TRAITORS OR JUST MORONS?

I have been a music fan all of my life. I also have gone to many movies as well as live concerts. While I wouldn’t consider myself “star struck”, I do like to see the big names and watch them perform. I like to be entertained. I am probably like most everyone else in that regard.

From time to time however, we learn things about some of our so called heroes that surprise us, shock us, and sometimes even confound us. After all, they are just people. Talented, rich, and influential to be sure, but just people.

I, for example, am a fan of the music of the Dixie Chicks. These three young ladies are extremely talented musicians and singers. Not too long ago, one of them opened her mouth and spouted political opinions that cost them millions in money and untold prestige. They have never recovered and are now a footnote rather than a great musical act. They are still just as talented but they lost a huge portion of their audience. Barbra Streisand is a great talent. Her voice is angelic. Her politics stink. The problem is that you cannot just listen to her music without having to hear her politics. I pass. There are many others and that is okay. We have freedom of speech in this country. For the most part we are free to spout off at any time about anything that we feel. There are some restrictions of course, including but not limited to, libel, slander and treason. If the Dixie Chicks feel strongly about a political issue, I don’t care. I don’t have to listen to it. I also don’t have to ever spend another dollar in support of individuals who should just shut up and sing.

To me these are just morons not traitors. Jane Fonda is another issue completely, however. Hers was not political speech. She, to me, is a traitor. She probably caused the death of thousands of our military not to mention innocent civilians by her stupidity. I will never forgive her nor will I ever give her or anyone else like her a pass for their actions.

All of this brings me to singer Tony Bennett. In a recent radio interview he destroyed a lifetime of good will in about ten minutes. To paraphrase his comments, he opined that 9/11 was our fault. He further seemed to believe that we are really the terrorist in the world. In just a few minutes he lost millions of fans and showed the entire world who he is. Is he a traitor or just another Hollywood moron? I made my decision, you decide.

I have heard it said that we should just give him a pass because he is eighty-five years old. Nonsense. I will not give him a pass. Just a few short years ago in our history both he and Fonda would have been arrested and possibly executed for their actions and words. They have both made millions from the American people. They have lived the “good life”. They deserve nothing but disgust from me. There is a vast difference between political opinion and giving aid and comfort to our enemies. The former is a free speech issue and the latter is a serious crime. It is called treason. If you don’t know the difference, you probably should just keep your mouth shut.

I am tired of these so called stars who have made a fortune from the American people turning on them out of ignorance, stupidity, or just plain anti-Americanism. I have never watched a movie that Jane Fonda has made or looked at any tape she has produced since her little trip to Vietnam and now I plan never again to listen to anything Tony Bennett does. They both have become non-persons to me. I just wish we would enforce the laws we have on the books dealing with such traitors.

Ron Scarbro September 27, 2011

WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT

Wouldn’t it be great if just for one day every politician in the country had to tell the truth? No stretching for political purposes, just the cold, hard, truth. The truth regardless of who might get hurt. The truth regardless of who might benefit. I bet you and I would have a few questions.

I have been listening to the current debate over tax increases. Obama is proposing a “Warren Buffet” tax increase on the so called rich. Interesting name since Buffet wouldn’t be affected because he only takes a salary of $100,000.00 a year. His dividends from his billions in Berkshire/Hathaway however would not be subject to any increase nor would his massive wealth. Wouldn’t it be great if Buffet would pay the billion dollars he owes of unpaid taxes which he has been fighting for years? What a hypocrite.

Obama says tax increases would cause revenues to grow by enough to balance the budget and create jobs. The Republicans say that if taxes are increased on the job creators, unemployment will continue to grow higher and the economy will continue to tank. I don’t know whom to believe. I do know this however, some body’s lying. Wouldn’t it be great to really know who is telling the truth? If anyone?

Wouldn’t it be great to know where Obama was really born? Wouldn’t you like to know why he has a Connecticut issued Social Security card while he has never lived in Connecticut?

Wouldn’t it be great to know the last time Hillary actually spoke to Bill?

Wouldn’t it be great to know how much money is currently being hidden offshore? Business and private citizens alike ducking taxes by using this ploy? I would bet it is in the trillions.

Wouldn’t it be great to know the deals that are made in Congress that get laws passed and special exemptions for the big donors? How about if all politicians had to tell the truth about their “campaign contributions”? Not only how much but also who they are from and what they are promised in return. That would be revealing.

Wouldn’t it be great if the bumper sticker that says “celebrate diversity” didn’t also mean celebrate perversity?

How about the idea of picking up a copy of the New York Times or watching a news report from any of the big three network news programs and actually being able to believe what was reported?

Wouldn’t it be great if the whole concept of “political correctness” was buried in a really deep hole along with all the nonsense it causes? The idea seems to be the root of a lot of our problems and misery. It forbids our being honest about a number of things such as the real reason the black community is behind the white or Asian community. It also doesn’t allow us to even identify who our enemy is in this war we are fighting. What absolute nonsense.

Wouldn’t it be great if just once scientists, environmentalists, and weathermen would be honest about climate change? It has become a political lightning rod with no basis in scientific fact. If I see one more feature about a hapless polar bear swimming in open water looking for an iceberg, I am going to throw up. Climate change is inevitable. It has been happening since the dawn of this universe and it will continue long after man is gone and no amount of recycling, riding bicycles instead of gas guzzling SUVs, or forcing people to toss out their incandescent light bulbs is going to have anything to do with it. The climate is changing. Deal with it. Adapt or perish.

I guess what I would really like is truth. Unvarnished truth. Truth without agenda. Truth without strings attached. Truth without a profit motive. Just the truth. I just want my faith in government and institutions restored.

Wouldn’t that be great?

Ron Scarbro September 22, 2011

BUTT OUT, M.Y.O.B.

Michelle Obama is out and about attempting to control the portion size of meals offered by privately owned restaurants because she believes there is an epidemic of obesity. Mayor Bloomberg of New York has declared war on salt and certain cooking oils restaurants use for their preparation of meals. San Francisco is attempting to dictate whether a privately owned fast food company can offer a toy or a prize in their meals for kids. I could go on and on, like the controls on adult smoking. Some states are trying to control whether an adult can light up in a car if a child is present. How about seat belt laws or motorcycle helmet laws? Is there no end?

When the electorate chooses a representative to do the business of government, they are not choosing an emperor. Dictators need not apply. If I choose to eat salt by the pound and drink cooking oil by the gallon, that is my choice. I might even eat lard. There is no one on earth who is qualified by his intellect or his position to decide for me what is best for me. I decide when I go to bed and when I get up. I even decide whether or not I will even go to bed.

I point out these recent events to alert you to a relatively new phenomenon. That is the idea that the government has overstepped its boundaries and gotten involved with matters that are none of its business. Nowhere in our Constitution is there any requirement that government dictate what we should eat, drink, or how, as a business owner, I should sell my product. Nowhere is there anything about seat belts. How has this happened? Why are we letting this bunch of politicians, most of whom have never run a business or even worked in a real job, why are we letting them dictate to us?

It would be easy enough to pick on the Democrats because they are the ones in power for now, but they are not the only offenders. No. this has been going on for a long time. The Republicans also are guilty of these offenses.

Can you imagine what might be next? How about a requirement to wear helmets on a golf course? Or what about prohibiting anyone from going out into the sunlight without sunscreen? Maybe inspections of your home to make sure you are not using any “non-green” items? Those old light bulbs might cause global warming you know. The reality is if you can imagine it, some moron in some obscure government office can propose it and try to get support for it. Before you know it, a new regulation is on the books further interfering with your freedom of choice.

Here is my thinking. Attention government, butt out. Get out of my life and stay out of my life. Mind your own business. Michelle, if you are concerned about obesity, take care of your own family and yourself. Have you looked in the mirror lately? Mayor Bloomberg, if you worry about salt and cooking oil, decide for yourself what you eat or drink. I promise I will not ever try to force you to eat anything you don’t want. Be gracious enough to do the same for me. Leave private businesses alone to make their own decisions. They and they alone are responsible for their success or failure. Haven’t you politicians done enough to hamper business growth so far? If I ever decide I want to live under a dictatorship, I am sure I can find several to choose from.

To you my readers, wake up and smell the regulations. Look at the many freedoms we are losing everyday. We absolutely have to get a handle on it.

Ron Scarbro September 16, 2011

THE TRADITIONAL AMERICAN

Okay let’s see now. You have your Democrats, your Republicans, Socialists, Libertarians, Communists, Liberals, Conservatives, and who knows what else. Maybe just “I don’t cares.” Which one are you? This column will attempt to describe how I see myself . I hope you will read this and examine where you stand. What are you?

I see myself as a traditional American and this is how I describe a traditional American. I believe the Constitution is the absolute law of the land. It is not a living document but a literal set of laws and rights established by our founders to lead and guide us then, today, and into the future. I believe citizenship in this country requires personal responsibility whether that citizenship is by birth or by naturalization. I believe in law and order. If I don’t like a particular law, I still have to obey it until I can get it changed. Law breakers should be punished for their crimes not only to punish them but to protect the community as well. Failure on the part of the Judicial System cheats offenders of the lessons they should have received. I violate any law at my peril.

I am a capitalist. I am guaranteed by my citizenship freedom of opportunity. I am not guaranteed success. I have the freedom to try but that also means I could fail. That is on me. I am perfectly okay with helping less fortunate people with welfare. I am not okay with subsidizing generations of bums living off the largess of the taxpayers.

I support immigration. Legal immigration. I welcome new Americans. I reject trespassers who sneak into this country, living outside the law with stolen ID and phony documents. They all should be rounded up and sent to jail or sent back to  where they came from. Children of illegals born here are not legal citizens, period.

I do not believe in discrimination on racial grounds or for any other reason. That means I would never approve of lowering standards to allow less qualified individuals into any school, business, or government job. I certainly would not want a surgeon working on me who scraped by getting into medical school solely because he was black, homosexual, Baptist, or whatever.

Some who read this are probably saying that Ron must be a Republican. I do vote that way most of the time, but. While I believe in the sanctity of life, I support the death penalty. I also support a woman’s right to choose whether or not to continue a pregnancy. That is between her, her partner, and her doctor. It is none of the government’s business. I believe life begins at birth.

I am fortunate to have been born in America. I sat beside my mother and brothers and sister in church every Sunday. We had family re-unions often where all the aunts and uncles and cousins attended. I spent my teen years during the 50s. What a great time. I joined the Army at seventeen. Not for any patriotic reason but because I would have been drafted had I not. I spent the next fifty years working to make retirement possible. I raised two kids who are now good citizens. All of these things I see as traditions of America. I think it is difficult to truly understand American traditions if you never experienced them.

Many, many others had similar backgrounds and came away with a different political opinion. That is what being an American is all about.

I further believe those we have hired to do the business of government probably are all good Americans. Many are mislead but loyal Americans none the less. I will work to try to put people in office who think more like me. I believe that is what is best for the country. You may disagree and that is okay. That is a part of what makes us the greatest nation on earth. We must all keep our eyes on the prize and the prize is freedom, prosperity, and peace. If we do, regardless of our political affiliation, we all then should regard ourselves as traditional Americans.

Ron Scarbro September 12, 2011

SOME ELECTION THOUGHTS

Well here we are facing elections again. It is over a year away but the potential candidates are in full campaign mode. It seems that electioneering never ends. We no sooner end one until another begins. As I consider the last Presidential election some thoughts come to mind.

The election of Barak Obama happened because of the abject failure of the Republican Party. They made two primary mistakes. Number one was selecting John McCain as their candidate and number two was leaving the vetting of Obama to the Clinton machine. That machine failed. Here we are three years later and we still do not know anything about him. Rumors continue to fly as to his legitimacy as an American citizen by birth and his questionable social security number. I don’t know who to believe. Personally it doesn’t matter because even if he is legitimate, he still is unqualified to serve as President. His results have proven that conclusively.

Next year we have the opportunity to correct the mistakes of the past election. I just saw a Rasmussen poll that showed Rick Perry ahead of Obama 43% to 41%. I have seen other polls showing Mitt Romney doing equally as well. The reality of all the polls so far though is that no candidate is getting much more that 40% of the vote. Neither the challengers nor the incumbent.

Elections are won by candidates getting support from the independent voters to increase their 40% share. Obama probably has a 40% base just as any Republican would have. The battle is for the other 20%.

The President is going to address a joint session of Congress this week to lay out his “jobs program.”  Personally I’ll be watching the football game. I am convinced there will be much more helpful information offered by the game than any speech by the incompetent neophyte who is currently filling the office of President. I will know soon enough whether he offers anything substantial. The stock market will tell me. The market has already told me plenty.

As we look at the next election here is what I am hoping for. We need a President who is willing to work with business instead of against them. Business is the engine that fuels and moves our economy. It is not the government. All the government does is extract money from the producers and spend it on who knows what in order to win reelection. A growing number of big business people have banded together to stop all contributions to candidates until they get the message to stay out of business’ way and let America deal with their own problems. All government can do is exacerbate our problems. We need a candidate who has had an actual job before. We need a candidate who has run a business, met a payroll, hired employees, and met a business plan. For me it would also be helpful if he were a military veteran. I am tired of Commanders in Chief who have never served in the military. I don’t particularly care whether the candidate is black or white, male or female, able bodied or physically challenged. I want a traditional American. Is that too much to ask?

In my next column I plan to discuss at length what being a traditional American means to me. I hope you will tune me in and perhaps we can begin a dialogue and  have a discussion over cyberspace concerning these matters.

Ron Scarbro September 5, 2011