IS IT STEUBENVILLE OR STUPIDVILLE?

You surely have heard about the rape case in Steubenville, or is it Stupidville, Ohio? That’s what my granddaughter thought was the name of the city. A large number of teenagers were having a party and at some time that evening a sixteen year old girl was raped. Many of the details have been reported but a number of facts have been left out.

This is what we know. The victim, a sixteen year old, got blind drunk and was stripped of her clothing and raped by two boys, both star football players on their high school team, one also sixteen and one seventeen. The two boys were subsequently arrested, tried, and convicted. Both will serve time in juvenile detention.

This is also what we know from the reporting. The victim found out what had happened to her by viewing the incident on social media. You see, several youngsters at the party recorded the event with their cell phone cameras and posted it online. The perpetrators themselves posted pictures of the little sixteen year old, stripped naked, on social media sites. I guess they all thought it was funny. All, that is, except the victim.

I am pleased to say that the perps have been convicted and will serve time; one got one year and the other got two years in detention. They cried at the sentencing, not for the victim, but for themselves, saying their lives were over. Of course their lives are not over, but they will substantially change.

I have a few more questions which have not as yet been answered. Like, whose house was used for this party? What parents allowed a bunch of teenagers use of their house to have a drunken party? And have arrest warrants been issued for them yet? Secondly, who bought the booze for this party? Apparently there was a lot of liquor and beer available for these kids. Isn’t that against the law? Has anybody been arrested yet? Another question I have is have any of the witnesses been charged for their failure to report a crime? I have also learned that many of the teens lied to police about the incident. That too is a felony. Posting child nudity online is another felony. One of the rapists got extra time for doing that but he was not the only poster. Many of the people who attended the party took pictures and posted them online. I guess, again, they thought it was funny. There were doubtless many other adults who knew of this incident and kept quiet. Perhaps coaches and teachers?

With all that we don’t know about this crime, there is much we know. We know there is good reason why kids should not be allowed to drink alcohol. The little victim was stupid for putting herself in the position she did, but her crime of stupidity didn’t warrant the punishment she received. We know there are yet a number of people who should face criminal charges for their participation in these crimes and there were many crimes committed. Ohio’s Attorney General has announced that more indictments are forthcoming. I hope that is true.

I am very sorry for this little girl and for what she has endured, but I am also sorry for our society that such crimes could happen. It saddens me to know that so many young people could and would participate in such an incident and then try to keep it quiet. It is long past the time for the heavy hand of the law to strike. Punishment is in order. Lessons need to be learned. Steubenville, as well as the rest of us, needs those lessons.

Ron Scarbro March 27, 2013

HOW AND WHY?

Scientists say they have discovered the long sought Higgs boson particle. It has been identified as the “God” particle. We are being told today that now scientists can finally explain exactly how the universe was created using pure physics. This new discovery has been called the “missing link.” We are being told that unimaginable new discoveries will now take place because of this discovery. Horizons which we were previously unable to attain are now at our fingertips. We are going to be amazed. Okay, go ahead, amaze me. Tell me how this all came to be.  

When I was a senior in high school we had a motto. “He who knows how will find his place in life. He who knows why will be his boss.” Concerning this new discovery, I love discovery. I love research. I love learning new things and I believe most scientists do as well. But, knowing how the universe was created, while that is very valuable information to be sure, does not explain why the universe was created. To call this new discovery the “God” particle as an explanation of creation which eliminates the necessity of actually having God in the equation, may satisfy some curious minds, but it does not satisfy mine.

Some time ago the late comedian Dave Gardner asked this simple question. “If this is the earth and all of our universe, and all that humans can comprehend, and if that is all we can imagine, what’s all that around it? What is it hanging from? What is it sitting on?” In other words, if the Higgs boson particle is the “missing link,” who created it? Where did it come from?

I personally am amazed by scientific discovery. I am entertained by the many and  varied explanations of our creation. I know that most of those who attempt these explanations are sincere. But, I would rather listen to a Baptist preacher from a tiny church in a tiny community explain why we were created than the most exalted and intelligent physicist try to explain how we were created.

Why am I here? And where is here? Are humans just an accident of evolution? Is a sunrise on a warm spring day with colors of purple and orange and pink, with gentle breezes blowing in my face the result of some particles accidentally bumping into each other? Is a cold winter night with a full moon shining on newly fallen snow hushing the sounds of the world the result of random movement through an unimaginable universe with no one  in control? I think not. When I look into the face of my beautiful wife or my equally beautiful children and grandchildren am I to believe that all of this is just an accident?

The older I have gotten the less proof I need of my faith. The older I get the more I can accept by that faith the things which some feel compelled to scientifically explain.

I am neither a scientist nor am I a religious scholar. I am just a simple man who has questioned many things in my life. Like the difference between wisdom and intelligence. Now I have learned that perhaps wisdom is a commodity reserved for the old. Perhaps as we age, we find peace in the simple explanations. Perhaps the hows in life fall away and are taken over by the whys. I just know it works for me.

Ron Scarbro

WE NEED A DEPARTMENT OF LOUISE

Some years ago famed newspaper columnist Dave Barry offered a way for our country to deal with runaway government. He proposed “The Dept.of Louise.” Louise, a 38 year old mother of three, totally involved with the laundry, PTA, grocery shopping, and soccer practice, would be consulted before any government action or spending could occur. “Louise, we need twenty million dollars to build a new landing strip for wild geese.” And Louise would say NO. “Louise, we need ten million to study the sex habits of the Ugandan box turtle.” And Louise would say NO. “Louise, we need to eliminate the second amendment and greatly change the first and the tenth. In fact we need to throw out the whole Constitution and write a new one which would better serve our special interest.” And Louise would say NO and you have to hurry because I have to pick up my kids from soccer practice.

We, the people, need to find our backbones and say to the bully government, NO. A government which decries bullying in schools is the biggest bully of them all in every aspects of human interaction and they need to hear the word NO from us.

Some moronic State Senator in Florida is proposing legislation which would require any purchaser of  ammunition to take an anger management course and have a waiting period. Colorado is proposing an end to pump shotguns. ICE is releasing thousands of illegal immigrants to prey upon the citizens. All across the country  government agencies are bullying the American people by instituting rules and regulations with little or no thought as to the outcome. To all of these idiots I have one word, NO. We are free people who have been endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Our Founding Fathers knew what government oppression was. They lived with it everyday. They knew what government overreach was. Our Constitution was written to protect us from our government. Our freedoms are not granted by the Constitution, they are our unalienable right. They were granted to us by our Creator. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights were designed to keep government off our backs and their boots off our necks. As free people we decide what is best for us. There is no person or group of persons on earth intelligent enough to decide what is best for me. I make that decision. Sorry Mayor Bloomberg but it is my decision whether I will buy sodas in 60, 80, or even 100 ounce containers. It is my decision as to what cooking oil I will use. It is my decision whether I will allow my offspring to nurse or take formula. It is none of your damn business. Take care of yourself and I will take care of me and mine. Stop trying to bully me.

Louise, where are you now that we so desperately need you? Where are the people who will just say no to our runaway government? We have a book of rules. We have a manual of operations. We have the law. We, the American people, have the U.S. Constitution. I regularly re-read it. I often refer to the Bill of Rights. Those individuals whom we have hired to serve us as representatives need to also re-read these documents. Many seem to have forgotten what is written there.

Everyone who serves in government has to swear an oath to uphold the Constitution from the president on down. None are exempt from that requirement. It is incumbent upon us, the voters, to hold their feet to the fire. I’m pretty sure no one in Washington wants to hear from Louise.

Ron Scarbro

THE SKY IS FALLING, THE SKY IS FALLING

Wasn’t it Chicken Little who ran around screaming “The sky is falling, the sky is falling?” Or was that Obama? I am referring to the most recent crisis de jour coming out of the White House, the sequester.

We have been treated to a litany of dire predictions preceding the sequester. We would have to close down our airports, thousands of teachers would have to be laid off, and we would have to empty our jails because we could not support the prisoners. They have already started releasing imprisoned illegal aliens. They intend to release 5000 over a one month period. National parks would have to close. Etc., etc. Blah, blah, blah.

Well, of course, the problems as described by the President were all lies. Why should we be surprised by that? We have been lied to for several years by this administration. Since those lies didn’t work to cause Congress to act to prevent the sequester, plan B now goes into effect. That is to blame the Republicans in Congress for the cuts caused by this sequester. Never mind that this time the sequester was Obama’s idea in the first place or that he is on record saying that if the Congress tried in any way to change it, he would veto that effort. All of which has been reported by big time liberal reporter Bob Woodward, the author of Nixon’s downfall, who incidentally has been threatened by the White House for reporting these facts.

What is really going on here? I think Obama never believed it would come to this. He thought Congress would step in and stop the automatic cuts. Really, he never wanted to cut anything. He just wants to spend and unless Congress approves tax increases, that cannot happen. President Chicken Little can scream all he wants but it is the Congress that has the power to raise taxes.

Let us understand what the sequester is all about. This act requires government agencies to reduce their budgetary expectation by 2.4%. They are not expected to cut their existing budget, just to reduce their increase by a mere 2.4%. All of the fear mongering about this issue is just moronic silliness.

Congressional Republicans should embrace these cuts, not run from them. This could be the start of some real reduction in the runaway spending in Washington. Obama seems to think if he can blame someone else, the Republicans in Congress, for these minor cuts, he might be able to retake the House in the next election. He should instead take a look at the most recent poll which says 83% of those polled believe Washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. This could easily be a winning position for Republicans.

There is a clear reality. This country cannot continue to spend the way it has in the past. It is just not sustainable. The Congress should now take advantage of the puny start this act has given them and get busy and show a little backbone. Today it is pennies. Tomorrow it could be true cuts and real savings.

I have decided not to be guided for future decisions by what politicians say. I choose not to believe this President because he has a history of lies that cannot be denied. Let’s face it, he and the other politicians have all earned our skepticism. No, my future decisions will all based on what the financial markets have to say. If the stock market likes it, I like it.

Today the stock market is saying the sky's not falling. We need these cuts. We need the sequester. We just hit a new all time high on the Dow Jones Average. Now that’s a message I can believe.

Ron Scarbro

GOVERNMENT IS THE SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE AND OTHER RADICAL THOUGHTS

Today it seems some Mayors and local elected officials have forgotten what their job really is. Emperor Bloomberg of New York City apparently thinks he knows best in all things from diet to smoking to gun ownership. In reality he is just a spoiled little rich guy with a Napoleon complex. Why the people of New York put up with this clown is beyond my comprehension.

Famous singer/songwriter James Taylor said in a recent interview that maybe it would be best if we all just gave up some of our freedoms for the good of the many. I think this moronic interview had something to do with gun ownership. Whatever. I don’t think people like Taylor would like it very much if the socialist  utopia they see in their pea brains actually came to pass and they had to live there. When they faced the reality that their wealth would be taken from them for “the good of the many,” they might have a different opinion of utopia.

Some state and local governments seem to be getting tired of being dictated to by the Feds. All across the country several states are crafting laws in an effort to stifle the heavy hand of Washington. Laws are being passed easing gun regulation and specifically neutering new Federal gun laws. Texas has passed a law making it illegal for any police agency to enforce any new Federal law restricting gun ownership or possession. The officer could be arrested. Utah has passed a law making it lawful for any legal citizen of Utah who was otherwise not restricted by previous convictions, to carry a weapon openly or concealed with no permit required. Many other states are busily working on new laws to control the feds.

Other state officials are overtly inviting businesses to move their operations out of the heavily taxed states to more business friendly areas. Texas is leading the way offering special consideration to gun makers and ammunition producers as well as other businesses. And it’s working. Texas now is the fastest growing state in the Union. California and other big tax states are losing jobs and revenue from this exodus.

Many right-to-work states are siphoning off companies and jobs by offering automakers and airplane builders a much more business friendly environment.

Arizona is trying to get pro golfer Phil Mickelson to move from California to save big on his state income taxes. Florida already leads the way for many wealthy people’s southward move because of the absence of a state income tax. Imagine if you made a million dollars a year and you could save ten percent by just moving to a different state. What would you do? Ask Tiger Woods, a former Californian who now resides in Florida.

The issue facing us today is the runaway monolithic reach of governments. We are a free people. Government is the servant of the people. Representatives, Senators, and Presidents are hired civil servants who are hired by the people to do the business of government. We are their boss, not the other way around. They have a book of rules, a manual of operations you might say. It is called the U.S. Constitution. We have in place a system to deal with the great issues we face. All we need and all we have ever needed is for all of us, and that includes the government, to follow the rules and obey the law. Let the only special interest be the good of the American people. When that simple rule is followed, life will be much simpler for all of us.

Ron Scarbro

STEALING $750,000 IS NOT A MISTAKE

Ex Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. Now I’m not going to pick on him because of who he is, no, I’m going to pick on him because of what he is. He is a thief who is  currently under indictment for fraud and conspiracy for illegally using $750,000 of his campaign war chest for personal use. That personal use included, among other things, a gold Rolex watch, furs and furniture. His wife, a former elected Alderman in Chicago, is also under indictment for falsifying income tax returns. She faces three years in prison and reports are that she has already offered a plea agreement. Jackson Jr. faces five years and, as of this writing, has not  yet offered a plea.

You may remember that he basically disappeared from view recently. It was reported that his absence was for treatment for bipolar disorder at Mayo Clinic. You’ll forgive my skepticism if I say that he probably knew what was coming down the pike and was looking for a way to excuse his “mistakes.” I don’t believe he was being treated for anything. I just think he was in hiding and with his advisors, trying to figure out an excuse strategy. Do you suppose one of his advisors might have been his dad, Jesse Jackson Sr?

Here is an individual who had been given every advantage in American life. He had a famous name, he had decent looks, he was elected to the US Congress and was considered one of the Democrat Party’s rising stars. As it turns out though, he is just a common thief. He has betrayed his constituents, his peers in Congress, his children, and his entire family. Do you suppose he learned betrayal and cheating at the feet of his father? Just wondering. And you know the worst of this is that he probably stole much, much more that has not yet been disclosed. This probably barely skims the surface.

Are Jackson Jr’s illegal acts common? Are other politicians stealing from their campaign chests to fund lavish lifestyles? Can I be the only person in America who thinks so-called campaign contributions are really just bribes? Aren’t campaign war chests really just amassed personal fortunes? How else would you explain how individuals arrive in Washington DC with little or nothing and retire a term or two later as millionaires? I have always been skeptical about the whole campaign contribution thing. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck, wouldn’t you think?

Another thing that disturbs me about politicians is their seeming sense of entitlement. I am sure that Jackson Jr. believed that he should be entitled to the money he took. After all, somebody gave it to him. I am sure he saw himself as a big shot Congressman. Why shouldn’t he have furs and a gold Rolex watch?

Jackson Jr has offered his version of sincere apologies for his mistakes. The first thing I would like Mr. Jackson Jr. to know however is the meaning of the word mistake. Misspelling a word is a mistake. Taking a wrong turn on the highway is a mistake. Forgetting an important person’s name might be a mistake. Stealing $750,000 is a lot of things but it is not a mistake. Stealing $750,000, ladies and gentlemen, is grand larceny. And grand larceny is punishable by five years in the slammer.

Maybe, just maybe other thieves and future thieves might see what awaits people who make these so-called mistakes. Maybe, if justice is served, they will all understand that acts such as these are not mistakes at all. They’re just common crimes committed by common criminals. That’s all.

Ron Scarbro February 20, 2013

I THINK I PREFER THE FIRST LIE

When the Benghazi tragedy happened we were treated to a litany of explanations by several officials about what it was and what caused it. Initially, Obama, Hillary, and of course, Susan Rice all spoke the talking points that this was a mob action caused by some obscure video on the internet. After all, the election was at hand and the administration couldn’t tell the American people that we were attacked by an enemy that they had publicly stated was on the run and basically impotent. Obama addressed the UN and the rest of the administration went on the TV shows. Their protestations were loud and clear. Sadly, they were lies. Bald faced, out and out lies.

Well, as is always the case, the truth is now starting to come out. More facts are now being divulged and the cover up is getting to be more difficult. Hillary had to finally face an inquiry from the Congress. I watched it. I heard what she had to say. I listened as she said that it did not matter that we were lied to. All in all, her appearance was typical. She toted the company line and hid behind the talking points. I could say that I was disappointed but that would be a stretch. I try to live by the “Eleventh Beatitude,” “blessed is he who expects nothing for he shall not be disappointed.” She certainly did not exceed my expectations. She did the Hillary Clinton thing.

Now we have the testimony of Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, and with it a whole new version of so called truth. One of the most striking admissions from Panetta was that while we indeed did have fighter jets available and within thirty minutes of the Embassy under  attack, it would have taken several hours to prepare them for actual fighting. What? Are you kidding me? You want me to believe that we are so ill prepared that we could not put fighters in the air on a moments notice ready and able to take out a bunch of rag tag donkey herders? This is not the military in which I once served. This is not the military that represents the most powerful country on earth. Try buzzing the White House in a small plane and see how long it takes for you to be accompanied by a bevy of fully armed fighter jets. No, Panetta’s version sounds more like another excuse for incompetence.

So, here we have the many and varied versions of this story. There will probably be more coming soon. The Administration is going to continue offering explanations until the story either goes away or the total truth finally is revealed. I have listened intently to all the stories. I have tried to believe their explanations, but I cannot. What were obvious lies when the matter first broke have been completely discredited. I suspect most of the current “facts” will suffer the same fate.

As I consider all the positions proffered by Obama and his minions, I have come to a decision. I think I prefer the first lie. It is much easier for me to swallow that mobs of morons representing radical factions of an ancient religion stumbled upon an unprotected embassy and, being stirred up by a YouTube video, decided to kill four Americans. The alternative would be that we are in The Middle East with an ill prepared military unable to respond to threats unless we have a several hour window to prepare ourselves. That is totally unacceptable. That is a particular lie that I absolutely cannot believe, period. No, I’m going to go with the first lie.

Ron Scarbro