Month: June 2020

Cowtown: Statues have become our newest endangered species.

What do these statues have in common? Christopher Columbus, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Francis Scott Key, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Andrew Jackson, William Penn Adair, and Will Rogers.

And Speaker Pelosi plans to, personally, pull down eleven other statues in the Capitol Rotunda.

Most of these statues have been around a hundred years. If they are removed from public sight it will be interesting to see in 5 or 10 years how much the IQ of offended individuals has changed. Their wages will undoubtedly rise. Our great country, finally, will be blessed with peace and harmony.

Are you wondering what these famous and honorable men did to deserve scorn? A few are obvious, but for others you really have to dig deep to find something to be mad about. It’s kinda like a person who got stung by a honeybee and demanded we get rid of all honeybees. Wait, honeybees are essential for pollinating crops, and give us delicious honey. But no, the stinger means they’ve got to go.

All the statues listed above, except Will Rogers, have been attacked. (Actually, the Will Rogers statue at Lubbock gets “attacked” by Texas Tech students before every football game, with red crepe paper.) The statue at the main entrance to the House of Representatives is in danger if Speaker Pelosi finds out his full name is William Penn Adair Rogers. Will was named after Confederate Col. William Penn Adair. Will’s dad, Clem, served under Col. Adair.

You may have noticed I started this column with the dateline listed as Cowtown, not Columbus. With all the uproar, this town already removed two of its three Columbus statues and changing the name is being hotly debated. If it’s put to a popular vote, Columbus, Ohio, has no more chance of changing its name than does the John Wayne Airport in California.

Defund the Police has become a popular slogan among Democrats in a few cities. But don’t be concerned about those officers being knocked out of a job. With no police department, every one of them will receive a half dozen offers to become a guard for city businesses and scared homeowners. You’ll also see dozens of new businesses that build walls and high fences with secure gates around homes or entire communities.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“There is no country in the world where a person changes from a hero to a goat… as they do with us. And all in no change to them. The change is always in us.” Notes. (undated)

“This thing of being a hero, about the main thing to do is to know when to die. Prolonged life has ruined more men than it ever made.” DT #616, July 17, 1928

“Policemen used to carry a Billy that they used to crack over Crooks’ Heads. Now they have discarded that and have a Whistle. That’s why there is so much crime. Whistling at a Crook is not near as effective as to Crack him On the Bean with a Hickory Stick.” WA #129, May 31, 1925

Did you hear about the furor at the New York Times over “Op-eds?” This distinguished paper published “Op-eds” by Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the Taliban (a cousin of ISIS in Afghanistan), and a US Senator from Arkansas. After an uproar, the Editor in charge of op-eds was fired.

Can you guess which op-ed author created the uproar? Well, it was not the Communist. It was not the Muslim terrorist. Yes, a Republican Senator caused the furor. Oh, it was not the readers who were furious; it was the employees!

In 1932 “I” had my own dispute with the paper. The NY Times syndicated my daily and weekly columns, but the Editor took exception to my comments. He did not like that I insisted European countries repay the money they borrowed from us to fund the World War (“Pay or Default”). In my own way I responded to his editorial in my next syndicated article:

“I would like to state to the readers of THE NEW YORK TIMES that I am in no way responsible for the editorial or political policy of this paper. I allow them free reign as to their opinion, so long as it is within the bounds of good subscription gathering. But I want it distinctly understood that their policy may be in direct contrast to mine. Their editorials may be put in purely for humor, or just to fill space. Every paper must have its various entertaining features, and their editorials are not always to be taken seriously, and never to be construed as my policy.” DT #1979, Dec. 7, 1932

(Adolph Simon Ochs was the Publisher back then, and his great-grandson, A. G. Sulzberger, is the Publisher today.)

Have you noticed there is a distinct difference between “peaceful protesters” and “rioters/looters?” Of course you do. Does that make you wonder why many newscasters and public officials do not distinguish between them?

I don’t think it was peaceful protesters who burned a police headquarters in Minneapolis, stole Rolex watches worth $2.5 million from a jewelry store in Beverly Hills, ransacked the iconic Macy’s store in New York, or destroyed/vandalized thousands of businesses and government properties. By the way, I think the police will keep an eye on pawn shops and eBay to track down the thieves. That assumes mayors and council members do not eliminate the police.

“Defund the Police” is a new theme among some mayors (including the one in Washington, DC) and other Democrats. Gee, I hope Joe Biden does not allow that to be his slogan for November. That would be as disastrous as the one used by Democrats 96 years ago: “(In 1924, John W. Davis) foolishly ran on Honesty, and I told him at the time he would never get anywhere on it. It was too radical for Politics. Mr. Coolidge ran on Common Sense and the returns showed that there was 8 million people in the United States who had Common Sense enough not to believe that there was Honesty in politics.” WA #101, Nov. 16, 1924

Will Rogers was quarter-blood Cherokee. He is famous for saying, “I never met a man I didn’t like.” Today, he would say “person.”