Ron Smith - baltimoresun.com

Death, I do not fear you; I am just not ready to go

Ron Smith — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 11:56:00 -0400

Radio host and columnist Ron Smith writes about his cancer diagnosis

About 20 years ago, I went to a urologist for a prostate exam and PSA test. When the blood work was in, he said the levels were virtually nil, and then he said something I've never forgotten: "Fate has something else in store for you."

Ron Paul, aka the invisible candidate

Ron Smith — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0400

A moment ago, I Googled "Ron Paul ignored by media" and came up with 9,222 links. That's a lot of stories about someone being ignored. Here's what happened.

Face the facts: Gun control laws don't save lives

Ron Smith — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0500

I wasn't surprised to see letters to the editor about last week's column from people who cling to their heartfelt notion that if we just had more sensible gun control laws, the assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords that resulted in six deaths earlier this month might not have happened.

American paradox: Political correctness coexists with extreme vulgarity

Ron Smith — Fri, 7 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Our society has pulled off quite the paradoxical feat, being at once tolerant of rampant, base vulgarity and sensitive to the slightest slur. It's much like the Orwellian "doublethink," wherein one can hold two opposing ideas at the same time, believing both to be true.

Spending millions to kill each terrorist

Ron Smith — Fri, 8 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Is there any way to look at the war in Afghanistan as anything but a mounting failure? I don't think so. The "metrics," as former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld would say, aren't looking good.

Feeling nostalgic for (gasp) Bill Clinton

Ron Smith — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Democrats are beginning to panic as we speed toward the midterm elections. They have good reason to get nervous as they ponder the spectacle - so unlikely a year or so ago - of being reduced once again to a minority in the House of Representatives. The deservedly repudiated Republicans miraculously stand to benefit from the anger of the dispossessed middle class.

From the Age of Monarchs to the Age of Executives

Ron Smith — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

One of my sons and his wife returned from a trip to Paris a couple weeks ago. They came for dinner and showed us their pictures. Of the Palace at Versailles and its magnificence, he remarked, "No wonder there was a revolution."

Fort Hood massacre shows how political correctness can kill

Ron Smith — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

The massacre at Fort Hood, Texas, last week has shined a harsh, unremitting light on the hold that "political correctness" has on the American military. There is an eruption of commentary on the appalling results of ignoring disturbing things so as not to appear "discriminatory." It struck me the other day that the big picture unveiled by the murders of 13 Americans and the wounding of more than two dozen others, soldiers and civilians, last Thursday is simply this: Political correctness kills. As I got ready for my show on Tuesday, I Googled the phrase and discovered that a large number of other people had been exploring the concept. No wonder.

Eight Years After 9/11, Bin Laden Seems Closer To His Goals Than We Are

Ron Smith — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0400

None of us will ever forget where we were and what we were doing that fateful morning eight years ago today, when the hijacked airliners flew into the World Trade Center towers in Manhattan. I was just leaving the house for work when my wife called out for me to come back inside. The first plane had just struck its target, and for a moment we didn't know if it was an accident. All doubts disappeared seconds later when we saw, live on television, the second tower struck by another plane. In that amazing moment we knew that life would never again be quite the same. Then came the third attack, the one on the Pentagon - and the worries about what was next.

Don't expect much from next Great Man

Ron Smith — Wed, 5 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Finally, blessedly, it's over. After the longest, most expensive campaign in American history, the voters have decided who will be the next Great Man to take the helm of our ship of state. Sen. Barack Obama has been swept into the presidency on a wave of contrasting yet complementary emotions.