There was Elvis and then there was Anna Nicole Smith, and now its Michael Jackson. Tragic figures whose lives should have been anything but tragic.This trio of people earned and burned through millions and millions of dollars. All three died premature deaths under very questionable circumstances. All three seemed to be involved with vast amounts of prescription drugs. All three had the required entourage of sycophant yes men and toadies. I doubt if any of the three ever heard the word no. Their life styles were recipes for total disaster and that is exactly what happened.
I am not going to pick on Michael Jackson now that he is dead nor am I going to criticize any others who may be involved in this sort of life. No I am going to instead ask the question of why. Why do we worship at the feet of such flawed individuals? Why do we shower them with such adoration? Also, were they flawed before they became famous or were we complicit in their downfalls? It is pretty clear to any normal thinking person that all three were probably crazy. Did fame drive them crazy or were they crazy before their notoriety? Sad questions. Sad commentary. Tragic lives.
Now the fun begins in the Jackson case. Lawsuits will flood the courts as all the hangers on will try to continue to live off their fallen meal ticket. Medical people will be called to account as to how and why Jackson got all the prescription drugs he was allegedly taking. Remember also there are three children caught up in the middle of this mess and nobody seems to know who their real father is. The courts will divvy up the spoils of this tragic life. I feel sorry for the children. They had no part in this idiotic mess. It has been reported that their biological mother wants no part of them. What will their lives be like?
I saw one report that was identified as a preliminary autopsy. Michael Jackson was 5'10" tall and weighed 112lbs at his death. He has lost all of his hair and his body was covered with scars and needle marks. He was skin and bones. He was 50 years old. What a terrible end to what should have been a full and happy life. It would appear that all budding super stars should heed the warning that being an idol can be hazardous to your health and could cause premature death.
And we, what will we do? Some will just go out and find another idol to worship. Sadly they seem to find some sort of vicarious pleasure by their actions. They crave items of clothing, autographs, anything that lets them think they shared their idol's life. They live in some fantasy world that they have conjured up. The stars often fall for the adoration. Some probably even believe that they are truly loved by these fans. They of course live in their own fantasy.
All of this makes me think that being just a normal person with a normal life is not that bad. I will never have cheering fans screaming my name or sycophants rushing to please me. No I'll just live out my life as an average guy with an above average wife and of course above average kids and grandkids. Oh and by the way, their adoration is all I will ever need.
Ron Scarbro June 29, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
IRANIAN ELECTIONS AND OUR ROLE
(The following was published in the Newsleader on June 26, 2009)
Okay, Iran had their Presidential election. Seriously now, did anyone really believe that this would be a legitimate exercise? Iran is a Theocratic dictatorship. It is not a democracy. Freedom does not exist. In Iran free elections are a joke. My first question is why would they need a President anyway? After all, they have their "Supreme Leader". He is none other than Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei runs the show all the way. The President is nothing more than a puppet who happens to make a lot of noise and the noise he makes is what he is told to make.
The Iranian people are apparently upset now. It also appears that they are rioting and marching in the street. I hope they succeed, but it is none of our affair. The Iranian people must decide what kind of a government they want and they also have to decide what they are willing to do to make it happen. We will continue to be blamed for anything and everything that goes wrong in Iran anyway because it pleases the powers that be to do so. I recommend however that we just lay back and wait a bit. We cannot and should not try to pick a government for them. When and if the Iranians get serious about shedding their yoke of oppression, then we could possibly be called on to assist. If, however, Iran persists in its pursuit of nuclear weaponry, a situation which the West will not allow, it is the Iranian people who will have to pay the price.
The Ayatollah has threatened the people with certain bloodshed. I am sure he is not kidding. He knows that if he doesn't put this insurrection down right away, it will soon be unstoppable. He wouldn't last five minutes in a free state and he knows that.
I will draw this parallel. America decided to shed her oppressors a few years back. Brave men and women issued their Declaration of Independence. They knew they were inviting retaliation. They knew that they were committing treason and could face death, but this was the slogan of the day, "Give me liberty or give me death." It is just possible that the Iranian people are issuing their declaration now. I don't know if they will be successful. I don't know if they have the courage to see this to the end.
I have read that the vast majority of Iranians are young and smart. I have learned that they (the majority) want to live a freer more western lifestyle. That is not to say that they would give up their religion or its influence, it is just to say they want to modernize. We will see.
If they continue their fight, many of them will die in their attempt. They will become the martyrs that the Ayatollah doesn't want. I wish them well.
As we come into our own celebration of our independence, we should never take for granted what our founders risked in order for this country to establish itself. We must never take for granted what our military risks everyday to keep us free. In reality we are not that far removed from the fight that is going on in Iran right now. Celebrate your freedom and remember those who are oppressed around the world. There but for the grace of God and the bravery and wisdom of our founding fathers, go we.
Ron Scarbro June 20, 2009
Okay, Iran had their Presidential election. Seriously now, did anyone really believe that this would be a legitimate exercise? Iran is a Theocratic dictatorship. It is not a democracy. Freedom does not exist. In Iran free elections are a joke. My first question is why would they need a President anyway? After all, they have their "Supreme Leader". He is none other than Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei runs the show all the way. The President is nothing more than a puppet who happens to make a lot of noise and the noise he makes is what he is told to make.
The Iranian people are apparently upset now. It also appears that they are rioting and marching in the street. I hope they succeed, but it is none of our affair. The Iranian people must decide what kind of a government they want and they also have to decide what they are willing to do to make it happen. We will continue to be blamed for anything and everything that goes wrong in Iran anyway because it pleases the powers that be to do so. I recommend however that we just lay back and wait a bit. We cannot and should not try to pick a government for them. When and if the Iranians get serious about shedding their yoke of oppression, then we could possibly be called on to assist. If, however, Iran persists in its pursuit of nuclear weaponry, a situation which the West will not allow, it is the Iranian people who will have to pay the price.
The Ayatollah has threatened the people with certain bloodshed. I am sure he is not kidding. He knows that if he doesn't put this insurrection down right away, it will soon be unstoppable. He wouldn't last five minutes in a free state and he knows that.
I will draw this parallel. America decided to shed her oppressors a few years back. Brave men and women issued their Declaration of Independence. They knew they were inviting retaliation. They knew that they were committing treason and could face death, but this was the slogan of the day, "Give me liberty or give me death." It is just possible that the Iranian people are issuing their declaration now. I don't know if they will be successful. I don't know if they have the courage to see this to the end.
I have read that the vast majority of Iranians are young and smart. I have learned that they (the majority) want to live a freer more western lifestyle. That is not to say that they would give up their religion or its influence, it is just to say they want to modernize. We will see.
If they continue their fight, many of them will die in their attempt. They will become the martyrs that the Ayatollah doesn't want. I wish them well.
As we come into our own celebration of our independence, we should never take for granted what our founders risked in order for this country to establish itself. We must never take for granted what our military risks everyday to keep us free. In reality we are not that far removed from the fight that is going on in Iran right now. Celebrate your freedom and remember those who are oppressed around the world. There but for the grace of God and the bravery and wisdom of our founding fathers, go we.
Ron Scarbro June 20, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
JUNE'S MORON OF THE MONTH
JUNE'S MORON OF THE MONTH
I know you have all been waiting with bated breath for the naming of this month's honoree. It has not been an easy decision. Again there are so many candidates. For a long time, a certain nationally televised comedian was the leader of the pack. I am sure you heard of the comment David Letterman stated in his monologue regarding Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter. What was supposed to pass as a joke went over very badly. Making jokes about sex with children is not funny. Making jokes about the children of politicians is not funny. As a matter of fact, anytime a comedian decides to use his national forum to spew his particular political opinion, he always ceases to be funny. I give you as examples Bill Maher, Garrison Keillor, and now of course David Letterman. No, these people will not be named as morons of the month because they are insignificant in the overall scheme of things.
June's moron of the month is none other than Nancy Pelosi. There are many reasons for naming her but the latest is her insistence that CIA photos of so-called torture of retained terrorists at Gitmo be released to the media. This even though her own party's President has said no. In some ways I feel sorry for Pelosi. She has to pander to an extremely left wing segment of the Democrat party to stay in power and at the same time she has to be loyal to the party as a whole. This is in addition to the fact that she represents San Francisco, a city widely known as an Un-American community.
Nancy Pelosi needs to take a good hard look at loyalty, and what that means. Her first allegiance should be to the American people, not some political party or some sub-set of a political party. It has been reported that if these photos are released, our own troops will be further endangered in the world. There is nothing to gain and possibly much to lose if the pictures are released and published.
To my way of thinking, Pelosi is the epitome of the "Peter Principle". She has been promoted and promoted to the point where she has at last reached her maximum level of incompetence. The idea that San Francisco wants her as their representative is not a problem for me. The problem comes when she uses her seniority to become a national figure. Now she is third in line to be President of the US. Are you kidding me? This is combined with the fact that the number two in line is Joe Biden. When the electorate of this country decides it wants change they really do it up right. Oh well, that is another column for another time. Today we celebrate just one moron, Nancy Pelosi.
I have previously written in the continuing saga of Pelosi of her statement that the CIA lied to her or at least didn't inform her of their tactics when we know from the evidence that they did inform her years ago. The CIA regularly briefs Congress of their comings and goings. Isn't it funny how the whole matter of CIA lying has just disappeared from the media spotlight? Is it possible that Pelosi doesn't really want an investigation after all?
Well there you have it, June's Moron of the Month. Stay tuned as we sift through the many possibilities in the months to come.
Ron Scarbro June 15, 2009
I know you have all been waiting with bated breath for the naming of this month's honoree. It has not been an easy decision. Again there are so many candidates. For a long time, a certain nationally televised comedian was the leader of the pack. I am sure you heard of the comment David Letterman stated in his monologue regarding Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter. What was supposed to pass as a joke went over very badly. Making jokes about sex with children is not funny. Making jokes about the children of politicians is not funny. As a matter of fact, anytime a comedian decides to use his national forum to spew his particular political opinion, he always ceases to be funny. I give you as examples Bill Maher, Garrison Keillor, and now of course David Letterman. No, these people will not be named as morons of the month because they are insignificant in the overall scheme of things.
June's moron of the month is none other than Nancy Pelosi. There are many reasons for naming her but the latest is her insistence that CIA photos of so-called torture of retained terrorists at Gitmo be released to the media. This even though her own party's President has said no. In some ways I feel sorry for Pelosi. She has to pander to an extremely left wing segment of the Democrat party to stay in power and at the same time she has to be loyal to the party as a whole. This is in addition to the fact that she represents San Francisco, a city widely known as an Un-American community.
Nancy Pelosi needs to take a good hard look at loyalty, and what that means. Her first allegiance should be to the American people, not some political party or some sub-set of a political party. It has been reported that if these photos are released, our own troops will be further endangered in the world. There is nothing to gain and possibly much to lose if the pictures are released and published.
To my way of thinking, Pelosi is the epitome of the "Peter Principle". She has been promoted and promoted to the point where she has at last reached her maximum level of incompetence. The idea that San Francisco wants her as their representative is not a problem for me. The problem comes when she uses her seniority to become a national figure. Now she is third in line to be President of the US. Are you kidding me? This is combined with the fact that the number two in line is Joe Biden. When the electorate of this country decides it wants change they really do it up right. Oh well, that is another column for another time. Today we celebrate just one moron, Nancy Pelosi.
I have previously written in the continuing saga of Pelosi of her statement that the CIA lied to her or at least didn't inform her of their tactics when we know from the evidence that they did inform her years ago. The CIA regularly briefs Congress of their comings and goings. Isn't it funny how the whole matter of CIA lying has just disappeared from the media spotlight? Is it possible that Pelosi doesn't really want an investigation after all?
Well there you have it, June's Moron of the Month. Stay tuned as we sift through the many possibilities in the months to come.
Ron Scarbro June 15, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
ARRESTED, CONVICTED, AND SENTENCED
Two intrepid reporters have been arrested in North Korea for the crime of entering that country illegally. You have surely heard about this one. They are Laura Ling and Euna Lee. These two young ladies were reportedly researching a story about the treatment of refugees along the China/North Korean border when they entered North Korea. It is extremely difficult to know the true story but there is some information here that needs to be discussed.
These ladies appear to be working for some sort of media organization owned by Al Gore. But this isn't about Gore. It isn't even about the North Koreans. No this is about two rather naive people putting themselves and their country in serious jeopardy. They were of course tried and convicted of the illegal entry and then sentenced to twelve years in prison. Now the fun begins.
Because of their actions, we will now have to give the North Koreans many concessions in order to get them released. Negotiations have already begun. This fits right into the North Korean's plan. Instead of more sanctions, we will probably wind up giving them money, food, and who knows what else just to get these two ladies out of there. For us it is a nightmare. For the North Koreans it is a propaganda coupe. All of this because of two silly young girls being somewhere they shouldn't be doing something they shouldn't be doing.
What should be our response? How much should we give up to spring these women? I am tempted to leave them where they are and let them serve out their twelve year sentence as an example to others who would take these stupid chances. They remind me of the idiots who went to Iraq and decided to put themselves in front of our soldiers in order to protect the people of Iraq. We know what happened of course, Saddam used them to protect not the Iraqi people but instead as protection of his army and his weapons. They were lucky to get out alive.
No, we will not let them sit in prison. Just like we did not let the young lady reporter stay in prison in Iran. We negotiated her release by giving up who knows what. Again I ask the question, why was she there? She surely knew that Iran has declared war on this country and will not rest until we knock some sense into them.
I think this is what should now happen. First we do what we have to do to get these two women out of North Korea. When they get back here, they should not get a ticker tape parade. No they should be sent to one of our prisons to serve out their twelve year sentence. If that sounds harsh, I'm sorry. We cannot continue to allow people to put themselves and this country in jeopardy by stupid actions. The next thing we should do is clear. We should punish North Korea in such a way as they would think twice before messing with an American citizen ever. I am not talking about sending them a nasty letter from the UN. I am not talking about blockading their ports. No I am talking about taking out a serious amount of their real estate. They and the rest of the world need to know that we will not allow these types of actions to go unpunished.
The reason these little third rate countries do what they do is they believe it is in their interest to do so. They do not think there will be any penalty. Why would they? We don't have a very good record of retaliation, do we?
These ladies, the two in North Korea and the one who was just released from Iran are not heroes. They should not be treated as such. They are people who for whatever reason, put America in peril. Their actions were not heroic. Who knows what the cost of this will eventually be?
Finally everyone needs to understand the reality of today's world. These are not normal intelligent people with whom we are dealing. These are tyrants who would think nothing of slaughtering people by the thousands. The sooner we all come to this realization, the better off we will be. America needs to let the rest of the world understand that there is a price to pay for crimes committed against us.
Ron Scarbro June 8, 2009
These ladies appear to be working for some sort of media organization owned by Al Gore. But this isn't about Gore. It isn't even about the North Koreans. No this is about two rather naive people putting themselves and their country in serious jeopardy. They were of course tried and convicted of the illegal entry and then sentenced to twelve years in prison. Now the fun begins.
Because of their actions, we will now have to give the North Koreans many concessions in order to get them released. Negotiations have already begun. This fits right into the North Korean's plan. Instead of more sanctions, we will probably wind up giving them money, food, and who knows what else just to get these two ladies out of there. For us it is a nightmare. For the North Koreans it is a propaganda coupe. All of this because of two silly young girls being somewhere they shouldn't be doing something they shouldn't be doing.
What should be our response? How much should we give up to spring these women? I am tempted to leave them where they are and let them serve out their twelve year sentence as an example to others who would take these stupid chances. They remind me of the idiots who went to Iraq and decided to put themselves in front of our soldiers in order to protect the people of Iraq. We know what happened of course, Saddam used them to protect not the Iraqi people but instead as protection of his army and his weapons. They were lucky to get out alive.
No, we will not let them sit in prison. Just like we did not let the young lady reporter stay in prison in Iran. We negotiated her release by giving up who knows what. Again I ask the question, why was she there? She surely knew that Iran has declared war on this country and will not rest until we knock some sense into them.
I think this is what should now happen. First we do what we have to do to get these two women out of North Korea. When they get back here, they should not get a ticker tape parade. No they should be sent to one of our prisons to serve out their twelve year sentence. If that sounds harsh, I'm sorry. We cannot continue to allow people to put themselves and this country in jeopardy by stupid actions. The next thing we should do is clear. We should punish North Korea in such a way as they would think twice before messing with an American citizen ever. I am not talking about sending them a nasty letter from the UN. I am not talking about blockading their ports. No I am talking about taking out a serious amount of their real estate. They and the rest of the world need to know that we will not allow these types of actions to go unpunished.
The reason these little third rate countries do what they do is they believe it is in their interest to do so. They do not think there will be any penalty. Why would they? We don't have a very good record of retaliation, do we?
These ladies, the two in North Korea and the one who was just released from Iran are not heroes. They should not be treated as such. They are people who for whatever reason, put America in peril. Their actions were not heroic. Who knows what the cost of this will eventually be?
Finally everyone needs to understand the reality of today's world. These are not normal intelligent people with whom we are dealing. These are tyrants who would think nothing of slaughtering people by the thousands. The sooner we all come to this realization, the better off we will be. America needs to let the rest of the world understand that there is a price to pay for crimes committed against us.
Ron Scarbro June 8, 2009
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