Month: February 2025

Trump has turned the “First 100 Days” into “First 30.” He has taken more actions than any recent President at the start of his term.

I disagree on a couple of critical announcements. President Trump is mistaken to claim that Zelinskyy started the war with Russia.  I’ll side with Zelinskyy. Did Trump expect him to give up a big chunk of eastern and southeastern Ukraine without a fight? After all, Putin wanted ALL of Ukraine. And he still wants it all, plus Poland, Romania, and the other countries that were under USSR Communist rule from 1946 until 1991. I’m disappointed that Trump did not propose the “Crimea for Russian farmland” deal I offered last week. Putin would have had to answer this question: Is Crimea worth more than an equal area of prime farmland?

Trump is wrong about eliminating income taxes, replaced by Tariffs. Income taxes total around $2.5 Trillion. There’s no way tariffs can offset income taxes.

Trump says that before the income tax was approved in 1913 that tariffs paid for most of our government expenses. But property taxes were a big chunk of total government receipts, affecting farmers and other land owners and businesses.

USAID has good programs. As I wrote before, it’s a shame when a few “bad apples” spoil the barrel. With new Department Secretaries and top officials approved by the Senate, let’s hope they will quickly investigate the expenses and reinstate the good ones. And rescind the firing of good, necessary employees. Trump already welcomed back military folks who were fired because they would not get the Covid vaccines, so they should take back essential employees, including ones recently hired. Emphasis on “essential.”

(Will Rogers wrote about different taxes and the size of government. See quotes below.)

I have friends working for the US Department of Agriculture. USDA researchers have provided much of the increase in crop yields and overall efficiency that keeps food prices low. Others in the Natural Resources Conservation Service have been tied to their computers completing forms when they should be out on the farms and ranches, one-on-one with farm families. I think common sense will prevail and we’ll have a more efficient, streamlined federal government workforce.

A note to Elon Musk… As “Will Rogers” I pretend to be 145 years old (born Nov. 4, 1879). For the record, I am not receiving any Social Security checks in his name. And neither is his great granddaughter, Jennifer.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“This land is taxed at $60 an acre, same as it was taxed when wheat was $2.50 a Bushel. Now wheat is (25 cents) and it’s still taxed at $60. When they going to do like the City folks do, pay on your income. If you don’t earn anything you don’t pay anything. And if there ain’t the old Banker who had a mortgage on my crop. Paid him 8% and a bonus to get the loan. Reading where money was loaning in the City for as low as 1%. Well, that’s what you get for living in the Country I guess. Wish all the Farmers would move to town one year that’s the only way I know to clear the thing up.” WA #452, Aug. 23, 1931

“All taxes should be on income, and where there is no income either personally, or on your property, why you shouldn’t pay anything. You should pay on things that you buy outside of bare necessities. I think this sales tax is the best tax we have had in years… Oh, but the tough part of our whole system is the amount of money they are spending. Hundreds, thousands, practically millions that are working for the state, the city, the federal government. There is hundreds of different branches, and bureaus, that everybody knows is not essential… Lord, the money we do spend on government. And it’s not a bit better government that we got for one-third the money twenty years ago.” WA#483, March 27, 1932

 

Today, I’m offering a solution to end the war that started when Putin’s armed forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022. You’ll remember that Putin already stole Crimea in 2014. Pro-Russian Communists in the eastern edge of Ukraine also took control of the Donbas region.

Have you noticed how hard it is to keep a country together when you have loud opponents, often speaking the language of the enemy?

Russian attacks have killed or injured hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians.      Over 10,000,000 have been displaced, including almost 7,000,000 who fled the country. The cost to replace destroyed buildings and damaged farm land could top a Trillion.

Here’s my plan. Putin gets to keep Crimea. Ukraine has gotten used to doing without it for ten years. Crimea has an area of 10,400 square miles. But Putin has to pull out of all the area taken since he invaded three years ago. Any of the pro-Russian residents are free to leave with the Russian soldiers. Good riddance.

There’s more. Since Putin keeps Crimea, he has to give Ukraine an equal amount of Russian land along the border. Doesn’t that seem fair to you? Russia gets Crimea, with 1500 miles of beautiful coastline, and Ukraine adds 6,600,000 acres of prime farmland.

Ukraine has been called the “Breadbasket of Europe.” With this deal, they will provide even more “bread” to Europe, and also to Africa and Southeast Asia.

I’m going to stop without getting into all the mischief Trump has stirred up. Democrats in Congress are so frustrated and bewildered all they can do is yell and scream and sing off key. Even women in Congress are using cuss words their mothers would be shocked by.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“No matter what a President does, he is wrong according to some people.” WA #352, Sept. 22, 1929

“Wars are not fought for Democracy’s sake; they are fought for land’s sake.” Radio, Nov. 4, 1934

“I am a peace man. I haven’t got any use for wars and there is no more humor in ’em than there is reason for ’em.” DT #1674, Dec. 4, 1931

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.

I wrote that paragraph in Weekly Comments on Oct. 8, 2023, the day after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel.

President Trump had the same thought. On Tuesday he announced that the U.S. would take over Gaza and turn it into “The Riviera of the Middle East.” Of course, there are plenty of obstacles facing such a transition of war-torn land. Persuading neighboring Arab countries to accept more than a million Gaza Palestinians won’t be easy. Nobody wants them because they support terrorism.

If miraculously, the Gaza Strip ever resembles the Vegas Strip, the temporarily displaced Palestinians can return and have plenty of jobs. And no tax on tips.

California Governor Newsom proudly announced he has $50 million to pay lawyers to fight Trump directives, including one to keep boys out of girls’ sports and locker rooms. Then he flew to Washington to beg Trump for money to help victims of the fires in Pacific Palisades and other areas around Los Angeles.

I’m guessing President Trump might respond to Newsom’s plea like this, “I feel for the thousands who lost homes, businesses, schools and churches. So I’ll get $500,000,000 for the victims.” (Newsom smiles broadly.) Trump continues, “Now, since you found $50 million to waste on shyster lawyers to fight my decisions, you can stop and redirect those millions to the fire victims. And you’re so shrewd I’m sure you can dig up another $50 million from the Legislature. So, I only need to take $400 million from taxpayers in the other states, not $500 million.”

Whether you like President Trump or not, he is taking decisive actions so rapidly the Democrats can’t keep up. Senator Schumer and others are harping about something Trump did yesterday while Trump is on TV announcing today’s big decision. And he’ll have another shocker tomorrow.

Will Rogers said, “I don’t belong to any organized political party… I’m a Democrat.” Even prominent Democrats agree they are disorganized. Every politician has campaigned against waste, fraud and abuse. But they never seem to find any after they get to Washington. Yet, in a few days Elon Musk and a handful of computer whiz kids have uncovered Billions. Instead of celebrating the exposure of hidden wasteful expenses, Democrats are yelling at Musk, claiming his actions are a “Constitutional crisis”.

The President seems to assign Elon Musk a different department or agency every day to dig into. Once Musk works his way through every nook and cranny in the Executive Branch, can you imagine the waste he could uncover in Congress? Of course, I’m joking because 535 Representatives and 100 Senators would never allow an outsider to look through their spending. Back in 1932, Will Rogers suggested, “(in Washington) One man could do what 10 of ’em do. There could be a quarter or third as many Congressmen or Senators, and we would pick better ones then.” Naturally, Will added a lighthearted comment, “But they are all likable cusses. You can’t help but like ’em.” (WA #506, Sept. 4, 1932)

The Philadelphia Eagles clobbered the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. They led 24-0 at the half and continued to dominate, winning 40-22.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

“Our Constitution protects aliens, drunks and United States Senators.” DT #2678, March 6, 1935

COLUMBUS, Ohio: It’s Groundhog Day in Punxsuntawney, Pennsylvania. The town is known for a groundhog named Phil. Phil is over a hundred years old and still wakes up from hibernation long enough to crawl out of his hole every year on February 2.

Television reporters say Phil saw his shadow this morning. But the sun seldom shows up on a blustery winter morning in Pennsylvania. So the local Chamber of Commerce sometimes uses an LED spotlight to trick Phil into thinking he saw a shadow. If the TV weather folks in Pittsburgh, Erie, and Philadelphia can agree on a specific week that Spring will arrive, they coordinate with Phil’s handlers on whether or not a shadow will be witnessed by the crowd of 20,000.

Meanwhile, across the Mason Dixon Line in West Virginia, another groundhog, French Creek Freddie, has horned in (or dug in) on the action to do his own predictions.  West Virginia does not trust Pennsylvania to tell ‘em when it will be warm enough to discard their flannel shirts and start digging ramps.

And Ohio decided they needed their own groundhog. They named him Buckeye Chuck (after the Ohio State football team). Marion was the home of Buckeye Chuck until two years ago when the mayor decided Marion prefers to be known as the home of President Warren G. Harding. So, the mayor hauled Buckeye Chuck to Cleveland which gave him a new home in the Cleveland Museum. Yes, Chuck has dug under ancient artifacts including Hopewell spear points, ceramic pots, dinosaur bones, and the last championship trophies won by the Browns and Indians. Kinda like those two teams, for the past 20 years the groundhog has had a losing record.

In financial news, the “temporary freeze” announced by Trump has been an eyeopener for taxpayers. Howls went up from a lot of organizations we never even heard of, much less realized we’re financing their existence. The temporary freeze affects plenty of legitimate uses of our money. But it also exposes a lot of others, especially NGOs. I bet that when most of us hear about a Non-Governmental Organization doing charity work, we assume it is funded by generous wealthy donors and other contributors. But we have learned that many are funded almost entirely by government grants. And their activities are opposed by most of us.

You probably know that NGOs have been providing housing, food, transportation and other “free” benefits to people who crossed our border illegally. I bet you didn’t know they are also way down in Mexico, helping and encouraging these migrants to come to the border and cross it. And we’re paying for it! And the politically connected NGO leaders are making huge salaries.

Since President Trump changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico, our Ohio Governor DeWine should immediately declare, “From now on, the Lake on our northern border will be Lake Ohio.” How it ever got connected with Erie, PA, we’ll never know. Erie has only a couple of miles of lakefront. Any boat on Lake Erie has about a one percent chance of docking in Erie. Ohio has 260 miles of shoreline, far more than PA and NY on this miss-named Lake Erie. Now, Canada has more miles on the lake than all 3 states combined, but they already have Lake Ontario.

You might say, Ohio already has a river, why do they need a lake. Well, a little-known fact is the Ohio River is Ohio’s in name only. West Virginia and Kentucky own it. If Ohio wants to dip their big toe in the water, they have to ask permission. If Ohio catches fish in the Ohio River, they have to toss half of them to the opposite shore. Except carp. Ohio is encouraged to keep all the carp they catch.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

       “Most people and actors appearing on the stage have some writer to write their material . . . Congress is good enough for me. They have been writing my material for years… Besides, nothing is so funny as something done in all seriousness.” WA #78, June 8, 1924