IT'S BECAUSE OF THEM

Have you ever traveled through an airport and had to take off your shoes? Have you had your deodorant taken away from you by the TSA and tossed? Have you had occasion to enter a church or a courthouse, or for that matter any public building and had to pass through a metal detector? If you have, it’s because of them.

If you have turned on the news only to learn of the latest mass killing of innocent men and women or even children, it’s because of them. If you have altered your travel plans or even your shopping plans or how about your planned attendance at a sporting event or a concert, it is because of them.

The them to which I am referring are, of course, the radical Muslim Islamist terrorists. If, like me, you have witnessed obvious Muslim people in full native dress and you are taken aback and more alert, especially on an airplane, it’s not prejudice. No, it’s because of them.

After this latest tragedy in Manchester, England, I heard several talking heads saying that they cannot defeat us. We are too strong for them. Ultimately they will lose and this will all be over. Well guess again. The fact is they are beating us. They are changing the way we live. They are the reason our lives have changed.

Today I want to offer a possible solution to our dilemma. I believe it is time for us to be the terrorists for a change. We should create a situation where, at the sound of one of our aircraft, these radical Muslims dive for cover and cower in fear. Here’s how to make that happen. We start bombing any and all areas of the world where they hide or take refuge. We take out any and all sources of revenue they depend on for financing their little jihads. We hunt down and kill any individual or group who finances any terrorist activity.

A good start would be to lay bare the entire country of Iran. The idea that these goat herders could or would ever be twenty-first century world citizens is nonsense. They are playing us for fools and our previous administration bought into it. They will not stop until they have nuclear weapons and the ability to deliver them. When that happens it will be too late for most of the free world.

Today we heard from more Hollywood celebrities who offer counsel to the rest of us. Just love each other. Offer our hand in friendship. That will fix the problem, they say. I have a suggestion to all of these spoiled little rich kids, shut up and sing. You are paid big bucks to entertain. Entertain.  Go back into your guarded, gated compounds and leave the world’s problems to the adults. Your naivety just makes you look silly.

Many, many families in Manchester will be arranging for funerals for their children, their babies, because of the twisted minds of some radical losers. Because of them people will fear going out of their homes. Because of them people will change the way they live. I think it is time for the Muslim terrorists to fear. Fear because of us.

Today we need to begin an all-out campaign to wipe out any and all refuge for these morons. Stack their bodies in the streets. Let those who support them or even look the other way smell their rotting flesh. There will no doubt be collateral damage. So be it. They caused it so let them deal with it. We have heard that we cannot shoot our way out of this mess. I don’t know about you but I’m willing to give it a try. Everywhere in the world we have decided to end war, we have succeeded. We can end this also. And when it ends, not if, it will be because of us.

Ron Scarbro

WISHING WON'T MAKE IT SO

As a youngster I heard that phrase often. “Wishing won’t make it so.” Just because you want something and even wish you had it, that doesn’t necessarily make it happen. The phrase is appropriate today because of the situation facing the liberal nut jobs of this country along with their partners in stupidity, the main stream media.

They so want the story of Russian influence in the election of Trump to be true. Sadly for them, it is nothing but a lie concocted by the Hillary Clinton campaign after she lost the election. It always was and continues to be nonsense. I am reminded of something I learned from my study of world history. It was thought by the enemies of the free world during WWII that if you tell a lie, and tell it often, sooner or later it becomes the truth for some people. It is called propaganda.

For their part, the mainstream media doesn’t care if a story is true. They are so consumed by their hatred of Donald Trump and so distraught by the election loss by their Queen, Hillary, they have chosen to do anything or print anything they can to delegitimize the Presidency of Donald Trump. If that means continuing a concocted story with no supporting facts, so be it. The credibility of the media is at stake. I personally doubt most of the mainstream media will ever recover from their failure to deal with just the truth and continue to print innuendo and rumor as fact. The best fiction writers would have difficulty coming up with such a story line.

So, here’s my question. What’s going to happen when the truth comes out and it is proven that the entire story was just a made up lie? Will the left be ashamed? Will they feel sorry for the fact that they bought into such nonsense? Will the media print retractions and mea culpas? Will there be firings at major news outlets? What is going to happen?

My guess is nothing will happen. In order to be ashamed, one must have shame. I am convinced the left has no shame. Meanwhile the rest of the country, the fly over part, will reject what has been for generations their source of news and try to find the truth elsewhere. The media should be ashamed but sadly they probably won’t be.

Meanwhile our President is over in the Middle East reaffirming America’s position in the world. He will once again establish that we are in fact the dominant force for good in the world and he will call for the destruction of terrorism and for all those who support and finance it. If you happened to hear his speech in Riyadh, you heard America at her best represented by a President who truly is the image of our strength and our commitment to our allies. It really doesn’t matter what the media thinks of Trump or what they try to do to take him down. He is our President and will serve his entire term and probably be reelected for another four years when this term is ended.

The other day I saw Dan Rather giving his opinion of something. What Dan doesn’t get is that nobody cares what he thinks. He long ago lost all credibility. His situation should be a notice to the media today. As surely as you can rise, you can fall. Printing lies in the hope you can change history will be your undoing and wishing your lies were true will not make them so.

Ron Scarbro

SOME GOTTA WIN AND SOME GOTTA LOSE

I think it is fair to say that as a country we are virtually split down the middle with half being Democrats and the other half Republicans. I am not suggesting that we all have party affiliations, just that mostly our thinking leans to the right or to the left. I know there are some Independents, but at crunch time, election day, they usually have to pick from one of the major party candidates. Historically we have elected Democrats for a time and then we elect Republicans. And on we go. Some gotta win and some gotta lose. We deal with the other side with respect but always with loyalty to our country first.

Something very strange has happened, however. The Democrats ran a flawed candidate who, because of her flaws as well as her poor campaign, lost. The Republican, while also somewhat flawed, did manage to appeal to a majority enough to win. The election then is over. A winner has been decided. To coin a popular Democrat phrase, “Let’s move on.”

For some reason, call it poor sportsmanship, disloyalty to our country, or just childish behavior, many in the Democrat party cannot accept the will of the people. They have apparently decided to launch a “resistance” campaign. They obviously feel that they have political points to gain by their actions. They will do anything they can to slow, disrupt, or even to stop President Trump from doing his duty as President. It could work, but I think they should at least consider the possibility they could harm or even destroy their own party by this resistance. Remember that about half of the country voted for Trump. Also remember that several Senators as well as all House Members will have to run for reelection in 2018. Many from states that Trump carried handily.

Here’s what to look for in the very near future. As the economy continues to improve under the new administration’s policies, more and more people are going to get on board. The news media’s continuous slander of President Trump will soon silence itself by the simple fact that for the most part they report untruths and innuendo. Like the little boy who cried wolf, they will soon be tuned out with devastating results to their bottom lines. The ridiculous myth of “Russian” interference will disappear when nothing is proven. The media will just look sillier and sillier and lose all credibility. They and the left are on the wrong side, period.

The real wakeup call is going to be the 2018 election. Several Democrat senators are going to be in trouble and they know it. The House will doubtless pick up a large number of new Republicans as people watch our country regain its previous greatness.

We are going to see better border security. We will soon see tax relief for both corporations as well as individual citizens. The long awaited replacement of Obamacare is at hand. Fixing the mess that Obama left us with will not be easy but it is doable and will get done.

I am reminded of the old saying, “When you are in a hole, stop digging.” That is my advice to the mainstream media and to the left in general. Scream if you wish. Protest if you must. But, if you fail, and I believe you will, look forward to a future without a viable Democrat party because you will have destroyed it.

Ron Scarbro

AND THE MONEY CAME ROLLING IN

So now a new debate starts over the repeal and replacement of Obamacare. The House passed a bill which is now in the hands of that most deliberate body, the US Senate. We are already hearing that some of the more “moderate” Republican Senators are troubled by the bill and may vote against it. I find it almost comical how when the Democrats want a bill passed they call a meeting and tell their members how they will vote or else. The party leadership usually gets their way. The Republicans don’t seem to have that kind of clout with their own members. Controlling Republicans is like herding cats. They just do their own thing.

I think a brief history of health insurance is in order now. The whole concept was started by some doctors who got together to set up a prepaid health care system. To them it was a guarantee that their incomes would become more steady and that as medical care got more expensive small increases in insurance costs would be more palatable than huge costs of the care itself. The idea caught on as more and more doctors signed on for the programs.

Then there was a time of financial upheaval in this country and the government decided that wages and prices had to be frozen. For employers to get and keep qualified employees they decided to offer health care insurance instead of increasing wages. That worked and it worked well for a long time. In fact it worked so well that employees came to expect health care insurance as a part of their compensation package. Labor unions began demanding more and more coverage as a part of their negotiating contracts. When wage and price controls were ended, the healthcare insurance continued.

With all this insurance available, tons of money poured into the healthcare industry. Costs of everything rose to almost unsustainable levels. Hospitals began charging obscene fees for simple procedures. Pharmaceutical manufacturers started to charge more and more and got away with it. Medical schools increased the cost of a medical degree to such a point that young doctors couldn’t afford school. When they finally did get their license, they required exorbitant salaries to start work. And the money poured in.

Many people were essentially cut out of the care system. They couldn’t afford the insurance and they couldn’t afford the care. So, “big brother” Barack Obama steps in.

He devised a wealth redistribution plan which would require all Americans and especially young able bodied citizens to pay for the healthcare insurance of those who either couldn’t or wouldn’t work to pay for their own. And the money poured into the healthcare industry. Rather than reducing the costs of everything, more money just caused everything to increase. It seems to happen that way.

It is easy to see the upshot of this excess. Insurance companies are now going bankrupt and leaving the system. Insurance plan costs began rising to unsustainable levels. People are screaming about the cost of their premiums and their deductibles. Any way you examine it, when you mess with something that is successful, you usually screw it up. Congratulations Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats. You messed it up.

Now the Democrats, along with a very compliant liberal media, are blaming the Republicans for the mess they themselves caused and they are getting away with it. The Republicans cannot win.

I think very soon we will have a single payer system and that will be in place until we learn that isn’t workable either. Remember this all started with a scheme to redistribute the wealth of the American people. In other words, Socialism. Sorry liberals, that has never worked and it won’t work now.

Ron Scarbro

FAKE NEWS

What is “fake news?” That phrase has been thrown around a lot recently. It seems to have gotten its start with the election of Donald Trump as President. That choice by the American people upset the mainstream media. They believed sincerely that Hillary Clinton would carry the day. Since Trump’s election the left wing, with the very close cooperation of the media, has tried to undermine every effort of the Trump Administration. One of their tactics is through questionable news stories.

Fake news can take on many forms. From out and out lying to refusing to cover certain stories. Another way is to change the language. The mainstream media seems to love to use the word immigration as in “The Trump Administration is cracking down on immigration.” That is just untrue. They are cracking down on illegal immigration. Illegal aliens are known as “undocumented workers.” Abortion is called “women’s health.” By changing the language they are presenting a totally different story to the American people and they are doing it on purpose.

I can close my eyes and imagine a group of lefties sitting around a table coming up with strategies designed to make Trump look bad. Consider the so-called “Russian” connection. “We’ll say that Russia interfered with the election making it look like Trump was a co-conspirator with them. I know it sounds ridiculous but some out there will believe it and before long it will get legs and then it will look like the truth.”

Well it didn’t work. Sure a lot of the mainstream media published stories about the “Russian Connection” but it just didn’t catch on. Now it just looks like silliness to most people especially when Trump bombed Syria. I don’t think Putin liked that.

I am a strong advocate for the first amendment and therefore I believe a free press is absolutely essential. I also believe publications can print any story they wish. We have slander laws. We have libel laws. When publications print untruths, they risk lawsuits and huge money damage awards. When they air or publish biased news or opinion disguised as news, they also risk losing the confidence of the consuming public.

We are told that if a person is in the public eye however, it is much more difficult to prove slander because many of the protections afforded normal citizens do not apply. President Trump is left with just calling the media out. By using the term “fake news,” he is basically accusing them of lying and he is doing it so effectively, many people across the land now do not trust the mainstream media. One of the most popular bumper stickers I’ve seen recently is one which says, “I don’t trust the national media.” Media outlets have brought this problem on themselves. The people have spoken and elected Trump whether the media likes it or not. The media’s continued battle against Trump will only hurt themselves.

If you are, like me, a regular consumer of news, it is not difficult to know the bias of the reporters or of their editors. The president just said that both CNN and MSNBC are purveyors of fake news and therefore should not be taken seriously. On the very rare occasions when I watch either of those networks, I can easily see their prejudice. It is revealed in their story content and in their reporting as well as in what they refuse to cover.  I find it difficult to even watch drama and non-news events on the mainstream television networks and I would never read the New York Times. They always seem to get their prejudice into every story or event.

Yes, fake news is alive and well and it is not going away on its own. It will disappear when the consuming public turns it off and that is happening all across the land.

Ron Scarbro

THE FIRST AMENDMENT IS LAW. SORRY HOWARD DEAN

“Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Does any of this sound familiar? It should because it is the first amendment to the Constitution. It is the first of ten amendments which are known as the Bill of Rights.

I am writing about this because of what is only the latest of a long line of idiotic pronouncements by the lame liberal left. This time it was infamous screamer and perennial loser, Howard Dean. Howie tweeted out that, using his words, hate speech is not protected by the first amendment. This all has to do with a speech Ann Coulter is due to deliver at the University of California at Berkeley. She has been invited, dis-invited and now re-invited to speak on campus.

According to Dean and morons like him, any speech with which they disagree, is not protected by the first amendment. I suppose in their world the only speech allowed, or religion allowed, or news media publication, would be speech they had previously approved. I don’t think you could get away with that even in Russia. Maybe North Korea, but few places in the world would permit that view.

A part of the greatness of America, though, is that morons, even millionaire morons like Howard Dean, can say whatever they want. They can demonstrate their idiocy for all the world to see and do it freely because they are protected by the same Constitution they would use to try and muzzle Ann Coulter.

I am told that Howard Dean has a constituency. He has people who agree with him. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to be associated with someone like Howard Dean. I put him in the same box as Elizabeth Warren. These are people who seem to want to change this great country into something else. They want a European style socialist utopia. They want this, however, only if they get to make the laws and establish the rules.

That’s where despotic dictatorships like the Soviet Union and Red China came from. Cuba became such a dictatorship under Castro. Look at these places now. Look at Venezuela. That country may now break apart completely.

When are morons like Warren and Dean and their ilk going to come to the understanding that Socialism doesn’t work? America is a right of center country with a strong work ethic and a strong sense of self-responsibility. Patriotism, love of country, and basic Christian principles are the guiding tenets of American life.

The same first amendment that guarantees Ann Coulter the right to speak, guarantees Howard Dean the right to make a fool of himself. The New York Times is also guaranteed the right to print whatever nonsense they want and call it news. I don’t have to buy it or read it. And of course, I don’t. In fact, I have said that I wouldn’t wrap my dead rotting fish in that newspaper for fear the fish would be contaminated by the process.

Freedom can sometimes be ugly. It gives every citizen the right to be wrong. One can obey the law or not. It is up to them. Freedom of speech gives Ann Coulter the right to say whatever is on her mind. You don’t have to like it or even listen to it. Howard Dean has the right to show his ignorance of our basic rights. Another thing  Howard Dean should understand though, is there is also a second amendment. That amendment serves also to guarantee the first one.

Ron Scarbro

I THINK I HAVE FOUND MY SAFE SPACE

The latest demand for the youth of our country is to have “safe spaces.” This is especially true on some of our college campuses. It seems the new order of the day is that no one is allowed to be offended. Now, that offense can occur in any number of ways from so-called micro-aggressions to all out attacks. So there must be safe spaces for these habitually offended persons to hide from the reality of life. The latest is the University of California at Davis where they have decreed that the American flag might be offensive to some students so it must be barred from campus. Remember now this university is supported by taxpayer dollars and wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for a strong military flying this same flag.

I recall when I was a young adult, maybe twenty something, if I had thought I needed a safe space, my First Sgt. would have told me to dig a deeper foxhole. If today’s youngsters think they are offended by micro aggressive behavior, they might want to consider what their parents and grandparents went through in their military service. I remember when I was ordered to salute a pine tree for an hour because I failed to salute some young second Lieutenant. It was my second day in the Army and I didn’t know a second Lieutenant from a pine tree but it made no difference. Trust me when I tell you, I knew from then on. Had I been offended, I would have been told to bundle up my offense and roll it in a round cone and find someplace to stick it.

I’ll tell you where I am going with this discussion. I sincerely believe we need to reinstitute the draft. Every youngster, male or female, should be required as the cost of their citizenship in this great country, to register and be available to be drafted into the military. Do you think things might be a little different then?

Those of you in my age group will remember when we all were looking just any day to be drafted and to then put our lives on hold until our obligation was completed. Some of the more cowardly, however, like a certain former President, ran away to other countries to escape the draft. Fortunately most stayed home and fulfilled their debt to America. Some, like me, even joined in order to have a little more choice in our service. Turns out that wasn’t to be. The Army took me and had their way with me and I became a better person for having had the experience. Even today I continue to be rewarded for my military service.

I have been told the military is opposed to the idea of a draft. They don’t want many of the young, self-centered kids of today. Many, if not most, probably wouldn’t even qualify on the basis of physical ability or intelligence. How sad is that?

I’ve been thinking about a safe space for my family and me. I think I found it. It is the United States of America. Imagine, if you will, life in Syria, or Libya, or maybe Cuba, Somalia, or even Venezuela. How about Iran or the Sudan? What would happen if the youngsters in those countries demanded a safe space? I suspect they would quickly discover the meaning of oppression.

We all take what we have here for granted. One of the main advantages of military service is that you get to see how other people live. You come away with a greater appreciation of life in America. If the youngsters of this country had to consider the possibility of being drafted, they might be a bit more aware of the world as it is, not as they imagine it in their fantasies.

Ron Scarbro