it because I have read the Book and I know how it ends.” Well I too have read the Book and I also know how it ends. I recommend the Book for your reading. There is a great deal of comfort in knowing how it will all end.

I hope as you look forward to Christmas that you will find comfort and peace. Comfort and peace in the knowledge that we are not alone and that a force much greater than mere man is in control.

I will leave you with this quote which was recently sent to me. “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” That pretty much says it all.

Merry Christmas,

Ron Scarbro

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

WALKING THROUGH A SNAKE PIT

There is so much happening I don’t know where to start. How about the eighty- five year old Korean War veteran who decided to travel to North Korea for a visit?? Other than moron Dennis Rodman, who travels to North Korea for a visit? Well he came within a breath of dying in a North Korean prison camp. He decided to go walking through a snake pit and he very nearly got bit. All that was accomplished was a propaganda opportunity for the North Koreans, and they took advantage of it. They probably think they scored some big coup when in reality they just showed the world that they are nothing more than bullying thugs who take advantage of old men.

Then, in an effort to divert attention away from Obamacare and the disaster it has become, we have entered into an agreement with another bunch of liars, Iran. Because they are such good guys, they have agreed to stop their pursuit of nuclear weapons if we will end the obviously effective and crippling sanctions we and the world have put upon them. What could possibly go wrong with that deal? I’ll give you a moment or two to think about it.

This morning the latest polls show Obama’s favorability rating in a dead fall the likes of which are unprecedented. He has long since lost all Republicans and now he has lost the Independents. If I were a Democrat and I was thinking I might want to run for office or try to be re-elected, I think I would pay attention to Obama’s favorability ratings. As he goes, so goes all Democrats. Therefore, before I attempted to sell myself to the voters, I think I would try to come up with, for example, a better health care fix than Obamacare. Train wrecks are tough to be proud of and even tougher to run on.

Here’s another little item in the news. In Colorado a six year old kindergartner has been kicked out of school and charged with sexual harassment. His crime, he kissed a little girl on her hand. The charge of sexual harassment is on his permanent record. I was asked what I would say to the group responsible for this bit of stupidity if they were gathered in my living room for a discussion. First let me just say this, I doubt I would allow this group of morons in my living room. That having been said, I think I would ask them what in the world they are thinking. Is this really about sexual harassment or is it something else, like for example, forcing their definition of political correctness on the world? Do they believe they are so superior to the rest of us that they have the right and the responsibility to set the rules for all of us? Are they really so stupid as to believe that a six year old little boy even knows what sexual harassment is or that he is capable of it? By the time I got through with my assessment of their actions and my vivid pronouncements to their faces what the meaning of stupidity is, they might prefer to be in North Korea rather than in my living room.

Finally, even though our Congress is basically, by their own choice, toothless, Obama is still going to have to explain and defend Benghazi, the NSA bugging, Fast and Furious, and the IRS debacle. Democrats running for office are going to have to deal with these scandals and they are going to have to defend Obamacare. That is the snake pit from which there is no escape.

Ron Scarbro December 11, 2013 

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

GLOBAL WARMING, 21st CENTURY WITCH BURNING

The Salem witch trials and burnings were never about witchcraft. They were all about control. The burnings were designed to quash any challenge to the power of the paternal society that governed those people. It probably worked for a time. I see the “man-caused global warming” hoax as modern day witch hunting. Look at the industries that have been spawned by this nonsense.

The “green movement” for example. We have automobile manufacturers designing hybrid cars because of the green movement. If you want to drive a tin box on the same highways as semis, that’s your choice. If you want to sort through your garbage separating your glass from your paper, that’s your choice. If you want to ride your little bicycle in heavy vehicle traffic, or worry about some polar bears in the Arctic, go ahead.

You might want to think about this though. One volcanic eruption on some faraway island in the Pacific or in Iceland negates all of the years of the green movement in seconds. Years and years of man’s “green” efforts are destroyed by ten seconds of volcanic eruption. Oh, and volcanic eruption is not man caused according to my best understanding.

I don’t want this to come as too big of a shock to you but, man is not in charge of this planet or of this universe. We are visitors at best. We do not control the weather. We do not control volcanic eruptions. We cannot stop hurricanes or tornadoes. We can’t make it rain and we can’t stop the rain. Our only ability to warm ourselves is with clothing and home heaters. We cool ourselves with fans and air conditioning.

Early man danced by the fire to please the weather gods. It didn’t change the weather.  

I don’t know if polar bears are supposed to become extinct. I don’t know if Dodo birds were supposed to become extinct. I don’t know if the polar ice cap is supposed to reduce and if the sea level is supposed to rise. I don’t know because I don’t have a copy of the “Master Plan” and nobody else does either. The so-called scientific community certainly doesn’t have a copy of the plan. They just run around looking for ways to make themselves relevant. Governments then take their musings and create ways to control the population.

Here is my offer to the scientists. When you can stop a hurricane in its tracks or stop a volcanic eruption, then I will start to consider your ideas as believable. When you can create rain in drought ridden areas or stop that rain during floods, then I will consider you to be the expert you would have me believe you are. Otherwise you are, to me, just individuals trying to make yourselves important and relevant to the world. Your theories and machinations are just that, theories and machinations.

Personally I hate waste. I believe in stewardship of the earth and its inhabitants. I conserve, not for some junk science theory, but because it makes good sense and it is the right thing to do. I don’t throw trash into the street and I abhor those who do. I don’t drive a tin box car and I don’t ride a bicycle in traffic.

In just the past few years we have been led to believe, according to Dr. Paul R. Ehrlich, that the world will run out of food. That was supposed to happen twenty- five years ago. We have had long gas lines because we were running out of oil. Now we have a glut. Today instead of global warming, we are experiencing global cooling. Being a Phd or a professor doesn’t necessarily make you smart. There is a difference between intelligent and smart.  

And finally this. We should just leave the witches alone. We might be better off if we burned scientists instead.  

Ron Scarbro

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

THE CONTINUING DRAMA OF OBAMACARE

So now the insurance companies will have another year before they have to cancel existing, what have been identified as “substandard,” health care policies. Isn’t it interesting how all of this coincides with the midterm elections? In other words the Democrats seem to believe they will get away with hiding behind yet another delay in rolling out this disaster called Obamacare.

Democrat Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Shultz has declared that Democrats will be able to run successfully on Obamacare and is encouraging them to do so. I heard a Democrat talking head today saying that all will be forgotten in January 2014 when people who have never before been to a doctor will be able to. This is my hope. I hope the Democrats do run as supporters of Obamacare. I hope they face potential voters bragging about the fact that they voted for this disaster. I hope they try to explain why premiums for their new policies have doubled and tripled. When voters see that their co-pays and deductibles have gone out of sight, I am rather confident that they will want to thank the Democrats for this new opportunity to pay much higher premiums in order to support their fellow man by subsidizing his medical care costs. In short any Democrat who thinks this is going to be a winning issue should probably reconsider. This will be a total disaster for the Democrat party.

All you are hearing in the media is the problems with the roll out web site. I believe that is the least of the problems with Obamacare. The real problem is going to show itself when they get the web site fixed, assuming they ever do, and people start understanding what has happened to them. At that point the messed up web site will seem like a Sunday School picnic. Doctors are bailing out of the system in droves. Hospitals are refusing to accept government insurance patients. People are getting their “sub-standard” health insurance policies cancelled by the millions. The replacement policies are far more expensive with higher co-pays and higher deductibles.

Obama has seen the plight and decided to delay some of aspects of Obamacare for one year. That will take it through mid-term elections and all will be forgotten. At least that is what they hope.

Well I have some bad news for Wasserman-Shultz and the others. What we are seeing is the tip of an iceberg which will doubtless melt all over the Democrat Party. Even the most liberal media outlets, all except MSNBC that is, but never mind, nobody watches that network, are lamenting the ongoing problems and are dreading the ultimate implementation of Obamacare. If you are a Democrat and the New York Times gets after you, you know you have a problem. If you are a Democrat facing re-election in 2014 and you are looking at the polls showing Obama in total freefall, you know you had better look for a different platform.

The drama will continue for a time. This nightmare will end though. It won’t be pretty but end it will. Hopefully we will have learned that our government has limitations, created by our founders, for a reason. And hopefully our government will learn as well.

Ron Scarbro

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

LET'S TALK RACISM

For the past several years liberals have been screaming that America is a racist country as a way of explaining Obama’s difficulties. Oprah Winfrey, on a recent trip to Great Britain, criticized our country claiming that we just aren’t giving Obama a fair chance because he is black. In other words the liberals, both black and white, are indicting our country as racist because their hero, Barack Obama, is a failure as president. They seem to believe that if we would just accept him and all of his liberal policies, Obamacare for example, everything would be better.

Well I’ve got some news for the liberals of this country. America is not a racist country. For Obama to have been elected, millions of white Americans had to vote for him. After all, the total black population of America is 12%.  If they all voted for any single individual, they couldn’t elect him.  If this were a racist country would millions of white Americans have voted for a black man?

Now let’s get real. Obama’s signature legislation, Obamacare, is a bonafide disaster and it has nothing to do with Obama’s race. Obama himself was ill prepared for the job of president from the outset. No amount of changing the subject is going to fix that. Secondly, Obamacare is a Democrat program, period. It has never garnered a single Republican vote and in fact the Republicans have tried on many occasions to defund it. Unless and until the Democrats get rid of it, it will be a yoke around their necks. If they think for one moment that they can go into the next election as champions of Obamacare and think that will be a winning strategy, I say go for it. The sooner the Democrats are found out the sooner sane politics can return to America.

Obama’s policies and programs are not unpopular because he is black, they are unpopular because they are just bad policies. Obamacare is not unpopular because Obama is black. Obamacare is unpopular because it is bad law. And speaking of Obama’s blackness, as I recall he had a black father and a white mother. So then he is half white and half black. In other words he is as white as he is black. Speaking for myself, I don’t like either half.

Liberals need to understand a few things. Making excuses for Obama’s failed presidency by accusing caucasian people of racism is racism. Liberals blaming one race of people for a failed presidency is the true meaning of racism. Refusing to hold him responsible for his failures is unfair to all minorities who might try to follow in his footsteps in politics.

I understand the liberal’s dilemma. America’s first black president has been, to say the least, a big disappointment. His legacy will be tough for them to get over. His sloppiness and general lack of preparedness for the office will continue to be apparent to all.

I take no pleasure from Obama’s lack of success. After all it is America who will suffer from his time in office. Personally I look forward to the opportunity at some point of electing another black person to this highest office. The people I would consider however would be much better prepared for the job, people like Condoleezza Rice, or Thomas Sowell. In fact there are many black people who would bring America back to her greatness.

Going forward, let’s pledge to leave racism in the past. Let’s judge people by the content of their character, not by the color of their skin.

Ron Scarbro

Monday, November 11, 2013

LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT LARRY

Let me tell you about Larry. I met Larry in 2009 when I was researching a column about WWII veterans. He looked for all the world like the eight-plus decades of life he had experienced. But, there was a twinkle in his eyes. Even though his body bent under the pressure of his years and his toils, he was a man with a mission. I will share with you as he shared with me.

As a youngster Larry served in the Army as a clerk typist. That would be the military’s definition of a stenographer. His assignment was to go to Germany and record the Nuremberg trials of the Nazi killers and thugs which were captured by the allies at the close of WWII. Larry was a witness to history. He sat in the courthouse and looked into the eyes of these monsters as they attempted to explain away their crimes. He listened as they tried to justify their murderous acts. He told me he still sees them in his sleep.

Larry’s mission today is to make certain the world never forgets these monsters and the holocaust they caused. When Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, first saw the death camps and the gas chambers used by the Nazis, he ordered that cameramen and photographers record the scene in detail. He believed that for sure down the road some SOB, his words, will deny that any of this ever happened. Eisenhower wanted to be sure that there was sufficient photographic evidence of the horrors he was witnessing. He was concerned that history might someday try to be re-written. Today we know that there are already morons proclaiming the holocaust was a hoax. It is rarely taught in schools anymore. To some, it is ancient history. How sad.

Larry traveled as his health permitted, spreading the word about the holocaust, the death camps, and the perpetrators of it all. He had prepared a pamphlet with graphic photographs of the camps and of General Eisenhower. I was pleased to have heard and seen his presentation.

I just recently learned that Larry now resides in a senior assisted living facility since his wife of many years died and he doesn’t get to go out so much anymore. I can assure you that he is not wasting his time though. No, he is spending his time teaching and entertaining the other residents of that home with tales of the horrors and of the victories he witnessed. He is begging the residents to never forget and to never let their children forget. Larry still is on his mission.

Larry, you see, is one of the few remaining WWII heroes still among us. He is one of the last of the “Greatest Generation.” He truly witnessed and participated in history and in this season of the celebration of veterans, I hope you will take a moment to remember not only people like Larry, but all of those who have served. I especially hope you will think of those WWII veterans whose sacrifices made our country the free home we love. Everyday their numbers shrink. If you ever get the opportunity to hear the stories from one of these esteemed veterans, I encourage you to do so. Sadly their time with us is growing short.

God bless you Larry and all veterans who have served us so well.

Ron Scarbro

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

SOMEBODY STILL LYING

If you like your current health insurance policy, you can keep it. Turns out that was a lie. Not a mistake, a lie. If you like the doctor you now have, you can keep him. Again, not a mistake, just another lie. Why would it be necessary for Obama to lie to us in order to get Obamacare on the books? Well I remember a time when I went in to the doctor for a procedure. He told me that it wouldn’t hurt a bit. Well it did. I asked him why he would tell me that it wouldn’t hurt? He said if I told you the truth I would have had to chase you down the hall to do the procedure. That, of course, is why Obama has lied to America. Had he told the truth it would never have gotten off the ground. So, he lied to us. He lied to Congress. Now we are left with the aftermath of his lies.

Insurance companies are canceling existing policies because they do not qualify under the requirements of Obamacare. It now seems even though you might be sixty years old, your health insurance policy must offer birth control protection. It must also include treatment for alcoholism, maternity benefits, and drug rehabilitation. If your policy doesn’t have those coverages, they are deemed to be substandard. In other words, you must buy and pay for coverage you will never use in order that those who might need that coverage will be covered.

And don’t worry about that little statement in the application for Obamacare about your expectation of privacy. Why should you expect privacy anyway? Your government needs all the information they can get on you so they can keep track of your movements and your thoughts. They need to be sure that you don’t say anything your President might not like. Besides everybody knows that whatever you tell your government is secure. They won’t tell anybody, right? Just ask the IRS. As a side note I am aware of a lady whose job it was to enter doctor’s files into a computer. She worked for a private firm who did that sort of thing. One day she ran across an acquaintance who was being treated for a very private condition. She shared that information with me. We thought it was funny but in looking back, that individual’s expectation of privacy was a joke. Just like yours is on a government website.

What we now have is a mess of lies. President Obama has lied. Kathleen Sebelius has lied. There are more whoppers coming out of Washington than from Burger King. Some have said they’re not lying, they just don’t know any better. Okay, which is worse, liars or incompetents?  And if Obamacare is so bad that the authors of it have to lie to make it happen, should it be the law?

Some are saying that Obama and his handlers knew all along that Obamacare wouldn’t work but pursued it anyway in order to bring about a single payer system. I disagree. I don’t think either Obama or his handlers are that smart. To me they are all just clueless stumblebums.

The simple answer is to change the makeup of the lawmakers. Let’s get rid of these career politicians and start with fresh blood. I care less about their political party affiliation and more about their character. And character is what has been missing. We need some adults in Congress. We especially need adults in the White House. What we have now is what we have chosen by our votes. It is obvious to even the most liberal that ours have been bad choices. We desperately need a change.

Ron Scarbro November 6, 2013 

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

I'M JUST NOT MADE FOR THESE TIMES

In St. Paul, Minnesota there is a radio program called “Garage Logic.” Its host, Joe Soucheray, often says that he believes he just isn’t made for these times. I feel much the same way.

I clearly remember as a youngster hearing the older generation railing against rock music and our style of dancing. They didn’t like the way we dressed and they said they didn’t like our cars. I, of course, dismissed their old fashioned thinking. Well, while I still believe they were just old fashioned, I now have a better understanding of their feelings.

Today I look out on the world around me and I am completely astounded at what we have become. Have I become old fashioned? I see pretty young girls defiling their faces with tattoos, piercings and hideous dress that leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination. I caught a glimpse of Miley Cyrus “twerking”, if that is what you call it, on TV.  It wasn’t dancing folks, it was sex with clothes on and very little clothing at that. She and her father should be ashamed. But, of course, they are not. Babies born without fathers are so common the mothers are now known as baby mama. Young sperm donors disappear when the responsibility of fatherhood appears.

I am amazed by the number of people who believe the government owes them a living. I see young men running around with their pants down below their butts and their caps either on backwards or sideways. They look like what we called in my day dufuses.

And the movies today. What is the deal about vampires and zombies? I understand movies are supposed to be fantasy but what they call movies today is  ridiculous. The last thing on earth I would want to see as entertainment is a film about zombies or vampires starring one of these modern day wussie leading men. There is no John Wayne or Jimmy Stewart. There is no Elizabeth Taylor or Grace Kelly. No thanks, I think I will just stay home. It is more entertaining to watch leaves fall or paint dry.

Also, every time I turn on the TV set I am treated to a preview of the latest video  game for your game show console. They all seem to be blood and guts and robots and space aliens. What I think is funny is that they are rated “M” for mature. Wouldn’t “I” for immature make more sense?

Young people of today never seem to actually have face to face friends. They seem to prefer virtual friends who live only in cyberspace. That relieves them of the personal responsibility of being an actual companion. Their conversations occur online or in “tweets.” That allows them to develop phony selves with unknown personas. It is hard for me to believe the future of such relationships can be anything but disasters.

One answer is simple, the military draft. As youngsters we all knew the draft was there and all able bodied men were going to be called on to serve their country. It wasn’t if, it was only when. That knowledge permeated our thoughts and directed our actions. Today a draft for both men and women would serve both our military needs and also the needs of young, undirected or misdirected people. I know that wouldn’t be popular, but it is one answer.

I suspect many of you who read this are also not made for these times. I suspect you would also like to see us return to a time when life was simpler. The future for today’s kids is going to be rough and I don’t think they are ready for it. With all of the advancements we have made, much of our character has been abandoned. Much of what has made us who we are has disappeared. I think we need to change these times.

Ron Scarbro

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

WAS THERE A WINNER?

The Congress has voted and the President has signed it. Obamacare goes forward.  The Republicans tried to stop it but failed. They waited until the last possible moment to make the whole scene look dramatic because, let’s face it, deadlines make headlines and in that they were successful. But in the end, they failed to defund the health care act. Now we all are left with the result of that failure.

So, what do we have? We have a website that cost the taxpayers 630-plus million dollars that doesn’t work to enroll us in a program that cannot work. And this is all being run by the same people who run the post office, the IRS, Amtrak, and several thousand other over priced programs that are equally ridiculous and unnecessary. Why should I be worried?

I have heard a lot of talk that this failure by the Republicans is a pronouncement of their doom. What do you think? What if I told you that Obamacare might just have the opposite effect? What if it turns out that Obamacare will be such a disaster that it will be the Democrats who will be the ones to suffer? After all they own it. Obamacare is not a bipartisan law. It has never had any Republican support. Before the next election all of the politicians will have to deal with the after effects of this new fiasco. It will be interesting to see how they deal with it.

Some have counseled us to be patient and wait and see what this new law produces. Okay. I can wait. Some have even said that the left wing has never believed that Obamacare would work which would then cause us to go to a single payer healthcare system similar to Canada’s or Great Britain. Apparently they think that the thousands of new doctors and healthcare workers as well as the new facilities will just suddenly appear. Again, I’ll just wait and see.

I definitely think the medical industry is too expensive. I have written about this before. There is no doubt that something has to be done. Medical costs cannot continue the way they are going. It is unsustainable. I believe medical insurance just subsidizes the ongoing high costs of care. If the insurance disappeared, the costs would necessarily come down. All Obamacare does is add more money, taxpayer money, to an already bloated industry.

I certainly am not smart enough to know what the best answer is but neither, apparently, is the combined population of Washington, DC. When, and I do believe it is when not if, Obamacare fails, what then? When doctors and hospitals refuse patients with “government insurance” where will they go for treatment? When they show up at emergency rooms and there is a two week wait to see a doctor, what then? If anybody thinks this is just magically going to fix itself, they are the ones who will have to re-examine the situation.

The time is at hand for reasonable people of good character and honor and from all walks of life, including the medical industry, to sit down together and resolve what is not a political problem but a people problem. I personally don’t care whether Republicans or Democrats win. I only hope the American people win and the only way they win is if medical care becomes affordable to everyone. It is going to take imagination. It is probably going to take sacrifice. But whatever it takes, a better answer must be found.

Ron Scarbro

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED

Have you ever heard this, “Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed?” That is, of course, from the Declaration of Independence. What that truly means is that if the governed do not consent, the government has no power.

I thought of this powerful phrase as I witnessed veterans with bolt cutters cutting the chains and locks around monuments and parks in Washington, DC during the “Million Veteran March.” Chains and locks surrounding property owned by all of us. Chains put in place by arrogant bureaucrats who have somehow decided that they are in charge of our government. It’s clear the government doesn’t have the veterans’ consent. These bureaucrats and politicians are employees of the people and the people include, among others, the veterans whose monuments they had chosen to desecrate with their chains and locks, and I do mean desecrate.

Now I recognize that this locking up of our monuments is nothing more than a presidential temper tantrum, but I really don’t care. Obama also serves at the consent of the governed and from the looks of the polls, that consent is rapidly fading. His approval ratings are now lower than President Bush’s lowest numbers. But I digress. I don’t know about you but I have just about had a belly full of childish behavior from politicians. I feel confident that the veterans with the bolt cutters feel much  the same way. The Founders would be rolling over in their graves if they could see what we have become.

Politicians of both parties have come to the decision that allegiance to their party is more important than allegiance to their country. In addition we have all watched as the lap dog liberal media has come to the aid of those who would attempt to destroy our way of life.

Well listen up media, politicians, and bureaucrats. We, the people, are fed up. I have seen recent polls and if they prove to be true, all of the elected representatives in Washington will be looking for new jobs after the 2014 election and that includes most of the Senate. Smug politicians who have given up their citizenship to the district that elected them in favor of citizenship to Washington, DC are going to be facing serious challengers for their jobs. They may want to consider looking at what they have caused. They may want to get busy and do those jobs they have been hired to do. Get this government back in business. If the debt ceiling needs to be raised, do it. You have already spent the money, finish the job.

Here we sit with no answer to all the scandals caused by the Obama Administration. The perpetrators of Benghazi are sipping coffee in Libya, the IRS continues to function as a criminal organization, the NSA continues to spy on Americans and our borders are as porous as a sieve and the people we have hired to get the answers are in hiding. Their arrogance will be rewarded in 2014.

Now this  note to any politician who may read these words. You govern by our consent. You are hired by our votes and today your job is less secure than ever.  Carefully consider your upcoming few days. They may be the most important days of your career. The people you regard so lightly, the governed,  may soon withdraw their consent and you may be looking for a real job. Oh, and with the mess you have caused to our economy, good luck with that.

Ron Scarbro

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

LET'S MAKE EVERYTHING LEGAL

A few years back there was a comedian named Brother Dave Gardner. He was a rather irreverent southern fellow who famously offered this solution to our troubles, “Let’s make everything legal then we wouldn’t have no crime.”

It would appear that California has decided to take him up on his suggestion. Their Legislature has passed and their Governor has signed a bill which makes it legal for illegal immigrants to get a driver’s license, become practicing attorneys, and it also forbids employers from any retaliation against illegals who are employed by that employer just because they lied about their citizenship. There is probably much more in the legislation that is yet to be learned.

Here’s a question. What part of illegal does California not understand? All of the illegal trespassers in our country who work on legitimate jobs do so with stolen identities. None have a legal social security number and therefore do not participate legally in income tax. I have seen reports that say hundreds of thousands of these California illegals are paid “under the table” and never report their income.  Any public benefits they receive occur as a result of their stolen documentation. When illegal aliens attend public school, they are stealing services from our citizens. When they take jobs they are stealing them from legitimate citizens. When they go to our emergency rooms for treatment or childbirth they are stealing those services. When they receive welfare benefits or food stamps, they are stealing them from our citizenry. So, in addition to being here illegally, they are also thieves. Tell me Gov. Brown, how does a thief who is also a trespasser pass the bar and become a lawyer? They have no legal standing in America.

Now I understand we are talking about California here, but really, are they all just crazy? Entering our country without proper documentation is a crime, period. Entering Mexico or Canada without documentation is also a crime. Try to get free medical help in Canada without legal entry and see what happens.

The aging hippies in California have also decided that marijuana is medicine rather than a recreational drug and have created chaos with new laws that fly in the face of Federal law. You get a hangnail, you go to one of their many dispensaries to get a “Doctor’s prescription” and buy your dope. Better not smoke it in a Federal Park though because you could get busted. You see, the Federal Government hasn’t yet gotten on board with the state regarding their definition of marijuana as medicine. Still, if you drive under the influence of that medicine, you are a serious danger to yourself as well as all those around you. Maybe Californians just don’t care. Keep that in mind if you ever plan to visit that once beautiful state.

I have said before that laws are really unnecessary. Good people don’t need them and bad people ignore them. But, laws are how we the people deal with each other and keep ourselves safe. Truly if everything was legal we wouldn’t have any crime, but we would have chaos and anarchy for sure because we will always have wrongdoers.

Regarding illegal entry into our country. I understand why poor people from all over the globe would want to come here. But there is a legal way for this to happen. It is cumbersome for a reason. It is difficult for a reason. We need to know who is entering, where they are from, and what they may bring to us. To not know courts disaster. Maybe they should just go to California where soon everything will be legal.

Ron Scarbro October 9, 2013

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

WHAT IF?

What if they shut down the government and nobody could tell? What if they shut down the government and nobody cared? What if they discovered that “non-essential employees” were really non-essential? And, what if they discovered President Obama is one of those non-essential employees?

For the past several days we have been lectured to, harangued, warned of, and all manner of doomsday possibilities have been showered down on us. So far I haven’t noticed anything different, have you? It reminds me of the “sequester” fear mongering. What if all of this bluster is really about something else? Like, for example, 800,000 federal “non-essential” employees who are today on furlough. Doesn’t 800,000 do-nothing employees seem a little excessive to you? A reasonable question could be why do we have 800,000 non-essential employees on the federal payroll? What sort of work does a “non-essential” employee do? It’s a fair question.

Another possibility is that October 1st was the first day of Obamacare enrollment and it has been a complete disaster. Horror stories abound but they are not being reported because all the lap dog media is covering the “shutdown.” Doesn’t that seem a little too convenient? Wouldn’t you think that the impending doom of Obamacare should be worthy of an honorable mention in the media? Especially with the way it is starting out.

Concerning these federal employees, I have long believed that many, if not most, of our government employees are really paper stackers who move one stack of papers to another stack and then back again. I also believe that when they get back to their jobs, and they will, those stacks will still be there. It also occurs to me that government workers, for the most part, have jobs but they have no work. Now I don’t blame them. I blame the situation that causes government jobs. We all know that these government employees will not lose a single dime. They will get all their back pay and never lose a penny. Sure there will be inconveniences, but in the final analysis, they will be paid in full. This is just a paid vacation which seems very popular in the Obama Administration.

Of course the Republicans will get the blame for this inconvenience and so what. The national media will always blame the Republicans.

But, what if I’m right and Obamacare proves to be the disaster many have predicted. Who then will get the blame? When the smoke clears how will the Democrats explain the failure?  When all of this hits the fan, the Democrats will be scrambling just to keep their jobs let alone try to increase their numbers. We are already seeing clear examples of this impending problem. Doctors are referring patients to the emergency room because they cannot see them. Many doctors are even refusing to accept these government insured patients. Let’s face it. We are adding some thirty million new individuals who will be seeking medical care and we have not added a single new doctor, hospital, or nurse. You tell me how this could possibly work.

I worry for my children and my grandchildren. I worry for my country, but I’m an old guy. My days are truly numbered. These issues will be the problem of future generations. I worry because what if all I am saying happens? What if, indeed.

Rob Scarbro October 2, 2013

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

SOON THIS WILL BE A MOOT POINT

I used to think that the surest way to make a person a Republican was to have them get a wife, have some children, and take out a home mortgage.  Nothing will make one more self-reliant and personally responsible than that. When you have to face life as a taxpayer with those responsibilities, you have a tendency to pay closer attention to things. Hence, become a Republican.

Today I have made another observation. The absolute fastest way for this country to return to the sanity of Republican government is for the Republican House to let the Democrats have anything they want. I have watched as The House has passed this latest attempt to defund Obamacare by attaching it to a “continuing resolution” sort of budget. The Democrat controlled Senate or the President is not going to let that happen. This nonsense is only going to plunge this country into a financial crisis that the press and the Democrats will ultimately blame on the Republicans.

I think a much better idea would be to let Obamacare go forward. Let all the crap happen that is going to happen. When people see their costs skyrocket and their services reduced, they will know who to blame. After all, not a single Republican voted for Obamacare and every single Republican in The House voted to defund it. When it all hits the fan, only the Democrats will own it.

There are some clear realities afoot here. The vast majority of Americans are opposed to Obamacare and that majority includes unions, independents, and Democrats. Congressional candidates from borderline red states will lose dramatically as well as Democrats in blue states. People vote their pocketbooks and when they come to see the wild increase in costs, they will reject those who authored this mess. The next thing they will immediately notice is an inability to see their regular Doctor or schedule minimal procedures without waiting for months. That is if their doctor is even still in practice as many have already said they plan to take their money and run.

This scheme, Obamacare, was created in order to provide medical insurance for thirty million individuals who are otherwise not covered. Those millions include the poor, the unemployed, and illegals. There has been no increase in the number of doctors or medical facilities, only an increase in the demand for medical care. Young, healthy people who have previously rejected health insurance will now have to buy it and it will cost a fortune. I suspect most, if not all, will pass on the opportunity to be covered. That further exacerbates the problem for the government. What our representatives are going to learn and learn quickly is that it is the people who are in charge, not the  government nor the  bureaucrats. If a law is passed and the people reject it, it cannot be enforced regardless of how many new IRS auditors are hired. It can only work if the people are for it.

So, in a nutshell, this is my thought. Give the Democrats anything and everything  they want. Let them have their Obamacare. Then stand back and watch as it all goes to hell. Rather than telling you that this legislation is a mistake, just let it go into effect and watch it. It won’t take long. In fact, I suspect that after the 2014 election, this will all be a moot point anyway.

Ron Scarbro September 25, 2013

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

NO GUNS ALLOWED

I recently visited a VA Medical facility and was greeted by a sign at the entrance. This is what the sign said. “Welcome to the VA Medical Hospital. Crazed killers, terrorists, mass murderers, and all other assorted nut cases are safe here because we will not allow any sane, registered gun owner to carry a weapon on these premises.” Well, that’s not exactly what it said. Actually it said that no guns are allowed on the grounds of a VA facility. Now if I were a crazed killer and wanted to create havoc, I would much prefer to do my killing in a facility where I knew there would be no armed resistance.

This brings us to the events at the Navy facility in Washington, DC and at Ft. Hood. In 1993, then President Bill Clinton issued an edict that no one could have a gun in their possession while on a military base. Of all the stupidity that came out of the Clinton White House, this has to rank right up there as the stupidest. That’s like telling a police department that no police officer can have a gun on them while they are in the police station.

As a former member of the military I can assure you that we were given the best training in gun use and gun safety possible. Additionally, prior to our acceptance in the military we were checked out. Not just anybody can enter the service. Background checks were extensive and complete.

So here we are dealing with yet another result of Clinton’s ridiculous act. Obviously the shooting at Ft. Hood could have been considerably less tragic if those members of the military in the room were armed. Nidal Hassan would have been DRT. That means dead right there. Hassan knew no one would be armed. He knew he could kill at will without anyone stopping him. He was ultimately stopped though...by a gun...by someone from the outside.

This nut case in Washington entered a Naval Base armed with a gun but also armed with the knowledge that no one could stop him. Again he was ultimately stopped...by a gun...by someone from the outside. This of course after he already killed twelve innocent people who were sitting ducks.  

Isn’t it about time that we, all of us, including liberal Democrats, came to understand that guns are not evil? Guns are not scary. Guns are just tools like a hammer or a screwdriver are tools. Guns in the hands of sane, normal individuals are no more dangerous than a hammer in the hands of a carpenter. But, a hammer in the hands of a crazed killer is at least as dangerous as any gun I know of.  What about that is so difficult for the left to understand? To tell American service personnel that they are not trustworthy enough to be armed while on base is patently ridiculous. Being armed defenders of America and her way of life is their job. Such a rule is an insult to their character as well as harmful to their survival.

We absolutely must get over our inordinate fear of guns and put the blame where it belongs. It is the perpetrator not the tool. It is the nut case, not the gun. I will say this yet again. The only way to stop a gun is with a gun. Just look at both of the cases I cited above.

Let’s re-arm our military members in the same way we allow our police officers to be armed. Don’t make them sitting ducks for any freak who has a grudge.

Ron Scarbro September 18, 2013