Month: July 2025

COLUMBUS, OHIO: I’m happy to be home, in Hilliard, since Monday. Making remarkable progress since surgery July 15. I appreciate all the notes, calls, cards, emails, and support.

In case you are wondering, nothing yet from President Trump. He’s been in Scotland selling our oil and gas to the European Union countries while playing golf. But he could have asked the Vice-President to drop in. I thought his main job is to attend funerals, county fairs, and keep tabs on recovering comedians.

Last week I dabbled in the subject of satire. One simple definition of satire is: “the art of making someone look ridiculous, raising laughter in order to embarrass or discredit.” I think that’s a narrow, one-sided view of satire.

I prefer the Will Rogers version of satire. In preparing satirical commentary, will the “target” of the satire laugh or at least smile?

Here are three quotes that could serve as a guide for anyone writing and delivering satire:

“I have often said in answer to inquiries as to how I got away with kidding some of our public men, that it was because I liked all of them personally, and that if there was no malice in your heart there could be none in your ‘Gags.’”  WA #392, June 29, 1930

“The first thing is the remark you make must be founded on facts. You can exaggerate and make it ridiculous, but it must have the plain facts in it. Then you will hear the audience say: ‘Well, that’s pretty near right.’” How To Be Funny, July 1917

“I don’t think I ever hurt any man’s feelings by my little gags. I know I never willfully did it. When I have to do that to make a living I will quit. I may not have always said just what they would have liked me to say but they knew it was meant in good nature. I never go to Detroit that I don’t spend an entire day out with Henry Ford and I don’t suppose there is a man living, barring the owners, that have told any more jokes on him than I have.” The Illiterate Digest, 1920

 

 

OHIO HEALTH RIVERSIDE METHODIST HOSPITAL. COLUMBUS: First, a quick update. I’m headed home tomorrow. No need for a rehab facility. No pain. Easy walking, climbing stairs. Fantastic heart surgeon and entire medical crew. More at the bottom.

CBS announced they will end their late-night show in May. Steven Colbert is known as a brilliant satirist. He has a huge staff and production crew to make the show funny and interesting. But when the star is paid $20 million and the show loses $40 million (instead of making the expected substantial profit for CBS), it’s no surprise that the show will be cancelled.

Will Rogers was also known for political satire. He joked about Presidents, Senators, Congressmen, Governors, and lower-level officials. His satire was based on their policies and not “personal appearance.” If he said something negative about a person, he usually ended with a compliment. He is known for, “I joked about every prominent man of my time, but I never met a man I didn’t like.”

Let me mention two prominent men he didn’t like because of policies. One was a southern senator who was a devout racist. Another was Mussolini. Will interviewed the Fascist leader of Italy. Will intended to include comments from Mussolini in his newspaper column, but decided against it. Will knew the quotes from Mussolini would make his policies sound far better than they were in practice.

Colbert suffered from a declining “live” audience, and therefore declining revenue from commercials. (ABC and NBC late-night shows are facing similar declines.)

As to Colbert’s satire in the last 10 or 12 years… how much of his humor do you remember directed at Biden, Obama, or other prominent Democrats? How about Trump and other Republicans?

Back to me…On Tuesday, the portion of the aortic artery at the top of my heart was replaced. Six days later, I get to go home. I’ll need someone with me 24 hrs. a day for a week, in case of an emergency. Obviously, still some restrictions. Plus, walking and other exercises.

I’m mentioning the following only because it might help a few of you make a life-saving decision or at least reduce health problems and cost. If my aortic aneurysm had popped up two years ago, my recovery would have taken longer than expected today. In those two years I built up muscles (arms, chest, legs) and lost 50 pounds. These changes for me, and others in a similar situation, can reduce the need for (or severity of) health issues such as heart surgery, knee and hip replacement. If you are young, make changes in lifestyle and maintain it. I wish I had been motivated to make these changes 40 or 50 years ago.

I’m going to borrow a closing from Will Rogers. After his gallbladder surgery in June 1927, he received telegrams from President Coolidge, plus several Senators, Governors, famous actors and business folks. Well, I haven’t heard from Trump (unless an envelope might have arrived asking for a contribution).

But I have received so many prayers, best wishes and other wonderful greetings that I feel like Will when he wrote his syndicated newspaper column three days later: “People couldn’t have been any nicer to me than if I had died.”

Randall Reeder
P.S. Happy birthday to our son. On his first birthday, Neal Armstrong walked on the moon. Today, Mark’s an engineering professor and Department Chair at the Air Force Institute of Technology, near Dayton.

Weekly Comments: Health Update. Colbert of CBS. Political Satire.

#1268    July 20, 2025

OHIO HEALTH RIVERSIDE METHODIST HOSPITAL. COLUMBUS: First, a quick update. I’m headed home tomorrow (Monday). No need for a rehab facility. No pain. Easy walking, climbing stairs. Fantastic heart surgeon and entire medical crew. More at the bottom.

CBS announced they will end their late-night show in May. Steven Colbert is known as a brilliant satirist. He has a huge staff and production crew to make the show funny and interesting. But when the star is paid $20 million and the show loses $40 million (instead of making the expected substantial profit for CBS), it’s no surprise that the show will be cancelled.

Will Rogers was also known for political satire. He joked about Presidents, Senators, Congressmen, Governors, and lower-level officials. His satire was based on their policies and not “personal appearance.” If he said something negative about a person, he usually ended with a compliment. He is known for, “I joked about every prominent man of my time, but I never met a man I didn’t like.”

Let me mention two prominent men he didn’t like because of policies. One was a southern senator who was a devout racist. Another was Mussolini. Will interviewed the Fascist leader of Italy. Will intended to include comments from Mussolini in his newspaper column, but decided against it. Will knew the quotes from Mussolini would make his policies sound far better than they were in practice.

Colbert suffered from a declining “live” audience, and therefore declining revenue from commercials. (ABC and NBC late-night shows are facing similar declines.)

As to Colbert’s satire in the last 10 or 12 years… how much of his humor do you remember directed at Biden, Obama, or other prominent Democrats? How about Trump and other Republicans?

Back to me…On Tuesday, the portion of the aortic artery at the top of my heart was replaced. Six days later, I get to go home. I’ll need someone with me 24 hrs. a day for a week, in case of an emergency. Obviously, still some restrictions. Plus, walking and other exercises.

I’m mentioning the following only because it might help a few of you make a life-saving decision or at least reduce health problems and cost. If my aortic aneurysm had popped up two years ago, my recovery would have taken longer than expected today. In those two years I built up muscles (arms, chest, legs) and lost 50 pounds. These changes for me, and others in a similar situation, can reduce the need for (or severity of) health issues such as heart surgery, knee and hip replacement. If you are young, make changes in lifestyle and maintain it. I wish I had been motivated to make these changes 40 or 50 years ago.

I’m going to borrow a closing from Will Rogers. After his gallbladder surgery in June 1927, he received telegrams from President Coolidge, plus several Senators, Governors, famous actors and business folks. Well, I haven’t heard from Trump (unless an envelope might have arrived asking for a contribution).

But I have received so many prayers, best wishes and other wonderful greetings that I feel like Will when he wrote his syndicated newspaper column three days later: “People couldn’t have been any nicer to me than if I had died.”

Randall Reeder

WillRogersToday (dot) com

P.S. Happy birthday to our son. On his first birthday, Neal Armstrong walked on the moon. Today, Mark’s an engineering professor and Department Chair at the Air Force Institute of Technology, near Dayton.

A year ago, an amateur gunman tried to assassinate candidate Donald Trump. He missed killing the President-to-be by a fraction of an inch. But he did kill 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, and wounded two others.

A new report shows that the Secret Service was being run by amateurs that day in Butler, Pennsylvania. They put a new trainee in charge of protecting the Republican nominee for President. And the “drone operator” had only an hour of experience with a drone and had no idea how to fix it when it broke down. Communication with local officials onsite was non-existent.

On a personal note, I’m having surgery this Tuesday, July 15, to repair an aortic aneurysm. It will be done by a top surgical team at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus. (No amateurs allowed in the operating room!) I hope to post updates on Facebook. Recovery will keep me out of “normal” physical activities, events and travel for about a month.

(Will Rogers had gall bladder surgery in 1927. I may “borrow” comments from his newspaper articles and the little book he wrote about it, “Ether and Me.”)

For the tragic flash flood in Texas, 129 deaths are confirmed with 170 still missing. The National Weather Service did issue warnings on time. But the warnings did not get to the people along the river who were asleep.

This should serve as a reminder to organizations, businesses, governments and others to analyze “worst case” scenarios. In this flash flood example, did anyone think of the situation: 3:00 a.m., holiday weekend, flood plain packed with campers from other states, hundreds of young children at camps, several key officials on vacation or off-duty.

I’m confident the Secret Service trains over and over for worst case scenarios. But somewhat like a flash flood in hill country, or a wildfire in Pacific Palisades, or a hurricane in New Orleans, or a major injury for a farm family, being ready 99% of the time is not enough.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

        “I am in the California Hospital, where they are going to relieve me of surplus gall, much to the politicians’ delight. I am thrilled to death. Never had an operation, so let the stones fall where they may.” DT #282, June 16, 1927

 

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio: President Trump succeeded in getting a “Big Beautiful Bill” through Congress, by the barest of margins. He signed it on July 4.

Democrats did not give up easily. They call it ugly, and claim 11 million poor Americans will lose medical care, and 5 million will go hungry. They say billionaires and millionaires will reap most of the benefits.

I have asked this question before, and have never gotten a straight answer: what percent of total income taxes should be paid by the top 10% of income earners? The only answer you’ll hear is “They need to pay their fair share!” (Meaning, pay more than they do now.)

What do you think is the “fair share?” Should the top 10% pay 60% of the total collected? That would mean the other 90% pay 40% to support the federal services we all receive.

This may surprise you. The most recent data is from 2022, and the top 10% paid 72% of the total. Should they pay more?

How about this number? The top 1% (1.5 million tax returns) paid 40% of the total.

When the dust settles on the new tax bill, these numbers won’t change much. With the continuation of the 2017 tax reductions, plus changes in taxes on tips, overtime, and child credits, many families in the $50,000 to $100,000 range will see tax benefits of $2000 to $5000. Most people on Social Security will get a $6000 bonus.

What else can we do to cheer up Democrats? A poll taken before Independence Day showed that 90% of Republicans say they are patriotic. But only a third of Democrats feel the same way, a big drop from a year or two ago.  Wages are increasing faster than inflation. Unemployment is only 4.1%. Stock market is high.

America is the land of opportunity regardless of which political party has the majority. The millions who will “lose” Medicaid and SNAP include able-bodied people without young children who get a job, and immigrants here illegally. All of us used to be against waste, fraud and abuse, but now it’s mostly Republicans.

Deporting illegal immigrant criminals fails to cheer up most Democrat leaders. They criticize the new ICE detention facility in Florida. Instead of the commonly used (funny) name, Alligator Alcatraz, one called it Alligator Auschwitz and claimed it’s a “concentration camp.” Apparently, a Democrat leader looked at aerial photos of Alligator Alcatraz and thought he spotted gas chambers beside the tents. Actually, they are huge air conditioning units.

Has our school system failed so completely that folks under 60 will accept ridiculous comparisons to the 1930s and ‘40s? Don’t they know that Hitler and the Nazis tortured, starved and killed 6 MILLION Jews, plus millions of others?

Will Rogers was a compassionate comforter for victims of fires, earthquakes, floods and other disasters. Today, Kerr County, Texas, needs our prayers and support. Almost a hundred residents and visitors died as intense rain in the hill country caused the Guadalupe River to rise 30 feet is less than an hour. The computer models that weather forecasters depend on indicated the rain would be less intense and concentrated at least 50 miles away. The storm hit overnight, about 3:00 a.m., while young girls at Camp Mystic and campers along the river were sleeping. The Salvation Army, Red Cross, and other legitimate charities are on-site providing aid and can use our generous donations.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

        “I don’t believe our people that have never been around a flood area realize the tremendous need of these sufferers down on the Mississippi. It’s by far the worst thing that has happened in this country in years… I am going to put on my little one-man [show] for this great cause next Sunday night… They will get every cent that comes in, even if there is nobody there but my wife—who will have to pay to get in.” DT #236, April 25, 1927