THE CLOCK IS TICKING

US Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi is sitting in a Mexican jail for the crime of accidentally entering Mexico at a legal entry gate with three completely legal firearms in his vehicle. According to his phone call to his mother, he got into the wrong lane and could not turn around quick enough. The Mexican authorities pounced upon him and hauled him off to their jail. That happened two months ago. As I write this column there has been no resolution and he is still there.

I think it is important to report that Tahmooressi was in San Diego for medical treatment. He had just returned from several tours in combat. It has been reported that he was being treated for PTSD.

If you are like me you are probably wondering where are the people we pay to handle situations like this? Well, our US Senate has been extremely busy. Not working on this marine’s situation, no, they have been diligently working on a letter signed by fifty intrepid US Senators. That letter was directed to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell demanding that the Washington Redskins, a privately owned professional football team, change their name. It seems these politically correct morons believe the most important thing on their agenda is not that an American hero has been kidnapped by a foreign government and held for two months. No, the most pressing item in their thoughts is not offending a few American Indians. Is it any wonder that the Congress of this great country has the reputation that it has? I’ll bet if you polled Native Americans across this country the vast majority would think this is just political nonsense.

Here are some interesting facts. Illegal aliens in this country send twenty-two billion dollars to Mexico every year. US tourists spend more billions in that country annually. US companies are building manufacturing plants in Mexico and employing thousands of their citizens. What if all that came to an abrupt halt?

Here is what should happen and should happen immediately. Our Ambassador to Mexico picks up his phone and calls the Mexican Ambassador and gives him this simple message. You have one hour to deliver Sgt. Tahmooressi and all his possessions, including his firearms, to the US border. Failure to do so will activate a plan designed to bring Mexico to her knees. Tourism will end. Illegals will be rounded up and returned to Mexico and our border will be sealed. American companies will be faced with tariffs that would essentially eliminate any possibility of a profit. Mexican agricultural products will rot in the fields. And the clock is ticking.

There is another option of course, and that is for the Marine Corps to go in force and retrieve their brother marine. I’m pretty sure Mexico would not like that.

Now some may feel these are extreme measures and I can understand how you would come to that conclusion. But here is a reality. Mexico, as well as all countries, should understand who they are dealing with. We absolutely will not tolerate this kind of treatment of our citizens, period.

To Senator Harry Reid and to the signers of the infamous letter to Goodell, remove your collective heads from the dark places where they dwell and face the real world. We are not paying you to go to Washington to interfere with private businesses and their choice of brand names. You have real problems to deal with. Deal with them. Get your job done and get this Marine home. Oh, and your clock is ticking also.

Ron Scarbro

LET'S TALK VOTER ID

I just voted in my state’s primary election. It was simple enough. I walked into the polling place, presented my government issued photo identification as required by the state of Georgia, and cast my ballot.

I thought about the idea of voting and its importance. Then I considered why some people would object to presenting ID in order to vote. I can tell you this. It is extremely difficult for dead people to vote in Georgia. It is also almost impossible to vote more than once per election. Maybe that is why Republicans overwhelmingly win elections in Georgia. I think this is due primarily to the requirement of photo ID. I also think this is the main reason Democrats continue to object to voter ID. It is difficult to rig an election if voters have to be alive and are only able to vote once per election.  

The Democrats scream at the thought of actually having to prove who they are in order to vote. Discrimination, they say. The requirement makes it much more difficult for old people and minorities to vote, they say. Never mind that the state provides, at no cost, photo ID for anyone who cannot afford it. Never mind that people must show photo ID to get on an airplane, cash a check, or most of the normal activities of daily living. It’s that voting thing that provokes them.

There are other little aspects of Georgia living that some, possibly Democrats, might find uncomfortable. In order to get, or renew a driver’s license, one must show legal citizenship in this country. One must prove their name with a birth certificate or some other government approved ID. For example if one gets married and changes their name, they must show a certified marriage license. It can be time consuming but, it also has many positives. Like most states, Georgia requires drivers to have auto insurance in order to drive on these roads. Non-licensed drivers cannot get auto insurance.

If you are a plumber, a beautician, a nail salon worker or owner, a landscaper, or anyone requiring a license, you must prove your citizenship and your name in order to be licensed. It is a non-discriminatory law. It doesn’t pick on any particular group. It just requires one to be a legal citizen of this country in order to work or drive in Georgia. Arizona’s laws and requirements are lame by comparison. They have nothing on Georgia.

So, where do you stand? To you Minnesota readers, do any of you truly believe Al Franken could win a seat in the US Senate in a fair election? It is no wonder Democrats rail against voter ID. It would clean up elections, make them fair, and make it much more difficult to cheat.

This final note. The coming election is one of the most important in the history of America for many reasons. Chief among them is the fact that new Supreme Court Justices will be named probably in the next few years. In the last few Court decisions our very Republic has been hanging by a five to four vote. We are that close to losing it all. We absolutely must have honest elections. There is just too much at stake. If you think by reading this that I believe a Democrat Senate and another Democrat president would be harmful to America, you would be correct.

Ron Scarbro 

IS IT JUST ME?

Just a short time ago in our history a person like Pvt. Bradley Manning would have been, after having been convicted of treason and espionage, marched out to a post, tied up, blindfolded, and shot to death. His remains would have been tossed into a ditch, covered up, and Manning would have been forgotten and relegated to the trash heap of history.  In my view a proper ending for such a punk.

But no. Not anymore. We have advanced. We have become more civilized. Our collective hearts now bleed for these types of people. Such things as punishment for crimes now seem to be a thing of the past. Now we must examine why. Why did this poor wretched individual choose such a path? He must have some sort of mental disorder. Maybe he is really a girl but sadly locked in a boy’s body. That would certainly explain why he/she chose to become a spy and jeopardize the lives of fellow soldiers and the country itself, right? So, let’s not shoot him/her. Let’s just put him/her in a cage for thirty-five years and maybe he/she will be rehabilitated. Well it turns out that is not good enough. We have to do more for this worthless piece of human excrement.

Today, our Pentagon is actually considering transferring Manning to a civilian prison and paying, with your tax dollars of course, to have Bradley Manning surgically transformed into Chelsea Manning. I believe the surgery is called “sexual reassignment.”  That would show him/her. Commit espionage in this country, put the country at risk and get that same country to spend tens of thousands of dollars to make your life more comfortable.

Is it just me, or does anybody else see a problem here? What in the world is going on? I can’t be the only person who is furious at the thought of this whole concept.

Now don’t get me wrong. If a person decides they are really a chimpanzee and can find a doctor who is willing to “reassign” them, go for it. I don’t care. Just don’t expect me to pay for the operation. Bradley Manning is a convicted spy who has, by his/her crimes, put his/her country in serious jeopardy. He/she deserves only to be fed, housed, and given the medical care necessary to keep his/her sorry ass alive until he/she has served his/her sentence. That’s it. No more. To my way of thinking, he/she is lucky to be allowed to live.

According to news reports the Pentagon will ultimately decide if this surgery is to happen, a surgery that we, the taxpayers, will pay for. In the final analysis the US House of Representatives has to pay the bills. They have to decide how much money the Pentagon budget is to be. My question is simple, is this the wisest use of their budget dollars?  I’m pretty sure none in Congress ever imagined they would have to deal with nonsense like this. This I can say for a certainty, if the House allows this to happen, everyone involved should pay with their jobs, period.

Earlier I asked, “Is it just me?” It can’t be. I can’t be the only one who feels this way. Put this punk in a cage and keep his/her name out of my sight forever.  

Ron Scarbro

LET'S CHANGE THE SUBJECT

Mr. President, Mr. President, we have a big problem. Those stinking Republicans are closing in on us. They are about to hold Lois Lerner in contempt. Their threats and pressure might make her come clean and tell the truth. That would be a major disaster. And those tea sipping Members of Congress are setting up a “select committee” to investigate Benghazi. They are going to subpoena everybody and demand that they tell the truth. They are going to get all our correspondence and almost everything that happened is in writing. I heard them tell a reporter that the Congress has the right and the power to hold the Executive branch to account. Is that true Mr. President? Can they really do that? Let’s face it. If they get to the truth, Hillary is finished. In fact the Democrat party would be in big trouble. Who knows, maybe Obamacare might get looked at again in a fresh light. That could well doom that “signature” piece of legislation. After all, they have so many things, all that we have been keeping under the rug, to investigate. This whole house of cards could come tumbling down. What will we do?

Relax. I have the answer. I have the answer that always works. The answer that previous presidents have also used. It is simple. We will just change the subject. All we have to do is come up with something so dramatic that the media, after all they belong to us, will cover. Let’s think about this. What would be so powerful that the entire country would forget Lerner, Benghazi, and even Hillary?

I know. Global warming. That would do it. But let’s call it “global climate change.” That is a more user friendly term. Let’s get some weird, kooky scientist, give him a big grant, and set him loose on the press. He should rant and show righteous anger. Make sure he has charts and graphs. Those always help when it comes to selling wild ideas. He should be somewhat believable, though. After all, some in the media, like Fox News, might be on to us. They are a little more difficult to deal with.

Mr. President, it is a great plan. It’s not like we are inventing something new. Global warming has been around for a long time. It has just been in the background because some loud mouth nonbelievers have given our theory a bad rap. And it’s great timing too, Sir.  After all, summer is coming and the weather will naturally heat up so we can use that as evidence. The normal spring storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes are all on the horizon. Since the people have the attention span of a tsetse fly larva, this couldn’t come at a better time. When the loud mouth nonbelievers and deniers speak up, we will just shout them down as we have done in the past. Mr. President, it is a great plan. We will just point to the storms going across the country as proof of our theory. Never mind that these storms have been happening since time began, we have the press on our side.

I can see it now. Everybody will be so frightened by our alarmist press releases that Benghazi, the IRS, and all the rest of the “phony” scandals will vanish from the news.

Mr. President, they called Bill Clinton “slick Willie” but he couldn’t hold a candle to your slickness. In fact, history may well record you as the slickest president of all times. It is just too bad that the country will be in such bad shape by then that nobody will notice and even fewer will care.

Ron Scarbro

ANOTHER SERIOUS CASE FOR TERM LIMITS

It is far better to keep your mouth shut and let everybody think you are an idiot than to open it and remove all doubt. Sen. Harry Reid, Democrat, Nevada, are you listening?

Harry Reid is an individual from a tiny little town in Nevada called Henderson who entered politics as a person of moderate means, who has become a millionaire many times over, who illegally uses his campaign war chest to give cash gifts to his relatives, who is involved with very questionable business practices and investments, and a person whose accomplishments are solely due to seniority which has allowed him to become the leader of the Democrats in the US Senate. The people of Nevada should be ashamed.  I have said before that it is bad enough that voters would choose a moron as their senator, the real problem is that he then is inflicted upon the entire country. Do you really believe that Harry Reid is the best possible citizen in the state of Nevada to serve as US Senator? Is he the best choice for Majority Leader? He is a proven liar. He spends most of his time removing his feet from his mouth. He makes ridiculous statements that embarrass his fellow Democrats and his constituency. He is a joke. The problem of course is that only the voters of  Nevada can get rid of him.

Our Congress is full of these individuals. They get elected, move to Washington, change their zip codes, and then forget where they came from. They join the club. They see themselves as some sort of royalty and live the life of elitism. They are ferried by chauffeur driven limos to wherever they choose to go. The only time they concern themselves with their constituency is when they have to seek reelection.

Reid probably believes he will continue to get away with his larceny. The big problem is that now he has alerted a huge number of people to his activities and they will not let it go. Why is Harry Reid so interested in the open range land being used by rancher Cliven Bundy? Is there truth to the rumor that Reid and others are planning a business venture of, let’s just guess, a wind farm? The open range that rancher Bundy has been using to graze his cattle is being targeted by Reid and his associates for some reason. Somebody please tell me how public land can be used for private business regardless of what the business is.

Why do the voters continue to reelect these morons to these offices? Granted the incumbents have all the advantage but still the voters could toss them if there was a concerted effort to do so. Congress’ approval rating is just a hair above leprosy. And Congress is made up of your representatives and mine. The time is long past to deal with this most pressing issue. While we desperately need term limits for Congress, that is never going to happen if Congress gets a vote on the issue.

Truth be told we already have term limits. All we have to do is toss these parasites after they have served a term or two at the most. Another problem that would be solved by this is seniority. Nothing in our Constitution allows for seniority. It is a completely unconstitutional power grab.

In my perfect world candidates for these high offices would have to take intelligence tests. They would have to submit to background checks. They would be held to the highest standards available. Anyone, candidate or elected official, would be jailed for any breach of the law or the standards set for them. We the people have the right to expect honor and integrity from those who feed at the government trough.

Ron Scarbro

MONEY CAN'T BUY ME LOVE...BUT

Have you heard of Tom Steyer? Well you probably will soon. Steyer is a billionaire hedge fund owner from California who just gave the Democrat party 100 million dollars. Fifty from his personal fortune and fifty from his business. Steyer is a self described “greenie.” He is the epitome of the radical environmentalist. For his millions to the Democrats he demanded a halt to the Keystone Pipeline. He got his wish. For thirty pieces of silver, Jesus Christ was betrayed. For one hundred million dollars the American people were betrayed.  In other words, he bought a destructive political action for a hundred million dollars. Do you wonder as do I just what Steyer’s true motive is?

For the record, the Keystone Pipeline would create thousands of jobs, bring down the price of oil by millions, and based on every intelligent report, harm nothing or no one. The only opposition is a tiny group of radical environmentalists. Sadly this tiny group is well funded by the likes of Tom Steyer. Also sadly it is apparent the Democrat party is owned by people like Tom Steyer, George Soros, Peter Lewis, Chairman of Progressive Insurance, and a few other zillionaires. It is also sadly obvious that at least in this case, the Democrats win, they get a million dollars, and the American people lose. They just get zilch.

I point this out because Sen. Harry Reid, Democrat, Nevada, took to the floor of the US Senate to criticize and demonize the Koch brothers. The Kochs are millionaire conservatives who contribute to conservative causes and generally support Republicans. According to Harry Reid though, the Koch brothers are un-American. It is clear that only people who agree with Reid are allowed to exercise their first amendment rights of free speech. Otherwise you are un-American. What an absolute idiot.

You may remember the Beatles had a song, “Money Can’t Buy Me Love.” What exactly can money buy? If you are a vicious child molesting murderer with not a friend in the world, give an attorney his retainer fee and suddenly he becomes the best friend you ever had. Let’s say you are lonely and in need of female companionship. Find one of these street walking types and give her fifty bucks and she becomes not only your friend, but also your lover, at least for a few moments. The same seems true for politicians. Give them a few bucks and they become your friend, protector, and even your ticket to personal wealth.

Call me crazy but it seems to me that lawyers, politicians and prostitutes have a lot in common. Money, it would seem, buys their love. Money buys their friendship. Money buys their influence.

A few years ago Sen. John McCain, Republican, Arizona, said during a debate over campaign money, that money is the evil in politics. He held that the money being delivered to politicians was the evil of politics and if only the money could be removed, politics would be cleaner and more legitimate. It appears he thinks it is the money that is the evil and not the givers or the recipients of that money who are at fault. I think we have just discovered the problem. Money, Sen. McCain, is just a tool. Like all tools, it is neither evil nor good. The evil is in the motive of the donor and the recipient. If your influence, your friendship, or your love is for sale to the highest bidder, you have just identified yourself as a common prostitute.

America deserves better. Money should not buy love, neither should it buy politicians nor their political party.

Ron Scarbro

I WILL FEAR NO MORE

I was born and spent my early childhood in East Tennessee. My home was just a few miles from a little town known as Oak Ridge. At that time Oak Ridge was the home of the development of the atomic bomb. Little was publicly known or reported, but everyone who lived near there knew. My father worked as a guard there. He didn’t talk about it but we all knew.

I point this out because I remember well the fear we all had. We knew that in the event of an attack from anyone, Oak Ridge would have been the first target. In our school we had bomb attack drills. The bell would ring and we would crawl under our desks and cover our heads waiting to hear either the bomb drop and explode or the all clear. Even and especially for children it was a scary time.

There were the bomb shelters. People would buy and bury huge tanks and fully stock them with several weeks of supplies. A lot of entrepreneurial people made big money selling fear. It was an intense time in our history.

Many of you will doubtless remember this time. I am sure that the bomb drills happened everywhere. I am sure that the fear we felt was felt in many if not all parts of the country. That fear was a part of my life for many years. It was the Japanese, then the Germans, then the Russians. Somebody was going to get us, it was just a matter of time.

The Russians, or as we were told the “Red Menace,” were the worst. They also had the bomb. Russian spies stole our secrets and gave them to the Russians so now they had the bomb.

The fear I had lasted until a fellow named Ronald Reagan along with a lady known as Margaret Thatcher decided to bring this fear to an end. Essentially they got together and priced the Soviet Union out of existence. I was thrilled when the wall came tumbling down. I was thrilled to know that the “Red Menace” was just a paper tiger after all. The Soviet Union broke apart.

Today a little fellow known as Vladimir Putin has apparently decided to reconstitute the old Soviet Union. He and his cohorts have looked over the world situation and decided that neither NATO, nor the United Nations, nor the United States will do anything to stop them from their desire to once again try to obtain world dominance. So far it appears they were right. They moved into Crimea and took over with no resistance from anyone. Now they are doing the same thing in Ukraine with little or no resistance or interference from the West or anyone. To me this is doubtless an attempt to reestablish the old Soviet Union.

I have a simple question. Will we sit by and allow Russia to get away with this or will we stop it? Will we submit to this international terrorism or will we stop it? To date our record under this President has not been very good. Our stinging letters of protest have not been very successful so far. It would appear that the Russians don’t speak “stinging protest.” The only language they understand has a little more force behind it.

I refuse to be afraid anymore. I refuse to allow my children and grandchildren to be afraid. It is time to stand up to Putin and his henchmen. Do you recall the commercial that says, “You can pay me now or you can pay me later?” We can deal with Russia now or we will surely have to deal with her later. Let’s stop this aggression now.

Ron Scarbro