Month: March 2016

and “America First” or “America Only” 

Islamic terrorists killed more than 30 people in Brussels last week, including at least four Americans. The attacks were by the same gang that killed over a hundred in Paris last November.

The problem in Belgium and other European countries is they spend all their money on social programs and fine dining. There’s no money left to pay for a strong police force and military. That works as long as everyone in a country has the same belief system, the same culture, and a generous Big Brother from across the Atlantic. But when radical Islamists arrive by the thousands and set up their own isolated neighborhoods, with Sharia law and hatred for non-Muslims, that upsets the apple cart.

On Sunday Islamic terrorists (Taliban) killed more than 60 Christians and injured 300, mostly women and children, as they celebrated Easter at a park in Lahore, Pakistan. President Obama is home from his trip to Cuba and Argentina, but I heard no condemnation from him for this blatant attack on Christians.

After the Brussels attack, Republicans had criticized him for going to a baseball game in Havana with Raul Castro instead of flying home to work on a plan to destroy the ISIS Islamic terrorists. Now, if he had been on that trip alone, I’m sure he would have interrupted it and flown home for 24 hours, then on to Argentina. But since it was a Spring Break vacation for his wife, daughters and mother-in-law, why, he felt compelled to keep with the original schedule.

To his credit, President Obama did announce this weekend his own sure fire plan to defeat ISIL. In a calm voice he will say to them, “You are not strong; you are weak.” He plans to keep repeating it, over and over. After they hear “You are not strong; you are weak” maybe a thousand times, they will drop all weapons, and plead with the President to please stop the torture. Sure beats waterboarding.

Bernie Sanders swamped Hillary Clinton in all three states Saturday, Hawaii, Alaska and Washington. She seems to have the Democrat nomination wrapped up, but the strong showing by a self-proclaimed socialist means she may have to select a vice-president running mate with a similar record. Since there’s no Democrat as far left as Sanders, she might pick a man who could “appear” to be another Sanders. Julian Castro is HUD Secretary and former San Antonio mayor. He’s no socialist, but they might fool Sanders supporters long enough to get their vote. How’s this for a bumper sticker, “Clinton / Castro 2016.” Not a chance, not a chance.

Donald Trump announced a new idea called “America First.” Well, he may think it’s new, but ninety years ago Mayor Bill Thompson of Chicago started a Society called “America First.” Will Rogers responded with his own plan for one called “America Only.” He devoted an entire weekly column, kinda tongue-in-cheek, poking fun at the “America First” concept (excerpts below).

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“You have read about Mayor Bill Thompson’s Society, ‘America First.’  In America there was originally just one Society (well, it was really two combined): the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. If you was here you was all members of the same club. You didn’t know whether you was 100 percent or 2¾ percent or what ratio you was. All you knew was that you belonged to this club called America, and all you had to do was work for it, fight for it, and act like a gentleman. As long as you did that, you could worship what you want to, talk any language you want to, in fact it looked like a pretty liberal layout. But after 150 or more years, it was immediately seen that this plan was no good, that the old boys that laid out the Constitution didn’t know much… ‘America First’ is all right, but it allows somebody else to be second. Now some times second can be almost as good as something that’s first. So that’s what my ‘America Only’ Society avoids. It’s with the whole idea of there being no one else. I can take my ‘America Only’ idea and eliminate wars. The minute we extinguish all other nations there will be no more wars, unless it’s a civil war among ourselves.  I am getting a lot of applications already, [from] real red blooded, go-gettum Americans that have seen this country trampled under foreign feet enough.” WA #255, Nov. 13, 1927

This Presidential election is coming down to another “Super Tuesday” that will likely be a “make or break” day for some of them. Trump and Clinton are winning, but this week will decide whether they are pushed ahead to an insurmountable lead or pulled back in the pack. Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Illinois and Missouri are the battleground.

In Chicago a few rowdy guys who were too lazy or bored to go see their own candidates decided to gang up on a candidate they don’t like and cause a ruckus. MoveOn.org sponsored the disruption but they had a lot of help. And Trump deserves part of the blame for holding an event on a college campus where more so-called students major in “studies” of various cultures (Blacks, Women, Hispanics…) than engineering, business or agriculture. If he had held the big rally at Northwestern, for example, the students there are too busy studying to waste time organizing protests against a businessman running for President.

The Chicago young people who don’t like their current economic condition should be complaining to the Mayor or Governor or President Obama. Trump and the other candidates didn’t create their misery.

Ohio State University hosted a CNN Town Hall tonight with Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, but not at the same time. It was peaceful and apparently nobody from the other party caused any disruptions. I didn’t hear the whole 2-hour Q&A, but I did hear this question for Sec. Clinton. She was asked how she was going to help poor people, including poor whites. Part of her answer was, “We’re going to move away from coal. We’re going to move away from all fossil fuels.” Huh? Eliminating high paying coal mining jobs and shutting down the oil and gas industry will wipe out the cheapest sources of electricity and transportation fuels. Instead of helping poor people, she would create a few million more of ‘em.

Here’s good news for all of us who like to eat. Recently I attended a couple of events with about a thousand farmers. In discussions on politics I never heard a one of ‘em say they would leave the country if so-and-so is elected. That’s a relief because we need all our farmers. On the other hand, the prospect of losing a few hundred Hollywood folks for the same reason is no problem at all.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“The trouble with Chicago is there ain’t much ‘better element.’ There was no shooting in Chicago on Election Day, but it will drop back to normal right away.” DT #219, Apr. 6, 1927

“The locusts I saw swarming in the Argentine are houseflies compared to the destruction caused by a Presidential election.” WA #516, Nov. 13, 1932

“This country has gotten where it is in spite of politics, not by the aid of it. That we have carried as much political bunk as we have and still survived shows we are a super nation.” DT #1948, Nov. 1, 1932

“It’s getting so if a man wants to stand well socially, he can’t afford to be seen with either the Democrats or the Republicans.” WA #26, June 10, 1923

 “You know the more you read and observe about this Politics thing, you got to admit that each party is worse than the other.” WA #3, December 31, 1922

The list of Presidential candidates is narrowing. After several states have held their primary election or caucus to select their favorite Democrat and Republican, we’re down to four prime candidates. You might expect they would be the most popular among the 25 or 30 who started.

But, oddly, they seem to be the most disliked, least trusted of the bunch. Nobody likes Trump, except the ones who voted for him. Senator Cruz has none of the other 99 Senators on his side. Nobody thinks Hillary Clinton is truthful, except her supporters. And for Sanders, is the United States ready for a Democratic-Socialist President?

Of course, all four of these candidates have strong, passionate, determined followers. Their challenge is to attract enough of the other voters to win. Yes, I know that Rubio and Kasich are still very much alive. Gov. Kasich is counting on his Ohio folks to give him a win. And Sen. Rubio won the odd couple of Minnesota and Puerto Rico, but may lose his own state of Florida.

Trump’s main point (when he’s not making fun of Rubio or Cruz): We’ll build a wall, and it will be paid for by Mexico. Sanders’ main point (when he’s not agreeing with Clinton): We’ll give you free medical care and free college, and it will be paid for by Republicans.

Hillary Clinton announced her campaign theme is: “Make America Hole Again.” Yes, I know she meant “Whole,” but it reminded me of a Will Rogers moment on the radio. He pretended that President Coolidge called in and Will asked him for his opinion on the state of the economy. (Read this as if you are listening rather than reading it.) Here’s Coolidge (actually Will): “I am proud to report that the country as a (w)hole is prosperous. I don’t mean by that, that the whole country is prosperous, but as a hole, it is prosperous. Now a hole is not supposed to be prosperous, and we are certainly in a hole, as a whole.”

I heard speculation that President Obama might name a person to replace Justice Scalia this week, I suppose, just to irritate Republican senators. We’ve heard many names of lawyers tossed out as prospects. Oddly, when we have only a half dozen capable of becoming President in 2016, there seems to be hundreds considered for the Supreme Court. And that person serves for life, not four years. Here’s Will on that issue: “The Senate just sits and waits till they find out what the President wants, so they know how to vote against him.” (DT #1225, June 29, 1930)

Historic quotes (on elections):

“One of the evils of democracy is you have to put up with the man you elect whether you want him or not. That’s why we call it democracy.” DT #1953, Nov. 7, 1932

“In this country people don’t vote for; they vote against.” Radio, June 9, 1935

“If you ever injected truth into politics you have no politics.” WA # 31, July 15, 1923