Border Invasion in Texas. Confiscation in New York. End of Democracy. Less Labor.

What do a couple hundred young male illegal immigrants do when they tear down a border fence and come up against twenty US soldiers? Do they attack? Or do they retreat so they won’t get shot?

Last week they attacked. The soldiers (Texas National Guard) were unarmed and were overrun. The illegal immigrants rushed the border wall where the Border Patrol let them through, processed them, and turned them loose into the country to go anywhere they desire.

That’s our immigration policy today. Tear through razor wire, beat up soldiers, then plead asylum and get a free ride to the state of your choice. If it’s a sanctuary state or city, you are free to commit crimes and still not get deported.

Meanwhile in New York, the Attorney General Letitia James has a U-Haul packed and ready to move into the Penthouse at Trump Tower. And she has plans for her new winter home in Palm Beach, Florida, the $18 million Mar-a-Lago.

President Biden and VP Harris are campaigning across the country. Their main theme is a warning that if the Republican Donald Trump is elected president again it will be the “end of democracy.”

I guess the “end of democracy” would mean citizens may not get to vote for the candidate of their choice for President. That seems to be the reason Democrats in a few states are determined to remove Trump from the ballot and prevent Third Party candidates, including Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., from getting on the ballot. And they are cheering for prosecutors in Georgia, Florida and New York to convict their main opponent of multiple felonies so he will be in jail before the November election. Yes, that’s their plan to prevent Trump from ending democracy.

Does it seem odd that President Biden is determined that by 2032, we can only buy Electric Vehicles? By then he will be 89 and driving around Delaware in his ’67 Corvette. If he can afford the gas. By 2050, the U.S. would resemble Cuba in the 1990s where all the cars were 1950s models. Biden’s dream will become a nightmare where EVs are parked because there’s not enough electricity from solar and wind to charge the batteries. And the cars and trucks we want to drive will be parked because gasoline and diesel are either regulated out of business or are taxed so high no one can afford to drive anywhere. Did someone mention a Bloodbath in the auto industry?

Senator Bernie Sanders came up with a plan to raise wages and salaries by at least 25% with a 32-hour work week. Actually, it would not raise income at all, only the hourly rate. You would run out of money faster because you would have 3-day weekends to spend it shopping, vacationing, and going to ball games and Taylor Swift concerts. While Sen. Sanders is contemplating a 32-hour work week and a $20 minimum wage, perhaps he should consider this question:  How many hours per week will a robot work?

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

“One of the evils of democracy is you have to put up with the man you elect whether you want him or not. That’s why we call it democracy.” DT#1953, Nov. 7, 1932

An Idea from Ireland to Improve our Election for President

Since it is St. Patrick’s weekend, I decided to go to Ireland.

You might say I have family connections. Robert Rogers, Will’s great granddad, left Ireland in 1800 and immigrated to America (legally). He wound up in the western part of Virginia, now West Virginia. He fell in love and married Lucy Cordery, a half-blood Cherokee.

Ok, that’s the Will Rogers family connection to Ireland. For myself, my mom, Hazel Lowther, grew up a few miles from Ireland.

I can see that you may be confused. The “Ireland” I visited this weekend is a wonderful little community in the middle of West Virginia. It is a few miles south of Weston and the popular Stonewall Jackson Lake Resort.

Every year Ireland hosts the “Irish Spring Festival” which typically starts on the Sunday before St. Patrick’s Day and ends with the Vernal Equinox, the beginning of Spring. Dozens of activities for everyone from 8 to 80 (or more accurately from a few months to 105). Includes a costume contest, Irish Road Bowling, square dancing, a 5K race/walk, duck race, Bingo, and Gospel Sing.

Tonight, I want to highlight their election of a King and Queen because it gave me an idea how to add interest and value to our national election for President. I read a prediction that more than $3 Billion will be spent on the Biden vs. Trump election. And usually, the one who raises the most money is the one who wins. Not always, but if you don’t believe me, ask George Soros.

The Irish Spring Festival lines up 3 candidates for King and 3 for Queen and you vote by donating in the name of your favorite candidate(s). The man and woman with the most money are crowned King and Queen for a year. This year more than $7000 total was collected and all of that money, 100 percent, goes to the upkeep and improvements on the Ireland Community Building.

Now, that’s a pittance compared to $3 Billion, but after the 2024 election is over, I bet your community won’t get even a dollar of it. It will all go to advertisers and consultants.

So, my idea is that each candidate for President (Trump, Biden, and third-party candidates) would have an official bank account to collect all the “votes.” The “votes” could be cash, check or credit card, even Bitcoin. Anyone could freely contribute a dollar, or hundreds or thousands, kinda like we do now.

With no money for advertising, the candidates would have to earn their time on TV and radio news and talk shows by having common sense ideas for the betterment of the country. They could be interviewed for newspaper articles. We would have televised debates. Instead of only 2 or 3, they would be held every two weeks starting after Labor Day. Now, we don’t have all the details worked out, but you get the idea.

At midnight Election Day, November 5th, the one with the most votes (money contributed) would be declared President.

Here’s the best part, regardless of whether your favorite candidate won or lost. The (estimated) $3,000,000,000 will be divided up across the country. Communities and neighborhoods would write a proposal for a local need. For example, the Ireland community might request $50,000 for new and bigger kitchen equipment because they serve thousands of meals during the Festival and other events during the year. Cities would not be allowed to apply, but neighborhoods in a city could request money for local needs, such as a new roof for the elementary school. Folks would be expected to volunteer their labor, bringing the neighborhood closer together for a common cause.

Will Rogers came up with a plan for electing the President. His was based on a lottery. I feel about my plan the same way Will did about his after he shared it on his national radio show, May 5, 1935, “I’ve looked the whole plan over, and I can’t find a flaw in it myself because I haven’t showed it to anybody else. The poor would be for it and the rich would be for it and the candidates would be for it. The main thing is it would give a national election the thing they lack now, which is dignity and prestige.”

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

        “Well, today is the seventeenth of Ireland. Of all the nationalities that have helped to root the Indians out over here, the Irish are the only ones that have made enough impression on everybody till they celebrate their birthday.” DT#1450, March 17, 1931

The Real State of the Union

President Biden gave an emotional campaign speech Thursday night, marketed as the “State of the Union.” It was a strong speech, demonstrating that he still has stamina and a loud voice. His focus was to appeal to the many diverse components of the Democrat Party. His only reference to Republicans was to note how well off they are because of Bidenomics. He chided them and rich Democrats for not wanting to pay more income taxes, a “fair share,” except for the Biden family.

Senator Katie Britt of Alabama gave the rebuttal speech. She was also emotional. Her speech, like every “rebuttal” to a State of the Union speech, was prepared and rehearsed. Her main appeal was to young women and families. She defended sports for girls and women. Unlike some, she can define “woman.”

So, what is the real “state of the union?” What does the average American face each day, each week, each month?

As Will Rogers wrote in 1930, “the rest of the country know the condition of the country, for they live in it and are a part of it.”

Most Americans feel the effects of rapid inflation, up about 18% since January 2021. Wages have not kept up.

A trip to the grocery store for eggs, hamburger, bread, cereal, fruit, tomatoes and ice cream shows how the dollar has shrunk. You can’t blame the farmer or the food processor for “shrinkflation.” A pound of hamburger is still a pound. A dozen eggs is still 12.

Now, when it comes to ice cream, most of us can remember when the most common package was a half-gallon. About 20 years ago that package shrunk to 1.75 quarts, and then to 1.5. We can’t blame that on Biden.

Gasoline is about $3.50 a gallon. Mortgage rates are up almost 60% since 2019 making it harder for young families to buy a house. And rent is higher, making it harder to save for a down payment. No wonder more young adults are still living at home with their parents.

The huge surge in illegal immigration has increased crime and added billions to the cost of social programs, including education. We welcome about a million immigrants a year who arrive legally, mostly based on merit. Starting with his campaign for President in 2019, Biden has encouraged illegal immigration, totaling over 8 million since he took office. Biden got flak Thursday night from liberals, not for mispronouncing Laken Riley’s name, but for calling her apparent killer an “illegal.” They prefer “undocumented.” Or, even crazier, a “newcomer.” Based on evidence, the Venezuelan who had already committed other crimes, should have been called a “murderer.”

This week I’ll be helping with a big 2-day agriculture event, the annual Conservation Tillage & Technology Conference, in Ada, Ohio. The emphasis will be on helping farmers increase crop yields while reducing costs of inputs and improving water quality and soil health. Farmers plant in the Spring without knowing how much their Fall harvest per acre will be worth. Ag economists expect this to be a rough year with lower prices expected for corn and soybeans. As one wise farmer said for 2024, “The most efficient Farmers are the ones who will lose the least.”

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“A liberal is a man who wants to use his own ideas on things in preference to generations who, he knows, know more than he does.” WA #8, Feb. 4, 1923

“A conservative [Republican] is a man who has plenty of money and doesn’t see any reason why he shouldn’t always have plenty of money. A Democrat is a fellow who never had any, but doesn’t see any reason why he shouldn’t have some.” WA #326, March 26, 1933

Weekly Comments: Meat in New York. Murder by Immigrants. Biden’s State of the Union.

Americans have been fortunate to pay less for food than any other country. We are blessed with good soil, smart farmers, abundant energy, and an “agricultural system” that gets food from “farm to fork” efficiently.

The percentage of our income spent on food has been declining constantly for decades. Until now. Yes, we are now spending over 11% on food, the most in 30 years.

In New York, Attorney General Letitia James is determined that her state residents will pay even higher prices, especially for meat. As you know, she succeeded in attacking Donald Trump’s family business. Most New Yorkers didn’t care because they don’t like him. (That $400 million ruling might be overturned in Federal Court on appeal.)

Now Attorney General James has moved on to tackling JBS, the big meat supplier. Why? Is the quality of their meat substandard? Are they ripping off consumers? No, she attacked JBS because they are not reducing their “carbon footprint” fast enough to suit her. The fact is that American farmers are producing more pounds of meat per ‘unit of carbon’ (whatever that is) than ever before. She says JBS promised to have a carbon footprint of zero by 2040 and she doesn’t believe they can do it.

You probably know that animals on our farms and ranches eat grass, corn and other plants to produce meat. Plants “inhale” carbon dioxide from the air and “exhale” oxygen. Without plants, we would die from a lack of oxygen.

Leticia James is wrong if she thinks a person standing at the meat case selecting T-bone steaks for a big family celebration is going to suddenly change their mind because the climate might be warmer in 15 years. And they definitely will not buy a dozen boxes of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes instead. Given a choice, most Americans, including New Yorkers, prefer to consume their corn after it has been processed into meat, not Flakes.

As you know, Laken Riley, a nursing student, was murdered in Athens, Georgia by an illegal immigrant. He had already committed other crimes and was still roaming freely around the country because of sanctuary cities. Instead of demanding an end to sanctuary status for criminal immigrants, most Democrat office holders say that one murder (Laken’s) is not a reason to change policies. I happen to have three granddaughters attending three different universities. How many more such murders by a criminal immigrant will it take for Democrats to change their minds?

As Will Rogers wrote, “There is nothing as easy as denouncing. It don’t take much to see that something is wrong, but it does take some eyesight to see what will put it right again.” (WA #657, July 28, 1935). Let’s hope there are enough leaders with good ‘eyesight’ and common sense to eliminate sanctuaries for illegal immigrants.

President Biden will deliver a State of the Union speech this Thursday. Here is Will Rogers on this speech in 1930, “One of the few stipulated duties of the President is that every once in a while, he delivers a message to Congress to tell them the ‘Condition of the Country.’ This message as I say is to Congress, the rest of the country know the condition of the country, for they live in it and are a part of it. But the Senators and Congressmen being in Washington all the time have no idea what is going on in America. So the President has to tell ’em.” (WA #371, Feb. 2, 1930)

President Biden has been advised to keep it short because he doesn’t have much to brag about. Don’t be surprised if he runs out of accomplishments in 10 minutes, but spends an hour bragging about what he intends to do when he’s re-elected.

Breaking News! Nikki Haley won her first GOP Primary election, in Washington, DC tonight. I’m guessing that five Republicans cast votes and she got three of ‘em.

And earlier today, the great basketball player for Iowa, Caitlin Clark set a new major college scoring record, passing Pete Maravich’s 3667 in 3 years at LSU.

Weekly Comments: Open Border Crime. An Intriguing Presidential Race Idea.

A young woman, Laken Riley, was murdered in Athens, Georgia by an illegal immigrant. She is just the latest victim of a continuing slew of crimes by young males who should never have been allowed across our border. The Venezuelan accused of murdering her had been arrested previously in New York but instead of being jailed or deported he was set free.

Don’t blame the Border Patrol. They catch about a thousand known criminals a month. But they are overwhelmed by the vast numbers the Mexican cartels send to the border. This has allowed many thousands with criminal records in their home country to avoid capture. They are roaming free across the country. Also, include all the Americans killed by fentanyl from China and victims of robberies and other crimes committed by foreign gang members.

Illegal immigration is ten times worse in the last 3 years. Don’t let anyone tell you that only “comprehensive” immigration reform passed by Congress can stop it. President Biden could halt 90% of illegal border crossings tomorrow with an Executive Order and a few phone calls.

A longtime friend sent me a message last week with an intriguing “thought experiment.”  We often disagree on politics but since he is ten times wiser than I am, I always listen to him. Suppose former President Trump is convicted in one of the four trials and forced to drop out. And Biden is pressured to drop out and let Kamala Harris become the candidate for President.

Here is my friend’s suggestion, “The Republicans would put up a ticket of Nikki Haley and Liz Cheney. And Kamala Harris would pick Amy Klobuchar as her running mate.” Yes, four women. Both candidates for President have immigrant parents.

Well, let’s have some fun with this. Nikki gets her wish to debate Kamala. Should be fierce disagreement on illegal immigration. They might agree on aid for Ukraine, but not for Israel. The V-P debates would be boring. Every time Amy said something against Trump and most Republicans, Liz would agree with her.

So, how would the 2024 election turn out? Let me go back to 2020 for a moment. Since Joe Biden was committed to selecting a female V-P, Senator Klobuchar would have been a better choice than Senator Harris. That said, I think the Harris-Klobuchar pair would win. Haley-Cheney would get the fewest Republican votes in any Presidential race in 30 years because Trump supporters would stay home. Both the House and Senate would have a Democrat majority.

Now, don’t take any of this serious. This may sound far-fetched but don’t bet against the idea of having four well-qualified women in these roles within 12 to 20 years.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

       “Women promised us that if they had the vote, they’d clean up politics.   They did; they got in and cleaned up more than the men did. They admit themselves that about all they have added to the whole voting and political thing is just more votes or more bookkeeping. But it ain’t the women’s fault. Politics is bigger than any race and it’s bigger than any sex.” Radio, June 2, 1935

Weekly Comments: A Week to Celebrate. Not So for the Trump Family.

George Washington was born on Feb. 22, 1732. As Will Rogers wrote, “Washington was the most versatile President we ever had. He was a farmer, Civil engineer and gentleman. He made enough at Civil engineering [surveying] to indulge in both the other luxuries.” (WA #313, Dec. 23, 1928)

His birthday is so important in history that two great organizations celebrate all week.

Professional engineers celebrate National Engineers Week. This week is about celebrating past and present achievements and paving the way for a brighter future.

You know about the importance of “STEM” in education. The “E” stands for Engineering. Students who graduate with an engineering degree usually don’t have to worry about finding a job or repaying student debt. Engineers are in demand. (Personal note: I’m proud of a son who is an engineer and a granddaughter who will be one in 2025. A few years ago, I headed up a national 4-H program to encourage more young girls, minorities and rural youth to study engineering.)

This is also National FFA Week. You may have known “FFA” as Future Farmers of America. FFA prepares youth for a wide range of occupations in agriculture and food and fiber businesses. FFA is not limited to the 2% of the population on farms and ranches. My brother was in FFA and I have many friends who were state and national FFA officers. (See quote below.)

One person not celebrating is former President Donald Trump. The Attorney General of New York state and a Judge found the Trump family business guilty of fraud and fined them over $350,000,000. Recall that in 2018, the Attorney General campaigned on one promise: Bring down Trump.

You might be wondering who gets the money in this fraud case. Do the banks who were defrauded receive it because Trump over valued his real estate? NO. The banks didn’t lose money; they made millions in interest on loans. Do defrauded employees of the Trump business receive it? NO. They were paid in full, even during the COVID-19 shutdown. Oddly, this may be the first fraud case in history with no fraud.

Barring a successful appeal, I guess the state of New York treasury will receive the money. They need it to cover costs of illegal immigrants and organized crime in their sanctuary cities. The state may soon lose Billions as other New York businesses decide to fold up and leave for fear of being convicted of fraud.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

         “Last week when I was there [in Kansas City], there was 1700 young boys and girls brought there by that great Paper, the Kansas City Star, from over 30 states. They were taking vocational training [FFA] and had led their various districts back home in the studying of farming and stock raising.” WA #207, Nov. 28, 1926

Weekly Comments: Kansas City Chiefs are Super. President Biden was Not.

In the Super Bowl, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in Overtime, 25-22. It was a battle of great defenses and field goals (7 total, with 3 from more than 50 years). Patrick Mahomes won it with a touchdown pass after the 49ers had kicked a field goal.

Probably, the best-known and most popular fan at the game was Taylor Swift who was there to watch her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce. A poll had asked, “What is your #1 reason for watching the Super Bowl?” The results:
A. See the 49ers play the Chiefs — 102,000,000 viewers
B. Watch the commercials and half-time show — 85,700,000
C.  Catch brief glimpses of Taylor Swift — 198,900,000.

Ok, I made up the poll. No doubt, there were millions of Swifties watching, and they caught the meaning of the number above.

CBS had a show this week about the most popular commercials during Super Bowl games. I only saw the end of it. The top two ranked commercials were for a beer and a soft drink. Nothing against those, but I think the all-time best commercial was for a farmer. Yes, you remember it. Paul Harvey’s “So God Made a Farmer,” sponsored by Dodge Ram in 2013. There were plenty of creative commercials tonight, but that is still #1.

I decided last week that I have joked about President Biden enough and I’ll leave him alone for a while. I had good intentions, but he had a rough week.

A bombshell report came out about the top secret classified documents Joe Biden had taken willfully (and illegally) during his many years as a Senator, from 1973-2009, then as Vice-President from 2009-2017. Photos showed old cardboard boxes strewn about his cluttered garage where there was barely room left for his antique Corvette. These are documents that only one person in the whole world has the right to remove from the secure location in the Capitol, and that is the President at the time. Not a Senator, not a V-P, or any other official.

But even that damning evidence got overshadowed by a decision by Department of Justice investigator, Robert Hur. President Biden will not be indicted to stand trial because he is a “sympathetic, elderly man with a poor memory,” and jurors would feel sorry for him.

Now I don’t know about you, but if I was accused today of robbing a bank twenty years ago, I would prefer to have the prosecutor indict me instead of announcing that I’m too deteriorated mentally to stand trial. And to be fair, there are thousands of us old men with a poor memory, but we’re not wanting to run a country for five more years.

After the Attorney General released Robert Hur’s report, President Biden felt compelled to hold a televised news conference to rebut the accusations of his mental decline. Unfortunately, in his comments and responses to questions he mixed up Mexico and Egypt and forgot the name of a Catholic church. He talked about his role in getting food into Gaza while criticizing Israel’s attempt to eliminate Hamas as “over the top.” And he did not mention the 1200 people that Hamas terrorists slaughtered in Israel on October 7, or the ~130 hostages they still hold.

This time, I promise. No mention of President Biden next week. Barring another calamity.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

“I used to play me a pretty good end, that is a substitute end [at Kemper Military Academy]. I played what you might call a ‘Wide End.’ I would play out so far that the other 21 would be pretty well piled up before I could possibly reach ’em.” WA #627, Dec. 30, 1934

Weekly Comments: Iran Conflict Compared to Civil War. A Lawless Nation.  A South Carolina Election.

Two weeks ago I asked, why is President Biden scared of Iran? We still don’t know. After Iran-backed terrorists killed 3 of our soldiers, he gave Iran 5 days to clear out their Generals and other Iranians from about a hundred locations where Biden said we would bomb. Then he sent two B-1 stealth bombers from Texas to Syria to destroy 3 empty houses. Yes, those planes and others destroyed many structures. Apparently, a few Iraqis died, but, surprise! no Iranians were killed by our bombs and missiles.

Just imagine if Joe Biden had been elected president in 1860 instead of Lincoln. He would have sent a secret note to Confederate General Robert E. Lee warning him to go no farther north than Virginia. Then after seeing the Confederate Army marching toward Gettysburg, another warning note, “General Lee, don’t go any farther into Pennsylvania. DON’T. But if you do feel the need to take Pennsylvania, I’m warning you, if you get as far north as Buffalo, I really mean it, we might start shooting.”

President Biden clearly does not want to risk escalating a “conflict” into a war with Iran. Perhaps the Biden Administration should send this friendly note to the Iranian leaders, “We have no intention of escalating this conflict. No sir, this conflict will not escalate. It will END. Either you end it immediately by withdrawing all support and weapons from your terrorist groups throughout the Middle East, or we will END it. The END will start with you and your Generals. We know where you live. This tape will self-destruct in 10 seconds.”

In other news, have you read this story in the newspaper? Imagine living in a place where this is allowed: Two law enforcement officers try to intercede in an argument and get attacked by a half dozen young men. They finally subdue and arrest five, take ‘em to jail, and a prosecutor lets them go without paying any bail. It turns out they were in the country illegally so they should have been jailed and then deported. To make matters worse they stole IDs, and talked an official into buying them tickets to go clear across the country, probably disappearing forever.

Now if you guessed this happened in some backward nation where laws are seldom enforced, and police are disrespected and forced to accept being slugged, stomped on, kicked in the head, and doused with buckets of filthy water you would be thinking logically. The only problem is this place with no common sense is… New York City, a so-called sanctuary city where illegal immigrants can commit crimes and still receive free food and a hotel room. Oh, and free health care, which is important if they accidentally get injured while fighting a cop, hijacking a car, or robbing a store. Fortunately, most of the US is not like NYC. In any small town out in the country, if a hoodlum attacks a Deputy Sheriff, he’ll likely get shot.

South Carolina held an election on Saturday. President Joe Biden got 96% of the vote, routing two other candidates. Almost immediately he received congratulatory phone calls from Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. They both had the same question, “How did you get 96%?” They usually get around 90%, so they are envious of their friend Joe for getting so close to 100%.

How did the President get 96% of the votes in the South Carolina Democratic Primary? It must be because they are thrilled with the roaring economy, they all have full time jobs with high wages, their costs for essentials (food, gasoline, electricity, and insurance) are low and going lower, and they live in friendly neighborhoods with no crime. Visiting all 46 counties, getting to know the voters, answering their questions, kissing babies… if President Biden had done any of these he might’ve hit 99%.

Now who’s concerned about the end of democracy?

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

          “There’s one thing no nation can accuse us of, and that is secret diplomacy. Our foreign dealings are an open book, generally a check book.” WA #45, Oct. 21, 1923

          “The American people are a very generous people and will forgive almost any weakness, with the possible exception of stupidity.” WA #63, Feb. 24, 1924

Here’s one response from last week. Kathy wrote, “How ignorant we are when we don’t know history.”

Weekly Comments: End of a Nation, Then… and Now?

Illegal immigration is the top issue in Washington, for both Republicans and Democrats. Rumors from Senate leaders indicate an agreement is pending that would allow up to 5000 per day to walk or swim across our border LEGALLY. That would be 1.8 million in 2024, added to the more than 8 million already here since Joe Biden was elected President.

Is this any way to run a civilized country? Perhaps a look back at history would provide a clue. Let me tell you a true story. It is the absolute truth, and nothing but the truth. After you read it, do you think history might repeat itself?

Once upon a time, a nation prospered in peace and affluence for many years. But trouble lay just across the border. The neighboring land was over populated and the people eyed the vast inviting lands with envy. For a few years small numbers of “intruders” would sneak across the boundary, and the government would catch them and kick them out. But many avoided detection, sort of blending in, and many more intruders followed.

Before long the intruders were pouring into the nation. Some were there legitimately as employees, but others sneaked in and each claimed a piece of the foreign land as their own. They didn’t pay for it, just squatted on it. Many of the intruders were armed criminals who crossed the border to avoid going to prison.

Finally, a prominent local citizen got so annoyed he wrote a letter to his national leader. ‘Are we powerless to enforce our own laws? Are we to submit to such great wrongs by these men who are not citizens? Our laws are not enforced. How in the world can we hold up as a nation when our officers don’t respect the law and the oath they have taken to uphold the law.’

About two years later a small portion of the nation relented and sold, for a pittance, a substantial section of land that got turned over to the intruders. Do you think that satisfied the intruder population? Not on your life. It just created more pressure on the nation to open its borders.

The biggest business in the nation lobbied relentlessly to allow even more intruders. They claimed an expanding intruder population was essential to economic growth in the nation.

Well, folks, any idea yet where this ‘nation’ is? Here’s a hint. Seeing the looming conflict in this particular nation, the U. S. Congress jumped into the fray, led by a Senator from Massachusetts. After much debate Congress made a decision: they came down firmly on the side of …. the Intruders.

How could this be? Even the Senator from Massachusetts admitted the nation was prosperous, ‘Although a tiny number of individuals control about one-seventh of the nation’s wealth there is not a family in the entire nation without a home. There is not a pauper in the nation, and it does not owe a single dollar.’

Now who could ask for more than that? But this prosperity was not good enough to satisfy the U.S. Congress and keep this nation intact and protected from Intruders. Congress created a Commission to negotiate with a delegation of representatives from the nation. One of those representatives was the ‘prominent local citizen’ quoted above. He soon became peeved at the delegation’s inability to agree on what their position should be.

Five years after the U.S. government got involved, and all the negotiating was over with, Congress passed a bill abolishing the laws of this nation and mandating that all land be divided up equally among its citizens, but only ones who agreed to become U.S. citizens. Much of the land was seized by the U.S.

The end of a nation as we knew it occurred in 1898. The Senator from Massachusetts was Henry Dawes, head of the Dawes Commission. The bill passed by Congress was the Curtis Act. The Intruders were mainly from Kansas and Arkansas. The big business encouraging the Intruders was the Missouri Pacific Railroad, which built a line through the nation in 1889.

Have you guessed it yet?

The ‘nation’ was the Cherokee Nation. It was part of Indian Territory which in 1907 became the state of Oklahoma.

The ‘prominent local citizen’ (who also helped write the state constitution for Oklahoma), was Clem Rogers, father of…. Will Rogers.

(I wrote this story in 2006 based mainly on information in “Will Rogers: A Biography” by Ben Yagoda, published in 1993.)

In football, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Baltimore Ravens 17-10 and the San Francisco 49ers beat the Detroit Lions 34-31. The Chiefs and 49ers will meet in the Super Bowl on Feb. 11, thrilling fans of Taylor Swift.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

 “They sent the Indians to Oklahoma. They had a treaty that said, ‘You shall have this land as long as grass grows and water flows.’ It looked like a good treaty, and it was till they struck oil. Then the Government took it away from us again. They said the treaty only refers to ‘Water and Grass; it don’t say anything about oil.’” WA #267, Feb. 5, 1928

Weekly Comments: Don’t Laugh While Driving. Is President Biden Scared?

Federal government agencies have no sense of humor. We already knew the IRS, TSA, and FBI don’t like jokes. Now the Federal Highway Administration has joined in.

The Highway Administration is planning to ban any humorous messages on the electronic information signs you often see over 4-lane roads. They only want bad news posted, such as “Crash ahead 4 miles. Expect 90-minute delay.”  If there’s no bad news, the signs will probably be blank. Anything funny won’t be allowed, such as “Visiting in-laws? Slow down, get there late.”

Do you remember the Burma-Shave signs? They added humor to otherwise boring road trips, printed on five consecutive signs. Here are two: “SAID FARMER BROWN. WHO’S BALD ON TOP. WISH I COULD. ROTATE THE CROP. Burma-Shave.” “SPRING HAS SPRUNG. THE GRASS HAS RIZ. WHERE LAST YEAR’S. CARELESS DRIVER IS. Burma-Shave.”

This federal ban on funny lines will be described in a 1000-page manual. It will have one page of acceptable messages and 999 pages listing banned messages.

The government is giving us two more years to enjoy the humor. It’ll take that long for officials to read the whole book. And it gives the joke writers time to practice for a new career entertaining in comedy clubs.

This is no laughing matter. Why is President Biden scared of Iran? Iran has attacked our soldiers in Iraq and Syria over a hundred times. Iran surrogates are firing rockets at ships in the Red Sea. Iran-backed terrorists in Lebanon continue to threaten northern Israel. Of course, Iran funded and trained the Hamas terrorists for the October 7 attack on Israel. Why is President Biden reluctant to take any meaningful action against Iran or any of the terrorists doing their dirty work? Is he blind to the hatred that Iran’s leaders hold for the U.S., Israel, and other allies? Not only is Biden refusing to take any meaningful action, he is insisting that Israel stop fighting Hamas and give them a recognized nation of Palestine to rule over.

Appeasing Iran by giving their radical leaders billions of dollars and allowing them to sell oil to get even more money makes no sense. And now Iran is completing their goal of having a nuclear weapon.

Iran leaders (as separate from the average Iranian) are like rattlesnakes. A friend sent me a story about a West Texas rancher who described his treatment of rattlesnakes, “I do not try to reason with a rattlesnake or have a ‘meaningful dialogue’ with it.  I just kill it.  I do not try to get to know the rattlesnake better so I can find a way to live with the rattlesnakes and convince them not to bite me.  I just kill them.”

To most Americans, Iran is a rattlesnake. To President Biden, Iran is a garter snake. And that’s no joke.

The National Football League has narrowed the playoff teams down to four. Next Sunday, Kansas City plays at Baltimore, and Detroit plays at San Francisco. These teams showed they can win in January weather (except Detroit, which has a dome). The winners will meet in the Super Bowl on Feb. 11.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

“[Men in government] can do more funny things naturally than I can think of to do purposely.” WA #57, Jan. 13, 1924

I appreciate replies to my Weekly Comments. Last week I received several compliments about Howard Buffett. Also, a comment about President Biden, “General George Washington crossed the Delaware and won our independence from Britain. And Delaware gave us a Senator Biden who quashed our independence and sold himself and us to China.