I HAVEN'T HAD TO KILL ANYBODY YET

I am a gun owner. In fact, I have been a gun owner for most of my life. As a young teen-ager I often went hunting with my brothers and friends. There were times when we went hunting both before and after school. For convenience we stored our guns in our school lockers. The school administration knew and didn’t care. It was just no big deal.

Now I realize times were different then but what I’m trying to understand is how did we get to where we are? In fact I never heard of a “school shooting” until well into my adulthood. Does that mean that we didn’t have crazies back then? What has changed?

I entered the Army when I was seventeen. Among the first things they did was assign me a rifle. And yes, it was a real rifle. We had extensive training in weaponry. Because of my early introduction to shooting as a youngster and the intense training provided by the Army, I became quite proficient. I earned the classification of “expert” marksman. That caused the Army to put me into a competitive shooting squad. It was great duty. Later during my enlistment, we traveled all over Europe in matches against other Armies of different countries. I was qualified on several weapons and still retain that knowledge.

Even though I am a gun owner with extensive knowledge and understanding of weaponry, I have never had occasion to shoot anybody. I have never held anybody at gunpoint or even threatened anybody. I know how. I know what to do. But, I have never had the need to kill anybody, yet.

So, the question has arisen since this last school shooting. Should someone like me, a veteran, a gun owner, a sane individual with extensive training and knowledge in weaponry, be required by some liberal politician to forego my rights as an American citizen and give up my guns? Here’s my answer. Not only no, but hell no.

I am not going to rehash all of the mistakes that occurred in Florida with that particular nut job, but it is sufficient to say they were many. He should never have been allowed near a gun let alone buy five of them. Attempting to take guns away from someone like me would never stop nut jobs like the Florida shooter from doing his ugly deeds.

Florida’s Governor has suggested that the state should put an armed police officer in every school in Florida. This would cost several hundred million dollars. My solution is much simpler and considerably less expensive. Select a few sane teachers, preferably former military members who would be willing, and train them in close combat shooting situations, buy them a serious handgun, give them a conceal carry permit, and advertise to all the crazies that schools are no longer gun free zones. I promise you this deadly carnage would be greatly reduced. It is never going to end because there will never be an end to insanity. We always have to deal with our reality.

Guns are definitely weapons of destruction. Just like an automobile in the hands of a drunk driver, or a knife being held by a homicidal maniac, or even a stick being used by someone intent on killing or maiming another. Gun control laws serve only to restrict people who obey laws. Homicidal maniacs are not usually counted among them. Just look at Chicago with all their gun control laws. It is all just nonsense.

Finally this last word. Our courts are doing no one any favors by being soft on the bad guys. Punks who use guns to commit their violence should be punished and punished harshly. No more one or two-year sentences for armed robbery or attempted murder. No. let’s have them spend twenty or thirty years in prison. Murderers should never see freedom again. While that may not rehabilitate them, at least they wouldn’t be on the street.

Ron Scarbro

TOO MANY GUNS OR TOO FEW???

Because of the shooting in southern Florida last week, the anti-gun forces are out in force. One should expect that response. These are people who believe that the passing of stricter gun laws would have stopped the nut case who killed those innocent youngsters and teachers.

Of course no law of any kind would have stopped this event or others like it in the past or in the future. Let’s face it. It is already illegal to bring a gun into a school. It is already illegal to commit murder. So, obviously this particular murderer broke existing laws and would most certainly break any new law if it got in the way of his intent.

The gun control people would have you believe there are too many guns. I contend there are too few guns. Consider how last week’s event might have been different had that coach been armed. What if any other teachers or administrators had been armed and trained in the use of firearms? Maybe this little punk killer might have thought hard before launching his attack had he known that teachers were armed rather than the school being a “gun free” zone. Here’s a pure fact. The only way to stop a gun is with a gun. Why is that so hard for some people to understand?

Let me share a few more interesting little tidbits with you. Across this country there are probably more guns than people. No law intended to get those guns out of their owners’ hands would ever be effective. Gun owners are never going to give up their weapons, period. The Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees Americans the absolute right to keep and bear arms. Guns are used for hunting, target practice, and general defense. The vast majority of guns in this country are owned by the good guys. A very small minority use guns for illegal purposes. Trying to stop the good guys who would never commit a crime from owning weapons of self-defense would do nothing to stop the very few bad guys from getting guns. Just like drug laws have had very little effect on illegal drug use or drinking while driving laws have had similar failure in stemming drunk drivers, these prohibition laws are basically feel good legislation and nothing more.

So, what are we to do. First let me just say that my heart aches for the victims and the family members of the massacre in Florida. Like all of you I hurt when these situations happen. I hurt when storms come and kill innocent people. I hurt when lightning strikes some victim under a tree. I hurt when a drunk driver kills some innocent family just out for a drive. But, these things happen and they are going to happen. In reality last week on Valentine’s Day, 329,399, 950 people in this country were not killed by a nutcase in a school shooting. To the people involved, this was the worst day of their lives, no doubt, but it needs to be put in perspective.

We will not change that result by emotionally reacting and trying to change laws which have been in effect for over three hundred years.  

We are now learning a lot more about this particular killer. He was reported to authorities many times and nothing was done. He was crying out for someone to stop him and those in authority failed. We are absolutely going to have to be more attentive to individuals who need our intervention. Parents are going to have to know what their children are doing and with whom they are communicating. This kid had an AR 15 rifle in his room and tons of ammunition. Who knew about that? He was practicing shooting. Who knew about that?

We live in a free society. We cannot arrest someone for having bad thoughts, but we can make certain crazy people are controlled in some environment. Parents and guardians need to do their jobs.

Ron Scarbro

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

You realize, of course, that this entire Russian investigation of Trump and the ensuing dueling memos from both the Republicans and the Democrats are the result of a Hillary Clinton fabrication? This whole mess is the result of a lie which sought to explain why Hillary lost the election. A compliant media along with some in the FBI and the CIA got on board probably at the insistence of President Obama. So, what should we do now? What would you do if you were the President and had his power for just a few days? What I would do?

I think my first act as President would be to call the Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, into my office and give him the following instruction. Jeff, you are hereby instructed to bring criminal charges against everyone who has been criminally implicated in the Hillary Clinton, FBI, State Department, and Justice Department investigation and subsequent cover-up. You will start with Hillary Clinton and all her hangers on and continue until all of the parties have been brought before a Grand Jury. For the good of the country these people either have to be prosecuted or cleared. Former and current employees of the FBI and the CIA will also have to answer for their acts. If they are innocent of any crimes, they will be cleared and sent on their merry way. But if any of them are found to be criminally culpable, then they should be prosecuted to the full measure of the law. Let the evidence decide, not pundits and talking heads. No one is above the law. I would have no problem seeing former or current elected individuals regardless of how high that office may be, dressed in orange jumpsuits and doing the perp walk.

Now some will say that such an act would cause a “constitutional crisis”. Well guess what. We already have a constitutional crisis. We have a swamp full of individuals who are totally deaf or just indifferent to our laws and good judgement. The sooner we rid ourselves of them, the better. We need to get this mess behind us.

I also think as a nation we need to reexamine who and why we elect some people to high office. Consider Bill Clinton. Clinton, a very minor player from a little town in Arkansas who was a draft dodger and a consummate liar as well as a womanizer, rise from obscurity to the highest office in our land. When some of his proclivities were discovered, he was impeached and disbarred. Then his wife, undeterred by her husband’s bad acts, decided she also wanted a piece of the power pie. Fortunately for this country the people decided that maybe they had had enough of the Clintons and she was defeated. Hooray for the voters.

But the question remains. How did this guy get to Washington in the first place? And how, after all we have now discovered, is he still looked up to by Democrats and liberals? The next question is how is it possible that anyone with any common sense would ever have voted for Hillary Clinton? She is nothing more than Bill Clinton, part deux. Maybe without the womanizing part.

Our world has become more dangerous than ever. We have punk dictators with nuclear bombs who are crazy enough to use them. We need serious adults in office. Today our Congress looks more like a fifth grade classroom playing with water balloons than a serious governing body. They would rather play politics than do their job. Got a budget anyone?

We all need true leaders to serve in Congress and then drain this swamp once and for all.

Ron Scarbro

THEATER OF THE ABSURD

Like most of you I watched the State of the Union speech last week. Over the years I have seen many. Most of these speeches are good, but for the most part they are predictable. The President, as required by the Constitution, addresses Congress and gives his account of how things are and again, according to the requirement by the Constitution, asks Congress for consideration of legislation to improve anything that needs improvement.

Lately with the advent of televised proceedings, these speeches have become “political theater.” The party in power stands and applauds while the opposition sits. It has all become quite predictable.

This last one was, however, anything but predictable. In fact, it was embarrassing. It was theater alright but it was theater of the absurd.  If I were a Democrat, and thank God I am not, I would be both embarrassed and ashamed. In all my years of observation of these events, never have I seen something so despicable.

I don’t expect the opposition to approve of the party in power but I do expect them to remain the “loyal opposition.” What we all witnessed was a group of overgrown children having a tantrum. I watched as Nancy Pelosi tended to her brood, the Democrats, and basically dared any one of them to stand or applaud anything the President had to say. They dutifully obeyed.

I am sure the Democrats think this is a winning philosophy. I am sure they believe their “resistance” to all things Trump is a winning tactic. Sadly for the Democrats the numbers tell a different story. Polls released after the speech found that the country approved of both the speech and President Trump by 75%. Another poll which had previously showed the democrats with a 14% lead over Republicans in the coming midterm elections has dropped to just 2%. And all of this is just in the wake of the State of the Union speech. If the Democrats aren’t scared, they should be. Pelosi, Schumer, Ellison, and Maxine Waters are the face of the Democrat party. That should frighten anybody.

This week all Americans who work for wages are seeing increases in their paychecks as the tax reform package kicks in. Many millions have or are receiving bonuses because of the tax break their employers received.

The punitive Obamacare mandate penalty has been eliminated, thereby giving another financial increase to millions across the country. Many of America’s great companies have announced increased spending, growing, and building right here in our country. Thousands of new jobs are being created. Billions of dollars which have been “hidden” offshore are being repatriated. Consumer confidence is higher than it has been in decades while unemployment is at all time lows for all of our citizens. This is the real “state of the union.” In other words, the times they are good.  

What amazes me is that the Democrats plan to use these facts to campaign for office in the midterm elections. Pelosi and Schumer have called the tax reform act armageddon, atrocious, crumbs. Pelosi has said that the tax bill was the worst piece of legislation she had ever seen, etc., etc., ad nauseum. As usual the Dems are on the wrong side of this issue.

As a “traditional American” who loves this country, I hope the Democrats do what their leadership wants. I hope they campaign on their desire to return to Obama style hopelessness. Wouldn’t that be great. To quote one of the most quoted lines from the movies, “Go ahead, make my day.”

Sadly though I don’t think the Dems are that stupid. They know that’s the wrong strategy and will quickly understand that they either have to get on the train or watch their own train wreck. As has been clearly enunciated time after time, it’s the economy, stupid. Nothing has changed. Political theater aside, reality runs the show.

Ron Scarbro

REPORTS FROM AN INTERPLANETARY TRAVELER

Recently former President Obama sat down for an interview with former comedian, David Letterman. I use the term former comedian advisedly. He’s just not funny anymore. Some very important and valuable information was disclosed during that interview.

Obama opined that in this country there are two very different sets of facts available to our citizens. He further offered the idea that if you watched Fox News you were probably from a different planet. One assumes by that reasoning, according to Obama, that if you watched MSNBC you would be from Earth. Hmmm.

As an interplanetary traveler I have a few thoughts on this issue. First, what Obama calls facts are often anything but facts. To me all of the news media have become propaganda machines. News is no longer news but instead opinion and that opinion is based on the agenda of the broadcaster. No one who possesses a sound mind can refute the fact that most of the so-called mainstream media are left leaning liberals who see the right side of any political issue as bad. Fox News, on the other hand, has become just as biased on the right side of the issues. They are famous for saying, “We report, you decide.” What they don’t say is that they decide what they report.

If you depend on the major networks or cable providers like CNN for your news, you are going to get their opinion of the news. If you depend on Fox News, you will get their opinion. I believe the only thing one really knows is what they have seen with their own eyes or personally experienced. Everything else one “knows” is what they have been told. So then, what you “know” is based almost entirely on where or from whom you heard it.

What is a person to do? How can we know what the truth is? To me the answer is that one must have many sources of news and then decide. In other words, you must be an interplanetary traveler.

If you depend on the opinion of some movie “star” for your news, I am sorry for you. If you depend on the views of your favorite singer, again I am sorry for you. Probably the most valueless information available is that information disseminated by people who make a living by reciting lines someone else wrote. Barbra Streisand has a beautiful voice. For my money, she should just shut up and sing. Her opinion of any political issue is worthless to me. The same is true for Rosie O'Donnell and the rest of the “Hollywood” crowd.

The mainstream media is anything but mainstream now. The problem is that much of America has no other choice for their news. They don’t get any cable broadcasts. Media available to “fly over” country is coverage developed on the extreme coasts and disseminated by individuals who have never even seen the country they are reporting to. They’ve heard of Nebraska and Kansas, but they wouldn’t be caught dead there. Reporters are educated in Eastern liberal colleges by leftist professors who are clueless about the real country in which we all live.

So, Obama thinks we are from different planets and I think he actually believes what he is saying. Just like Hillary believes she should have been elected but was denied because of some silly little circumstance.  As ridiculous as these people are, they are nonetheless people we are going to have to deal with as time goes by. Arm yourself with as much truth as you can find. Be an interplanetary traveler. See how the news you receive squares with what you already know and from what history teaches. In the final analysis truth will win out. History indeed is our best teacher.

Ron Scarbro

IT IS BETTER TO HAVE LOVED...

 

I’ve never been a senior citizen before. I’ve never experienced life as a seventy- seven-year-old either. Let me tell you it is an interesting and often terrifying time.

Among my many new discoveries are ailments and pains in places I never even knew I had places. Eating the common foods of my entire life suddenly throws off my blood sugar and cause alarm bells to go off at my doctor’s office. A walk to the mailbox has become a tortuous journey. An afternoon nap, which used to be quite rare, has almost become a necessity. Bette Davis said it clearly, “Getting old ain't for sissies.” I can remember running all over the mountains chasing deer and elk, or wading beautiful streams in search of the elusive trout. But, alas, no more.

Another thing which has become much too common is learning of ailments and sickness of old friends and loved ones. As a younger man I witnessed my parents go through this and now it is my turn. Just in the last few months I learned of a cancer diagnosis for a sister, two sisters-in-law, and an old friend of over fifty years. Fortunately, today all are doing okay with their treatments and getting well.

Just today though, I learned of the death of the husband of a dear friend of over fifty years. God rest Pat’s soul.

All of this points me to the inevitable conclusion that one of the penalties of living to an old age is having to say goodbye to old friends and loved ones. So now I am working on this philosophy, it is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all. It is better to have known and loved our friends and family than to have never had them in our lives. I know sometimes it’s painful. Sometimes you might say, if I had never known that person, I wouldn’t be hurting so much. Maybe, but look at what you would have missed. Let the good memories replace the pain of losing them. If you had never known them, you would have missed all the good times, the fun times, the hugs and the laughter. Be flooded by the good memories and the good times.

None of us are guaranteed a tomorrow. None of us are guaranteed a life without pain. We take each day as it comes and try to accept those things which we cannot change. We take our medicine, try to watch our diets, once in a while try a little exercise but even at that there are no guarantees.

This I also believe. None of us are given more than we can handle. Sometimes it may seem impossible to deal with but we will deal with it. We will be stronger and better for having known our lost loved ones and life will go on.

To quote Tiny Tim, “God bless us, everyone.”

Ron Scarbro

COMMON SENSE ANSWER TO IMMIGRATION ISSUES

The President and Congressional leaders have been meeting to solve the “immigration problem.” The DACA issue as well as border security have been on the agenda. Then, of course, there’s the matter of cost. In a nutshell apparently the Democrats want these offspring of illegal aliens who arrived here with their parents, given a free ride to citizenship. The Republicans want to build a border fence sufficient to keep out any new trespassers.

To me and to many of us out here in fly over country, it all seems strange. Did you know we already have laws on the books against illegally entering this country? Did you know we already have laws on the books against overstaying one’s visa? Did you know that it is also illegal to hire an illegal alien or anyone for that matter who cannot provide proof that they’re in this country legally? As far back as the 1960’s I was hiring individuals for my company and I had to personally view that person’s Social Security card and photocopy it to send to Main Office with their employment package. It was simple enough, no proof of legal residence, no job, period. What changed?

Today it would appear that persons from anywhere in the world can sneak into our country, get a driver’s license, open a bank account, apply for and receive welfare benefits, and enroll in public school. They can rent a home or apartment, go to any hospital and receive free medical treatment, and they can get food stamps. If they want a job, it seems simple enough to get one because nobody seems to care to check on their legal status.

Oops, it seems we have happened onto the real problem. Nobody seems to care. I think we have these immigration issues because we want these immigration issues. Their activity is already illegal and punishable by prison time. The Democrats think that by granting amnesty for these millions of illegals that they will soon become Democrat voters. Many probably already are.

Deporting them is a waste of time because they just turn around and reenter. Many of them have been deported and reentered dozens of times. Giving them a court date and releasing them is also a waste. They just don’t show up for court, and why should they? Remember, nobody cares.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record I am going to once again offer my solution for this problem. First we must remove the incentive for entering this country illegally. The how is simple. E-verify anyone looking for a job, welfare benefits, food stamps, school entry, hospital visits, or for any benefit or service offered to our citizens. That means checking their Social Security number to see that it is authentic.

The second part of this solution should be just as simple but it probably would get complicated. Arrest anyone who violates the e-verify requirement. That would include any employer, welfare organization, hospital, school, bank, or landlord. The penalty for violating this law would not be a slap on the wrist. No, this would call for jail time. Jail time for employers, hospital administrators, mayors and city councils as well as governors, and anyone else who refuses to obey the law. Remember, we already have these laws on the books. We just have to enforce them. If we in fact did what I suggest, we wouldn’t have to deport anybody. They would deport themselves. We wouldn’t have to build a wall. Without the incentive to trespass, these so-called migrants would find another country to invade.

If we needed workers, we would establish a visiting worker program and it would be strictly enforced.

But Ron, if we did that, avocados would cost ten dollars apiece. Okay. I don’t care. If I wanted an avocado, I would pay the cost or do without. I prefer that to subsidizing illegal activity.

What I have just offered is common sense. That’s why it will never be tried. It has to go through Congress.

Ron Scarbro