SOME GOTTA WIN AND SOME GOTTA LOSE

I played basketball in high school. Our team was not very good. I point that out because we had a squad of cheerleaders who either didn’t know we weren’t very good, or just didn’t care. I can still remember being on that court and hearing them scream and yell as if we were the state champions. I loved our cheerleaders.

Back then cheerleaders were all girls and they also were the cutest of the girls in the school. But, they were also athletic, talented, and energetic. They had to compete to make the squad and not everyone who tried out made it. The same was true for all of the sports teams. Some made the team and some did not. Those who didn’t make the teams managed to go on about their lives probably finding something else to participate in. Life goes on. So, what happened to this very fair tradition?

In Hampton, New Jersey, the East Hampton high school has passed a new rule that says everyone who tries out for cheerleader makes the team. Their ruling is that if anyone fails to be accepted on the squad, then all must be disqualified. It makes no difference whether one is athletic, talented, capable, or anything else, they either all make the team or no one makes the team. This happened because one parent was upset that her little girl was not accepted so she complained loudly enough that the new rule was instituted.

What does this kind of nonsense teach our children? The primary lesson is that regardless of your effort or your qualifications, you will always be awarded the prize of success. When that youngster gets out of school and faces the real world, he or she is going to have a terrible awakening. It just doesn’t work that way. Some gotta win and some gotta lose. That’s the way of the world. In our lives we have victories and we have losses. Both teach us lessons. I know in my life I have learned much more from my failures than I ever learned from my victories. Failure helps us appreciate our victories more. A life with all success and no failure would be boring to say the least. Life is all about learning and that learning never ends.

What is the school’s responsibility concerning preparing young people for life in the real world? Granted they must teach the basics of reading, writing, and math. But it doesn’t end there. They are also teaching social responsibilities, or at least they are supposed to be. Competing for success in the classroom translates to competing for success after school is over.

In school, youngsters are taken away from their homes and the safety of that environment and placed with others who are in the same position. As adults we leave the safety of our parents’ homes to face the real world on our own. We must be prepared for that experience. Schools have a major role in that preparation. In the real world one must compete for jobs and for success. It is not guaranteed. If youngsters face their after-school lives believing that they are owed success, they will learn very quickly that the world doesn’t work that way.

Liberals view this as unfair. They apparently think everyone should have an equal outcome regardless of their talent or effort. This is the genesis of the participation trophies. Win or lose, everybody gets a prize. Again, it just doesn’t work that way.

Consider an elk herd. The strongest bull fights for the right to breed the cows in the herd. This is nature’s way of insuring that the strongest genes are passed on to the next generation of elk. In our world the smartest, most talented, and the most capable succeed. Those who sit around waiting to be given their trophies usually fail. Sorry liberals, but it is just the way of the world. Some gotta win, and some gotta lose. Deal with it, okay?

Ron Scarbro.

YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID

YOU CAN’T FIX STUPID

Apparently North Korea is preparing three American hostages, which they have held for several years, for release back to us. It has been announced that this is an effort to curry favor in the upcoming negotiations with President Trump. These hostages either traveled to North Korea for jobs as teachers, missionaries, or just as tourists.

(Update: The 3 hostages have been released and are due back in this country on May 10, 2018.)

I have a question. Wouldn’t you think an individual smart enough to teach at university level would be smart enough to know what happens to Americans who travel to that hell hole? In some cases, individuals who are just tourists are arrested and sentenced to long terms at hard labor for any charge North Korea wishes to impose. They don’t have to break any law as we know it. They just have to be available to serve as bargaining chips for Little Kim.

Why on earth would anybody want to travel to that God forsaken mud hole for any reason, let alone a vacation in the first place? North Korea is the home of scared and desperate people who are starving for the most basics, food and water. It has been said that in North Korea, grass is considered a vegetable and you never see a stray dog. One can be arrested for any reason or for no reason. Little Kim kills anybody he chooses to kill with impunity, even his own relatives. He is also the only North Korean who is overweight.

When someone decides to put themselves in mortal danger that is usually just their problem. But, when they put their entire country in danger, it is everybody’s problem. Why is it so hard to understand that by traveling to places like North Korea or Iran they are putting themselves in a position of serving as bargaining chips or maybe as shields against an attack by our forces or anybody’s forces? The North Koreans see them as useful idiots and will try to trade them for concessions.

We, as a country, must now decide whether or not to take into consideration the lives of those who went there and put themselves in that position. I know what I would do. I don’t believe you can fix stupid. I believe if someone decides to park his brain at the door and go into the lion’s den, they are choosing for themselves how and when they want to die. Why would I get in the way of that decision?

Fortunately for these people who find themselves at the mercy of an insane dictator, we probably will take their lives into consideration when we negotiate or before we attack. I’m pretty sure the North Koreans are figuring on this.

If and when we do get them back in this country, we should make an example of their stupidity. We should make it crystal clear that future such idiotic travelers to places like North Korea, will be abandoned in the same way they abandoned their own country. We have travel advisories for very good reasons. We have travel restrictions for the same reasons. If you just have a death wish, don’t include your whole country in your selfish fantasy.

As Trump enters into talks with this little dictator there are certainly no guarantees that anything positive will come of it. But, remember the reason North Korea is agreeing to the summit. They have figured out that they absolutely have to decide to co-exist in the twenty-first century or else they will surely perish. The ball is in Little Kim’s court. As I said, you can’t fix stupid. We will just have to see if they get on board.

Ron Scarbro

POLITICS ACCORDING TO MEATHEAD

I guess I should feel special. Yet another liberal has chosen to identify me and those who think like me in a less than complimentary way. Of course this isn’t the first time this has happened. I remember when Bill Clinton was being cornered by allegations of sexual impropriety and out and out lies, Hillary decided to defend him by calling me and others who thought like me, part of a “vast right-wing conspiracy”. I don’t know about you, but I loved being a part of a vast right-wing conspiracy. I even had a coffee mug with “Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy” written on it. Obviously there was no conspiracy because Clinton was subsequently impeached and disbarred for lying to a Grand Jury about the whole affair.

Then there was Barack Obama who accused me and other rednecks like me of “clinging to our religion and our guns”. I confess. He nailed it. I am a gun owner and I probably am a redneck too, but I am also proud of my religion. I know he meant it as an insult, but I took it as a compliment. That’s the problem with us rednecks, we don’t know when elite liberals are trying to insult us. Sorry.

Now comes Hillary again. All of us Trump supporters were identified as irredeemable and belonging in a basket of deplorables. Really Hillary. Is that the best you can do? It’s no wonder you lost a cinch election. It’s so unlike you. Oh, wait a minute. Maybe it is exactly like you.

Well it just happened again. I was treated to a political intellectual analysis by none other than “Meathead”. You may know him as Rob Reiner. Reiner is another Hollywood lefty. He identified me and my cohorts, you, you, and you, as “the lunatic fringe”. Hmmm. What do I think about that? Well here’s what I think. Opinions like Reiner’s and the other liberals mentioned earlier have about the same value to me as passed gas. It usually stinks and it disappears in a matter of seconds.

Weaponizing political differences and insulting those who don’t share their opinions is the new politics in American. Actors should act and singers should sing. When I want political analysis, I go to a political intellectual for opinion. When I want to hear people recite or sing someone else’s lines, I will seek out singers and actors.

Considering the Hollywood crowd, they have a product to sell. It is either movies or music. Doesn’t it seem rather counter-productive to alienate over half of their prospective buyers? Jim Acosta, CNN’s Chief White House Correspondent, just said that Trump supporters’ elevators don’t go to the top floors. That would be another alienation of over half of the population of the country.

I wouldn’t watch CNN or go to a movie with Rob Reiner involved for anything and millions think like me. Singers like Barbra Streisand and Harry Belafonte are wasting their collective breaths trying to entertain me. Their political opinion is like so much passing gas and they should just shut up and sing.

Like many of the readers of this blog, we have or had careers in business. Can you imagine how much harder selling your product would be if you or one of your salespeople alienated over half of your prospective buyers with their big mouths?

Think about the National Football League. There is the real possibility they may not recover from their decisions to marginalize their audience by allowing their employees to show blatant disrespect for our country, our flag, and our military. I know they lost me and several of you have expressed a similar thought.

Professional football, movies, and music are for my entertainment. They should park their political opinion at the front door and just entertain.

Ron Scarbro

HAVING BREAKFAST IN CLEAN CLOTHES

Every now and then my number one critic offers her “helpful” criticism of my columns. Now to understand, my number one critic also fixes my breakfast and does my laundry. I therefore can handle the occasional comments about my writing but doing without breakfast and laundry gets to be a bit more problematic. So, I decided to give her criticisms serious consideration.

Her most recent observation was that my columns had become too negative and that I should concentrate more on the positive things around us. She has a point. It is much easier to see the negative because there is so much of it. It turns out that there is much positive news too.

For example, our economy is on fire. Unemployment is down and wages are headed up. On a recent trip to our little town I saw many, many signs on businesses looking for help. The fact is that today jobs outnumber the people looking for them. That alone will cause wages to increase because employers must have employees and will pay more to get quality help. They also will try harder to retain the employees they already have, ergo more raises and benefits. This is just good news.

Dear Leader little Kim of North Korea has announced that he is getting out of the nuclear business and will denuclearize the Korean peninsula. Of course he has said that before and is a proven liar, but this time it is a bit different. He and President Trump are scheduled to sit down to a meeting. I believe Kim and his cohorts are coming to the realization that Trump isn’t someone to be played with and that they had better pay attention. The country they save may be their own. More good news.

Real estate values are recovering and headed up. That means that most Americans’ wealth is also headed up. The stock market, while gyrating up and down, will continue to be the right investment for almost everyone.

Taxes have been slashed for all Americans. Companies are sharing that windfall with their employees. Paychecks are getting bigger. Buying power is increasing which means better profits for business. The “trickle down” economy is alive and well. All of this bodes well for the country. Sorry liberals.

Trade agreements are being renegotiated. President Trump is insisting that fairness in trade is essential if we are to participate. China is getting the message. By the way, they need us a lot more than we need them. Their existing thievery of our intellectual property will no longer be allowed, period. China’s financial existence depends largely on their willingness to get on board.

More good news. The Iranian Nuclear Agreement is on life support and Trump is about to pull the plug. Illegal treaties, those without Congressional approval, will come to an end. We have laws and rules and even Presidents have to obey them. Sorry Obama.

Here’s some more good news. Colin Kaepernick is still unemployed. The NFL is smart to stay away from this poison pill. Perhaps he can get a job in Europe where he has been giving “hate America” speeches. Maybe he can play soccer or cricket.

Several California cities and counties are joining the Federal lawsuit against their own state to undo SB 54. This law forbids allowing law enforcement from assisting ICE or even informing them of illegal aliens having been arrested or from being released from jail. The polls in California show clearly that Californians are opposed to this silly law.

Most of the good news above is because Donald J.Trump is in the White House. Again, sorry liberals. Hopefully by writing this column I will still be able to have breakfast and enjoy it wearing clean clothes. It was worth a try anyway.

Ron Scarbro

THREE STRIKES AND YOUR'E OUT

Baseball season has begun so let’s look at baseball and how it might equate to what’s going on in the world. Everybody knows it’s three strikes and you are out.  While it’s no game, Syria certainly seems to be in the batter’s box.

A year ago Bashar al-Assad and the criminal government of Syria used chemical weapons on her own people. They killed or injured many. Women and children were suffocated in that horrendous attack. President Trump, along with his advisors, decided to punish Syria for this illegal and immoral act. Under the “Chemical Weapons Convention of 1997”, chemical weapons are illegal internationally. No country can manufacture, stockpile, or use them for any reason. Syria is a signatory along with 197 other countries. So, we elected to deliver a measured response. We fired missiles at the air base from which the attack originated. Twenty percent of Syria’s air force was eliminated by the attack. We didn’t wipe out Syria’s complete air force, although we could have, we just took out a portion. This was a warning. In baseball, if a batter gets too aggressive and stands too close to the plate, the pitcher might throw a pitch inside and tight. It’s called a “brush back” pitch. Most batters get the message and back up. A year ago we threw a “brush back” pitch at Assad. Apparently he didn’t get the message though. For the sake of this essay, we’ll call that strike one.

Well, he did it again. He attacked his own country and his own people with illegal and immoral weapons. He gassed women and children. Who knows how many were killed or will have lifelong side effects from the attack. The pictures were sickening.

What’s wrong with this sorry excuse for a human being? Bashar al-Assad is a college educated medical doctor. His specialty is ophthalmology. He took his residency in London. He’s not a complete idiot. Or is he?

When his older brother was killed in a car accident, his father, Hafez al-Assad, a butcher and a tyrant, decided that Bashar was to succeed him as President of Syria. He was recalled from London and rushed into job training for dictatorship. All indications are that he learned quickly. When his father died, he quickly took over the country. Some thought that this medically trained individual would be a modern leader with compassion for his people. How wrong we all were.

Fast forward to a week ago. Assad strikes again and kills his own people gassing them with chlorine and sarin gas. Our response to this latest attack was again somewhat measured. We fired about one hundred missiles or so and took out his ability to manufacture chemical weapons. Our efforts were limited so as not to create too much collateral damage. All indications are that our attack was a success.

For Syria and Assad, this was strike two. We brushed them back after their first attack, and for strike two we bombed a few factories. Will there be a strike three? That’s pretty much up to Assad. He should understand there is another pitch in some pitchers’ repertoire.  It is called the “bean” pitch. Sometimes it just makes more sense to throw the ball at the head of the batter. Sure, you might injure him. You might even kill him. But hey, that’s baseball.

Assad and his thug buddies, Russia and Iran, should get this message loud and clear. The world is tired of chemical attacks and we are not going to put up with them anymore. In fact all of the little tin horn dictators around the world should take notice. Are you listening North Korea? The game has changed. It is now reasonable to assume some countries might not even get three strikes. You could look up and see the dreaded beanball headed straight for your head.

Ron Scarbro

THE THREE Ds TODAY'S LIVING

I don’t know whether I am disappointed, disillusioned, or just disgusted. Maybe all three. I admit to being somewhat naive concerning the political climate of the country today. I thought everybody loved freedom. I thought every American loved our Constitution. I thought people would respect the institutions of our government and our elected leaders. I have always seen us as law abiding, law respecting people. I guess I have misjudged the climate.

To show how naive I am, I even thought the media would be truthful and report the facts. It truly never occurred to me that the “mainstream” media would editorialize the news to fit their own agenda. Boy was I wrong. Today what you believe depends almost entirely on what networks you watch or what publications you read. If you watch the alphabet networks, you get only an ultra liberal view of news and never really hear the truth. How sad. If the New York Times is your source of news, you never get to know the whole truth and are left with just their editorial idea of what truth is, or what truth you should hear.

Last November over half of the country decided they had had enough and elected a Republican President, a Republican Senate, and a Republican House of Representatives. That’ll fix the mess, we thought. Wrong again. While the President is doing everything in his power to fix it, he is constantly stymied by a few disloyal so-called Republicans who have no concern for anything but themselves. Of course the Democrats are never going to be on board because they are the authors of the problems in this country. From the “Great Society” to Obamacare, to all sorts of give-away programs which have virtually eliminated all incentive from a large portion of our citizenry. These are Democrat programs and they are leading to the destruction of our values and our way of life.

California is virtually bankrupt as are several other Democrat run states. California, as a way of dealing with their fiscal cesspool, decided to make their entire state a sanctuary for illegal aliens from all over the world. That probably will be the straw that will finally break their camel’s back. If the Federal Government withholds money from those lefties, they are doomed.

Hollywood has decided to alienate over half of their possible customers by taking a leftist hardline on everything. The decidedly unfunny comedians are soon going to be without any audience. ESPN is on the verge of losing everything because of their cowardice and “political correctness”. The NFL may soon be a thing of the past because of that same cowardice. The Senate has become an “old age” home.

Yes, I am disappointed. I truly never thought I would see such days as these. And yes, I am disillusioned. What has happened to the morality of our citizens? What has happened to patriotism? What has become of good manners? Oh, and yes, I am disgusted. I’m disgusted with the greed of those politicians who think only of themselves with no thought of the country they serve. I am disgusted that some of them grow obscenely wealthy at the taxpayer’s expense. They should hang their heads in shame as they are led off to prison to serve the sentences many so richly deserve.

Finally, I wonder, is it too late to fix this? Have we gone too far? Can Trump get any cooperation from the people we elected to help him? Or, will the swamp just continue until everything turns into swamp sludge? I have smelled swamps. They stink. Is that our heritage? Is this what we are leaving to our children and grandchildren? I truly hope not.

We need to add another D to our list. Defense. We absolutely must defend our American way of life before it is too late.

Ron Scarbro

ARE WE A COUNTRY OF LAWS?

Many years ago I was a resident of the former great state of California. I use the term former advisedly. Back then the governor was Pat Brown. He had a son who was by all accounts a little weird. His name was Jerry. He also had a unique nickname, “Moonbeam”. Jerry, at one point in his life, apparently wanted to be a priest and went to school for it. Later on he decided that the priesthood wasn’t for him. Then he started dating singer Linda Ronstadt. I guess that didn’t work out either. So, the only thing left for him was politics. He ran for and was elected to several offices. He even tried to become President of the United States. Fortunately the voters thought better of that notion and sent him back to California.

I have always been amazed that a state like California, which has beauty and resources like none other, would do everything in their power to destroy their own state. Today they are among the most highly taxed and expensive states in the country. Many of their residents cannot afford to live there anymore.

That would be bad enough but another problem has surfaced for California. The uber-wealthy and the well-to-do are also leaving the state in droves. They are flocking to lower tax states like Texas, Nevada, and Florida. And, they are taking their wealth with them. Not only is California’s wealth disappearing but so is the tax base for the ultra liberal policies of their lefty governor and their legislature.

To add to the joke that California has become, Governor Moonbeam just pardoned five felons who were also illegal aliens. This was an obvious effort to poke his finger into the eyes of any who would question him as supreme dictator of California. This is on top of California’s proclamation that they are a “sanctuary state” whose laws supercede federal law. Something tells me that once great state is about to learn a huge lesson about who is actually in charge.

Finally, our own government has sued California and their legislature to overturn their so-called sanctuary status. Several cities and counties in California have either joined in the suit or filed separate suits of their own. This nonsense will finally come to an end.

I am sure you have heard by now of a large group of Central Americans who are travelling through Mexico with the goal of entering America illegally but with such force of numbers as to overwhelm our border security. This group is being funded and encouraged by another lefty group known as “countries without borders”. Excuse me, but a country without a border is not a country.

If our government doesn’t stop this latest assault on our southern border, we absolutely must fire everyone who is responsible and replace them with people who will do their jobs. We cannot continue to open our doors to every individual in the world who wants to live here.

I hate to keep harping on this but the only way to successfully deal with illegal immigration is to take away the incentive to enter illegally. If there was no job, no healthcare, no free schools, no welfare, no food stamps, and no other free goodies, these trespassers would have to find another country to invade. This is as simple as requiring evidence of legal residence for any of the freebies mentioned above. And, punishing any employer, welfare organization, medical facility, school, or state who violates the law. And I mean seriously punishing them. No silly fines. I am talking jail time.

We are either a country of laws or we are not.

Ron Scarbro