Month: December 2021

Bette Midler, who splits her time between Hollywood and New York City, is so mad at Senator Joe Manchin she proclaimed that the West Virginians he represents are “poor, illiterate and strung out.”

She and so many other harsh critics of Democrat Senator Manchin of West Virginia think there are only 50 Senators. They know better, most of ‘em, but they choose to ignore 50 Republican Senators and believe the 50 Democrats should run Congress. Bette Midler might be surprised to learn that people in 28 states elected at least one of those 50 Republican Senators who also oppose the $5.0 Trillion Build Back Better bill (advertised as $1.75 Trillion). I hope she doesn’t believe all those voters are poor, illiterate and strung out, too. And, surprise, surprise, surprise, more West Virginians know how to read and write than people in California and New York, according to Newsweek and other sources. And, like Sen. Manchin, they know from 4^th grade Arithmetic that 5.0 is greater than 1.75.

Thinking of TRILIONS… 6 years ago, on December 25, 2015, I wrote: “The Republican Congress passed a Democrat budget bill. Instead of trying to reduce our $19 Trillion debt, Congress and the President are adding another half Trillion dollars. The bill was loaded with Christmas presents for practically everybody that votes.” In 2021, our debt is $30 Trillion, and half a Trillion is loose change.

I was at my local Ford dealer for routine maintenance on my F-150. The work took much longer than usual because they are short six mechanics. They can’t get new vehicles either; only about 15 percent of their usual inventory is on the lot, mainly because of a lack of computer chips from China. (Henry Ford would have manufactured his own chips for the Model T right here in the U.S.) The bill for the same routine maintenance as a year ago on my F-150 was 11% more.

Mr. President, the supply chain and employment issues have not been solved. And don’t say, “pay ‘em more.”

Let’s look back at major News stories from 2021. Note that it makes a difference where you get your “News.” As Will Rogers said many times, “All I know is what I read in the newspaper.” And July 27, 1932, Will wrote, “Any person that don’t read at least one well-written country newspaper is not truly informed.”

If you get most of your national news from TV news channels, here is a random sample of prominent stories I recall from Fox, MSNBC, and CNN.

First, from Fox: Open border. Illegal immigrants. Illegal fentanyl. Botched exit from Afghanistan. Inflation. Communist Chinese Covid. Supply chain. Hunter’s laptop. Hunter’s $500,000 paintings. Fewer workers. Unfilled jobs. Voter ID. Russia’s ready to invade Ukraine. China harasses Taiwan. Super Bowl Tampa Bay. World Series Atlanta Braves. Parents slammed over CRT. The $5 Trillion Build Back Better bill. More Covid deaths under Biden. President Biden’s low approval ratings. VP Kamala Harris’s are even lower. Let’s Go Brandon.

Next, from MSNBC and CNN:  January 6th Insurrection ordered by President Trump. The Big Lie. January 6th caused 5 deaths. Capitol policeman killed with a fire extinguisher. Voter suppression. NY Governor Cuomo is a hero. Trump demands recounts in Georgia and Arizona. BLM and Antifa harassed by police. Russia, Russia, Russia. Senators feared for their lives on January 6th. Mounted Border Agents horsewhip immigrants. $3.5 Trillion BBB will cost zero. Trump failed to call off his armed Insurrectionists. Steve Bannon and Trump try to destroy democracy. Mark Meadows in contempt of Congress over January 6. Biden’s approval ratings are lower. Gasoline prices drop 2 cents. Kyle Rittenhouse guilty of racist murders. Jussie Smollett unjustly accused.

Of course, you can add dozens of other stories, or subtract from the ones I recalled. It’s a bad sign for the future when your view of the country and the world depends so much on which channel you watch or what newspaper you read. And if all your News comes from social media, Lord help us.

Omicron has invaded almost every country.  Except one. You’ll never guess the one significant country in the whole world where the Omicron variant of the Communist Chinese Covid virus has not reached.  China.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“The neckties were all red and the socks were all too small. There is practically nothing I can do but just sit and wait for another holiday.” DT# 441, Dec. 25, 1927

“Well, Christmas has passed. I was just thinking if there was some way to make the Christmas spirit continue during the other days of the year, why we would be the most happy and wonderful Nation on Earth. Gosh, if all of us that was able would just feed and do things for folks without waiting till Christmas. I think we mean well, but we just sorter got in our heads that about one day a year pays our obligations off, then we swell up and hide our Conscience till the next gift day comes along.” WA #628, Jan. 6, 1935

I was thinking of going to San Francisco to pick up a couple of nice Christmas gifts at Louis Vuitton. After hearing the mayor of San Francisco yesterday get tough on store theft, I may as well shop here since I’ll have to pay for ‘em.

President Biden’s prize package, the Buy Back Better bill, (sorry, I meant Build Back Better), is down the drain. Fifty Republican Senators and Sen. Joe Manchin outnumber 48 or 49 other Senators. Joe Manchin, who represents West Virginia, said today, “I can’t vote for anything I can’t explain to West Virginians.”

Let me give you just two questions about the bill that Manchin can’t explain. Why is it advertised as costing $1,750,000,000,000.00 over ten years when it will actually cost about $5,000,000,000,000.00? And if the bill includes early childhood education for 3-and 4-year-olds, why must the educators be members of a teacher’s union? Does this exclude funding for moms, aunts and grandparents, and even organized child care provided by churches and small business?

And here’s one claim by the President that NO ONE can explain. With inflation above 6%, how could adding TRILLIONS in debt reduce inflation?

Maybe it’s time for a few other Senators to speak up about Build Back Better. For example, Sen. Brown of Ohio and Sen. Kelly of Arizona have been silent. Do they stand with Manchin, or are they more aligned with Chuck Schumer, Adam Schiff, Congresswomen Omar of Minnesota and Cori Bush of Missouri?

Texas decided to build their own wall.  Disgusted with President Biden’s open border policy, they are protecting their own ranches and property. The President is so biased against any deterrent, that he refuses to let Texas buy and use the Billions of dollars’ worth of unused 30-foot steel wall sections laying along the Rio Grande. Maybe Biden is holding onto the wall sections with plans to sell them, at ten cents on the dollar, to Ukraine to keep out the Russians.

It appears Russia and China will team up against the U.S. Don’t be surprised if they bribe Iran to launch a full attack on Israel. And while Washington is deciding whether to defend Israel, Putin and Xi will invade Ukraine and Taiwan. Now, that’s not a prediction. And I hope it never happens. Someone in the White House had better be ready with a quick, solid answer if the phone rings at 3 a.m.

Merry Christmas. Despite the issues mentioned, don’t let ‘em interfere with the Christmas spirit. The spirit of Christmas is not reserved only for Christians either. Joe Manchin is not a Grinch even if he stopped Joe Biden from playing Santa Claus to America. Texans aren’t against immigrants; half of ‘em along the border have Mexican roots. And a growing number in the rest of the state immigrated from California. What about Putin and Xi? No comment.

Historic (Christmas) quotes by Will Rogers:

“I am too busy replacing presents to write today. I bought some mechanical and electric things for the kids and wore ’em out playing with ’em myself.”  DT #120, Dec. 23, 1926

“Merry Christmas, my constant readers, both of you…. Men, act surprised this morning as if you didn’t know the tie was coming.”  DT #121, Dec. 24, 1926

“Well, tomorrow is ‘wish’ day. Everybody is ‘wishing’ somebody something, and I guess it’s just as well everybody don’t know what they are being ‘wished.’ But, generally speaking, we do have good cheer in our hearts on Christmas. ‘Course, we can’t hardly wait till the day is over and to get back to our devilment again.” DT # 1379, Dec. 24, 1930

A string of horrible tornadoes rained death and destruction across several states from Arkansas to Kentucky. Mayfield, KY was almost wiped off the map by the ferocity and width of the tornado. My comments can’t compare to pictures you are seeing on TV news reports.

After his Zoom call with Russia’s Putin, President Biden was asked if he set a “red line” concerning Putin’s looming aggression toward Ukraine.  I don’t think Biden mentioned a concrete red line, but he did say sanctions would be severe.

I think the President missed a chance for a direct, simple answer, “The red line is the Ukraine border.” And while he’s on the subject, he could have stated firmly, “I’ll draw a red circle around Taiwan.”

You may doubt that we could enforce both red lines at the same time. You may be right. But if one red line is absolutely enforced, with no wishy-washy whispering, the other might fade away.

While we’re talking red lines, how about setting one on our border with Mexico. That red line should be 2000 miles long and 30 feet high.

Another jury came through with a just verdict. Jussie Smollett fooled three-fourths of the media (and President Biden and VP Harris) with his well-rehearsed story. Jussie claimed he suffered a race-based attack by Trump supporters with a noose at 2:00 a.m. on a frigid night in Chicago. Those journalists and television commentators may have believed him because they admired him as a famous, million-dollar actor on a TV show called Empire.

But I had never heard of him, or his show. Had you? But Smollett fooled so many people because he’s a good actor. He should receive an Emmy award for “Best Actor in a Hoax.” He can accept it from prison.

Another Emmy might have been earned this week for “Best Dramatic Reading in a Losing Role,” by Hillary Clinton.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

 “You read about the disaster [tornado] in St. Louis and what the Red Cross did. No matter what happens or where it goes to happen, they are the first there.”  DT #372, Sept. 30, 1927

“One thing that a Communist can do is explain…  Communism to me is one-third practice and two-thirds explanation.” There’s Not a Bathing Suit in Russia, 1927

“Oftentimes you have been made to suffer by Actors.  So, you will be tickled to death to read about an Actor who suffers, and the more continuous he suffers, the more you will like it.” Ether and Me, 1927 (Will wrote this about himself, suffering through gallbladder surgery.)

 

In basketball, it would be called a “2 on 1 fast break.” In pursuit of global dominance, China and Russia are preparing a 2 on 1 break against us. It’s more of a slow break; Russia is slowly moving 175,000 Army forces into position to invade Ukraine, and China is threatening to attack Taiwan. Neither Putin or Xi are in a hurry, as long as they make their move while President Biden is still in office.

You don’t need to be reminded about the value of Taiwan’s booming economy. It’s the18^th largest economy in the world, which is amazing considering it is the size of Maryland.

Ukraine used to be part of the Soviet Union. Putin is determined to get it back in Russia’s sphere, along with other countries that used to be behind the Iron Curtain. Ukraine is blessed with fertile soil. Considering only the absolute best soils in the world, the U.S. has about a fourth (mostly in Iowa, Illinois and nearby states), Russia has a fourth, and Ukraine has a fourth. This soil in Ukraine is so great that during World War II, Hitler invaded and had trainloads of it hauled to Germany. Now, you know that our trains haul coal, corn, cars, oil and other valuable goods. But dirt? Putin has other selfish reasons to control Ukraine, but do we want him to control almost half of the world’s best farmland?

China’s Communist leaders found another way to bash the United States. President Biden will host a global summit this week to promote democratic governments. Over 100 countries plan to attend the virtual conference. The Communists in China, where Covid-19 originated, criticized the U.S. and other democracies for “botching the response to Covid.”

Wow! The one that botched a response to Covid was China. The Communist Dictator Xi Jinping, who appointed himself president through 2035, deliberately caused the virus to spread globally while restricting travel within China. Covid could have been controlled within the Wuhan region, but Xi chose to let it out, intending to disrupt the thriving economic conditions around the world. Killing a few million people was no concern to him or other Communist Party leaders.

This Democracy Summit gives President Biden, with full support from those other countries, the opportunity to condemn the Chinese Communists. He needs to speak with the same tone he used to denounce our citizens who object to rewarding any illegal immigrants with $450,000.  Either that, or appoint the NBA basketball player Enes Kanter Freedom, our newest American citizen, to deliver the message to Xi.

President Biden was asked about the supply chain problems delaying Christmas presents. He said he’s not concerned about dozens of container ships from China waiting weeks to unload, “We can count on Santa Claus.”  One of my professional speaker friends said, “And he expects inflation to be solved by the Easter Bunny.”

We have two recent examples showing the value of the Judicial system in a democracy. A jury in Kenosha, Wisconsin set a teenager free by way of self-defense, and one in Brunswick, Georgia convicted three men of first-degree murder.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“Tomorrow I am trying out Russia’s commercial aviation, flying down through the Ukraine to the Black Sea.” DT #2518, Aug. 30, 1934

“(The Communist Karl Marx) was like one of these efficiency experts.  He could explain to you how you could save a million dollars and he couldn’t save enough himself to eat on.” There’s Not a Bathing Suit in Russia, 1926

“On account of us being a democracy and run by the people, we are the only nation in the world that has to keep a government four years no matter what it does.” DT #1116, Feb. 21, 1930