Excuse me for being a day or two late. You probably know England held a big celebration for Queen Elizabeth this weekend. While she was enjoying a Platinum Jubilee in London for serving 70 years, I was in Ireland.

This “Ireland” is in the middle of West Virginia and is a suburb of Wildcat, where I attended a wonderful family reunion on Sunday. It is held every year on the first Sunday in June and includes decorating graves in the cemetery on the family farm. This tradition probably started before Elizabeth became a Queen.

Family get-togethers for a picnic are a great idea. Or for weddings, or graduations. It’s much better than only doing it for funerals.

High gasoline prices may reduce the enthusiasm for family trips. Interestingly, I filled up at a Wal-Mart in West Virginia for $4.50 a gallon. Got back to Ohio and the price is $5.10.

The Biden Administration was asked what they are doing about high gasoline and diesel prices. The answer: “We eliminated the tariff on solar panels from China.” Also, President Biden will try to increase the supply of crude oil by going to Saudi Arabia. Wouldn’t it make more sense to go to Alaska or Texas?

Even if oil companies were encouraged to drill more wells here, how long would it take to get the pipelines installed to transport the oil to a refinery?

As you contemplate that answer, suppose you wanted to build a 24-inch petroleum pipeline from East Texas to New Jersey. And install a 20-inch pipeline parallel to it. The pipelines would cross the Mississippi River into southern Illinois then run east through Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. How long would that take to construct? With all the red tape, maybe 20 years. Well, 80 years ago, during World War II, the “Big Inch” and “Little Big Inch” were finished and had oil and gasoline flowing in 20 months. (Google “Big Inch Pipeline” to learn the amazing details.)

Speaking of World War II, on D-Day, June 6, 1944, 156,000 Allied troops, including 73,000 Americans, landed on Normandy beaches. Today, it is hard to imagine organizing such a huge operation to attack an enemy.

Speaker Pelosi is presenting a televised extravaganza Thursday night about the January 6, 2020 five-hour incursion into the Capitol. This will replace all the network programs you enjoy watching. She is hoping this serves as a pilot for a series televised every Thursday until November. House committee members will ask questions, mainly of officials in the Trump Administration.

What they should do is pose the first question to Speaker Pelosi: “If you had called up the 20,000 National Guard troops offered by President Trump on January 4 to surround the Capitol Building, do you believe any protesters would have gotten into the Capitol on January 6?”

They won’t ask her because that would end the entire extravaganza in 5 minutes. All the TV commentators would have to fill the rest of the night talking about inflation, fuel prices, food costs, baby formula, crime in big cities, aid to Ukraine, and abortion… topics Americans are interested in today.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“If you want to know when a war is coming just watch the United States and see when they start cutting down on their defense. It’s the surest barometer in the world.” DT #2116, May 16, 1933

“If we could just send the same bunch of men [and women] to Washington for the good of the nation, and not for political reasons, we could have the most perfect government in the world.” WA #78, June 8, 1924