HATE BEGETS HATE BUT LOVE BEGETS LOVE

In response to the tragic shooting in a church in Charleston, S.C., President Obama has decried that this happened because there are just too many guns in this country. And, he added, too many guns are in the hands of the wrong people. I have this simple question. What if there was just one more gun and it happened to be in the hands of one of the people who were at that church service? What if, while this worthless punk was reloading, that one gun was used to take him out? You see, as I have said so many times before, the only way to stop a gun is with a gun. When seconds count, the cops are only minutes away.

We have to face some reality here. There are probably as many guns in this country as there are people. If a law was passed today outlawing guns, who would then have guns? Would it be the good citizens who protect their families and their possessions? Or would those guns be in the hands of the bad guys? Wake up.

Gun control legislation is liberal feel good legislation. It has no practical benefit to the people.

Since this shooting, reports are coming out that some people who knew Dylann Roof, the suspected killer, were aware that he was an evil racist. They are even saying he was destined to commit some vicious act. The question is being asked, “Why didn’t somebody report him? Why didn’t somebody stop him?” You might just as well ask why didn’t somebody stop a bolt of lightning from striking?  We live in a free society. Our society is governed by laws. One cannot be prosecuted unless and until they break the law and hate is not against the law.

That having been said, I believe more could possibly have been done. Somewhere, somehow, Roof learned his hate. He learned a hate that has been simmering for a lot longer than just one evening. He doubtless had shared his twisted views with many over his few short years. Perhaps if someone who loved him had slapped some sense into him maybe he wouldn’t be in the situation he is in today and maybe these nine innocent lives would have been spared. We are not seers. We cannot see the future. We don’t really know what the future holds, but we can often see little bits and pieces that should tip us off.

So what do we do with this miserable little twerp now? Some say if he is convicted, he should be executed immediately. Others say nothing is gained by killing this killer. They say there is no deterrent value in a death sentence. Well it certainly would be a deterrent to Roof because he would be dead.

I have even heard that a proper punishment would be to cut him loose in a maximum security prison, give all the inmates the information that he is there and tell them what he did, then give Roof a fifty yard head start. I believe the state would be spared a good deal of expense if that were done.

Today though, the families of his victims see things differently and are praying for his worthless hide. Today they are offering forgiveness. My heart was broken as I listened to the families asking God to forgive this punk. I doubt that I would have the grace to do the same if those were my relatives and friends.

What is the better way? Is it better to hate this creep? Or is it better to pray for him? I leave it to you to decide. For a certainty hate just begets more hate, but love absolutely begets love.

Ron Scarbro

WE NEED A DEPARTMENT OF TRANS

Let us consider the prefix trans. It is used a lot. For example, transfer or transact, or how about transition and trans fat? In these utilizations trans might mean to change or to alter. To go from one place to another or to go from one situation to another.

Lately it has also come to mean to go from one sex to another as in transsexual or from one gender to another as in transgender. Later in this column we will see how this prefix is coming to mean just about anything we want it to mean.  

Rachel Dolezal is a white woman who, a few years ago, decided it would be in her best interest to pass herself off as a black woman. She married and divorced a black man and has two biracial children. She curled and dyed her hair as well as darkened her skin tone with makeup. She graduated from a predominately black school, Howard University, and went on to become President of a Spokane, Washington chapter of NAACP.

In order to obtain and keep her position as President, she spun a series of tales from parental abuse to having a black father to being raised in a tepee and hunting for her food with a bow and arrow. None of her tales were true.

Her parents outed her. Her own brother, incidentally a biracial young man who was adopted by her parents, also outed her. She is of European descent and is totally white. She is biologically caucasian.

So, here we are. She has been caught in a lie, a big lie. I was always told when you are in a hole, stop digging. Rachel evidently didn’t get that message. She has continued to compound her problems by adding to her lies. The reality is she cannot get out from under the web of deceit she has spun. What to do? What to do?  

Rachel has apparently decided the answer is to claim to be a transracial person. A what? A transracial person. According to her explanation she sees herself as a black woman. It doesn’t matter that she is biologically caucasian, she believes she is a black woman. That should, in her mind, make it okay. I heard a doctor say this past week that he may decide to see himself as a sixty-five year old man and then apply for Social Security benefits. According to the current thinking he should be granted these benefits because that is the way he sees himself. What do you think his chances are? I suspect he would be arrested and charged with fraud.  

That brings us to this final point. Has Rachel Dolezal committed fraud? Has she gained any financial benefit by lying about her race? She certainly has gained status in the black community of Spokane, albeit for a short time. She has since resigned her position as President. Her continued lies serve no one, especially her.

Personally I don’t care how this woman sees herself. I don’t care how Bruce Jenner sees himself or herself depending on which day it is. People have choices and they should be free to exercise those choices. But, they also should realize just how silly a lot of this nonsense is.

Me, I’m going to now transition myself near some food contaminated by trans fat, eat it and transfer my guilt to some government agency known as the Department of Trans. Have a nice day.

Ron Scarbro

A BAD HAIRCUT IS A TWO WEEK PROBLEM

Have you ever gone to the barber shop or the beauty salon and gotten a bad haircut? It just doesn’t look right and no way of brushing, combing, or fixing it up corrects the problem. To some this is a tragic event. To me, it is a two week problem because that is about how long it takes to grow back.

So, how is this relevant to today’s discussion? All through our lives we face good times and we face bad times. We build bridges that, in most cases, we never have to cross. We face challenges that can be real tragedies. By the same token we accept good fortune and good news gladly.

It has been my experience, however, that most of the problems that I have had to face in my lifetime were not nearly as bad as I had thought they would be and some of the good fortune I experienced wasn’t as good as I had hoped either.

Another little tidbit that I have heard is what doesn’t kill you makes you better. It would seem that during our lifetimes we deal with challenges that somehow are designed to teach us. I know that I have always learned more from a defeat than from a victory. It wasn’t always pleasant but it was a learning experience.

I know of people, as do you, who have had a clear life plan laid out. They have prepared themselves for a certain destiny when all of a sudden something changes and their plans go up in smoke. Maybe they suffered a medical setback, or lost a job, or had financial reversals. Whatever, something happened and their lives were upended. Some have allowed these reversals to destroy their lives. Some, though, have landed on their feet and gone on to succeed in other ways or other fields, and many beyond their wildest imaginations. This I know. Everything you have ever done in you lifetime has brought you to this point in your life. Somewhere along the way you turned right when you meant to turn left and you wound up here. If you are a senior citizen like me, you have dodged many arrows in your journey that has brought you to today.

If you are a young person, perhaps your journey is just beginning. Remember Forrest Gump who famously said, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.” You may well have some changes in your master plan. Let those changes be like a bad haircut. They usually fix themselves in a short time. Many years ago I read a book by Dale Carnegie called “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living.” I recommend the book. One of his lessons was  when something is worrying you, figure that it has already happened, deal with it, and go on about your life. Simple but effective.

I don’t mean to make light of or belittle events that we face. I have friends who have had to deal with serious medical diagnoses. I have had friends who died much too young. The fact is there are no guarantees. Life, while a beautiful thing, is fragile. Life can be fleeting.

I know there are some people who envy someone else’s life or their wealth. What they don’t know is that the very person they envy might well be willing to trade places with them. None of us knows what someone else’s  journey is.

So have a blessed day and enjoy your life. Don’t let a bad haircut get you down.

Ron Scarbro

IS IT ANY OF OUR BUSINESS?

The barbaric savages known as ISIS are killing, beheading, and brutalizing people all across the Middle East. They seem to especially favor the killing of women and babies. Maybe it’s because they don’t fight back as hard.

They have retaken much of the territory we gave blood and treasure for. We have spent literally billions in dollars and thousands in lives for this miserable plot of land known as Iraq. This “JV” group has driven the Iraqi army away with their tails tucked between their legs. The army that we spent billions training. ISIS has stolen our weapons that the Iraqi army abandoned. They seem, at this point, to be unstoppable.

The question is, does the civilized world care? Does America care? Do you care? It would appear by our actions that we don’t. We drop a few bombs but ISIS rapidly recovers. We send in an elite unit of “Special Forces” and take out one of their top leaders, but the JVs seem to let it go with no concern.

Some will say that this war between Shiites and Sunnis has been going on for centuries and it isn’t going to stop anytime soon. So is it any of our business? Should we have been there in the first place?

A quick look at history might be helpful. The vast majority of Americans know of Hitler and Stalin only through history books. And what they know may well be clouded by the authors of those books. The fact is both of these men were brutal killers who believed that they were supposed to be rulers of the world. Hitler and his henchmen moved across Europe with little or no resistance. Neville Chamberlain seemed to believe he could appease Hitler and keep him at bay. That turned out to be a farce. Had it not been for our intervention, England and all of Europe would be Germany.

Stalin killed millions in his effort to turn all of Eastern Europe into a Soviet Empire. There was Pol Pot in Cambodia. Another brutal indiscriminate killer. Had we not stopped these tyrants, would we be here today? Would we still be a free nation?

And so the question. Is ISIS and their brutal takeover of the Middle East any of our business? And do we care? Should we care? Is it possible that when they do get all of the Middle East that they will then take over Europe?

To my mind the big question is who, if not us, is going to stop them? Some have suggested that this, being a war between Shiites and Sunnis, will only be won if we arm Shiites and have them deal with the Sunnis. I submit that this is a war between savages who are brutal killers on both sides and neither side seems capable of living in a civilized world.

Here are some facts that should be helpful to all. America is the only world power in existence today. America has the ability and the armaments to destroy ISIS in a matter of seconds if we chose to do so. The problem is clear. We apparently don’t have the will to use our power to stop ISIS or any other tyrants. We seem to be taking a “wait and see” attitude. Neville Chamberlain took the same attitude and you can see where it got him. We, the United States, had to bail Great Britain out.

So do we care? Do we really care? Is it any of our business? My position is clear. If we care, let’s finish it. If we don’t, let’s bring everybody home and turn our weapons into plows. Who knows, maybe when they get all of Europe, killing and beheading any resistance, they will just leave us alone. I wouldn’t want to bet our future on that, would you?

Ron Scarbro

WORDS HAVE CHANGED OVER THE YEARS

As a writer I love words. I love to arrange them and situate them in ways to sell, entertain, convince, and otherwise encourage my readers to see my point. Many words can be beautiful just standing alone. Words like “enchanting” or “heavenly” or even the word “beautiful.” These words really need no definition. They define themselves.

Of course there are words that have the opposite meaning and effect. Words like “vulgar” or “ugly.” They also define themselves.

Our language has evolved over the last few years often changing the meaning or the emphasis of some words. Some words have become signals that should cause the reader to be concerned.

I am going to go over some.

Have you ever gone furniture shopping? If you shop at a store with the word “interiors” in the name, be very, very careful. I have found that the word “interiors” rarely means inexpensive.

Here’s another of my recent favorites, “healthy” as in foods. For some unknown reason that has come to mean carrots. Rarely if ever do you see healthy applied to meat. One would get the feeling that anything other than vegetables is unhealthy. As for me vegetables are the food that my food eats.

One of the most descriptive words on my list is “upscale.” Have you ever seen a “downscale” restaurant? I have probably eaten in some but they don’t advertise that way. Upscale means that a three dollar hamburger is going to cost ten dollars. Too often it’s the same hamburger only with the designation “upscale.” That brings the price up.

I still remember when a cup of coffee was just a cup of coffee. Now it has hundreds of names and descriptions along with hundreds of different prices. If I wanted a chocolate milkshake, I would go to an ice cream shop.

Kermit the Frog of the Muppets sings “It’s not easy being green.” I certainly agree. Let us consider the word “green.” It used to be one of my favorite words. To me it meant trees, grass, oh and money. Not anymore. Now it means all things environmental. It means driving electric cars. It means sorting your garbage. It means buying into all of the cockamamie ideas of environmental wackos regardless of the facts of the situation. Like Kermit says, it’s not easy being green.

How about “natural” or “organic?” I saw a sign in the meat market that advertised organic salmon. What, pray tell, would be non-organic salmon? Oh, that must be the salmon sitting beside it that was several dollars less per pound. Whatever. If you want to pay more for a designation, be my guest.

Now for some words that I just don’t understand. It seems we have changed the meaning to suit some agenda.

Be real cautious of “processed” cheese. Some advertisers would have you believe it is better for you to eat non-processed cheese.  Here’s my question. How does milk become cheese if it is not processed? I don’t think it happens by itself.

Do you like sweet corn? Do you realize that all sweet corn is “genetically modified?” Now there’s a scary phrase. The sweet corn that we eat has come from a long line of modifications to improve its palatability and its acceptance as a human food. In fact many of the foods we eat today have been crossbred and altered to make them tastier, more stable, and more easily shippable. Somebody has been messing with their genes. How else do you think you can get tomatoes in the middle of winter?

There are many more questionable words but I hope you get my point. It is up to us to buy into or reject wild claims. As for me, I think I’ll go get me a down-scale hamburger with genetically modified tomato and pig out.

Ron Scarbro

THE COUNTRY YOU SAVE MAY WELL BE YOUR OWN

Did you hear the latest from North Korea? It seems that their defense minister, Hyon Yong-choi, went to sleep during an address by the “dear leader,” Kim Jong-un, or as we like to call him, Little Kim. Well, Little Kim was upset to say the least. The minister’s punishment? Why a firing squad of course. But no, not just any firing squad. This squad killed him with an anti-aircraft gun. To all those morons who think they are being mistreated in this country, why not try North Korea? You may find that things are not so bad here after all. I never cease to be amazed by the inhumane treatment some in power use on their underlings. You and I know that this is not going to end well for Little Kim. He will get his and it is going to be fitting and hideous. The sooner the better.

Hillary is on the campaign trail. She says she is on a listening tour. Since her announcement that she was running she has answered a total of eight questions from the media. After all, how can you listen if you spend all your time talking and answering questions? If I had as much to hide as Hillary does, I wouldn’t want to answer questions either. The reality of this situation is that eventually she will have to come clean. Even her most loyal fans in the “mainstream” media will have to get the truth from her. If she thinks she can hide, she is sadly mistaken. Cheaters and e-mail destroyers never prosper.

Speaking of cheaters and e-mail destroyers. Tom Brady of the New England Patriots has been suspended for four games for deflating footballs to make them easier to grip and throw. This is, of course, against league rules. If he and his team were smart, they would let this matter drop. But no. They have decided to fight the suspension. The Patriots are serial cheaters and the last thing they need is closer scrutiny of their actions. Deflated footballs will be the least of their problems. Leave well enough alone. You probably will not like what comes next.

Since the Ferguson mess, stirred up by slimeball politicians and race baiters with their anti-police rhetoric, how many cops do you suppose have been killed or injured in the performance of their duties? How many cops have refused to stop possible lawbreakers because of the ramification of doing so? How many innocent citizens have been killed or injured because these lawbreakers were not stopped in their tracks? I know if I were a cop I would think twice before I would risk my life and my career attempting to stop criminals. Let’s face it. If the cops are even questioned they are probably toast. Their careers are probably done. At best they will have to find a new place to live.

Then we have the race baiter-in-chief, Barack Obama, issuing an edict that police departments cannot use military type equipment for their safety and security. The claim is that it upsets rioters and thugs. They are offended by the display. What Obama is actually saying is that the riots we are experiencing are the fault of the police not the thugs. They would all just go home if only the police wouldn’t defend themselves with heavy equipment and shields. If a cop gets hit by flying rocks or bricks, too bad. At least the rioter wasn’t offended.

Anti-police rhetoric is as seriously misguided as are those who preach it. All of this nonsense will be unwound soon as we elect a new President, as long as we elect the right one. Choose wisely, my friends. The country you save may well be your own.

Ron Scarbro

TEXAS TWO...ISIS ZERO

It appears that ISIS has claimed credit for the very amateurish terrorist attack in Texas. What they are saying is that they sent these two morons out in the great state of Texas with the intention of a mass killing. They fell a bit short. They were able, with all their arms and body armor, to barely wound one security officer before an off duty traffic cop with only his service revolver, mowed them down and hastened their introduction to their seventy-two virgins. This is what is meant by the phrase “Don’t mess with Texas.”

The event which drew the ire of the terrorists was evidently a contest to draw cartoons of the prophet Mohammed. The radical Islamist terrorists don’t take too kindly to that sort of activity. You see that is an expression of free speech and radical Muslims hate free speech. Their response is of course to kill everyone who practices it.

Well it didn’t work out too well for them. All they succeeded in doing was to alert all police agencies in this country to be especially aware when free speech events occur. Oh, and dying horrible deaths at the hand of a traffic cop.

So, exactly what was accomplished by the “free speech” event that seemingly caused this would-be attack? I am a die hard advocate of free speech. I also understand that freedom is sometimes messy. Freedom means allowing someone to say things that are repugnant to you. But, was this event really necessary?

Did they have the right to have the event? Absolutely. Was it smart? Probably not. Picking at scabs is rarely smart. One good result though is that two morons have been eliminated from the gene pool and no further concern needs to be shown for them. Eventually people that stupid meet with a bad end. The question is was the event intended to create the very reaction that it did?

Personally I don’t see the need to upset anyone especially because of their religion. That having been said, I also don’t see any need to change our lifestyle in an effort not to offend anyone else or their religion. In America you have the right to be as obnoxious as you wish. You can make a complete fool of yourself as long as you aren’t blocking traffic or interfering with normal commerce. If drawing silly pictures is what you like to do, then by all means the law allows you to draw those pictures. If those pictures are offensive to a particular group of people, they will just have to suck it up. We don’t practice Sharia law here and we never will. And if these two wannabe terrorists are the best ISIS can do, they better stay away from here.

If living in a free society is too tough for any group, regardless of their doctrine, there is a boat leaving every day. Don’t let the door hit you in the rear on your way out.

Now just a brief word to the serially offended. No one can offend you without your permission. I personally could be offended on a daily basis but I don’t care. I live with it because someone’s opinion of me is none of my business. It is possible that in my writings someone may take exception to something I have said. They have every right by our laws to sit down and write their own opinion.

And now this word to radical terrorists and wannabe terrorists. Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight. Not just in Texas but anywhere in this great country. It isn’t going to end well for you.

Ron Scarbro