WHEN GUNS ARE OUTLAWED.....

I can see it now. Our government, in their wisdom, is planning to outlaw "assault" weapons. At that point I am sure every punk gang banger in the country is going to race to turn in their guns. After all, those weapons would be illegal. Wait a minute, didn't they steal the guns in the first place? Isn't that also illegal? 

 

By the way, do you know what an assault weapon is? I have been trained in the use of almost every sort of weapon one can imagine and I don't know what an assault weapon is. As an individual who knows guns, it has been my experience that any weapon can be an assault weapon. It all depends on how it is used. 

 

Every time we have a mass shooting the drum beat starts. We need more gun control. We have too many guns. My contention is that we actually need more guns. Had there been armed people in that Colorado grocery store, there is a great possibility fewer people would have died. Remember this. When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

 

What we need to control is nut cases. When criminals commit crimes using guns, the law needs to lower the boom on them. Too many killers and would-be killers are let loose to kill again. The District Attorney in Los Angeles appears to favor a much more lenient approach to punk killers. He must think they will just put away their gang habits and lifestyles, throw away their guns, and sit around singing Kumbaya. Can someone tell me how this moron got into office? We are dealing with some seriously dangerous people here. One doesn't have to be a mental giant to see that. 

 

Here is another one of those pesky little realities. Within our population there are some people who don't believe the rules apply to them. It really doesn't matter what laws are passed, they will do as they please. Another reality is that there are mentally ill people who truly cannot function in a free society. Many are prescribed medicine which they won't take. The people I'm talking about here could explode at any time. 

 

And now for a short primer on guns. First of all, the weapon most often described as an assault weapon is nothing more than a high powered, automatic or semi-automatic rifle. They usually come with high-capacity magazines which carry multiple rounds of ammunition. Being an automatic means that if you hold your finger on the trigger, it will continue firing until you run out of ammunition. A semi-automatic means you have to continue pulling the trigger in order for the weapon to fire. They look scary. The gang bangers like them because they look scary. 

 

If I had to shoot somebody however, I would prefer using a shotgun. A shotgun shell contains many pellets and when fired from about twenty feet, the damage could easily spread over a five-to-ten-foot area. Then you wouldn't have to aim.

 

Handguns are historically unreliable. They come as automatics, semi-automatics, and revolvers. Most people couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a handgun. If your target is over ten feet away, forget it. You would almost be better off throwing the gun at the target rather than shooting them.

 

With all this having been said, I do not believe any amount of gun control legislation will change anything. Take a look at Chicago. An unarmed population are not citizens. They are subjects. Just ask 1930s and 40s Germans or even today's Venezuelans. Guns are totally outlawed in the murder capital, Mexico. How's that working out?

 

As we have discussed before, the Second Amendment is as much to keep our own government at bay as it is for protection from thieves and robbers. 

 

Attention Congress. It would not be wise to further irritate the millions of gun owners in this country. Leave the Second Amendment alone.

 

Ron Scarbro March 31, 2021

 

BIDEN'S BORDER CRISIS

Let's talk immigration. Like many of you, I have traveled to many parts of the world and there is no doubt that we, Americans, live in the best country on earth. There are good reasons that people from all over the world want to live here. 

 

First, they think the America they see in movies is real. Secondly, they believe that people who live here are taken care of from cradle to grave and that money falls off of trees. Most actually want to work for their living, but think they won't actually have to work if they don't want to. They'll still be taken care of. 

 

Imagine if you lived anywhere in Central America. Many cook their food over open fires inside their huts. I am confident breathing disorders are common. If you ever hear any of them describing their lives, you would be appalled. Education, especially for girls, is basically non-existent. Medical care is iffy at best. 

 

They have governments, if you can call them governments. But corruption is the order of the day. People don't pay their taxes so there is no money for social services. That's probably okay because if money was available, the corrupt officials would gobble it up. Police officers cannot be trusted. Let's face it, it's a miserable existence. 

 

Then you have Mexico. Mexico is a country with all the natural resources needed for a good life. They have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. They have agriculture. They have mining. They have manufacturing. They are prolific traders. There is no reason they should not be a successful country. Except for one little problem. They are one of the most corrupt countries in the world. They steal from their own citizens. They harbor drug cartels. They look the other way when human trafficking abounds. Obviously, they are their own worst enemy. 

 

I have decided the best thing that could happen to Mexico would be for us to take the country as a possession, maybe a fifty-first state, and bring that country into the twenty-first century.  That would end the border crisis, but it would be bad news for the cartels. Their enterprise would end. But it might help with the drug mess in this country. 

 

We all could then travel freely back and forth. American business and ingenuity would create jobs and wealth for the average Mexican citizen. 

 

In the meantime though, we have a major problem. Tens of thousands of so-called immigrants, many of them unescorted children, are lining up on our southern border planning to enter this country illegally. There is absolutely no doubt this surge of migrants was caused by Mr. Loose Lips himself, Joe Biden. The word spread like wildfire that Biden was going to open the border and here they came. Now the Border Control people are overwhelmed. We have run out of room to house these pitiful people. 

 

Of course the border wall was halted immediately on Biden's swearing in. Now the genie is out of the bottle and we are going to have serious issues getting him back in. It's so bad now that even the Democrats are screaming. 

 

Here is a simple fact. We cannot take in everybody in the world who wants to live here. For the most part these are uneducated, unskilled individuals who will ultimately wind up being dependent on the taxpayers to support them. There is a difference between immigration and trespassing. What we have now is Biden's border crisis. 

 

I am completely okay with legal immigration. What's happening now is an invasion, not immigration. Vetted people who aren't carrying diseases and can bring something of value to this country is good.  In the meantime, we must send the thousands on our southern border back to their homes and stop this before it gets any worse.

 

Ron Scarbro March 23, 2021

 

NOTHING FUNNY ABOUT DEMENTIA

I heard that if you have Alzheimer's disease you can hide your own Easter eggs. Ok, that's funny, but Alzheimer's disease isn't. My father had it. I have known others with it. There is nothing funny about it. 

 

I bring this up because of recent events concerning our new President. For years he has been known for gaffes. He has shown confusion many times in the past. Lately, however he has gotten worse.  During the campaign he basically showed the world that he was failing mentally. It was all excused as Joe just being Joe. Sadly, everything is pointing to a further failing of his capacity. And even in the face of this deterioration, he was still elected. 

 

How did the media allow this to go unreported? How did the American people vote for an individual who will probably not be able to function for a four year term? Remember now, we are talking about the office of the most powerful person in the world. Media from all over the world are beginning to notice now also.

 

I heard some comedians making jokes about his memory issues. Again, there is nothing funny about anybody suffering from dementia.

 

Now we all are facing a major problem. Harris, in my view, couldn't manage a girl scout troop, let alone preside over the American government. Not to worry though, waiting in the wings is that paragon of integrity and good judgement, Nancy Pelosi who, as you know, is number three in line of succession to the Presidency. Now do you understand the absolute necessity of putting the House in Republican hands in 2022? That would eliminate any possibility of Pelosi ever getting the job.

 

Biden is 78 years old and he shows every minute of those years. I refuse to make fun of his loss of brain function. It isn't funny, it's sad. What's worse though, is that he sits in the Oval Office as the most powerful individual in the world. That's not only sad, it's downright scary and the world is watching. 

 

It is obvious that he has handlers who control his actions and his speech, but he always seems to find a way of slipping up. It is only going to get worse. I have seen it up close and it is neither funny nor pretty.

 

I watched as my father sat at the table and played the table as if it were a piano. As a young man he actually played the piano. In his later years he was left with just a table. But I believe he heard piano music when he sat at that table. 

 

Alzheimer’s seems to be a curse of aging. It is a disease that doesn't get better. It only gets worse. People lose track of where they are and even who they are. In his final years my father was in a "secure" facility. That meant his movements were monitored and, in many ways, controlled. It worked for him but he was not the President. 

 

So, yes I am concerned. It is obvious that Biden is on a downhill slide mentally. I do not believe he will be able to function for four years in a demanding job like the presidency. During the campaign he was kept in the cellar.  I don't think they can keep him hidden now that he has been elected. He is out in the open for all the world to see. 

 

The people around him should be ashamed of themselves for their participation in this fiasco, but the real blame is on anyone in this country who voted for this guy. Shame on you. God help us all as we deal with this mess.

 

Ron Scarbro March 15, 2021, The Ides of March

 

GO BACK TO SLEEP

Everything you have ever done has brought you to where you are. In other words, your history has created your present. There were times when you turned right instead of left. That small insignificant move may have saved your life. Who knows? It may have gotten you the job that became your life's work. It may even have brought you to your life's partner. The point is everything we ever did is a part of our history and that history creates our present.

 

The reason I bring this up is to emphasize the value of our history. Since everything that has ever happened in our history has brought us to where we are, we have to embrace it because it is us. That includes both the good and the bad. 

 

When we were very young we learned not to touch the hot stove. Some even had to touch it to learn. Those who survive the early lessons in life live on to become today's adults. 

 

The purpose of this conversation is to ask a simple question. Why is there this current need for some people to try to destroy our history? Apparently they think if we tear down some statues, those individuals will never have existed. If we change the names of schools, roads, cities, counties, and even states, we will erase their presence in our history and thus change that history. What nonsense. 

 

History is our teacher. Some of our history was ugly and some was beautiful. Regardless, good or bad, all of it has been our teacher.

 

The slavery era was definitely one of the ugliest times in our past. Personally I have never owned a slave. I don't know anyone who has ever been a slave. In fact this period of our history was many generations ago. But it happened. I don't need a statue to remind me that it happened, but removing a statue isn't going to remove the fact that it happened. Changing the name of a school or a city or a street isn't going to change the fact that slavery was a part of our history. 

 

So, what should we do? Should we try to forget that slavery happened, or should we learn from our mistakes? Denying the past by trying to destroy symbols of the past is counterproductive. We know that those who don't learn from their history are apt to repeat it.

 

Did you know that prior to 1919 women in this country couldn't vote? It was wrong so we fixed that. 

 

When I was a young lad black people had to sit at the back of the bus. That is our history. Of course it is wrong. It was wrong then. Denying that it occurred doesn't change anything. We fixed it.

 

So now some want to "cancel" Dr. Suess, Mark Twain, and who knows how many more. The language in the books written many years ago reflect the language that was spoken years ago. "To Kill a Mockingbird" is another classic example of period writing. The lessons taught however are still invaluable. 

 

Native Americans were put on reservations. We were afraid of Indians and had to control them. This was our way of handling the issue. Japanese Americans were put in concentration camps. Why? Because we were afraid of them also. 

 

One hopes that by knowing our history and fixing our mistakes, we aren't so apt to repeat them. Our predecessors weren't perfect to be sure. Neither are we. Tearing down historical statues and changing the names of a few schools has more to do with our imperfect present than our imperfect past. 

 

I think it is past time for the "woke" generation to go back to sleep. 

 

Ron Scarbro March 9, 2021

 

TRADITIONAL AMERICAN

I recently was responding to a survey. The question was which political party do I most closely identify with. Given the choices, I would most certainly choose the Republican party. Why? Do I agree with that party completely? Of course not. I decided that I would consider the question for this column. 

 

First of all I believe the Constitution as written is the law of the land. It is not a "living document". It is my opinion that respect and regard for the Constitution should be the basic principle of any political party. Some folks seem to have forgotten this principle though.

 

The Bill of Rights perfects the law of the land starting with the first amendment. Basically this amendment guarantees us all free speech. Of course much more is included in the first amendment but let's move on to the second. That of course is the absolute right to keep and bear arms. In today's language this means to own and carry weapons. There is nothing ambiguous about these two amendments. They say what they mean and mean what they say. If one claims to be a Republican and they don't believe in what I just wrote, perhaps they should reconsider what party they belong in. What continues to amaze me is how any American, regardless of political party, could think any other way. Are they in the wrong country?

 

I believe in personal responsibility. I believe in equal opportunity but not in guaranteed outcome. We all have the right to try but we are not guaranteed success. Sometimes we fail. That's life. If I am successful, good for me. If I am not, it is my fault, not someone else's. I should not expect the government, which of course is my fellow citizens, to bail me out. 

 

I believe we need and should have a strong military with the latest and best weaponry in the world. This military is not for conquest. It is for defense. No country in the world should ever think they could attack us and survive. Our military serves as a deterrent to any would-be enemy on earth and we need to keep it strong.

 

We are a law-and-order country. We have skilled police forces to make sure laws are obeyed. We have a judicial system in place to ensure suspected violators are tried fairly and punished fairly. I favor this way of life. Granted, from time to time, mistakes are made. We rectify those mistakes. 

 

I believe medical care is a product offered by medical practitioners just like potatoes are a product offered by potato farmers. Neither of these products is a right. If one wishes to avail himself of medical services or potatoes, one must go into the marketplace and purchase them. 

 

All of the beliefs I have mentioned are Republican beliefs, or at least used to be. Many have been watered down over the years. Not just Republican beliefs however, these are American principles. Sadly the other party seems to have turned its back on many of these beliefs. 

 

Democrats seem to favor irresponsibility. They want the government to be in charge of your life from birth to death. They have created a dependent class who look for someone to take care of them. The Democrats are the authors of the "cancel" culture and political correctness. Both of which violate the first amendment. Their "big brother" system of government flies in the face of traditional America. 

 

This brings me to the thesis of this writing. It is getting more difficult to understand the differences in the parties.  I see myself as a traditional American. It is quite often difficult to identify as a Republican, but that party comes closer to my belief system than the Democrats to be sure. Time will indeed tell what the future holds for us. It is tenuous at best.

 

Ron Scarbro March 1, 2021