IT'S FALL Y'ALL

It's Fall y'all. That's what our TV weatherman announced recently when he came on to give his weather report. Some of us are really looking forward to fall and cooler weather.

 

There is no doubt that most of us have experienced a hot summer. Some say even hotter than normal, whatever normal is. A very cursory look at our summer weather uncovers a villain. El Nino. That's right. It wasn't global warming or even climate change. It was just a fairly normal phenomenon that happens occasionally. 

 

Well, guess what. We now should expect a visit from another phenomenon known as La Nina. Those among you with foreign language skills will recognize El Nino as little boy and La Nina as little girl. Generally El Nino brings hot weather and La Nina brings cooler, wetter weather. 

 

We have weathermen and women ready to tell us what to expect from the weather. These people are scientists known as meteorologists.  They are highly educated but, sadly they seem to miss about as often as they are correct. I have often believed they just stick their thumb into the air to see what is going on.

 

So then, here comes The Farmer's Almanac which has been the standard many in this country have depended on for weather information for years. They now predict a colder, wetter winter than normal. There's that word normal again. Oh well.

 

Here is what I expect and predict. I am a staunch believer in "climate change." Not the climate change preached by the global warming crowd, but actual real climate change. It happens every year and human activity has nothing to do with it. For most of us it occurs four times a year. It's called spring, summer, fall, and winter. 

 

In my eighty plus years on this earth we have seen these climate changes. I love the fall. I love winter. Spring might be my favorite because everything seems to be reborn and come alive. Since my earliest memories, summer has been the hot season. That's when tomatoes get ripe and fruit trees bear their delicious offerings. 

 

When God created all this, he had a plan that still works today. I for one am grateful for His plan. In the meantime, all I can say is, relax because it's Fall y'all.

 

Ron Scarbro September 27, 2023

 

THE CASE FOR MANDATORY RETIREMENT

 

Should there be mandatory retirement for elected government officials? I intend to offer you a few reasons why it may be necessary. Diane Feinstein, Mitch McConnell, and of course Joe Biden. How about Nancy Pelosi? She just announced she was running for reelection. After all she said, the people of San Francisco need her in the Congress looking out for them. She, by the way, is 83. Some might say if San Francisco elects her, she is their problem. It doesn't work that way. If they elect her they inflict her on the entire country. There are doubtless many more. Our Congress has been recently described as a nursing home with free medical insurance. How true, how true.

 

When I was younger I objected to the idea of mandatory retirement. Now that I am older, 82, I have come to more appreciate the value of that concept. I know that I have slowed down a great deal. I also know that I don't recover as quickly as I used to. My brain has a tendency to forget simple things. Like why I wind up in a particular room and what I am there for. My doctor says it is normal. Imagine if I were in charge of nuclear weapons or running the world's biggest economy. No, don't even imagine that. I'm just too old. 

 

And while I'm on the subject of mandatory stuff, how about a minimum IQ requirement for Congress and the White House. Haven't we had enough morons making rules for us? We have Congressmen who think islands float and Congresswomen who believe we have put men on Mars. 

 

I'm sure we all have seen the signs at county fairs which say that to get on this ride, you must be this tall. It's a safety measure. Should we not be as concerned about the safety of the country with the legislators we elect? Obviously I'm not talking about their height.  

 

Here's the problem with my proposal. In order for it to become law, the very people who would be most affected would be the ones who would have to enact the law. What do you suppose the chances of that happening?

 

The Congress enacted a little perk that virtually ensures they will never have to be responsible to voters. That little perk is seniority. This guarantees that sitting Members keep their jobs. It also renders newly elected Members impotent. They are relegated to nothing assignments without any power. They are probably told that they have just been elected into the biggest gravy train on earth and they are not going to be allowed to mess it up. So, just go along and get along and you too can ride the gravy train as long as you wish.

 

The result is old people hanging on to their jobs until they are well too old to handle them. I'm pretty sure that is not what the framers of our government intended. Remember all of this on election day.

 

To all you pro football fans, look at Aaron Rogers. He is too old to play pro football. Four plays into his first start as an old quarterback and he ruptured his achilles tendon and may be out for good. It's not nice to try and fool Mother Nature.

 

Ron Scarbro September 12, 2023