IS IT STEUBENVILLE OR STUPIDVILLE?

You surely have heard about the rape case in Steubenville, or is it Stupidville, Ohio? That’s what my granddaughter thought was the name of the city. A large number of teenagers were having a party and at some time that evening a sixteen year old girl was raped. Many of the details have been reported but a number of facts have been left out.

This is what we know. The victim, a sixteen year old, got blind drunk and was stripped of her clothing and raped by two boys, both star football players on their high school team, one also sixteen and one seventeen. The two boys were subsequently arrested, tried, and convicted. Both will serve time in juvenile detention.

This is also what we know from the reporting. The victim found out what had happened to her by viewing the incident on social media. You see, several youngsters at the party recorded the event with their cell phone cameras and posted it online. The perpetrators themselves posted pictures of the little sixteen year old, stripped naked, on social media sites. I guess they all thought it was funny. All, that is, except the victim.

I am pleased to say that the perps have been convicted and will serve time; one got one year and the other got two years in detention. They cried at the sentencing, not for the victim, but for themselves, saying their lives were over. Of course their lives are not over, but they will substantially change.

I have a few more questions which have not as yet been answered. Like, whose house was used for this party? What parents allowed a bunch of teenagers use of their house to have a drunken party? And have arrest warrants been issued for them yet? Secondly, who bought the booze for this party? Apparently there was a lot of liquor and beer available for these kids. Isn’t that against the law? Has anybody been arrested yet? Another question I have is have any of the witnesses been charged for their failure to report a crime? I have also learned that many of the teens lied to police about the incident. That too is a felony. Posting child nudity online is another felony. One of the rapists got extra time for doing that but he was not the only poster. Many of the people who attended the party took pictures and posted them online. I guess, again, they thought it was funny. There were doubtless many other adults who knew of this incident and kept quiet. Perhaps coaches and teachers?

With all that we don’t know about this crime, there is much we know. We know there is good reason why kids should not be allowed to drink alcohol. The little victim was stupid for putting herself in the position she did, but her crime of stupidity didn’t warrant the punishment she received. We know there are yet a number of people who should face criminal charges for their participation in these crimes and there were many crimes committed. Ohio’s Attorney General has announced that more indictments are forthcoming. I hope that is true.

I am very sorry for this little girl and for what she has endured, but I am also sorry for our society that such crimes could happen. It saddens me to know that so many young people could and would participate in such an incident and then try to keep it quiet. It is long past the time for the heavy hand of the law to strike. Punishment is in order. Lessons need to be learned. Steubenville, as well as the rest of us, needs those lessons.

Ron Scarbro March 27, 2013

HOW AND WHY?

Scientists say they have discovered the long sought Higgs boson particle. It has been identified as the “God” particle. We are being told today that now scientists can finally explain exactly how the universe was created using pure physics. This new discovery has been called the “missing link.” We are being told that unimaginable new discoveries will now take place because of this discovery. Horizons which we were previously unable to attain are now at our fingertips. We are going to be amazed. Okay, go ahead, amaze me. Tell me how this all came to be.  

When I was a senior in high school we had a motto. “He who knows how will find his place in life. He who knows why will be his boss.” Concerning this new discovery, I love discovery. I love research. I love learning new things and I believe most scientists do as well. But, knowing how the universe was created, while that is very valuable information to be sure, does not explain why the universe was created. To call this new discovery the “God” particle as an explanation of creation which eliminates the necessity of actually having God in the equation, may satisfy some curious minds, but it does not satisfy mine.

Some time ago the late comedian Dave Gardner asked this simple question. “If this is the earth and all of our universe, and all that humans can comprehend, and if that is all we can imagine, what’s all that around it? What is it hanging from? What is it sitting on?” In other words, if the Higgs boson particle is the “missing link,” who created it? Where did it come from?

I personally am amazed by scientific discovery. I am entertained by the many and  varied explanations of our creation. I know that most of those who attempt these explanations are sincere. But, I would rather listen to a Baptist preacher from a tiny church in a tiny community explain why we were created than the most exalted and intelligent physicist try to explain how we were created.

Why am I here? And where is here? Are humans just an accident of evolution? Is a sunrise on a warm spring day with colors of purple and orange and pink, with gentle breezes blowing in my face the result of some particles accidentally bumping into each other? Is a cold winter night with a full moon shining on newly fallen snow hushing the sounds of the world the result of random movement through an unimaginable universe with no one  in control? I think not. When I look into the face of my beautiful wife or my equally beautiful children and grandchildren am I to believe that all of this is just an accident?

The older I have gotten the less proof I need of my faith. The older I get the more I can accept by that faith the things which some feel compelled to scientifically explain.

I am neither a scientist nor am I a religious scholar. I am just a simple man who has questioned many things in my life. Like the difference between wisdom and intelligence. Now I have learned that perhaps wisdom is a commodity reserved for the old. Perhaps as we age, we find peace in the simple explanations. Perhaps the hows in life fall away and are taken over by the whys. I just know it works for me.

Ron Scarbro

WE NEED A DEPARTMENT OF LOUISE

Some years ago famed newspaper columnist Dave Barry offered a way for our country to deal with runaway government. He proposed “The Dept.of Louise.” Louise, a 38 year old mother of three, totally involved with the laundry, PTA, grocery shopping, and soccer practice, would be consulted before any government action or spending could occur. “Louise, we need twenty million dollars to build a new landing strip for wild geese.” And Louise would say NO. “Louise, we need ten million to study the sex habits of the Ugandan box turtle.” And Louise would say NO. “Louise, we need to eliminate the second amendment and greatly change the first and the tenth. In fact we need to throw out the whole Constitution and write a new one which would better serve our special interest.” And Louise would say NO and you have to hurry because I have to pick up my kids from soccer practice.

We, the people, need to find our backbones and say to the bully government, NO. A government which decries bullying in schools is the biggest bully of them all in every aspects of human interaction and they need to hear the word NO from us.

Some moronic State Senator in Florida is proposing legislation which would require any purchaser of  ammunition to take an anger management course and have a waiting period. Colorado is proposing an end to pump shotguns. ICE is releasing thousands of illegal immigrants to prey upon the citizens. All across the country  government agencies are bullying the American people by instituting rules and regulations with little or no thought as to the outcome. To all of these idiots I have one word, NO. We are free people who have been endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Our Founding Fathers knew what government oppression was. They lived with it everyday. They knew what government overreach was. Our Constitution was written to protect us from our government. Our freedoms are not granted by the Constitution, they are our unalienable right. They were granted to us by our Creator. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights were designed to keep government off our backs and their boots off our necks. As free people we decide what is best for us. There is no person or group of persons on earth intelligent enough to decide what is best for me. I make that decision. Sorry Mayor Bloomberg but it is my decision whether I will buy sodas in 60, 80, or even 100 ounce containers. It is my decision as to what cooking oil I will use. It is my decision whether I will allow my offspring to nurse or take formula. It is none of your damn business. Take care of yourself and I will take care of me and mine. Stop trying to bully me.

Louise, where are you now that we so desperately need you? Where are the people who will just say no to our runaway government? We have a book of rules. We have a manual of operations. We have the law. We, the American people, have the U.S. Constitution. I regularly re-read it. I often refer to the Bill of Rights. Those individuals whom we have hired to serve us as representatives need to also re-read these documents. Many seem to have forgotten what is written there.

Everyone who serves in government has to swear an oath to uphold the Constitution from the president on down. None are exempt from that requirement. It is incumbent upon us, the voters, to hold their feet to the fire. I’m pretty sure no one in Washington wants to hear from Louise.

Ron Scarbro

THE SKY IS FALLING, THE SKY IS FALLING

Wasn’t it Chicken Little who ran around screaming “The sky is falling, the sky is falling?” Or was that Obama? I am referring to the most recent crisis de jour coming out of the White House, the sequester.

We have been treated to a litany of dire predictions preceding the sequester. We would have to close down our airports, thousands of teachers would have to be laid off, and we would have to empty our jails because we could not support the prisoners. They have already started releasing imprisoned illegal aliens. They intend to release 5000 over a one month period. National parks would have to close. Etc., etc. Blah, blah, blah.

Well, of course, the problems as described by the President were all lies. Why should we be surprised by that? We have been lied to for several years by this administration. Since those lies didn’t work to cause Congress to act to prevent the sequester, plan B now goes into effect. That is to blame the Republicans in Congress for the cuts caused by this sequester. Never mind that this time the sequester was Obama’s idea in the first place or that he is on record saying that if the Congress tried in any way to change it, he would veto that effort. All of which has been reported by big time liberal reporter Bob Woodward, the author of Nixon’s downfall, who incidentally has been threatened by the White House for reporting these facts.

What is really going on here? I think Obama never believed it would come to this. He thought Congress would step in and stop the automatic cuts. Really, he never wanted to cut anything. He just wants to spend and unless Congress approves tax increases, that cannot happen. President Chicken Little can scream all he wants but it is the Congress that has the power to raise taxes.

Let us understand what the sequester is all about. This act requires government agencies to reduce their budgetary expectation by 2.4%. They are not expected to cut their existing budget, just to reduce their increase by a mere 2.4%. All of the fear mongering about this issue is just moronic silliness.

Congressional Republicans should embrace these cuts, not run from them. This could be the start of some real reduction in the runaway spending in Washington. Obama seems to think if he can blame someone else, the Republicans in Congress, for these minor cuts, he might be able to retake the House in the next election. He should instead take a look at the most recent poll which says 83% of those polled believe Washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. This could easily be a winning position for Republicans.

There is a clear reality. This country cannot continue to spend the way it has in the past. It is just not sustainable. The Congress should now take advantage of the puny start this act has given them and get busy and show a little backbone. Today it is pennies. Tomorrow it could be true cuts and real savings.

I have decided not to be guided for future decisions by what politicians say. I choose not to believe this President because he has a history of lies that cannot be denied. Let’s face it, he and the other politicians have all earned our skepticism. No, my future decisions will all based on what the financial markets have to say. If the stock market likes it, I like it.

Today the stock market is saying the sky's not falling. We need these cuts. We need the sequester. We just hit a new all time high on the Dow Jones Average. Now that’s a message I can believe.

Ron Scarbro