Lord, don’t let it end in a tie

COLUMBUS: Federal Reserve dropped interest rate again. It’s 1 percent. Just imagine if we have another calamity and they have to drop it again. The ones with money might be paying the ones that need it to take it off their hands for a spell. They’ll say, “Here’s a million dollars, go on, take it. Spend it, invest it, save it, whatever. And next year about this time if you see fit to pay me back around $990,000, we’ll call it even.”

The Phillies beat the Rays in the World Series. First time in years a World Series game ended by 10 pm. Philadelphia school children got to stay up and celebrate with their grandparents.

Ohio is ready for this election to end. The Presidential candidates have spent so much time here, even with no rain lately the state is knee deep in mud. Everybody prays it’s not a tie. Their lawyers might be worse than the candidates.

An Ohio judge ruled this week that if you’re homeless, you had lost your house and everything and were living on a park bench, you could still vote. A week earlier another lawyer threw out the votes of 13 people who were here temporarily, organizing, and were all living in the same small house. So if there’s 13 of you and you want to vote in Ohio and you’re not supposed to… better live on a park bench than in a house. Does that seem fair? Makes no difference whether the address is Park Avenue or Park Bench, a vote is a vote.

Historic quotes from Will Rogers:

“Here’s another way of putting it. Roosevelt wants recovery to start at the bottom. In other words, by a system of high taxes, he wants business to help the little fellow to get started and get some work, and then pay business back by buying things when he’s at work. Business says, ‘Let everybody alone. Let business alone, and quit monkeying with us, and we’ll get everything going for you, and if we prosper, naturally the worker will prosper.” That’s exactly what business says, and they’re justified from their angle in saying that.

One wants recovery to start from the bottom, and the other wants it to start from the top. I don’t know which is right. I’ve never heard of anybody suggesting that they might start it in the middle, so I hereby make that suggestion. To start recovery halfway between the two, because it’s the middle class that does everything anyhow. But I don’t know anything about it…

I know things are going to get better in spite of both sides. Then when things do get better, then you’ll hear the yell that will go up. The Democrats will swear that recovery was due to them. Now the Republicans, they’ll say it was due to them. Nobody wanted to claim the credit for the country blowing up, but wait until it starts picking up and they’ll both be on it then. See?

I don’t think either one of them knows what it’s all about, to be honest with you. Both sides are doing nothing but just looking towards the next election.” Radio, June 9, 1935

(Will Rogers advice to the candidates, 1932 and 2008)

“There should be a moratorium called on candidates’ speeches. They have both called each other everything in the world they can think of. From now on they are just talking themselves out of votes.

The high office of President of the United States has degenerated into two ordinarily fine men being goaded on by their political leeches into saying things that if they were in their right minds they wouldn’t think of saying.

This country is a thousand times bigger than any two men in it, or any two parties in it. These big politicians are so serious about themselves and their parties.

This country has gotten where it is in spite of politics, not by the aid of it. That we have carried as much political bunk as we have and still survived shows we are a super nation. If by some divine act of Providence we could get rid of both these parties and hired some good men, like any other big business does, why we would be sitting pretty.

This (economic) calamity was brought on by the actions of the people of the whole world and its weight will be lifted off by the actions of the people of the whole world and not by a Republican or a Democrat.

So, you two boys just get the weight of the world off your shoulders and go fishing. Instead of calling each other names till next Tuesday, why you can do everybody a big favor by going fishing and you will be surprised, but the old United States will keep right on running while you boys are sitting on the bank.

Then, come back next Wednesday and we will let you know which one is the lesser of the two evils of you.” DT #1948, Nov. 1, 1932 (note the date)