LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE

North Korea announced they have exploded a hydrogen bomb. Our government says they didn’t. Who is lying? The smart money would say that because of their propensity to lie, we should automatically think North Korea is the liar. It is tempting to believe that our government is not the liar, but…..

Let’s talk about the propensity to lie. Lying when it is politically expedient to do so. Lying when it serves a particular agenda. Lying when it hides facts that would otherwise be politically damaging. Lying because the truth would be embarrassing. Let’s face it, lying has become almost normal in these times.

If one lies in a court of law, they can be charged with perjury. If one lies when advertising a product, they can be sued for false advertising. If an employee lies on the job, they can and probably would be fired. Lying is wrong on every level.

So how is it possible for political candidates running for office to lie about their accomplishments or their opponents’ lack of accomplishment? How is it possible for our government, through the President or the Secretary of State, to lie about treaties with rogue governments, ransom paid for hostage release, attacks that were because of planned enemy actions instead of videos, or lying to get legislation through the Congress to forever alter our healthcare system?

If you were an employer and potential employees lied on their employment applications, you would never hire them. If, as that same employer, employees lied to you about their job performance to make themselves look good, you would fire them. If you were a judge in a court of law and you encountered a liar, you would have him arrested for perjury. Why, then, do we allow our employees, our government employees, to lie and get away with it?

We are the employer. The President, the Secretary of State, the Congress, and all government workers, are our employees. Candidates for office are trying to convince you of their ability to be your employee. You as a voter must pick and choose who you will employ. Why would you put up with a pathological liar? Remember the childhood adage, “Liar liar pants on fire?” When did this all change?

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to believe what we are being told on a daily basis? The credibility of government officials has been corroded. It didn’t start with this administration either. Lying to get your programs approved has been the order of business for quite some time. Lying to get elected has been going on forever.

Here’s a proposal. Starting with this election let’s require all candidates to submit to a polygraph examination and then face questions from everyday people. Liars would be summarily disqualified. The problem is there would not be anyone left to run for office. That’s a sad state of affairs, isn’t it?

The reality is that we get the kind of government we choose. If we choose liars and untrustworthy people to serve in positions of power, we deserve no better. As I look at the field of candidates for President this election, I am appalled. The Democrats are running a proven self-serving liar who would say anything anytime to get elected. She may well be under indictment before the election anyway. She has little or no opposition in her own party.

The Republicans are not without their problems. As we have heard from this huge herd of candidates, all we get is complaint about each other and very little about how the problems of this country are going to be solved. They are not giving us much to go on.

We need to root out the liars. We need to send them packing. As a country we deserve better. It is going to be up to us.

Ron Scarbro

WHERE DO YOU STAND?

As I look at the political situation today and as we face another election season, I ask myself, in my quieter moments, what do I believe and what are my various positions? Why do I more closely relate with Republicans than with Democrats? Another question I have is why is my thinking so different from the so-called mainstream media? After all, these are highly educated people who should know better than me. If we read the “elite” media or listen to their newscasts it becomes clear that they are of one mind and it is not the way I think. So, who’s right and who is wrong?

I am going to lay out some of my positions and compare them with what I believe the opposition’s positions are to see where I stand.

First and foremost I believe the US Constitution is the supreme law of this land. It is not a living document. It should be followed as written. The authors of that document gave us the ability to change it if it becomes necessary. The amendment process is clearly laid out and that should be the only way any change is made to it.

I believe in personal responsibility. One is responsible for one’s own choices and should be held accountable for those choices. I believe in law and order. If one chooses to disobey a law, they should be held responsible for that violation. I believe penal institutions are first for penal purposes and second for rehabilitation. I believe if you do not like a particular law, then you should work to change that law, not break it. That’s called anarchy.

I believe in a strong military which is the best deterrent to enemies who would challenge us. I also think everyone who is privileged to live in this great country owes some service to the country through military service or through some other avenue. Personally I would reinstitute the draft.

I am okay with foreign aid with some caveats. If you are in an airplane and you lose cabin pressure, you are told to put your mask on first before you assist anyone else. Makes sense, right? You cannot help anyone else if you are incapacitated. Why would we spend billions helping other countries around the world when we need so much here at home? Our senior citizens as well as our veterans should take precedence over any foreign government. We cannot buy friendship so we should quit trying. Let’s take care of ourselves first.

I do not believe in income or wealth redistribution. I should be able to keep for myself what I have legally earned. If others refuse to work they should suffer the consequence of their choice. There needs to be a welfare system for those truly in need because of situations beyond their control but not generations of families on the dole. That’s not need, it’s greed.

I believe the climate of the earth is changing. It has been changing since its inception. Human activity is no more responsible today than it was the last time warming occurred after an icy period. Since the beginning of time the earth has experienced periods of warming and cooling. Deal with it.

I believe “political correctness” is a liberal invention designed to stifle free speech and expression with which they disagree and should be done away with.

I describe my thinking as traditional American. It is neither Republican nor Democrat. Democrats like Harry Truman would be right by my side along with Republican Ronald Reagan. Our country, with its freedom-tested traditions, doesn’t need any “fundamental” change. I believe my positions are right, period.

Today’s liberals are getting farther out and away from these traditions. Examine your positions and see where you stand.

Ron Scarbro

THE GIFT OF LOVE

About ten years ago my grandchildren were busy playing in their room. Nic was eight and his sister Scout was five. Things suddenly got quiet, very quiet. Now if you are a parent you know this can’t be good. Rambunctious kids are loud and rarely quiet. Things happen when children are left in the care of their father. Later when my daughter, Heather, got back home, what she found was troubling at best as well as frightening.

It seems the kids had decided that Scout needed a haircut. She even decided she would pay her brother twenty-five cents for the job. Nic, ever the helpful one, jumped at the chance to earn the quarter. He became the beautician. He grabbed his scissors and cut her hair. All of her hair. When the dust settled Scout had a very boyish look. You can imagine what she looked like after an eight year old decided to shear her locks.

Heather immediately scooped her up and took her to her best friend, Cindy, who happened to be a world class beautician. Cindy began the process of attempting to make a presentable hairdo out of the mess. It worked. She had a sort of pixie like cut which just made her even cuter to her grandpa. I loved the look.

Well Scout didn’t. She lived with it for a while but decided in the end that she would let her hair grow forever. She kept that promise to herself until today.

Over the Christmas season Scout began to think of gifts, both the receiving of gifts and the giving of gifts. She did some research and discovered there were many young girls who, because of medical conditions as well as cancer treatments, had no hair and couldn’t grow hair. She came to another decision. She decided she would cut her hair and donate it to Wigs for Kids.

Her gift was a tress of hair that measured about two feet in length, naturally curly, and a beautiful honey brown color. We hope and trust that it will be put to good use creating wigs for young ladies who have suffered the loss of their natural hair.

I’m telling you this because I am so proud of this young lady. She, of course, will be as cute as ever if not cuter. But her heart is and will always be beautiful. She loved her long hair. She wore it in many ways. She would sometimes feel sophisticated and wear it up in a stylish “French Curl.” Sometimes she would just allow herself to be a young girl and put in a pony tail. In all these years I have never seen her hair in need of attention. Even as she loved the hair, she decided to gift it to others who were not so fortunate to grow their own. That is truly a gift of love.

I understand as her grandpa I might be a little prejudiced but I have every reason to be. She is smart, gorgeous, and headed for a bright future. She plans to attend the Naval Academy and make the Navy a career. She has been home schooled and has passed her ACT with flying colors.

Both she and her brother are headed in the right direction with a complete understanding of the value of a gift and the value of love. In fact Nic insisted that he be present when Scout had her hair cut for the donation and he filmed the entire event. As for me, I guess as grandpa I’ll just continue to be amazed, oh and I’ll  continue to brag.

Ron Scarbro

P.S. I just learned that Scout has set up a fundraising site to help transform her donated hair into wigs.  For more information visit her site at "Help Me Help Kids"  event page. http://wigsforkidsday.donordrive.com/campaign/EmilysHair.  Thank you.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH, OUR MOST IMPORTANT RIGHT

I watched on TV as a young black girl, probably a student, explode in a profanity laced tirade against a professor at Yale University. Her mother must be very proud. The issue was a letter which the professor’s wife apparently had written stating that people should be a bit more tolerant of others choices of Halloween costumes and not be so offended. Seems innocent enough to me, but no. According to this young lady, along with others in the perpetually offended community, it was not innocent. This young lady apparently believes she should not have to face any expression that displeases her. The new thinking seems to be that no one should ever have to experience offense, period, and that no one has freedom of speech or expression that is offensive to her. Well I’ve got some bad news for this young girl. In this free country we do have that freedom and if she is offended by anything someone says, tough. She, nor anyone, is guaranteed a life free of offense.

There is a serious movement on some campuses today to repeal the First Amendment. In other words, some want the right of free speech to be curtailed so as not to be offensive to anyone. Certain words cannot be used. Historical flags must be destroyed. History must be rewritten to keep anyone from being offended. As a test of this new thinking, independent filmmaker Ami Horowitz recently visited Yale University attempting to get signatures on a petition to repeal the First Amendment. In less than an hour he had fifty signatures. These obviously spoiled youngsters have no knowledge of what this country is all about.

Today I offer you this lesson. Some say certain lives matter. Really? Do you want your life to matter? Then do something that matters. Create, build, discover, do anything that makes your life and others better. Get an education, get a job, respect law, be a good citizen. That’s how you make your life matter. One matters because of who they are and ultimately what they do, not what they are. No group in this country should be separated out for any special reward or punishment simply because of their race.

We are rapidly approaching a point in this country when the majority will no longer tolerate the whining and complaining of any minority group. If you are a citizen of America, you already are ahead of most of the world. How many people throughout this world do you think would trade places with the poorest American living in the worst ghetto? I would guess millions.

So then part two of the lesson today is to look around you. See what you are blessed to have. To the young lady screaming profanities at the Yale professor, how many people do you suppose would love to be a student at one of the most prestigious universities in the world? You are fortunate beyond your wildest dreams. If you don’t mess it up by your terrible attitude and your foul mouth, you will probably graduate with the prospect of a great career and fantastic earning potential.

All of us have the choice of being a force for good or being a part of the problem. As Americans we are all guaranteed opportunity but there is no guarantee for success. That is determined by our talent, our intelligence, and our hard work. This world is going to continue to need intelligent movers and shakers. The society of the perpetually offended will rightfully fall by the wayside.

Ron Scarbro