MAYBE THE MIDDLE EAST IS NOT WORTH OUR CONCERN

In the past several years we have been involved in a futile exercise. That being associating ourselves with various groups whose goal it is to swap out dictators in countries in the Middle East. When will we learn that trading one dictator for another never seems to work? Look at Egypt, Libya, Iraq, and all the backward little countries we have tried to “help.”

Today it is Syria. Here we have a murderous dictator who is gassing his own people, women and children. I am convinced these Middle Easterners are not normal people. What kind of a man could sit still and watch women and children, babies even, gasping their dying breaths? And dying because of his murderous actions. No, these are not normal people.

We watched Saddam Hussein do the same thing and we got involved. Sure, we got rid of him, but is Iraq any safer for normal people today? I think not. We chose sides in Egypt and Libya and look at those results. Do you really think those countries are safer now that the reigning dictator is gone? Of course not. Other dictators are just waiting in the wings for their shot.  

Maybe it is time for us to take another look at these places. These backwards people have been killing each other for thousands of years. Their “religion of peace” has caused more deaths than the black plague. It is becoming increasingly more difficult for me to believe we have any national interest in trying to stop their self mutilation and murder. They all seem bent on suicide.

We do have an interest in oil and we will continue to have that interest. We have allies and we will continue to have allies. We are completely competent to take care of those interests and we shall. I cannot see where we have any real interest in groups of thugs killing each other over some ancient religion. That has been going on since before we as a country existed and it will continue until they all are dead at their own hands. Now if the Baptists declared war on the Methodists and started killing each other in Arkansas, we would have an interest. If the Catholics started killing off the Lutherans in Minnesota, we would have an interest.

It is heart wrenching for any sane individual to view the carnage of a gas attack. Especially when it involves children but, the Syrian people have to deal with their own issues. I am satisfied that the so-called rebel forces at work now in Syria are al-qaeda, or at least strongly supported by that group. Will Syria be any better off when Assad is gone and al-qaeda is in power? I think not regardless of what Sen. John McCain says.

All my life I have watched as governments, media, and others with self interests have ginned up wars. I have seen us get involved in all parts of the world for first one thing and then another. Some have been legitimate for sure. Still others are more of a question.

One thing is sure. There has been nothing in the news about Benghazi, the IRS, the NSA, or any of the other scandals plaguing the White House since Syria took over the conversation. Just saying.

Today it may well be time for us to acknowledge that most of the Middle East is not worth our concern. Maybe we would be better off to just let them kill each other off. We are not the world’s police department. We need to stop financing their madness with our foreign aid and leave them to their own destiny. This current experiment with humanity doesn’t seem to be working.

Ron Scarbro September 4, 2013

SOME QUESTIONS I HAVE

One of the ways I entertain myself in retirement is watching television. Mostly I watch sports or History. I never watch network television unless they are broadcasting a sports event. I do, however, watch reality cop shows with my favorite being “The First 48.” This column deals with some of the questions  I have come up with from watching these shows.

The first big question is this. On almost every cop show, officers refer to a “known drug house.” Here is my question. If it is known to be a drug house, why does it exist? If the police know drugs are being illegally sold at this house, why are they allowed to continue? If in fact we were interested in stopping illegal drug activity, wouldn’t it be a good idea to close down “known drug houses?” Wouldn’t it be a good idea to arrest and prosecute persons in those houses who are dealing drugs? Seems like a reasonable idea to me.

The second thing that I have learned is that so many people who are stopped for minor traffic offenses have open and active warrants for their arrest. I wonder how many people are wandering around with open and active warrants and why are they not being pursued and arrested by the police officers we have on the job for that purpose? Now I recognize that not all traffic stops make the final cut in a television show, but even at that, isn’t it strange that so many people are running around with warrants? Could it be that the police have decided  rather than chase after open warrants, they just lie in wait for a traffic stop or some other police interaction to check offenders for warrants? That’s probably a lot easier, huh?

This then brings me to my next question watching these shows has caused.  It seems that in almost every case of a crime, the perpetrator has a record of arrest and conviction as long as your leg. I am talking about youthful offenders. I’m talking about twenty somethings or younger. Many have been arrested and convicted for all sorts of crimes. They have been prosecuted and incarcerated and yet are out of jail,  running around on the streets. Mostly these crimes are drug related and many are associated with weapons. Many include violence and assault. Still many others include armed robbery and general mayhem. How does this happen? What does one have to do in order to be put away for a long time? How could an eighteen year old convicted armed robber, drug dealer, having been convicted and jailed, be out on the street at age twenty? What was his sentence? Thirty days or thirty minutes? Whatever happened to twenty years to life?

Well the skeptic in me has developed this theory.

It seems that the judicial system in this country has become something of a cottage industry. Young thugs commit crimes, are chased down and arrested by police officers, tried in court,  judged by Judges and sent to prison only to be released early for any of a number of reasons. Many cases are pleaded down to make the prosecutor’s job easier. Most of these thugs get an early release only to go back to the streets and recommit crimes and the cycle starts all over again. To me it looks strangely like job security for members of the judicial industry. Are they telling me that there would not be enough business if they keep these punks in prison where they belong? I find that hard to believe. By the way, have you ever wondered how much the criminal justice system cost us?

I am not likely to get answers for these questions, but still I can ask, huh?

Ron Scarbro August 28, 2013

A SOBER DISCUSSION ABOUT ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

You have all heard about the legislation being offered by some Congressmen from both parties designed to end illegal immigration and to secure the borders. Let’s consider this proposed law.

First, it would appear that the main purpose is to deal with the some twelve to thirty million illegals who are currently living here. The legislation seeks a remedy to their illegality. A road map to citizenship is what it is called. It begins by requiring these illegals to learn to speak English. Then they must pay all unpaid back taxes. In other words they must turn themselves in for violating our laws. Is it just me, or does anyone really think this is going to happen?

Let’s face it, they got here by illegally trespassing, stayed here by stealing phony identification, and instead of attempting to become Americans, tried to turn our country into the cesspool they had just escaped from. Now, because of some new law being passed by legislators whose only motive is to further their own political ambitions, these illegals are going to suddenly get religion? I guess I’m just a bit skeptical.

I am going to offer here what I believe to be a real possible solution to this problem.

In the early sixties I was a Branch Manager for an Industrial Loan company in California. Anytime I hired anyone I had to verify their legal residence in America. It was really simple. If they could not prove their legality, I could not hire them. And that was fifty years ago. What happened? When did this all change?

We are being told that this new legislation is necessary because there is no way that we could deport the millions who are here. While that is true, we could have these millions deport themselves. All we have to do is require all employers verify the legality of all their employees and then hold the employers legally liable for any employee who is employed illegally. Next, we require that no welfare of any kind, food stamps, money aid, free school lunch, rent assistance, or medical care be available to any one here illegally, period. In other words, we would treat these trespassers in much the same way Mexico and Canada treats them.

For this to work, we absolutely have to prosecute any and all employers and welfare agencies who violate this law. The penalty would be prison, not a money fine.

But Ron, who would pick the fruit and mow the lawns? We obviously need workers in all phases of agriculture, construction, as well as all businesses. Again the answer is simple. It would be necessary that we institute a “Guest Worker” program which would be closely guarded and supervised with un-copyable identification and inviolate dates of entry and exit clearly imprinted on them. Any worker here without proper ID would be arrested and put in prison. Any employer who had in his employ any employee without proper ID would also be imprisoned. The ID cards would be only for the worker, not his family. If an employee loses his job, his employer has to report that job loss and the “guest worker” has to go home.

I am pretty sure this is never going to happen. The reasons are for one, the Social Security Administration has been taking in millions that they never plan to pay out. Secondly, the politicians believe that if they can somehow legalize these trespassers, they will vote for whatever party legalizes them and continue to vote for them for life.

Remember this. Any illegal alien who is employed in this country, is stealing a job an American could have. Any illegal who receives any welfare aid is stealing it from legitimate Americans. It’s our choice. Do we continue to put up with this, or do we do something about it? You decide.

Ron Scarbro August 21, 2013

WHEN GENDER CONFUSION BECOMES GENDER CHAOS

I’m not making this stuff up. My imagination isn’t that productive. I wish it was.  No, this is real and I am so sorry for the people of California.

Gov. Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown just signed a new law which promises to deal with gender confusion from Kindergarten on through High School. It is really simple. Children may, under this new law, choose whichever bathroom they are more comfortable in depending on their perception of their own gender. It doesn’t matter how they are anatomically, it only matters how they perceive themselves. If a little five year old boy thinks he might really be a five year old girl, or if he just isn’t real sure, he can choose the girls restroom. The same is true for the little five year old girl. She could then choose the boys bathroom.

Let us add to this situation another layer. The little girl, let’s call her Priscilla, has two Daddies. Of course one of them is the Mother and one is the Daddy, but that is a different story. The little boy, let’s call him Bruce, has two Mommies. Again one of them is the Mommy and the other one is the Daddy. Or it could be the other way around, but I think you can understand the possible confusion. Hell, I’m confused. Why wouldn’t a five year old be confused?

So far it is just a simple fix. The idea is that regardless of how you were born, you can be anything you want to be, starting in Kindergarten.

Now we add yet another layer to this intrigue. Children grow up. Picture this. Bruce is now thirteen years old and he wants to play soccer but only on the girls’ team. He has a few friends who also want to play on the girls’ team. After all, they perceive themselves as girls, not boys. Oh, and they share a locker room with the girls and they have to shower together also. After all, we cannot hurt Bruce’s or his friends’ feelings. Can we? Priscilla wants to play football on the boys’ team as do some of her friends. They too see themselves as boys so what is the problem? What could possibly go wrong with anatomically correct teenagers sharing a communal shower?

If you are like me you might want to ask a few simple questions. Like, “What in the world are these people thinking? Are they crazy?” No, they aren’t crazy. They are just so consumed with political correctness and so-called gender equality that they cannot possibly think straight. Laws like these are the product of drug crazed hippies who somehow survived their drug addled youth to become the next generation of legislators. The once great state of California is rapidly becoming the laughing stock of the entire country. They are financially broke, morally corrupt, and politically inept. It is truly sad. It is such a beautiful place and it has no future, period.

This newest gender equality law is going to produce the biggest mess of our imagination. Smart parents will rebel. Some will take their children out of public school. Some will pack up and move to Texas. Yes, and some will stay to oversee the chaos of this latest bit of nonsense. We can only hope that they will come to their senses soon. God help us.

Ron Scarbro August 14, 2013

WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO THINK?

The scandals are piling up and the president wants me to believe they are phony. All our Middle Eastern embassies are closed because of imminent threats of attack and the Congress has decided to take the next six weeks off. American citizens as well as our Ambassador are murdered in Benghazi and we don’t even try to defend them. The IRS has obviously become a tool in the hands of political operatives in an effort to sway elections and to date no one is being held accountable. Lois Lerner, their erstwhile head, has even pled the Fifth Amendment to keep from testifying in an effort to stay out of jail. The First and the Fourth Amendments to the Constitution are being subverted by our Attorney General and seemingly without penalty. The NSA is secretly listening in on our private conversations illegally and again without any restriction. Putin and other world leaders are laughing at our plight and thumbing their collective noses at us. Our medical care is being taken over by an incompetent bunch of bureaucrats who have proven time and again they are incapable of running anything.

My question is simple. What am I supposed to think? Am I supposed to believe this is business as usual? This is the way it is supposed to be? A clear majority of the American people have lost trust in our government and especially the political leadership. The Congress has an approval rating lower than the Asian Flu virus and I’m supposed to be okay with all this?

It would be simple enough to blame one particular political party or another, but that isn’t the answer. Our issues are not defined by party affiliation. Republicans have a clear majority in The House and they have to pay the bills. Obamacare does not exist if the Republican House refuses to pay for it. In fact nothing happens in this country if the Republican House refuses to pay for it. So while it is tempting to blame everything on the Democrats, Republicans own this mess too.

Well I don’t know what I am supposed to think, but I know what I do think. First, persons who violate the law or attempt to subvert our system, regardless of their position, should be held to account. Whether they be President, Attorney General, IRS head, or Member of Congress, they must be held responsible for their actions. If those actions are illegal, they must be prosecuted. Secondly, if we have enemies anywhere in the world who threaten our security or our interests, they must be hunted down and neutralized immediately. We are the strongest nation on earth with by far the most powerful military ever to have existed. We do not close our embassies and cower in the face of threats. We face those threats and take care of business. Our enemies cower, not us.

Concerning the IRS. I think we do not allow any official of that organization ever to refuse to answer any legitimate question from a Congressional Committee. If they do, they are promptly terminated and then prosecuted if they have broken any law. We do not allow civil service employees of our government to thumb their noses at our Representatives or to the American people.

Finally, we absolutely must re-establish trust in our government and its institutions. It is incumbent on those who have violated that trust to do what is necessary to overcome that trust deficit. This is America. This is not some third world banana republic.

So, regardless of what I am supposed to think, this is what I do think.

Ron Scarbro

THESE ARE PHONY SCANDALS, LET'S CHANGE THE SUBJECT

Have you heard about the guy who was caught in a bad situation, like in a compromising situation with the other woman, etc? Rather than facing the situation and dealing with it, it seems easier to just change the subject. So he says to his accusing wife, “How about them Dodgers?” Somehow I don’t think that is going to work.

That is what I thought when I heard Obama telling the American people in his weekly radio address that Washington is just too concerned with phony scandals. It is taking their eye off the ball. Let’s change the subject. Let’s talk about the economy, or health care, or basketball. Anything but the “phony” scandals.

I have a question. Which of the scandals is phony? Is it Benghazi, where four American citizens were murdered by radical Muslim killers during an all out 9-11 attack on our embassy? An attack where we shamefully refused to intervene and try to defend them?

Maybe he is referring to the IRS’s illegal profiling and targeting of so-called enemies of Obama? Enemies such as Tea Party groups or even challengers to him politically? Then, on being called to defend themselves and explain the situation in sworn testimony before Congress, invoke their privilege under the Fifth Amendment to prevent being prosecuted for crimes?  

Perhaps he was talking about the NSA and their illegally listening in on American telephone conversations and trying to gag the legitimate news gathering and reporting services through indictment and threats of prosecution?

I’ll bet he thinks the sudden and almost total rejection of Obamacare by the unions who carried the mail for Obama when he was trying to force this crap down the throats of the American people might be a phony scandal. Even including now the IRS union who has asked to be relieved of the requirement to enroll in Obamacare saying that this requirement would be harmful to the health of their members.

It couldn’t be these “phony scandals,” could it? Then there’s the illegal gun running scheme to Mexican drug cartels led by Attorney General Holder. A scheme which caused the death of at least one of our law enforcement officers and who knows how many more? How about the newest scandal which is just about to unfold. AG Holder has apparently decided that he is not subject to the rulings of The Supreme Court and has decided to go after the state of Texas regarding voter’s rights.

I could go on, but I think you might get my drift. From the Administration’s injecting themselves in local trials for political expediency or for whatever reason, to all the nonsense we will have to fix when they are finally out of office, this entire Administration is a scandal.

It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad. The “phony scandal” comments come from an individual who may well be illegally occupying The White House.

This is what I know. The truth will come out. The future will reveal all that has been hidden. From his birthplace to his college attendance and grades to the identity of his money sources during his youth which covered his college expenses and allowed him to travel all over the world. There will be no escape from the truth.

I suppose if I were in the position Obama is in, I would try to change the subject too. After all, if these scandals aren’t phony, then they must be true and that could be bad. History will be the judge. Obama’s legacy is assured. It just isn’t the legacy he had in mind.

Ron Scarbro

SELECTIVE OUTRAGE

So the NAACP is upset over the jury’s finding in the George Zimmerman trial. They have even gone so far as to ask the US Justice Department to file civil rights charges against Zimmerman. Eric Holder is upset. He is out and about trying to stir up trouble.

The reason Zimmerman was found to be not guilty is because there was insufficient evidence to convict him. In fact he never should have even been arrested. The only reason he was arrested was political pressure. What we have now is “selective outrage.” Last weekend ten youngsters were killed in Chicago. Where was the NAACP? Where was Holder? In fact just since the verdict was announced many others of all races have been murdered. Where is the outrage?

It is obvious to me that some individuals are just trying to gin up racial tension across the country. When President Obama injected himself into the Zimmerman case, he started a ball rolling that hasn’t stopped yet and probably won’t until more people are killed.  Whatever problems ensue from the unrest being stirred by these so-called leaders will be laid at the feet of the instigators of this unrest and that includes the president.

America is not a banana republic and should not act like one. We are a country of laws and order. Politics have no place in murder trials, especially not this one. Local police investigated the death of Trayvon Martin and concluded there was not enough evidence to bring charges. That should have been the end of it. Sadly it became a cause cèlébre to some. The usual suspects showed up with their bands of goons pressuring politicians to do something. Well the politicians got involved and you can see the aftermath of their involvement.

If George Zimmerman had a Hispanic sounding name, you would never have heard about this case. If George Zimmerman had himself been a black man, you would never have heard about this case. This became ugly politics, period. Can you imagine the surprise when the instigators found out that Zimmerman was in fact Hispanic?  To deal with the matter, they decide to call him a “white Hispanic.” What nonsense.

To be sure, America has far too many murders. America has far too much crime. Our outrage, however, seems limited to certain crimes and certain races. I hurt for the parents of Trayvon Martin. I also hurt for the parents of George Zimmerman. Do we not also hurt for the hundreds of other victims of assault and murder that happen every day in our country?

Neither you nor I were out on that dark street the night Martin was killed. None of us knows exactly what happened. All the available evidence was presented to a jury and they found the defendant not guilty. That is the way our system works. You don’t have to like the verdict. I didn’t like the verdict in the O.J. Simpson trial, but life has gone on. I didn’t like the verdict in the Casey Anthony trial, but life has gone on. Ultimately all of us will face true judgment.

Holder and the NAACP and all those who are suffering from “selective outrage” are just picking at scabs. If they do not rein themselves in, that scab will erupt and no one will like the result. We are over the sixties. We don’t need to re-live it. The evidence was presented, the jury made their decision, now all of us have to just live with it.

Ron Scarbro