Month: October 2023

The Iran-backed war on Israel continues, 3 weeks after the Hamas slaughter of 1400 civilians. Hamas kidnapped over 230 hostages, including citizens of more than 30 countries, as a bargaining chip. Can you believe that 140 countries in the United Nations side with Hamas in calling for a ceasefire?  If the UN and these countries had been around in 1941, do you suppose they would have demanded the U.S. accept a ceasefire with Japan on December 8?

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, Dearborn, Michigan, is one of our most ungrateful immigrants. She continues to lie about Hamas and especially their rocket that misfired and dropped into a hospital parking lot instead of landing where it was aimed, across the border to kill Israelis. Another Representative, Ilhan Omar, from a “pro-Muslim” district in Minnesota, posted the same Hamas lie. She eventually retracted the Tweet, but refused to blame Hamas.

At least the New York Times finally apologized for publishing the Hamas lie that Israel bombed a hospital and killed 500 people. How could a journalist believe a report, issued within minutes of an explosion in a hospital parking lot, stating it killed 500 people? That lie resulted in organized protests by millions in cities around the world. (In reality, about 50 people died in that Hamas misfire.)

The Washington Post, Associated Press, and “journalists” with other media supported the same lie. They should jointly publish a full-page ad in major newspapers (especially in Dearborn and Minneapolis) and on social media apologizing: “We were Wrong. Never Trust Hamas for ‘News.’” And each should contribute a million dollars to support Israel.

We have too many college students across the country who are ignorant about the Middle East. Some have been brainwashed by radical professors who are “exhilarated” by the success of the Hamas killers. Students at pro-Hamas demonstrations are chanting, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” I bet half of ‘em couldn’t find this region on a map. They couldn’t tell you which river or which sea they are yelling about. (I’ll help them out; it’s the Jordan and the Mediterranean.)  Have you seen the video of the two Jewish students near a pro-Hamas rally? They are pleading with a university administrator to stop the rally because, “They are trying to kill us?” He ignored them. Maybe the wealthy donors who are refusing to give more millions to their favorite university will get the attention of him and other university presidents.

Republicans in Congress finally agreed on a Speaker, Mike Johnson of Shreveport, Louisiana. Among the dozen or so Republicans interested in becoming Speaker, he is probably the least known. He gave a good acceptance speech emphasizing seven principles. He believes in following the Constitution and the “rule of law” which would take precedence over his personal opinions. However, it didn’t take long for News media and leading Democrats to dig up some dirt. But he can’t be all bad; he married a teacher and they named a son Will.

Note: no Weekly Comments next week. Celebrating Will Rogers birthday, #144, on Nov. 4, in Claremore, Oklahoma. Motion Picture Festival, Pocahontas Club, a Parade, and cake. I may go to Hammett House and order Will’s favorite dessert, cherry pie with ice cream.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

“Rumor travels Faster, but it don’t stay put as long as the truth.” WA #65, March 9, 1924

Weekly Comments: Will Rogers for Speaker (on National Nut Day)

#1179, Oct.22, 2023

Columbus: Did you know today is National Nut Day, honoring almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, and other healthy snacks? Yes, in all 50 states. And especially in Washington, DC.

The Republicans in Congress are still being dragged down by a half-dozen nutty members who think they can overrule the Democrat majority in the Senate and the Democrat in the White House. Jim Jordan is their latest victim. The House has been without a Speaker since October 5, and can’t act. Not good with government shutdown looming again and war in Israel.

Rather than allowing 51% of the majority party to select the Speaker of the House, the minority party members (currently, Democrats) get to vote. So, while the Republicans can get ~96% of their members to agree on a Speaker, the Democrats are united, 100%, against ANY Republican.

As a compromise why not make Will Rogers the Speaker. Yes, Will Rogers is a statue. He’s standing near the front entrance to the House. You see him almost every time a Congressperson is interviewed on TV. He stands there behind them, smiling, hoping in vain for one to turn around before speaking and ask for his wise counsel. He knows more about politics than any of ‘em because he has been standing there, listening intently, since 1938.

Will’s upper body parts are cut off by the TV camera quite often. Not on purpose, but he is perched on a 3-foot pedestal. Sometimes they cut off most of his body. Maybe all you see is a left elbow, poised to jab a Representative in the ribs for a nutty comment.

Get rid of that 3-foot pedestal, let Will stand on the floor among ‘em, face to face. Or, better yet, move Will inside the Chamber, standing at the Speaker’s position. He would rule unflinchingly. Unmoved by hostile interchanges across the aisle. Rock solid in times of turmoil and strife. And it would require a lot more than 5 disgruntled Republicans to remove him without a forklift.

I know we have serious topics to cover. The war on Israel is at the top of the list. It began on October 7 when Hamas terrorists slaughtered 1400 ordinary human beings in the most vile manner imaginable, including decapitation of babies. They are barbarians! And they kidnapped 200, hiding them in Gaza tunnels. Since that tragic day, Hamas has continued firing thousands of missiles into Israel. Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terrorists in Lebanon, has fired missiles across Israel’s north border. Israel is poised to invade Gaza to release the hostages and eradicate Hamas terrorists. That will be our main topic next week.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

(A quote that is turned upside down now) “Washington, D. C. papers say: ‘Congress is deadlocked and can’t act.’ I think that is the greatest blessing that could befall this country.” WA #59, Jan. 27, 1924

The Iran-backed barbaric attack by Hamas terrorists on Israel last Saturday has sparked demonstrations on college campuses supporting the terrorists. It is shameful. Well-educated, bright college students at Harvard and other elite universities are pro-Hamas, meaning they want to eliminate all Jews. Equally shameful are professors and administrators who are pro-Hamas or refuse to condemn the demonstrators.

This hatred makes it rough on their fellow students who are Jewish. Why do their classmates want them dead?

Now, you may object, saying these demonstrators are merely supporting poor Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. These Palestinians voted for Hamas in 2006 and Hamas terrorists have taken dictatorial control ever since.

Did you know that in 1932-33 Germany voters gave the Nazi Party control? Their leader was Adolph Hitler. As we know now, Hamas has the same goal as Hitler and the Nazis: Kill all the Jews in the world. The Allies defeated Hitler; can Israel eradicate Hamas?

You may be surprised to learn that of the 9 million people living in Israel, 20% are Palestinian. Yes, they seem to enjoy living with their Jewish neighbors, and the 5% of Israelis who are Christian. Of the 9 million, around 300,000 are American.

About 2 million Palestinians live in the Gaza Strip. By the time the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) reaches its goal of killing every Hamas terrorist, how many will be left? And can they continue to live in a land where most of the structures will have been destroyed?

You may be wondering, why don’t the Palestinians move to Arab countries in the Middle East? The fact is that none of those countries want them. Not Egypt. Not Saudi Arabia. Not Jordan. Nobody wants 2 or 3 million of them.

Meanwhile in Washington, the Republican majority in the House is in disarray. They have reversed a well-known Will Rogers quote. Now it’s, “I’m not a member of any organized political party… I’m a Republican.” Congressman Matt Goetz is the main disorganizer, somehow convincing 5% of his Republican colleagues to overrule the other 95%. First, they kicked Kevin McCarthy of California out of the Speaker chair because he did not force a government shutdown September 30. Next, they derailed the bid by Steve Scalise of Louisiana to replace him. Jim Jordan of Ohio is now in Goetz’s crosshairs.

Maybe a Republican should nominate Goetz for Speaker and see how many votes he gets. Probably less than 10 Republicans would support him.

The Democratic minority, all 100% of ‘em, is enjoying the discombobulated Republicans. They even offered to loan their own leader, Hakeem Jeffries, to be the Speaker. Considering the chaos, Jeffries would likely get more Republican votes than Goetz.

Now, many Republicans agree with the goals of Goetz to cut government spending and eliminate a couple of Cabinet Departments. But they realize it can’t be done while Democrats control the Senate and the Presidency.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“I thought they had the Jerusalem and Palestine thing pretty well settled as to who’s it was. But it seems the Arabs have broke out again…You can’t lick those Arabs with mass meetings and passing resolutions…Instead of going to that Wailing Wall with just some wails, why, take a gun. That would break ’em from interrupting prayer meetings.” DT #966, Aug. 30, 1929 (Note: 249 were killed and 571 injured)

“Don’t blame all the things that have happened to us lately on the Republicans – they are not smart enough to have thought ‘em up.” Notes, undated

Iran’s surrogates, Hamas Islamic terrorists, attacked Israel. They intentionally targeted civilians, killing men, women, and children, and dragged hostages back into the Gaza Strip. As I write this, more than 700 Israelis have been killed, plus a few American and European citizens.

Iran deserves the blame and condemnation. Hamas has no legitimate income. Their weapons and training come from Iran. So, where does Iran get all this excess cash they give to Hamas? From selling oil. You may say, “I thought we put sanctions on Iran, preventing them from selling any oil.” Unfortunately, that ended when Trump lost in 2020.

But now, according to Bloomberg News, Iran exports 1,400,000 barrels per day, mostly to China. So, since President Biden appeased Iran by removing sanctions, they have made about $100 Billion from oil exports. A hundred Billion dollars can pay for thousands of missiles, drones and conventional weapons, and recruit, train and equip thousands of Hamas terrorists, not to mention Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon.

Israel will try to annihilate Hamas. Even if they kill all the terrorists, Iran will keep recruiting and arming Palestinians. The main hope is to strangle the Iran economy.

Here’s a question: why isn’t the Gaza Strip, with 25 miles of beachfront property on the Mediterranean, a wealthy country? Compare it to 25 miles of beachfront in South Florida.

President Biden will reluctantly allow 20 miles of new border wall to be built in Texas. When asked, he said it would not help stop illegal immigration. Don’t assume it will be built like the 30-ft Trump wall. It will be built in rural Starr County where very few immigrants cross the Rio Grande. To make sure it doesn’t help, they might build a mile at a time, with a wide gap between each section.

The Democrat Party has changed. They used to depend on strong support from middle class workers, members of labor unions, government employees, minorities, and low-income folks.  But now, based on peculiar actions and rulings by elected Democrats, the favorite constituents are shoplifters, repeat criminals, and illegal immigrants. Do they really believe that’s the way to win elections?

Hillary Clinton, the Democrat nominee for President in 2016, announced in a TV interview that she wants to “de-program” voters who voted against her. I guess she wants to de-program Americans who prefer energy independence, gas-powered cars, good jobs, low inflation, smaller government, low mortgage rates, merit-based immigration, and schools that respect parents’ desires.

Tomorrow, because it’s Monday, we celebrate Columbus Day. (It’s actually Oct. 12 because that’s the date in 1492 when Columbus landed on an island in the Caribbean.) A few years ago, someone who dislikes honoring Christopher Columbus decided tomorrow should be called Indigenous Day. I guess it refers to the Stone Age people and the Moundbuilders. They apparently migrated to White Sands, New Mexico more than 20,000 years ago, according to recently discovered footprints. So, walking from Asia they beat Columbus and his 3 Spanish sailboats by about 19,000 years. (see quotes below)

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

      “St. Augustine, Florida [is] dating all their time from when Columbus and those gangs from Europe commenced to squat in this country. Why this country out here [New Mexico] was established so long ahead of that back there, that they were like a bunch of Tourists visiting a country after these old Pioneers out here had blazed the trail far ahead of that Columbus bunch. Why, if Columbus had landed at Galveston and marched inland to Santa Fe, New Mexico he would have been met by the Cliff Dwellers commercial Club, a delegation of modern ‘Red men of the world,’ and the Aztecs Rotary… Columbus would have remarked, ‘Pardon me gentlemen! I didn’t discover a Country, I am just over here paying my respects from a young country, to an older one.’ Every guy thinks the first time he sees anything, that that is the first time it ever existed.” WA #222, March 13, 1927

      “Do you know that Claremore, Oklahoma, is going to open the only Indian hospital in the United States?… You know Columbus discovered this country about 400 years ago, and it took 400 years for the Government to build a hospital for the Indians.  Look what the Indians have got to look forward to in the next 400 years.  They are liable to build us a cemetery or something.” Radio, Apr. 27, 1930

President Biden’s immigration policy is working magnificently. A record 260,000 immigrants were counted and sent into the country in September. At that pace, the president can claim an additional 3,000,000 potential future Democrats this year as he gears up for the 2024 campaign.

So, let’s imagine a possible outcome of the future envisioned by the Biden Administration. Twenty-five years from today, October 1, 2048, Venezuela President Carlos Hernandez frantically calls our President, Juanita Perez, with an urgent plea.

See, President Perez is the fifth Democrat in a row since 2020 to be the U.S. President. The U.S population has ballooned to 850,000,000. A new third party, the Libertads, finished second in the 2044 election, dropping the Republicans to third place.

What does the Venezuela president ask our President Perez?

Does he want help plugging old oil wells? Does he need more corn? Is he asking the U.S. to build a railroad across the Caribbean? No, none of these. Instead, he is pleading, “Madame President, will you please send a few thousand Venezuelans back home. Way back in 2020, we had 30 million people. Now, we have only 20. Not 20 million, 20! Here I am the President of a vast country, and only me and 19 others are left!”

Add Honduras, Guatemala and several other countries losing people in droves to the U.S. and this 2048 tale doesn’t seem so farfetched.

Back to reality, this week California Senator, Diane Feinstein, died. The former mayor of San Francisco (1978 to 1988), Feinstein was elected to the Senate in 1992 and was the longest serving woman.

The vacancy presents a quandary for Gov. Newsom. He announced months ago that if she resigned or died, he wanted to replace her with a person who matched the previous senator and current VP, Kamala Harris. But he’ll have a difficult time finding a California woman whose dad is from Jamaica and mom from India. Plus, she must have an unusual laugh that irritates Republicans.

Seriously, announcing a commitment to select a person of a particular race and sex, whether Republican or Democrat, is shameful. In the U.S. Senate, America deserves the most qualified persons available. We already have enough barely qualified members of Congress elected by misinformed or uninformed voters. When a governor is given the opportunity to name a Senator, pick the best one available. Problem is, the best ones often don’t want to deal with the hassles.

With the bribery charges facing New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, Governor Murphy may have a similar opportunity. Of course, he would name a Democrat. But not likely one who stashed gold bars in a bedroom closet.

The Federal Government shutdown was avoided, at least for 45 days. A “Continuing Resolution” was passed by Congress and signed by President Biden, but only because it increased spending. Cutting spending was hopeless. Like millions of federal employees, I spent time preparing. I wrote a couple of paragraphs about the perils of a shutdown that I’ll hang onto until the next deadline. Or the one after that.

Meanwhile, with or without a shutdown, farmers across the Midwest are starting to harvest corn. Last year the average price was about $6.80 a bushel. This fall they’ll get about two dollars less. Yes, that’s down. But $4.80 is not a bad price until you read the Successful Farming magazine headline, “With inflation, $4.80 a bushel is the new $4.00 a bushel for corn.”

I wonder what the inflation rate is in Venezuela.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

          “Say that Venezuela is quite a country. They have a fellow [dictator] named Gomez… and he really runs it.” DT #1477, Apr. 17, 1931

“Funny thing about being a U. S. Senator, the only thing the law says you have to be is 30 years old. Not another single requirement necessary. They just figure that a man that old got nobody to blame but himself if he gets caught in there.” DT #2770, June 21, 1935

“There is two things that a dumb guy knows as much about as a smart one, and that’s art and inflation.” DT #2114, May 14, 1933