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Inflation is down to less than 4%. Sounds pretty good, but because of severe inflation starting in January 2021, prices are still 15 to 20 percent higher. They are higher on food, gasoline, medicine, electricity, rent, mortgages, hotel rooms, car rental, and about everything else we depend on. Because of inflation, real wages are down about 3%.

President Biden finally acknowledged the “Inflation Reduction Act” was misnamed. You and I knew it even before it passed. It was mostly a “Green Energy” bill and it increased inflation, not reduced it.

Here’s what I wrote in Weekly Comments last year on July 31. “Only in Congress can a bill that will increase inflation be called the “Inflation Reduction Act.” Senate Leader Chuck Schumer has been hammering two fellow Democrats, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, for more than a year over their refusal to increase spending and raise taxes. Last week Manchin caved.”  (The vote was 50-50, with VP Harris breaking the tie.)

Sen. Manchin wasn’t the only Democrat tricked. If the bill had been honestly titled, a few others would have refused to support it. And guess what: without the Inflation Reduction Act, we would have had less inflation!

The President says inflation is going lower. But there’s a surge on the horizon. Have you seen the increases in pay being negotiated by labor unions? Immediate increases of 10% to 20% are common. Auto workers want a 40% increase. Raises for delivery truck drivers, warehouse workers and airline pilots guarantee higher prices. Now, we don’t blame the workers. Inflation is to blame for huge requests.

I may need to replace my Ford F-150 in 3 or 4 years so I better start saving. Ford is losing Billions on Electric Vehicles, even with all the subsidies from us taxpayers. Does that mean they have to raise the price on gas and diesel models to make up the difference?

Meanwhile, the largest U.S. electric-bus maker, Proterra, declared bankruptcy. The company failed despite personal enthusiastic promotion by President Biden and VP Kamala Harris.

With these problems emanating from DC, and details about the Biden bribes, is it any wonder the most popular song today is “Rich Men North of Richmond?”

(No Weekly Comments next week.)

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

(on U.S. Senators), “We pay for wisdom and we get wind.” DT #574, May 29, 1928

“Republicans said if the Democrats got in they would inflate money, and the Democrats swore they wouldn’t.” DT #2095, Apr. 21, 1933

Many college students spend their summers working as interns for businesses. That gives them “real world” experience they can’t get in the classroom. Many professors every few years spend a few months working for companies in their field so their teaching is up-to-date.

Now, suppose government employees had a similar opportunity. How might that change their views when they return to their government position?

Consider a few examples:

Environmental scientists in EPA work three months for an oil company, a highway construction contractor in West Virginia, or an Oklahoma cattle ranch.

Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas and his top officials spend a month as Texas Rangers along the border with Mexico.

Energy Department leaders work as a sales person at a Ford or GM dealer in Montana or Iowa. How many EVs could they sell?

Food scientists in the FDA harvest vegetables in California and apples in Michigan.

Education Department Ph.D.’s spend nine months teaching math and science at high schools in Baltimore, Chicago, or Columbus. If they survive the year, their salaries on return to Washington will depend on the progress of their students.

Prosecutors supported by George Soros work a few weeks as a security guard or clerk in a local CVS or Nordstrom that gets looted every day or two.

California Legislators who voted to force pork producers in other states to change their “best practices” go to work on hog farms. Their job would be to make sure that each of 50 sows would not smother or otherwise harm any of her 10 to 12 new-born pigs.

Federal prosecutor and newly named Special Counsel David Weiss would switch to defense attorney …wait, he already did that with the Hunter Biden sweetheart deal.

I’m sure you can suggest other “switches” that might help our economy.

I was going to suggest that the 535 Democrats and Republicans in Congress switch parties for a couple of months. But they would get so discombobulated nothing would pass, and the federal debt would keep getting worse.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

      “There is nothing as stupid as an educated man if you get off the thing that he was educated in.” WA #445, July 5, 1931

Are we looking at a Jailhouse campaign in 2024? Donald Trump will be behind bars. Joe Biden will be visiting Hunter behind bars.  At least that’s the dream of the opposing sides.

President Biden is way behind on fundraising for the Biden-Harris 2024 campaign. Lounging on a Delaware beach instead of answering questions at frequent press conferences does not inspire many donors to add to their credit card debt. Especially for a president who would be 86 in 2028, or possibly replaced by V-P Kamala Harris.

With another indictment by Jack Smith, Special Counsel for the Department of Justice, Trump has to spend his campaign funds on defense lawyers.

Trump insists the 2020 election was stolen, not on election day, but in the months leading up to the election. Considering what we know now, candidate Joe Biden received millions of votes based on blatant lies: he never discussed business with Hunter; Hunter never took any money from China; Hunter’s laptop computer was a Russian conspiracy as verified by 50 top level Intelligence officials; and he never received any money from Hunter’s business dealings, not even 10 percent.

Devon Archer testified to Congress on Monday. He has been in business with Hunter Biden for about 10 years and recalled at least 20 phone conversations between Hunter and his dad while Joe was Vice-President. President Biden calls his grandchildren every day, so it’s logical he also called Hunter frequently.

I’m guessing one of those phone calls might have gone like this:

(V-P Biden calls Hunter): “Hello Hunter, how’s the rehab going today?”

Hunter: “Excellent, Dad. In fact, I’m sitting at a table with a couple of Chinese executives discussing a multi-million-dollar deal.”

V-P interrupts: “Whoa, Hunter, you know I can’t discuss business with you.”

Hunter: “I know. In case anyone is listening, we’re only interested in weather. My Chinese friends are wondering if I can perhaps influence the weather in Washington. They are willing to pay me $5,000,000 if they know the weather will be suitable for their business.”

V-P: “Ah, the weather! Yes, I can talk about weather. You can assure your friends that the weather is fine. And it appears to me that the weather here will continue to be fine for them.”

Hunter: “Thanks Dad. My friends are smiling and nodding in agreement. They are extremely pleased to hear about the long-term weather. (pause) Wow, they just handed me a check. (pause) And they are so happy with your weather report they are writing another check.”

V-P: “Hunter, congratulations on your recovery. I’m glad your friends expect to see sunny skies ahead. And Hunter, c’mon man, (whispering) be careful out there. Don’t do anything that might rain on my parade.”

We learned this week that China got military secrets from a Navy Seaman for $15,000. Do you wonder what China got for $10,000,000?

You may be wondering why I didn’t write anything harsh or funny about Donald Trump’s legal problems. Well, I decided not to risk it after reading his threat on Trump Social, “If you go after me, I’m coming after you.”

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

“Being great as President is not a matter of knowledge, or farsightedness; it’s just a question of the weather.” WA#196, Sept. 12, 1926

A big surprise in Delaware. Hunter Biden did not escape with a slap on the wrist for a felony charge after all. Federal Judge Maryellen Noreika did what all of us are advised to do: before signing anything, read the fine print. She uncovered a tiny paragraph in a secondary document that would have freed the President’s son from any future charges against him.

Hunter then admitted he received over $600,000 from a company owned by Communist Chinese. Add that to the millions his partners claim he received, and you start wondering what Hunter did to earn that money while his dad was Vice-President. Was he secretly farming 5000 acres in Iowa and selling them soybeans? Could he have been manufacturing transmissions in Michigan for Chinese cars? Or did the Chinese get something more valuable from his dad and President Obama?

As soon as that News came out, the Justice Department announced an additional charge against Donald Trump and his employees at Mar-a-Lago. This was to provide the TV Networks and newspapers a choice of which News to cover. Lately, it seems they feel compelled to pick a side, and ignore the other side.

And Friday evening, while everyone was pre-occupied, President Biden whispered to People magazine that he has a new granddaughter. And she’s already 4 years old. He did not say whether she would be visiting the Biden mansion on Rehoboth Beach during his August vacation.

Tomorrow, Devon Archer, a long-time business partner of Hunter Biden’s, is supposed to testify before the House Oversight Committee. Republicans and Democrats on that committee will be just like the TV Networks: pick one side and ignore the other. On one side, the Justice Department has ordered him to report to prison for stealing $60 million. The other side emphasizes that he worked with Hunter and has personal knowledge of Joe Biden being a key part of that business.

It is doubtful the Biden Family will rise to the level of power and scandal of the political machine in New York known as Tammany Hall. But it’s possible we may learn that Joe Biden’s influence over 50 years in politics has enriched his family almost as much as William “Boss” Tweed enriched Democrat cronies (and himself at least $100 million) while he was boss of Tammany Hall.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

     “… with Tammany Hall, when [Franklin Roosevelt] threw out a sheriff that had been ‘hoarding’ the city’s money for ’em personally. Why, that will boost his stock in the [states]. Even if Tammany was to change and get respectable, the world wouldent believe it.”  WA #481, March 13, 1932

Country music singer Jason Aldean is being crucified by city folks for a song, “Try That in a Small Town.” The song describes crimes that criminals usually get away with in cities.  But in small towns, “we take care of our own; you cross that line, it won’t take long for you to find out.”

The video with the song drew complaints because it includes news footage of the riots in the summer of 2020 following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, plus videos of other crimes. Oddly, an image of a Tennessee Court House featured in a Christmas movie is controversial. Critics would prefer the video feature serene views of cattle grazing, kids playing baseball, and families going to church.

Most of us from out in the country or in “small towns” relate to this song. In 2020, we watched with disgust as stores were looted, buildings and police cars were burned adding up to over $2,000,000,000 in damages in big cities. And police and average citizens were prevented from responding. (Oddly today, employees in big stores, like Lowe’s and Lululemon, get fired for trying to stop thieves.)

We were thinking, “If these hoodlums try this in our towns, in most states like West Virginia, or Oklahoma, or Wyoming, they will be stopped in their tracks.” But big cities did the opposite. Their police were verbally abused, spit on, and attacked. So, what was the result? New York City recently announced they are paying $10,000 to each of 1300 people affected by the riots. No, not 1300 officers. The money is going to 1300 rioters who were arrested during the 2020 protests.

In Washington this week, two IRS veterans testified to Congress that the Ukrainian company Burisma, was coerced to pay $10,000,000 to the Bidens, with half to Hunter and half to Joe. In return, then-VP Biden got a Ukrainian prosecutor fired. (In case you doubt that, Biden has bragged about getting the guy fired.)

To counter that damning news, and to give the mainstream media something to talk about, the Justice Dept announced that Donald Trump will go on trial next May (another trial will start in March). Georgia will probably announce another trial date, maybe around July 4, to fill in a gap before the Republican Convention. If found guilty in all 3 cases, Trump could be jailed for the next 500 years.

The people in Texas got upset with the hordes of immigrants crossing the Rio Grande River and illegally invading their towns and ranches. The state installed floating barriers in the river and a fence on the bank. The Biden Administration got frustrated that fewer illegal immigrants are making it into Texas and ordered the governor to remove all fencing and floating barriers. Their excuse for this order? Too many immigrants are drowning. Drowning?

Don’t be surprised if President Biden orders Texas to build a couple more dams to dry up sections of the river. Yes, they want a million immigrants a year to walk into the country without getting their feet wet.

Meanwhile, Mayor Adams of New York City announced the city is full of illegal immigrants and homeless people and can’t handle any more. He is imploring them to stay in Texas or go to other cities. You know, if I’m an immigrant why would I want to go to an overcrowded, crime-infested city when I could listen to Jason Aldean and settle in a small town.

In a surprise move, the President announced a reduction in federal spending. There will be no more money sent to China for “gain-of-function” research at the Wuhan Lab. Why did it take 3 years and a million deaths to make that decision?

All the writers in Hollywood went on strike May 2. Then the actors joined the strike; without writers the actors had no idea what to say. Now, I don’t blame them for striking because the “market” has changed. Young people today expect to watch everything on their phone or tablet for free. If nobody pays, that puts a crimp on the continuing payments called residuals. Viewers are eager for an agreement so they can stop watching reruns and old movies. Old timers in Hollywood will remember that up until 1960, writers and actors worked like most of us, getting paid an agreed-on amount monthly or when a project is finished.

Or they could do what Will Rogers did: “Most actors have some writer to write their material, but I don’t do that. Congress is good enough for me. They have been writing my material for years and I am not ashamed of the material I have had.” (WA #78, June 8, 1924)

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“(To musical critic H. T. Parker) you unconsciously paid me a Bear of a compliment when you said ‘Will is a small town Actor.’ You bet your life I am small town. I am smaller than that, I am NO town at all, and listen, that is what I am going to stay is Small Town.” WA #160, Jan. 3, 1926

        “It was just a joy to see hundreds of the men that we read about all the time… for pretty near all of our big men are country or small town boys.” WA #358, Nov. 3, 1929

In 2003, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor stated, “Race-based preferences will no longer be needed to balance out school admissions in 25 years.” That was the only reason the Supreme Court Justice gave for her deciding vote in a 5-4 Supreme Court decision that established affirmative action for Black students in college admissions. Without that expectation of improvement in public schools, she would have voted against the University of Michigan’s Law School admissions policy.

Twenty years later, the Supreme Court decided, 6-3, that leaders in charge of raising the education level of minorities, especially in big cities, had had enough time to achieve Justice O’Connor’s goal. (For those too young to remember, Sandra Day grew up on a ranch, which Will Rogers would say is an ideal background for any Justice. She was the first woman on the Supreme Court, appointed by President Reagan in 1981.)

Unfortunately for most Black students, political leaders in those big cities totally failed. Grade: F-. Close to Zero. For example, in Baltimore and Chicago, high school “graduates” can’t read or write well enough to get a decent job, let alone succeed in college.

Here’s a solution. Baltimore spends $21,000 per student, $7000 more than the U.S. average. That $21,000 should be allocated to the student, payable to an accredited school, whether public, private, or religious. Wow, with that much money, a private school could hire the best teachers, provide 3 meals a day, and invite parents to join their student for at least one of those meals a week.

Providing a similar choice in every school district, including Chicago, would set the stage for meeting Justice O’Connor’s goal of equality in education.

Along with teaching the 3 R’s, schools, and especially parents, should teach children that it’s against the law to steal. (The 8^th Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Steal.) Most of you already did this and your kids wouldn’t even think of walking into a store and running out with bags full of clothes, steaks or jewelry.

The example needs to be set with how adult thieves are treated. Anyone who steals from a store should be sent to jail. Make ‘em pay back double for whatever they stole. If they don’t have any money, let ‘em work it off by cleaning toilets in the jail. Today, we see too many ludicrous examples. Thieves are seldom caught or prosecuted and store employees who record or try to stop the robberies are fired.

Meanwhile in Washington, President Biden is counting on “Bidenomics” to win the 2024 election. But Bidenomics provides nothing to brag about in a campaign. Prices have inflated 15% and interest rates jumped. The Federal Reserve issued $5 Trillion of “printing press” money. We’ll likely have a recession in 2024. Despite Biden’s claim he created 12 million jobs, last month 161.0 million people were employed compared to 158.6 million before the Covid shutdown. That’s an increase of only 2.4 million, not 12 million. Any growth in wages has been wiped out by inflation. Gasoline is $0.75 a gallon higher than 4 years ago.

Speaking of President Biden… Do you know who brought cocaine into the White House? How’s this for a guess: It was the same young person who 18 months ago leaked the draft of the Supreme Court decision on abortion. Ok, even if it’s different culprits, they have one thing in common with the thieves above: they likely won’t be caught or prosecuted.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

         “Robbing is one profession that certainly has advanced in this country… We spend billions of dollars on education, and we are no smarter today than 30 years ago, and we spent nothing to foster robbing, and here it is one of the most skilled industries we have.” WA #176, Apr. 25, 1926

       “Every Guy just looks in his pockets and then votes. And the funny part of it is it’s the last year that is the one that counts. You can have three bad ones and then wind up with everybody having money, and you will win.” WA #196, Sept. 12, 1926

The Supreme Court shocked a lot of people by ruling that colleges cannot use race in deciding which students to admit. That practice violates the 14^th Amendment to the Constitution. Harvard lost in the lawsuit but is already plotting how to continue discriminating against one minority (Asian Americans) and admit less qualified students of another minority (Black). Many brilliant White students are also denied admittance.

If all K-12 students were allowed to attend a high-performing school, no “preference” would be needed. Instead of a university assigning a few admission staff members to give preference to lower-performing minority students, they should work with politicians and local school systems to provide a quality education to ALL students. Allow parents to freely choose their schools, whether public or “private.” And focus on the 3 Rs, not DEI and CRT. (If you have forgotten, the 3 Rs are readin’ ritin’ and ‘rithmetic. More recently, schools have been affected by Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Critical Race Theory.)

Instead of emphasizing the 3 Rs, New York City Mayor Adams wants schools to start with a couple of minutes of “breathing exercises.” Maybe those minutes would be better spent the way I remember (yes, many years ago), with a short devotion/inspirational message and the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Supreme Court also overturned Joe Biden’s campaign promise to former college students to forgive $10,000 (or $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients) of their outstanding loans.

The students with unpaid college loans were duped into voting for Biden in 2020. He knew that only Congress can approve transferring that debt to every other taxpayer. The plan was pushed as a one-time deal to forgive $400 Billion of debt. But if Democrats had had a big majority in Congress, I bet they would have passed a bill that would have also promised $10,000 or more for every current and future college student. The cost would have quickly gone over a Trillion.

And University administrators are whining. Generous student loans from the federal government, regardless of the probability of a student paying it back, are the source of the problem. Student debt is $1,760,000,000,000, TRIPLED since 2008. It’s time for universities to cut costs to students so they don’t need to borrow so much. And it’s time to eliminate degrees that don’t have a career payoff. (I’ll get in trouble if I don’t make an exception for our under-paid school teachers.)

For any university president who says it’s impossible to cut costs, look at Purdue University in Indiana. Tuition has not changed in 12 years! Room and board have not increased either. Purdue is one of the top ranked universities in the country and enrollment, no surprise, has increased.

Mitch Daniels was the Purdue president who started that goal and stuck with it. Can you imagine if he was President of the US, and had kept the same budget since 2011? (National debt was $15 Trillion in 2011; now $32 Trillion)

By coincidence, the Biden Administration has added regulations that raised household costs about $10,000 so far. President Biden could save us $10,000, including students, by eliminating those expensive regulations. The regulations include ones on fossil fuels, health, labor, telecommunications, and banks.

President Biden is fuming at the Supreme Court. He answered a question with, “It’s not a Normal Court.” My follow up question would be: when was the Supreme Court “normal?” Was it in the early 1940s when all 9 Justices had been appointed by a liberal Democrat, President Roosevelt? Or 1954, when they overturned segregation in schools? Is it only “normal” when it follows political whims and ignores the Constitution?

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

        “The only salvation I can see for the young is to increase the college term to an additional four years… You’ll say, ‘What could they learn in another four years?’ Well, there must be something about making a living that they haven’t learned yet, and they could kind of work on that for the next four years.” Radio, June 2, 1935

      “Borrowing money on ‘easy terms’ is a one-way ticket to the Poor House.” WA #14, March 18, 1923

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in China to meet with their leader Xi Jinping. Only problem is that Xi doesn’t seem eager to talk with Blinken or anyone else from the Biden Administration.  He prefers to meet with prominent American leaders such as Bill Gates and Elon Musk.

When Bill Gates visited China, Bill handed Xi a check for $150,000,000. (It has something to do with eliminating malaria in Africa.) And Elon Musk got to see Xi because his Tesla EVs need batteries with rare Earth metals and solar panels, all from China.

So, what can Blinken offer Xi? Remember, the Chinese Communists gave $30,000,000 to the Biden family a few years ago. My guess is that Xi expects something big from the Big Guy. Maybe the Big Island. Taiwan.

Sec. Blinken should remind Xi that his economy depends on us buying $300,000,000,000 more a year from China than they buy from us.

This has been a tough week for President Biden. He didn’t fall again, but, verbally, he flubbed up a few times. While discussing investments in Africa, he said we have plans to build a railroad from the Pacific across the Indian Ocean (8000 miles). I think he meant we’ll build it across Africa to the Indian Ocean. But, why not just let Bill Gates build the railroad.

At an event in Connecticut, he ended triumphantly with, “God save the Queen, man.” Nobody can figure out which “Queen” he referred to. Maybe, because Biden’s Catholic, it’s one of those men dressed as a Drag Queen Nun in Los Angeles.

Considering the Dodgers honored Drag Queens at a game, and three “transgender” people stripped to show off their fake boobs and lack thereof at a White House ceremony, he should be saying, “God save America.”

President Biden gave his first campaign speech at a Union meeting in Philadelphia. It seemed odd that he got applause for bragging about his economic record which includes 14% inflation in 2 years and his plan to eliminate the gas, oil, and coal businesses where many jobs are Union.

For his next campaign speech, probably in 3 months at the current rate, he needs some help on his jokes and funny lines. To be certain that someone laughs, he needs to take along V-P Kamala Harris.

I had a good Father’s Day, starting with church. I’ve seen a lot of social media posts with praise for fathers. Maybe not as many as for Mother’s Day, but still…

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

       “I propose a Father’s Day. No flowers, no fuss – just let him use the car himself and go where he wants to. But we will never live to see such a contented day.” DT #1183, May 11, 1930

Donald Trump was indicted, facing 37 counts of illegal use of classified documents. If our former President is convicted on even one of those 37 counts, it’s a life sentence for a 76-year-old man.

Even Al Capone only faced 22 counts in a 1931 trial. The Chicago mob boss got away with murdering several rivals, including 7 in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, but was charged with 22 counts of tax evasion. He was convicted on 5 counts and sentenced to 11 years in federal prison.

Attorney General Garland faced a tough choice. The same day Trump was charged, he could have charged President Biden with accepting a $10,000,000 bribe in 2014 from a Ukrainian company in exchange for getting an aggressive prosecutor fired. Of course, President Biden denies he and his son Hunter ever received the $10,000,000. He replied to a question about it, “Where’s the money?”

Smoke from forest fires in Canada blanketed our Northeast states for a couple of days. It’s interesting that environmentalists insist that vast forests be left alone: no timber harvests, no prescribed burns, and no roads constructed. Then when a massive fire occurs because of forest mismanagement, they blame global warming. Ironically, tree planting and woodland management is encouraged to fight climate change because trees remove carbon dioxide from the air. Trees are good for the climate, but not when they burn.

The environmentalists who run the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were jolted recently by the Supreme Court. The justices ruled unanimously, 9-0, that the EPA had no right to charge Michael and Chantell Sackett for adding fill dirt and rock to a wetland on their tiny 0.6-acre lot in 2007 in preparation for building a house. This wetland (a swamp to most of us) is a quarter mile from Idaho’s Priest Lake with a highway between them. Sixteen years later they can start construction.

The Clean Water Act that passed Congress in 1972 limited EPA jurisdiction to “navigable” water bodies and connected wetlands. The EPA’s 17,000 employees have worked to expand their jurisdiction to include dry ditches, playa lakes, backyard wet spots, and farm drainage tile. Farmers and ranchers have been worried that EPA wants to control how their land is managed just because water often runs off their property during heavy rains, and eventually drains into a navigable water body.

The Belmont Stakes set another record, 50 years after Secretariat won the race by 31 lengths. No, the horse, Arcangelo, did not beat Secretariat’s time, 2 minutes and 24 seconds. But the trainer, Jena Antonucci, is the first woman to win a Triple Crown race. So, congratulations to Jena.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“That was funny in Chicago yesterday that judge not knowing anything about the U. S. Government having a special treaty with Al Capone to let him off easy. This backwoods judge was trying to treat him like a criminal.” DT #1567, July 31, 1931  [Capone was convicted 3 months later.]

“The country has gone sane and got back to horses.” DT #2112, May 11, 1933

“Money, horse racing and women are three things the boys just can’t figure out.” DT #2679, March 7, 1935

(Will Rogers wrote “letters” to President Coolidge during a 4-month family trip to Europe in 1926. The short ones were published in the New York Times and syndicated as Will’s “Daily Telegrams.”)

My Dear Mr. President,

I saw that you spoke at the graduation ceremony at the Air Force Academy last week. Did you realize, after speaking for an hour, you would then be expected to shake hands with 900 graduates? Without a break? After standing all that time, naturally you were a bit confused, winding up in front of your lectern, where you tripped and fell.

Always stay behind the lectern, not in front of it where the stage is teeming with mic wires, teleprompters, and, yes, sandbags. Frankly, at my age, after all that time on my feet, I might fall flat also, with or without a sandbag to blame.

And about those stairs… Mr. President, you should always use a hand rail. It may not look “manly” or “presidential” but it beats banging up your knees, or worse. Please inform your “advance men” (or more likely, advance women in your Administration) to check out any future stairs you may be compelled to climb or descend. If no hand rail is present, tell ‘em to install one. Or, take the elevator.

Have you noticed that all other Americans get to walk comfortably on and off airplanes? Yet, you, the most powerful leader in the world, are forced to climb the stairs, 5-stories high, to get into your personal 747. And you’re OUTSIDE. Rain, snow, freezing or a hundred degrees on the tarmac. With all the elements to deal with, they make you salute, wave, and pause for photos.

And skipping. Do you really have to skip? Or is a trot? Is that because your heels are shaped like horseshoes? Just walk. We can see you are slim and trim. Congratulations on keeping your weight controlled and your muscles toned. You don’t need to show up other 80-year-olds.

If you stop skipping, and walk carefully, perhaps you can conserve enough energy to answer questions from reporters. I’ve noticed in the White House press room, the journalists all sit. No reason you can’t walk in there, grab a chair, and sit beside the lectern, and answer questions for a couple of hours. That should be less tiring than shaking hands with 900 cadets. And you won’t have to keep up with a script on a teleprompter written by speed-readers.

Yours devotedly,

Randall Reeder

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

“(Newspapers) claim that the farmers are kinder losing confidence in you helping them out. Well, you are pretty wise; you know there ain’t many farmers… If it’s only the farmers that are against you, why, you haven’t lost much strength. You got to do more than just live in the country to be a farmer. Then again you got to figure that it’s a long time till the (election). A couple of good crops and any fair luck working along the line of supply and demand, and you will capture the farmers back again.” May 17, 1926.