BACK TO THE 50s AND 60s

I loved the 50s and the 60s. I remember them well. The question before us, is that where we are headed? Our economy has reduced by 20% in the last three weeks. My personal holdings have lost 25% in the same period. Is it just a matter of time before we are back there? 

I bought my first house in the 60s for $16,500. It was a cute little three bedroom two bath very livable home. At the time my wife was pregnant and I was making about $500 per month. Sound familiar? The home we are living in now cost me $165,00. It is also a three bedroom two bath very liveable little home. So, what’s the difference? There was just another zero added to the price. Oh, and I don’t make $500 per month now. 

Seriously. I understand what the government is trying to do. The theory is that if we just keep away from each other, we can stop this virus from spreading. I certainly hope so. Sometimes I wonder if the cure isn’t worse than the disease though. 

Another question I have is, how long do you suppose the American people will put up with these restrictions? Here in Georgia, our local government has closed the beaches. What? The beaches? My wife and I went out to dinner last night to celebrate her birthday and we were the only people in the restaurant. In Florida, the Governor has closed all restaurants and bars for about three weeks. Their beaches are also closed to humans. I heard California has also closed all restaurants. It doesn’t surprise me. After all, it’s California, the land of fruits and nuts. I am sure they will expect the rest of the country to bail them out when this is all over.

I truly feel so sorry for all those people who, as we did back in the 50s and 60s, live from paycheck to paycheck. That is a painful way to live. 

I also understand a lot of people are arming themselves and buying up ammunition. What’s that all about? This all will be over very soon. Do they think people will start going out looking to steal anything they can get their hands on?

Here’s the point of all this. The government experts believe this will all be over in just a few short weeks. I hope they are right. I truly don’t know how long the American people will allow themselves to be dictated to. America has prospered because we are a country of the people, by the people, and for the people. Just because there is a virus afoot, nothing has changed. 

So here is me, Mr. Patience, suggesting that we all just have to be patient. As the old people used to say, this too will pass. And I hope and believe it will pass soon. 

We are very near the end of this. The whole situation has been very revealing. I have seen grocery buyers hoarding all kinds of products, especially paper products. Many stores are empty because of this. Most shoppers however are dealing with the situation in a mature manner.

The economy is another matter. It takes much longer to fix messes like we have gotten ourselves into. The inordinate fear and panic that has spread is sad. It will take courage and time for this all to work through.

We have fought many wars in our history. We won them all. That's what we do. We win our wars and we will win this one as well. Exhale. Breathe. By summer this will all be behind us. 

Patience, patience, patience.

Ron Scarbro 

March 22, 2020

SAVE YOUR TOILET PAPER, YOU NEVER KNOW

You probably asked yourself, when is he going to write about the “coronavirus?” Well fear not. Today is the day. 

In my lifetime and with a study of recent history, I cannot find or remember any time when the entire world has been brought to its knees by the threat of an upper respiratory infection. This essay will not attempt to underestimate this virus and its potential deadly results. I am sure in the right situation it can and does kill. But it also seems most people who are infected recover with no ill effects. So far the ones in this country who have died from this disease have been older individuals who were otherwise compromised by existing preconditions and general frailty. 

What continues to confound me is the effort by the media all over the world to frighten people. Sporting events have been canceled. Movies, restaurants and bars are closing. Gatherings of any size are just not happening. At a time when people want to escape their homes after a long winter, everything is closed down. Schools and colleges are just shutting down. Events long in the planning are being summarily eliminated without regard to the millions being lost in the process.

Don’t even try to go to the grocery store. The crowds are massive and the shelves are empty. Traffic is unbelievable. It seems everybody is trying to stock up on toilet paper and anything else they think they might need. My question is, for what? Toilet paper? What’s that all about? 

The Stock Market has given away trillions of dollars in value as frightened traders bail out on their investment plans. Do they figure that the world is coming to an end? Millions of people will either be laid off or otherwise lose their jobs. Sporting events and their venues will face huge losses as this charade plays out. And for what?

Now, I am going to make some predictions. I’ll preface this by assuring you all that I am no expert on anything. I am not a medical doctor. I am not a prophet. What I am is just a normal man who is overwhelmed by the recent few days and the irrational response by our governments and our people. The sky is not falling and we are not all going to die. At least not from the coronavirus. The odds are more likely that an airplane will fall from the sky and hit you on your head. Far more people will die from the seasonal flu than will ever be affected by this new virus. In fact the numbers are not even close.

So, what’s this all about? This column is about the good news. In this country with a population of approximately 350,000,000, only 81 people have died from this new disease. If you were trying to calculate odds, you couldn’t even come up with a number of what the odds of dying from the corona virus could be. How many people do you suppose have been killed in car accidents in the last two months, which is how long we have been dealing with this virus? I heard recently 81 deaths is just a good weekend in Chicago. I would imagine more people would die from bee stings than from this virus. 

I am not making light of all this. I am just pointing out the silliness of the world wide panic. In a couple of months this “pandemic” will be behind us. We will turn on our television news and actually see news. Oh, and there will be other things to frighten us. That just seems to be the way things are. 

In the meantime, be safe. Wash your hands. Practice good hygiene. Don’t give in to the fear that is being spread. And, for goodness sake, guard your toilet paper. You never know.

Ron Scarbro March 17, 2020

IT HAS BEEN QUITE A WEEK

It has been quite a week. The Democrats have now seriously thinned down their candidates. Basically we are down to two, Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. Elizabeth Warren finally saw the handwriting on the wall and pulled the plug. 

Just a few days ago the Biden campaign was floundering and on life support. Today it has found new life. A number of what they call establishment middle-of-the-roaders have endorsed him and jump started his bid. 

What does this all mean to Sanders? Well, it's not good. It is pretty clear the powers that be in the Democrat party also saw some handwriting somewhere. They know Sanders has absolutely no chance of ever winning a national election. This country will never actually choose socialism. Socialism can only occur in this country by a very bloody revolution and that is equally unlikely regardless of how many millennials try to make it happen. Based on all that has occurred in the last few days, it is obvious the Dems have picked Biden to be their standard bearer. It is also obvious to me that many, if not most, of Sanders supporters will probably sit this election out. That’s fine with me.

Some of you may recall a few months ago I wrote in this column that the Republicans had the goods on Biden but had hoped to hold off until he was for a certainty the Democrat choice. The impeachment fiasco interfered with those plans. Biden and his family were seriously harmed by revelations during those hearings and the mock trial. Those revelations pale however to what is coming next. Biden and his family are dirty and all the evidence proving that will soon be on full display. 

Also, in these past few days Chuckie Schumer showed the world his true colors again. He stood on the steps of the Supreme Court and threatened two sitting Supreme Court Judges by name. He has since tried to walk it back to no avail. Like Trump said, if Schumer was a Republican he would have already been arrested. His actions were dangerous and irresponsible. A censure resolution has been introduced in the Senate. I hope it gets passed. Schumer is an embarrassment to his party and to this country.

The FISA Court is also under investigation. Some very curious Senators want to know how unproven and unverified evidence could have been acceptable by the court who then issued warrants to spy on Americans. It is a little curious, isn’t it? A lot of people were put in compromising positions because of this illegal act by the FBI and the FISA court.

Some more bad news for the Democrats but very good news for America is that over the next four years President Trump will have the opportunity to appoint at least two new Supreme Court Judges. He will name individuals who know how to read and understand exactly what is written in our Constitution. He will be less inclined to appoint based on quotas or gender or sexual preference. His appointments will be based on what is best for the country. If Schumer is upset by judgements by the Court now, imagine how he is going to feel when, instead of five to four decisions, we will see more seven to two. 

It occurs to me, as tornadoes tear through middle Tennessee and a new virus tries to overtake the world, that we have plenty of problems to deal with without spending so much energy on political differences. We have a perfectly good President and an election coming in a few months. When the voters in this country look out and see what they have versus what the Democrats are proposing, they will make the right decision.

Ron Scarbro March 8, 2020

WE, THE PEOPLE, MUST STAND UP

Do you remember when Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher got together and brought communism to its knees? Like most others, I lived in fear of communist Russia. We were warned that an attack could happen at any time. The Russians had the bomb and we had the bomb. It was just going to be a matter of who fired the first shot. I remember the bomb drills at school where we had to get down on the floor and get under our desks and cover our heads. As if that would provide any protection in the event of a nuclear bombing. The communists had a propaganda machine that kept pumping out scary stuff. 

During my early years we lived about fifteen miles from Oak Ridge, Tennessee. You may recall that was where our country was developing nuclear weapons and for a certainty the communists knew it. I even had silhouette cards of airplanes that we would watch in case Russian bombers flew over. We watched the planes as they flew by and were to report any unidentified planes. Kinda scary for a preteen kid. 

I served in the military and on one assignment we were bivouacked in a forest near the communist wall in Germany. It turns out that the Russians were also camped out on the other side of the wall. I figured this was it. We were locked and loaded with our missiles aimed and ready. I am sure those Russian kids were as scared as we were. That was the time when Kruschev had given us an ultimatum to be out of Germany or else. America chose or else and the communists backed down. Fortunately for both sides. 

It was soon after that Russia came to their senses and decided they really were no match for us and they would have been destroyed. The wall came tumbling down. 

So here we are now in the twenty-first century when most of the people living today have no memory of, or because of a seriously deficient education, any knowledge of communism or its harmful effect on people. Today many of these uninformed people are seriously considering a socialist, which is nothing more than a communist light, as a Presidential candidate. Sometimes I wonder when I will wake up from this ugly dream.

Bernie Sanders is not the benevolent grandfather as he is advertised to be. Sanders is a subjugator looking for subjects to whom he can dictate and many under- accomplished, over-educated individuals who seriously lack general intelligence are lining up to volunteer.

Over the years we have seen and heard silver tongued people orate their way into positions of power and bring countries down. Don’t think for a moment that it can’t happen here. As scary as it sounds, we are always only one election away from destruction if the wrong people are put into power. And the Democrats know it too. Over the next few months they will do everything in their power to bring the Sanders charade to an end once and for all.

What is truly frightening is that some thirty percent of voters in this country would vote for someone like Sanders. What does that say about their overall intelligence? I believe it is an indictment of our very liberal educational system along with a completely confused and dangerous liberal media. 

Somehow, someway, we the people have to get a handle on this crap. The difference between Republicans and Democrats used to be just different ways of solving the problems of our day. No more. It has become a class war for the souls of the citizenry. It is a pitting of the responsible against the irresponsible, the independent against the dependent, the accomplished against the wannabes. This battle devalues what it means to be an American. 

As the preacher said last Sunday morning, the time has come when we cannot stand aside or stand down. We, the people, must stand up.

Ron Scarbro March 4, 2020