Something big is happening in American politics, and it is not just another loud election season. STARRS & Stripes host retired Navy Commander Al Palmer sits down with Ron Scott, president of STARRS and a former F-4 and C-130 pilot, and member of STARRS Board of Advisors Rob Maness, a former B-1 bomber crew member and host of The Rob Maness Show, to talk about why they see the country sitting at a crossroads ahead of the midterms. Our central question is simple and urgent: what holds a Constitutional Republic together when growing factions openly challenge the guardrails of the Constitution?
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We dig into the Democratic Socialists of America platforms, the idea of a “Red-Green Alliance” between Marxism and Islamist political ideology, and why local elections can be the quickest path to national change. From there, we zoom out to the long game: institutional influence, civic illiteracy, and what happens when younger citizens are never taught the basics of communism, socialism, and constitutional structure. We also take on DEI, equity, and critical race theory, focusing on how language and framing shape emotion, define enemies, and steer votes.
Then we get practical. “Affordability” hits everyone, but we challenge the habit of voting by a single price point like gas or groceries without tracking the policy chain behind housing, inflation, labor, and immigration.
Rob also answers the question he hears constantly: What can I do? The takeaway is a blueprint for grassroots activism, organizing, educating, fundraising, and local action that creates national impact, backed by the moral courage it takes to actually show up. This is why STARRS was created.
Want to go deeper with us? Join Rob, Ron, Al and the STARRS team along with Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, STARRS Advisor Kendall Qualls and others on October 10 in Scottsdale, Arizona for “America at the Crossroads: Preserving Faith, Family and Freedom”, with free in-person attendance or livestream access. More information and to register
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Colonel Rob Maness, USAF (Ret.) worked his way up from the enlisted ranks to full Colonel and retired from active duty in 2011, ending a 32-year career in the military. He led numerous combat operations, including as a B-1 bomber squadron commander in Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. He served as the Installation Commander of the 377th Air Base Wing at Kirtland Air Force Base, NM. Maness was serving in the National Military Command Center in the Pentagon during the September 11, 2001 attack. Following that, he was selected for the Joint Chiefs of Staff Future Operations Group, where he advised senior national leaders and helped reorganize global Defense Department commands in 60 days. His staff assignments included Deputy Director at Air Force Global Strike Command, where he produced the first strategic plan for a 28,000-person nuclear force in eight months, and Pentagon roles in which he authored theater nuclear war plans and presidential decision tools that shaped U.S. deterrence and warfighting policy. Following military retirement, Rob worked as an executive in a Fortune 500 energy corporation. Today he leads Iron Liberty Group LLC as CEO and Founder, providing leadership, organizational, and safety consulting, and produces independent media through a streaming television program, social media platforms and his website. He serves on several nonprofit boards, chairs a political action committee he founded and a nonprofit, was appointed Senior Advisor to the Department of War for Senior Service Colleges in 2026, and serves as a Commissioner on the Gulfport Redevelopment Commission. He holds a Master of Public Administration from Harvard, a Master of Arts from the Naval War College, a Master of Science from Air Command and Staff College, and a Bachelor of Science, cum laude, from the University of Tampa. Rob is most well-known as the host of the Rob Maness Show. RobManess.com
President and CEO of STARRS Colonel Ron Scott, PhD, USAF (Ret.) is a 1973 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. He has over 30 years of leadership experience in the Air Force, including command at all levels from flight to wing, senior policy positions at a major command and at the Pentagon, combat as a command pilot with flight time in the OV-10, F-4E, and C-130E/H, and overseas assignments in Europe, Asia, and Southwest Asia. Ron has a master’s in psychology from the University of Northern Colorado and a PhD from Arizona State University. Read Full Bio
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