I think I have a new favorite baseball player—Luke Scott, and I’m not even from Baltimore! Look at this URL! https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Answer-Man-Luke-Scott-talks-Nugent-hunting-and?urn=mlb-292970! It was posted 29 minuted before midnight yesterday.

Here are some things you can find in the article:

“…Luke Scott … stated with conviction that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.

Oh, yes, he did. Scott’s opinion about the president’s birthplace — while certainly not unique — was a stunning climax to a friendly and frank 20-minute Answer Man session that spanned his enthusiasm for baseball, hunting, firearms, personal responsibility and smaller government.

“[Obama] was not born here,” Scott asserted to Answer Man in the session’s last segment. “That’s my belief. I was born here. If someone accuses me of not being born here, I can go — within 10 minutes — to my filing cabinet and I can pick up my real birth certificate and I can go, ‘See? Look! Here it is. Here it is.’ The man has dodged everything. He dodges questions, he doesn’t answer anything.” …

LS: The law is made for law-abiding citizens. The guy who you don’t have to worry about robbing you, the guy who pays his taxes, the guy who has a job, the guy who’s not interested in hurting people. He’s not the rapist, he’s not the killer. He’s the one who’s going to follow the law. Now, the law can say you can’t have a gun, but the thug, gangster, rapist and criminal — the thief — they’re not going to obey the law anyway. It doesn’t even apply.

Basically, what you’ve done is, you’ve told the man who pays his bills and minds his own business, who’s trying to protect his family and provide for his family, if you take away his gun [and] you give him a golf club or a baseball bat, or a knife, and if the criminal has a gun, he’s going to win that battle 10 out of 10 times.

The real issue behind these people who are gun grabbers, the truth is — based on fact — the reason why is, they want control. They want control of the people. That’s what socialism is and communism. 

DB: So how’s Obama doing?

LS: Obama … hmm … Obama does not represent America. Nor does he represent anything what our forefathers stood for. This country is basically built on an attitude. It’s a way of life. It’s not because you’re born here. It’s not that you’re supposed to take from those who have and give to those who haven’t. That kills a country. It killed Russia.

I have friends of mine who are in the ministry who [work] in churches in Russia. If they can describe [the country] in one [phrase], it’s “messed up beyond repair.”

That’s what communism does. Cuba, Venezuela. People are trying to escape these lands like a plague. What would make a human being swim 90 miles in shark-infested waters on a raft made of tires and planks? To leave their culture, their family, their language, their way of life. Everything they’ve ever known. What would make someone do that?

You don’t see people in America doing that. There’s no one here in America swimming the Pacific Ocean — or the Atlantic, or the Caribbean — to leave this place. The reason why is because of the freedom. Freedom for a man to mark out his own destiny. It’s not, “Hey, you have so much.” Hey, that person worked for that. That’s not to be taken and given to someone who didn’t put in the time, the effort, and do his part.

Obama, he doesn’t represent that. He represents, “Hey, everyone. Give me votes and I’ll give you stuff.” And there’s even people on TV who [are asked], “Hey, who you voting for?”

“I’m voting for Obama.”

“Why?”

“So I can get more free stuff.”

That’s not what makes this country great. That’s what tears down a people, tears down nations. Hence, the problem we’re having in this country, where we’re experiencing unemployment. We’re experiencing all of these negative things that are happening in our land as a direct result of that type of attitude — of too much government involvement, of moral decay, and of people lacking honor and integrity.

Eighty years ago, 50 years ago, a man would walk up to another man and go in for loan. He’d extend his hand, he’d shake it and he’d look at the man and he’d say, “I’ll pay this back.” He would do it. You couldn’t even … to even mention that [scenario] today … is that a cartoon fantasy? That’s how far we are removed.

DB: Word was bond.

LS: Yeah. We had a bond. That type of attitude has disappeared as a whole. Now, it’s OK for me to cheat, to steal, to step on somebody, to cheat somebody, to do something to make someone [else] fall, so I can get ahead in life. And people accept that and they go home and they sleep at night. Whereas, the former attitude of America was, “I’m going to work my tail off, and if it doesn’t work out for me … ”

You know, I didn’t have the same opportunity growing up, as some people. I also had more opportunity than others. Whatever is given to that person, whatever you do with it is what makes the difference. And that’s what has happened in this country: People want the same result, but they don’t want to pay the same price. They want equality, but not by earning it — they want it given to them.

It’s a recipe for disaster and it will kill the entire nation.

DB: Are you planning on running for office in 15 years or so?

LS: If I ran for office, I would be loved and hated. Because, I’ve always been this way as a person. I believe what I believe in for a reason. Compromise is not in my blueprint. It’s not in my DNA. We’ve had poor leadership in this country, poor leadership in Congress and positions of authority. People are willing to compromise their beliefs, compromise for votes. I’ll say something to somebody to get their vote, but if I have to compromise what I believe in, there’s no honor in that. There’s no integrity. That’s not a leader.

Leaders are people who you follow because they believe in honor, integrity, accountability, responsibility, and they believe in these things. You know what? Their life reflects it through their actions. They’re not going to do anything to get ahead. Hey, if I get ahead, it’s going to be good for me, personally, but at the cost of what?

DB: You must miss talking to Berkman.

LS: Lance? Lance is awesome. He’s what I call “A fellow American.” He’s a good man.

DB: You don’t think that Obama wasn’t born in the United States, do you?

LS: He was not born here.

DB: [Sighs].

LS: That’s my belief. I was born here. If someone accuses me of not being born here, I can go — within 10 minutes — to my filing cabinet and I can pick up my real birth certificate and I can go, “See? Look! Here it is. Here it is.” The man has dodged everything. He dodges questions, he doesn’t answer anything. And why? Because he’s hiding something.

You know what? People who have bad intentions, people that are deceivers or are not of honor and integrity — that’s how they act. I’ve seen it in every — it doesn’t matter what level. It can be in politics, it can be in business, it can be in sports, it can be in the construction field. Doesn’t matter. It’s all the same attitude. It’s the same thing.

People who tell the truth, they’re very easy to … their actions prove it. Something as simple providing a birth certificate. Come on. If you’re born here, there’s plenty of documents. But you know what? There’s no documentation of him. No legal documentation of him. There’s been lie after lie after lie exposed, but people put it under the carpet. Hence, the problem we have in this country.

LS: There needs to be accountability for the truth. I don’t care if you’re the president of the United States, you need to be held accountable. If you’re involved in treacherous acts, or you’re saying things that are against, or are selling out our country, you should be brought to trial.

I mean, no one’s above the law. There’s a lot of people that fought for their country and that’s not something to be taken lightly. They gave their life, everything they had, they gave their lives, to give us what we have. That’s why I’m so passionate about my beliefs — because someone died. They gave their life, their blood was spilled, so I had an opportunity to chase a dream and play baseball for a living.

For me, that’s not something, “Oh, thank you.” No. “THANK YOU.” Let me honor you for that by actions by sticking up for what you fought for and passing it on to the next generation and doing my part.

DB: What kind of slugging percentage would you like to finish with this year?

LS: [Laughs]. Let’s just start with … anything over .600 would be nice [laughs]. I’ll take it.

DB: Thanks, Luke.

LS: You’re welcome.