Author: Randall Reeder

Will Rogers was a comforter.

This week, in his own way, Will Rogers is still providing comfort. Hundreds of neighbors of the Will Rogers State Park in Pacific Palisades, California, have lost their homes to the wind-driven fires.

The house that Will and Betty built and lived in for the last ten years of his life was burned to the ground. The Will Rogers house (on the National Register of Historic Places) was the centerpiece of the 186-acre state park.

On losing the house, Will would probably say, “It’s just a house. It can be replaced. The lives lost, the memories that burned; those are priceless.”

The Will Rogers legacy as a comforter is in good hands. For the last 15 years, his great granddaughter, Jennifer Rogers-Etcheverry, has gladly accepted the role. Since Wednesday, she has received hundreds of text messages. Many are yearning for comfort from Will Rogers, and Jennifer is responding. She is giving comfort to those who have lost homes and families who lost loved ones.

Jennifer has been interviewed on California stations, Fox News, Newsmax, and even international news outlets. The love for Will Rogers is still there, almost 90 years after his death. “Will would be the first one on a plane to travel and raise funds for natural disasters. If he was alive today, he would be right there in the middle of it, seeing what he could do to help.”

Yes, Will offered support for so many suffering from disasters, including the Dust Bowl and a major fire in an Ireland movie theater while he was visiting the country. (See 3 more examples in the Historic quotes below.)

Among those who need help today are the people who work or volunteer at the park. Several lost their own homes!  Jennifer announced, “Our Will Rogers Ranch Foundation is accepting donations to help those people that were part of our community with Will Rogers State Historic Park. We’re going to help with transportation costs, help with housing, help with just the basic necessities.”

To join me in donating, go to: WillRogersRanchFoundtion.org, and click on “Join us in Rebuilding Lives.” Mail a check or donate by credit card. Thanks.

And while Los Angeles is in the spotlight, don’t forget about victims of Hurricane Helene, which killed over 100. There were no $25,000,000 houses lost in Chimney Rock, North Carolina, but that does not reduce the needs of those folks for compassion and comfort.

I’ll write more next week. The fires are still burning. High winds are predicted through Wednesday.

Historic quotes 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… Now we have a chance to help the poorest people we have in America, and that is the renter farmer. Mr. Ziegfeld has generously given me his wonderful new theatre in New York City, and I am going to put on my little one-man [show] for this great cause next Sunday night. So even if you don’t like cowboy gum chewers on the stage, come anyway and help out a real cause. 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, Apr. 25, 1927

      “These people in the drought-stricken country ain’t waiting for the government to relieve ’em. Their well-to-do are helping their less fortunate themselves. At a matinee today in Wichita Falls, we [raised] $9,100. At Fort Worth tonight, the cowman’s paradise, we played to $18,000. At my breakfast matinee yesterday morning at Abilene at 10 o’clock, got $6,500, and every cent of that is net. People in America have got the money and will give if they know the need is there, and these people know it is.” DT #1411, Jan. 30, 1931

       “Well, here we are at Managua, Nicaragua… Eight days after [the earthquake] there is from one to three hundred bodies still under those ruins. Naturally what they need is money. The government or the people haven’t got a cent. The Red Cross combined with the relief organization here has done great work as usual and still is. They are feeding about 8,000… If through the Red Cross and public donations from up home they could get $250,000, it would relieve the situation as to food and get some roofs to cover these people… Goodness knows, you generous folks have been asked till you are ragged, but honest, if you saw it, you would dig again… It just falls where everything else does, on the generosity and goodness of the American people. If you saw, as I did this morning, 2,500 mothers with babies in their arms go by and get their ration of milk you would say there was some poor devil that needed it worse than you do.” WA #1469, Apr.8, 1931 (Will Rogers donated $5000 himself)

Well, friends, we made it to 2025. When I started writing these Weekly Comments in 1997, I had no idea these columns would last into the 28^th year. We’re going through 5 Presidents (Bill Clinton, George Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and soon, Donald Trump again).

In my first Weekly Comments, I ended with this Will Rogers quote, “A person learns in two ways: one is reading, the other is associating with smarter people.”

As I reread the Weekly Article it came from, I wish I had included a full paragraph, “I do hope I last long enough to reach your town. If it’s got a railroad and a Town Hall we will be there sooner or later. A Man only learns by two things, one is reading, and the other is association with smarter people. I don’t like to read and one can’t find the associates in New York. I am going out among the people whom New Yorkers call Rubes. But these people I am going out among are the people that just look at New Yorkers and laugh.”  WA #147, Oct. 5, 1925

Interestingly, Will wrote his 665 Weekly Articles, 1922-1935, through 4 Presidents (Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and Franklin D. Roosevelt).

In football, the NFL and colleges are into the playoffs. The first 12-team NCAA college football playoff is down to 4: Penn State will play Notre Dame, and Texas plays Ohio State. Oddly, none of the 4 conference champions survived. The winners of these two games will play Jan. 20 for the championship, a few hours after Trump becomes President again. The NFL Super Bowl will be Feb. 9.

President-Elect Trump was ridiculed when he suggested we buy Greenland from Denmark because of its abundant natural resources. Lincoln got the same reaction when he suggested we buy Alaska from Russia.

Trump also said, half-jokingly, that Canada could become our 51^st state. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was not amused despite Trump’s offer that he could be the Governor. Will Rogers discussed a similar plan a century ago and offered one of our border states as part of the deal. (see below)

Historic quote by Will Rogers: (on Canada)

         “Now I have no idea but what we could take [Canada] over and make a paying proposition out of them, for the country now is supplying about everything we use in the way of raw materials. But I hate to interrupt a friendship that has been going on now pretty steady since the battle of Lake Erie. You see they don’t owe us and they still think we are pretty good neighbors, so if we can just keep from annexing them and keep from loaning them anything in the way of a government debt, why we ought to be friends for years to come.
         Canada is principally an agricultural country and we raise more now than the farmers down home can sell for enough to put in the next year’s crop. About the only thing I can think of we could use it for would be a skating rink in the winter and we got such a poor class of skaters that we couldn’t hardly afford to maintain it just for that. Unless we could trade in Wisconsin on it some way, I can’t see any reason for annexing it. So I have advised against it.” WA #201, Oct. 17, 1926

Jimmy Carter died today at age 100.

As the President for four years between Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan his accomplishments were often overshadowed by problems with high inflation and 52 Americans being held hostage by Iran for 444 days.

However, for 44 years he has been our most outstanding former president ever. He was an engineer, farmer, Sunday School teacher, and builder of homes for Habitat for Humanity. He was a true servant leader.

Now, on to the main topic for this week. I have friends who are lawyers. We are blessed with plenty of good, honest lawyers.

We also have an oversupply of lawyers who mess with the natural flow of our economy and our justice system. This is not new. Will Rogers made the same point ninety years ago, “Went down and spoke at some lawyers’ meeting [American Bar Association convention] last night. They didn’t think much of my little squib yesterday about driving the shysters out of their profession. They seemed to kinder doubt just who would have to leave.” (DT#2791, July 16, 1935).

Here is an example. President Biden granted clemency to 37 federal prisoners on death row for murder. Instead of being executed, they will remain in prison for the rest of their lives. (Yes, Joe Biden has a law degree. He graduated in 1968 from Syracuse in the bottom 10% of the class.)

You have already read or heard complaints about this undeserved leniency. I have a different take on the issue. In one case a policeman in Columbus was murdered and the man confessed. That happened TWENTY YEARS ago. Why wasn’t he executed a few weeks or months after his trial? Most of the 37 have been on death row for many years. Why?

In these examples, our legal system is out of control. Most, if not all, of those 37 men should have been executed years ago. Biden did not grant clemency to three of the very worst who killed multiple victims. One, Dylan Roof, killed 9 church members in South Carolina and was convicted 7 years ago. Why is he still “enjoying” life in a federal prison?

Illegal immigration highlights another example. Lawyers who favor open borders prevent rapid court decisions on deportation, meaning that once immigrants sneak in, it takes years to kick them out. Sanctuary cities have mayors who are… lawyers.

President-elect Trump has promised to deport illegal immigrants, starting with those who have committed heinous crimes. That’s probably over a million. Here’s my suggestion: Make every illegal immigrant we deport take his lawyer(s) with him. That would speed up the deportation process and save us Billions of dollars. (Do you realize we taxpayers are paying the salaries, directly or indirectly, of these lawyers?)

Guatemala announced they would accept our deported immigrants with no place to go home to. But I rather doubt they would accept their lawyers.

While I’m picking on shyster lawyers… we have too many lawyers and not enough professional engineers. I’m not taking sides on Elon Musk’s comment that we need to allow companies to hire more foreign engineers. But it’s a fact, our schools and universities are not producing enough engineers, scientists, and other technical experts. Too many lawyers decided algebra and physics classes were too hard, so they chose an easier path through school.

Happy New Year to you!  (including lawyers!)

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

       “A comedian is not supposed to be serious nor to know much. As long as he is silly enough to get laughs, why, people let it go at that. But I claim you have to have a serious streak in you or you can’t see the funny side in the other fellow.” WA #13, March 11, 1923

      “Did you read how many thousands, not hundreds, but thousands of students just graduated all over the country in law? Going to take an awful lot of crime to support that bunch.” DT#1527, June 15, 1931

Did you read the huge “breaking news” story in the New York Times? The journalists at the Times revealed that President Joe Biden has had mental issues almost his entire term. Wow. What a surprise.

For people who only get their news from the NYT or television networks (other than Fox), this really is breaking news. They had no idea of the President’s limited mental capacity until June when he stumbled through the debate with Donald Trump.

The “lame duck” Congress debated and wrestled with a budget bill to avoid a government shutdown. A 1600-page bill, loaded down with “pork barrel” items, was killed when Elon Musk, supported by Trump, pointed out the goal is to reduce federal spending, not increase it. Finally, on the third or fourth vote, a 118-page bill passed at midnight Friday.

Several TV commentators decided Elon Musk was the one in charge, not Trump, and started calling him “President Musk.”

Considering Joe Biden’s mental condition, do they still call him “President Biden?” Who in the White House is making the decisions? Who decided to sell the unused steel components of “The Wall” for a few pennies on the dollar? Who decided to ban exports of LNG? Who decided to let federal employees continue to work from home for five more years? And, looking back to 2021, who decided to encourage millions to cross our borders illegally?

Switching to a heavier topic… San Francisco has a budget deficit of over $800,000,000. So, Mayor Breed decided to ADD to the deficit to address an essential issue for the future of the city. She hired a person to build up the self esteem of fat people. You read that right. She hired a fat woman to encourage overeating by the residents of San Francisco. Any average size person who eats enough to become obese will receive a tax break. And folks who are currently fat, including illegal immigrants in the sanctuary city, can receive the same tax rebate if they gain 20 pounds.

Ok, I’m joking about the tax breaks. I think the mayor is counting on restaurants and grocery stores to profit handsomely and pay more taxes to cut her deficit to around $799,000,000.

Merry Christmas from the Reeder family and Will Rogers.
Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“This was a very happy Christmas for me, in fact the best I have enjoyed in years. The shirts my wife gave me were the right size for the first time since wedlock. Of course, they were the wrong color, but one, if married, must not be too particular. For a while it looked like I would spend a perfect Christmas. Then about noon a necktie arrived.” WA #108, Jan. 4, 1925

“Still getting straggling Christmas cards. But they were mighty welcome I tell you. Just on first thought a Christmas card don’t mean much, but the older you get the more you like to open ’em and know that someone has remembered you.” WA #525, Jan.15, 1933

HILLIARD, Ohio: If the barrage of drones had come 75 to 100 years ago, we would have figured it was Martians. But we’ve learned enough about Mars to rule out Martians. Oddly, we don’t know enough about Russia, China or Iran to rule out any of them.

President Biden may be going after the record for pardons that was set almost a hundred years ago. Texas Governor “Ma” Ferguson pardoned more than 3200 convicted criminals during her two-year term. We don’t know who in the White House is drawing up the list of criminals to receive pardons or commutations. Unlike Santa Claus, no one is “checking it twice to find out who’s been naughty or nice.” There’s a few scoundrels on Biden’s list that rank up there with Al Capone and John Dillinger.

If the handsome 26-year-old that shot the insurance company CEO in the back can get convicted before January 20, some love-struck woman in Biden’s administration may wrangle him a pardon. Meanwhile, a few jerks are mad that Daniel Penny is a free man. He is the Good Samaritan who protected New York subway riders from catastrophe by subduing a crazed man. Anyone who admires the murderer and hates Daniel Penny needs an appointment with a psychiatrist, even if their health insurance doesn’t cover it.

Time magazine gave their Person of the Year award to Donald Trump. He was the obvious choice. A few disgruntled Democrat commentators are having fun comparing Trump to Stalin and Hitler who were also honored as “Man of the Year” by Time.

Kamala Harris was on the short list of potential Time honorees. All she had to do to be Time’s Person of the Year was win the election. That’s all. And if she had, those same commentators would be happily comparing her to Taylor Swift, the Person of the Year for 2023. Only difference is that Taylor Swift has made a Billion dollars, while Kamala Harris squandered a Billion.

Will Rogers always bragged about accomplishments by heroes from his home area of Claremore and Oologah, Oklahoma. So, I’ll highlight the star player in the Navy upset of Army, 31-13. Quarterback Blake Horvath is from right here in Hilliard, Ohio. He ran for 204 yards and 2 touchdowns, and threw for 2 more TDs.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“Time (magazine), that’s where all the authentic news comes from.” WA #446, July 12, 1931

“I have always been a reader of the magazine ‘Time’ ever since it started.” WA #604, July 22, 1934

Last Sunday I said the President’s pardon of Hunter Biden would give “America something to argue over other than college football upsets and positions in the 12-team playoff.”

The pardon and college football playoff have dominated conversations this week. The Clemson narrow upset of SMU knocked out Alabama. The Big 12 feels jilted because only one team, Arizona State, got in while the Big 10 has four. The first round will be played Dec. 20-21.

In addition to the playoffs, there are 35 other Bowl games. Wow. Old-timers will remember when there were only a half dozen Bowl games. And the smallest was probably the Tangerine Bowl.

Now these Bowls have names including Duke’s mayonnaise, Scooter’s coffee, Idaho potatoes, Cheez-its, and Pop-Tarts. (Those will be hard on my diet. I would prefer an Omaha Steaks Bowl.) Others are sponsored by a Mortgage (with a Guaranteed Rate?), Snoop Dogg, Gronk, and Tony the Tiger. I guess we’ll have to watch the games to find out what Radiance, Isleta, Wasabi, Reliaquest, and Transperfect represent. One Bowl is sponsored by… Bowling.

President Biden pardoned Hunter for any and all crimes committed since 2014 and into the future. It also has the effect of protecting the entire Biden family from prosecution for any financial deals since Joe became Vice-President in 2009.

Democrats are hinting that President Biden might “pre-pardon” several top Democrats that President Trump might decide to prosecute for made-up charges connected to impeachments, the 2020 election, and January 6 trials. Names mentioned include Adam Schiff, Liz Cheney, and Dr. Fauci.

One person NOT mentioned is VP Kamala Harris. I think Biden might pardon her, but he will never excuse her for wasting $1,500,000,000.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

     “These post-season football games never decide anything… Yours for games that decide something.” DT #1049, Dec. 5, 1929

     “Pittsburgh is coming out to play [the undefeated University of Southern California] New Year’s in what we humorously call our ‘Rose Bowl.’” DT #1982, Dec. 10, 1932 (USC beat Pitt, 35-0)

Columbus: Is losing a football game as disappointing as losing an election? If it is Ohio State losing to Michigan for the fourth straight year, the answer is “Yes.”  Even if the election was for President. (Read the Historic quote below)

Here’s what I wrote after the Nov. 5 election, and it might apply on the Columbus campus Monday: “In some of our top universities, with our top students, the election results were so troubling that professors canceled classes Wednesday so they could get therapy, hold hands and play tiddlywinks. And that was just for the professors. “

The Michigan players were not satisfied with a 13-10 win.  Instead of running into their dressing room to celebrate, they embarrassed themselves and their university by planting a Michigan flag in the middle of Ohio Stadium. “An unsportsmanlike gesture by the Michigan players,” said Fox announcer Gus Johnson. “They won the game!”  Naturally the Ohio State players reacted and a skirmish broke out. Police used pepper spray to break up fights. A lot of Buckeye fans wish the players had had that much “fight” in them during the game.

Interestingly, a couple of other college teams won on their opponent’s field and followed the Michigan example.

Speaking of the election, President-elect Trump continues to nominate people who support his campaign promises to top positions. TV news commentators seem surprised Trump is choosing men and women who agree with him. Kash Patel as Director of the FBI is drawing the ire of Democrats who fear he will serve the political interests of the President. Oddly, they seem to forget that the FBI under Presidents Obama and Biden did exactly that. The Russian collusion hoax, targeting parents who complained at PTA meetings, and the Peter Strzok-Lisa Page love affair overshadowed the great law enforcement activities of the FBI agents on the ground across the country.

Tonight, President Biden changed his mind and pardoned Hunter. No one should be surprised. Despite a gun charge and tax evasion, Hunter was usually acting on behalf of his dad and helped accumulate millions of dollars for the Biden family, including “10% for the Big Guy.”

Biden’s 180-degree turn gives America something to argue over other than college football upsets and positions in the 12-team playoff.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

        “Dr. Wilce, the Ohio State coach, just showed me their new stadium, seating 100,000, built by hard study and excellent scholarship. They can seat 200 students to every book in the university. They lost to Michigan by a kick after touchdown. He has 400 students practicing day and night to kick goals.”  DT #139, Jan. 14, 1927

(Note: On Saturday, the OSU kicker missed 2 field goals in the 13-10 loss to Michigan.)

This is Thanksgiving Week. Expressing gratitude is too important to limit to only one day. Especially when half the day may be devoted to watching football games. (Or perhaps for the younger folks, playing touch football in the front yard.)

I was reminded as I listened to one of my favorite ministers this morning that we need to express our gratitude. And to be grateful even when it may be hard to find something to be thankful for.  As my friend, Willie Jolley says, “Every setback is a chance to recalibrate, refocus, and rise stronger.”

President-elect Trump has completed the nomination process for most high-level positions. I was hoping one of my friends would be nominated for Secretary of Agriculture. But Brooke Rollins seems to have a solid background in agriculture and may have the stature to work with other Secretaries and Congress in support of farmers and ranchers. Helping Congress maneuver the competition of a 5-year Farm Bill will be her first job. The bill is two years overdue.

You have heard that Trump wants to eliminate the Department of Education. This department has been on its own since 1979. Prior to that it was part of the Health, Education and Welfare Department, formed in 1953. Unfortunately, the rankings of our students compared to other countries have declined during those years.

I come from a long line of public-school teachers. It is not the teachers’ fault that only 80% of adults can read today, compared to 90% in 1950. And math scores for students rank behind 25 other countries. The various new-fangled ways of doing simple arithmetic problems are so complicated that well-educated parents and grandparents can’t help their 9-year-old with homework. What about the other one of the 3 R’s? Writing skills are lacking, too. It’s no surprise that only 40% of employers consider their new employees, including college graduates, proficient in writing.

So, eliminate the Department of Education. Encourage the 4400 federal employees there to return to their hometown and take a teaching position. They just might learn something from other teachers, and even their students.

I’m grateful for all readers of my Weekly Comments. Let’s hope our schools can focus on teaching students the basics of “readin’, ritin’, and rithmetic” so more youngsters can comprehend, decipher, and debate the written word.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“It’s not a bad old Thanksgiving at that… Let’s see what we got to be thankful for. Congress adjourning, I know will be the first thing that comes into your mind. But that blessing will be short-lived, for they are soon to meet again. Wall Street stocks are about back up to where the suckers can start buying again. The farmers can be thankful. Didn’t the Farm Board decide in Washington last week that they could have cheaper interest? All the farmers have to do now is to find something new to put up as security.” DT #1042, Nov. 27, 1929

“Thanksgiving Day. In the days of its founders, they were willing to give thanks for mighty little, for mighty little was all they expected. But now neither government or nature can give enough but what we think it’s too little. Those old boys in the Fall of the year, if they could gather in a few pumpkins, potatoes and some corn for the winter, they was in a thanking mood. But if we can’t gather in a new Buick, a new radio, a tuxedo and some government relief, why we feel like the world is agin us.” DT #2594, Nov. 28, 1934

“The reason there wasn’t much unemployment in the last ten years pre- ceding ’29 [the Roaring Twenties] was every man that was out of a job went to work for the government—state or city. It costs ten times more to govern us than it used to, and we are not governed one-tenth as good.” DT #1770, March 27, 1932

Donald Trump has created quite a stir in naming about 40 nominees for Cabinet and other high-level positions. A couple of individuals are controversial, but no one has gotten the attention in Washington as much as the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE).

It’s not really a department; more of an advisory team headed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. They are determined to identify wasteful projects and programs.

Senator Lankford of Oklahoma already has a list from 2023, including these highly questionable expenditures of our tax dollars: Free Drag Shows in Ecuador; a study of the value of wearing seat belts and helmets in Ghana; building a Wine Country Walking Trail in Napa Valley ($4 million); a project to re-educate people who are ignorant about climate change ($400,000); and almost a Billion dollars on tents along the Mexican border to process illegal immigrants.

Will Rogers summed it up in 1932, “The crime of taxation is not in the taking it, it’s in the way that it’s spent.”

As Donald Trump prepares to take office on January 20, what can we expect in the first months of the second Trump Administration? Remember, he survived two assassination attempts and many supporters say he was saved by the Hand of God. We have heard him say he’ll immediately start deporting criminal illegal aliens, including gang members. And expand oil and gas production, including more facilities for exporting LNG. He will eliminate many excessive regulations that add costs to almost every product and service that we buy.

Concerning tariffs, I think Trump will use them mainly for bargaining for better trade deals with other countries. Except for China. Items we are used to buying at low prices from China will increase in price. This is either because of the tariff, or they will be manufactured in a more expensive country, including here.

What about Democrats who despise Trump and said he is a “threat to democracy?” Do they think there will be an election on Nov. 7, 2028? Are they still convinced he is another Hitler? Reminder: Hitler killed 6,000,000 Jews. Perhaps it’s time to permanently ban such derogatory names when referring to prominent politicians from either Party.

As a fun question, we can ask what magazine will be the first to put a flattering photo of First Lady Melania Trump on the cover?

Here’s another fun question: what if acres voted instead of people? We all know about “red” states (Republican) and “blue” states (Democratic). But have you seen a map of red and blue COUNTIES? For the 2024 Presidential election, the map of counties is almost 90% red. Of course, the counties with big cities have vastly more people than a typical rural county.

For discussion, exclude land owned by government, churches, and other non-tax paying entities. Suppose every privately owned acre of land had one vote. One acre equals one vote.

You may say that wouldn’t be fair. But do you realize that every acre is taxed? A farmer pays property taxes on every acre whether it makes any money or not. Every business pays property taxes. Don’t forget that forests and cropland provide a valuable service to us and animals. Plants “breathe in” carbon dioxide and expel oxygen. Without millions of acres of green plants, we wouldn’t have any oxygen to breathe.

How would this work? In towns and cities, for example if an apartment complex had 10 adults living on one acre, they would meet and decide which candidate gets their one vote. For a business or manufacturer, the owner or a Board of Directors would cast the votes for their acres.

Don’t worry. There’s no way three-fourths of the states would pass a Constitutional Amendment to make this change. Three-fourths of counties, yes. But not states.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

“Did you charge off money given to the Democratic campaign? You could, it’s a legitimate charity, not organized, but a charity nonetheless.” DT #822, March 15, 1929

Today, most of my Republican friends are as happy as a hog wallowing in a mud puddle. And some Democratic friends are drowning in their tears.

As I watched the gathering at the Harris/Walz Victory Party, about midnight I halfway expected to hear the ghost of Don Meridith start singing, “Turn out the lights, the party’s over.” (Older fans of Monday Night Football will get that one.)

In some of our top universities, with our top students, the election results were so troubling that professors canceled classes Wednesday so they could get therapy, hold hands and play tiddlywinks. And that was just for the professors.

Another group dealing with grief are journalists. Many journalists have forgotten their job is to collect information and process it into a newsworthy form for the public. Instead, they became biased advocates and commentators in their “news” stories.

“All I know is what I read in the newspaper.” If the only newspapers you read recently were the New York Times and the Washington Post, three-fourths of the political news was slanted favorably toward Kamala Harris and negatively toward Donald Trump. Most network TV coverage was similar. In general, mass media failed to recognize the disappointment by the majority of Americans in the economy, inflation, illegal immigration, crime, religious division, and other issues they dealt with daily.

If our journalists, especially the White House Press Corps, had reported honestly on the mental decline of President Biden, the Democrats would have had an open Primary election season with several candidates, including Kamala Harris. The candidate who emerged would have been “toughened in battle” and well prepared to take on Donald Trump.

Unfortunately, Kamala Harris was plucked out of the air as an untested substitute. You are reading and hearing many reasons why she lost to Trump. I’m offering this one: she has no ability to respond to impromptu questions with answers that are precise, accurate and short. Naturally, almost every politician learns how to avoid direct answers. But at some point, a candidate for President has to clearly state their policies and plans to implement them.

Also, the Vice-President based her campaign mainly on abortion, January 6, and that Trump is a felon. Those were not the top issues for the voters.

Bill Clinton got elected in the 1990s with the theme, “It’s the economy, stupid.” I heard a pundit explain one reason Harris/Walz lost was their underlying theme, “The economy is great. You’re stupid.”

The Harris/Walz campaign raised and spent a BILLION dollars. As Will Rogers wrote in 1931, “Politics has got so expensive that it takes lots of money to even get beat with nowadays.”

Despite the Trump win, Democrats won more Senate and House seats than expected.

Tomorrow is Veterans Day. This date marks the official end of World War I, on 11/11 at 11:00 a.m., 1918. We salute all veterans. In 1927, Will Rogers wrote that we should honor our veterans and keep them in a good humor because if another war breaks out “we might want to use these boys again.”

With the election over, Congress will soon reconvene in what’s known as a lame-duck session. As Will Rogers defined it after the 1932 election, a Lame-Duck Congress is “like where some fellows worked for you and their work wasn’t satisfactory and you let ’em out, but after you fired ’em, you let ’em stay long enough so they could burn your house down.”

Historic quotes by Will Rogers

“FOR SALE—Would like to sell, trade, dispose of or give away to right parties the right of franchise of what is humorously known as Democratic Party. Said franchise calls for license to enter in national elections; said right of franchise is supposed to be used every four years, but if intelligent parties had it, they would let various elections go by default when understood they had no chance. If in right hands and only used in times when it had an ‘issue’ or when Republican Party had split, think it could be made to pay, but present owners have absolutely no business with it. Under present management they have killed off more good men than [railroad] crossings have.” DT #712, Nov. 7, 1928

“Let everybody, including the candidates, get into a good humor as quick as they got into a bad one. Both gangs have been bad sports, so see if at least one can’t redeem themselves by offering no alibis, but cooperate with the winner. So, cheer up. Let’s all be friends again. One of the evils of democracy is you have to put up with the [person] you elect whether you want him or not. That’s why we call it democracy.”  DT 1953, Nov. 7, 1932