Category: Uncategorized

Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) found out he is disliked by both Democrats and Republicans. You’ll remember that President Biden pushed for a huge spending bill for at least $2.5 Trillion. Only two of the fifty Democrat Senators questioned that massive bill: Manchin and Sen. Sinema (D-AZ). They stood up to the other 48 for months. Republicans cheered them from the sideline.

Eventually, in July, Manchin (and Sinema) agreed to vote for a much smaller $750 Billion bill with a misleading name, Inflation Reduction Act. That allowed the bill to pass, 50-50, with VP Harris breaking the tie. In return for his support, Manchin was promised that Congress would vote to speed up the process of approving energy projects, especially new pipelines for oil and natural gas.

Removing ridiculous roadblocks to new energy projects is popular for the average American because of inflated prices for gasoline and home heating. Why delay pipeline construction for four years when it should be approved in a few months?

But a bill introduced last week in the Lame Duck Senate, left out the promise to Manchin. He got blindsided. Democrats don’t like that he forced them to cut almost $2 Trillion from their “Inflation” bill. Republicans don’t like that he agreed to spend $750 Billion.

Oddly, President Biden lashed out at energy companies for spewing methane (natural gas) into the air from oil wells while opposing construction of pipelines that would transport that gas to electric power plants, businesses and homes. On a bigger scale, the lack of rapid permitting is keeping us from becoming energy independent again and exporting adequate supplies of LNG (liquefied natural gas) to Europe to replace Russian gas.

Meanwhile, our Strategic Petroleum Reserve is being drawn down by President Biden to artificially lower the price of gasoline. And the largest storage of crude oil in the world, located at Cushing, Oklahoma, is also far below capacity.

Elon Musk has released more disturbing news about Twitter. We learned that before the 2020 election, high officials in the FBI and other federal agencies were meeting weekly with Twitter employees, encouraging them to ban comments from Conservatives and anyone who was pro-Trump or anti-Biden. This included any information from Hunter Biden’s computer. Yes, these officials were in the Trump Administration, including FBI General Counsel James Baker. Then a few months before the election, Baker left the FBI and began working as General Counsel for… Twitter. When Musk learned about these shenanigans this week, he fired Baker and about 80% of the other employees.

Time magazine named Ukraine President Zelensky as its Person of the Year. Considering the liberal slant of Time, I’m surprised they didn’t name James Baker instead. For 2023, I hereby nominate Elon Musk.

Considering the actions at Twitter, Facebook and most of the mainstream media, are you surprised at Trump’s reactions since the November 2020 election? We don’t have to agree with or condone his comments to understand his frustration.

Imagine if individuals in your company, organization or family were secretly working to undercut your leadership, how would you react when you learned the truth? You might vehemently express your displeasure, including a few posts on Twitter.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“Now they [Senators] wouldn’t be so serious and particular if they only had to vote on what they thought was good for the majority of the people of the U.S. That would be a cinch.” WA #78, June 8, 1924

“Senators are a kind of a never-ending source of amusement, amazement, and Discouragement.” WA #345, Aug. 4, 1929

“This is a very momentous Congress that is in session. They have appropriated more money than any Congress ever did, but I guess that is all right; we are not paying our national debt, anyhow. We just keep on adding to it, so it don’t matter how much it is.” Radio, June 11, 1933

The sins of Twitter were revealed by Elon Musk Friday evening. If you happened to be watching CNN or MSNBC (or the Utah upset of USC) you may not know that Twitter employees were acting as agents for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Biden family. They routinely blocked any negative information about Joe Biden, including blocking anyone who tried to share that information.

The most blatant example was in October 2020 when a computer belonging to Joe Biden’s son was analyzed by the New York Post. Emails and documents showed that Hunter Biden received millions of dollars from the Communist Chinese government and that 10% was reserved for the “Big Guy.” Hunter’s ex-business associate Tony Bobulinski verified that Joe Biden was the “Big Guy” and was actively involved in the deals. You probably remember that Joe Biden called it Russian disinformation. So did Twitter and most major news organizations. The most blatant and influential lie was a letter signed by 50 former Intelligence Agency officials.

Without knowledge of this incriminating information, a record 80 million people voted for the “Big Guy.”

About the only people who knew the truth about the laptop computer before the 2020 election were ones who watched Fox News. Here’s a shocker: CBS News announced a couple of weeks ago that their investigation had verified the information on the laptop was authentic. Wow, it only took ‘em two years. In response, MSNBC proudly announced they were also investigating Hunter’s computer and, with luck, could have an answer by December 2024.

A railroad strike was averted. Back in September, President Biden bragged that he had negotiated a new labor contract with the unions. Actually, the only agreement he got was to postpone any strike until after the November election. After he failed again last week, he passed the buck to Congress. They passed a law requiring all rail workers to accept the 24% wage increase, with one sick leave day, and a requirement they will not strike for two years. (That’s conveniently right after the 2024 election.)

I’ll admit I know nothing about railroad labor negotiations or what role Congress or the President can play. Do the railroads have to pay all the costs, or are taxpayers stuck with part of it, such as sick leave days? Do the workers already get paid vacations? And finally, if inflation had remained at 2% instead of 8%, would the unions have demanded a 24% raise?

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

      “Unions are fine things… A strike should be the very last means for it is like war. It always falls on those who had nothing to do with calling it.” DT #2186, Aug. 6, 1933

Now that Thanksgiving is past, the country will shift from turkey to duck.  As in Lame Duck. Congress will spend two weeks taking up bills they couldn’t pass in two years.

Will Rogers offered this definition of a Lame Duck Congress, “It’s 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.” (DT #1980, Dec. 8, 1932)

The biggest problem Congress might face is a rail strike, scheduled for December 9. I’ve heard it would cost our economy $2 Billion a day.

Did you know that any one of the 12 rail unions can veto a labor contract? You’re probably surprised there are 12 unions workin’ on the railroad. Two of them are the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers and the National Conference of Firemen.

Boilermakers? Firemen? Those guys must be at least 80 years old. There can’t be many steam locomotives left with boilers that depend on coal shovelers. At least not ones pulling a long string of rail cars loaded with coal, crude oil, corn, or cargo containers from China.

Another major ongoing problem is illegal immigration. At least 5,000,000 have entered since President Biden took office. Homeland Secretary Mayorkas is kinda stuck between a rock and a 30-foot steel wall. Congressman Kevin McCarthy of Kern County, California, the apparent incoming Speaker of the House, plans to pursue impeachment of Mayorkas unless he agrees to stop immigrants at the border and send them home. But Mayorkas is doing exactly what President Biden wants, redefining an ‘open border’ as a ‘secure border.’ So, he is squeezed between impeachment or getting fired. What a choice.

Meanwhile, the Washington DC city council and mayor passed a law that anyone who has spent 30 days there can vote in elections. Does that include lobbyists and foreign diplomats? I think the real reason for the law is because Texas Governor Abbott is busing illegal immigrants: if Republicans keep sending us thousands of immigrants, we’re gonna let ‘em vote.

If you want to get elected to an important position, it helps if you’re already in that position. No matter how their state performed the last 4 years, sitting Governors in 26 out of 27 states were reelected. U.S. Senate candidates had a similar result. And if Senator Warnock beats Hershel Walker in Georgia’s runoff, it will be 100% incumbent victories. This would give Democrats a 51-49 majority in the Senate and they wouldn’t need VP Harris to break a tie.

About the only way to beat an incumbent is to outspend ‘em. For the House of Representatives, the ones who spent the most won 96% of the races. It seems kinda odd that Democrats received more money than Republicans, yet Republicans won 3 or 4 more of the 435 seats than Democrats. Even a small change in numbers gave Republicans control, ending Speaker Pelosi’s long reign. (Data were reported in The Kiplinger Letter.)

Not many years ago, Republicans donated far more money than Democrats. Somehow several rich men and women who became millionaires as a Capitalist, seem to become Liberals in their older years.

Although voters complained about the economy, inflation, illegal immigration and drugs, they voted for Senators who supported a President with the lowest approval rating in recent history. Two-thirds said the country is on the “wrong track,” but they seem to like it that way.

Abortion was not a main factor in polls, but became a main factor in the voting booth. I think this Will Rogers quote explains it if you replace the word ‘drink’ with ‘abortion:’ “I have always claimed America didn’t want a drink as bad as they wanted the right to take a drink if they did happen to want one.” (DT #2083, Apr. 7, 1933)

Happy birthday #80 to President Joe Biden. Politics aside, reaching 80 in good physical shape is worth celebrating. It’s also a good time to decide to retire in a couple of years and let younger folks battle it out in 2024. One youngster in Florida is running: 76-year-old Donald Trump.

A Federal Judge in Washington gave a sentence that can serve as a guide for thieves stealing from hundreds of stores, including Target, CVS, Apple, and small local shops. The Judge sent a man to prison for 3 years, and required him to pay $2000 to cover the cost of the merchandise he stole.  At that rate anyone stealing a car would end up in the ‘big house’ for about 20 years. And if you steal diamonds from a store on Rodeo Drive in Hollywood, you get a life sentence.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

      “Elections are a good deal like marriages; there’s no accounting for anyone’s taste. Every time we see a bridegroom, we wonder why she ever picked him, and it’s the same with Public Officials.” (WA #126, May 10, 1925)

The election was Tuesday. Counting the votes was Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday…

For Arizona and Nevada, counting votes is like a cricket game. Most cricket games last 3 or 4 days. But did you know an England vs. South Africa cricket game once lasted nine days. Arizona vs. Nevada may break that record.

If you think election counting issues only started a few years ago, think again. Here’s Will Rogers: “I hope some of the men who get the most votes will be elected… If I was running for office I would rather have two friends in the counting room than a Republican Slush fund behind me. More candidates have been defeated after 6 o’clock in the evening than were ever defeated during election day.” WA #100, Nov. 9, 1924

“Did you ever hear of as crazy a law as Kentucky has? They make ’em wait twenty-four hours before counting the votes. That’s to give the counters a chance to think it over and be honest. Twenty-four hours is supposed to make you honest in Kentucky. Why not wait till both candidates are dead, then there can be no crookedness shown.” DT #1339, Nov. 7, 1930

President Biden has had Democrats in charge of both the Senate and House for two years. A reporter asked him, “If you lose the Democrat majority in the House, and maybe the Senate, what will you change in the next two years?” His immediate answer: “Nothing.”

Really? With record high prices for gasoline and groceries, fear of being attacked on the subway or sidewalk or pulled from your car, and illegal immigrants flooding across the border, he can find “nothing” to change?  But give the President credit; he understands his voters. In a lot of states and Congressional Districts, a surprising number of Democrat voters don’t mind inflated prices, high crime rates, and illegal immigration as long as they can have abortion as a birth control option.

No matter which way the votes go (eventually) in Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, Congress will be about evenly split. Here’s Will Rogers again, “Washington, D. C. papers say: ‘Congress is deadlocked and can’t act.’ I think that is the greatest blessing that could befall this country.” WA #59, Jan. 27, 1924

The biggest shock to me among Senators elected was that 2.5 million people in Pennsylvania voted for John Fetterman. I was going to joke that it should not be a shock because even dead men have been elected. And then I read, also in a Pennsylvania election Tuesday, that a man who died a month ago was elected! Democrat Tony DeLuca defeated his Green Party opponent for the state Legislature. Voters for DeLuca figured a dead man would better serve their district than a live person who plans to cut off their gas and oil.

Let’s completely ignore Senator-Elect Fetterman’s stroke (we hope he fully recovers): what qualifications, work experience, and passion did he bring to the campaign?  Here’s a reminder from Will Rogers, “Funny thing about being a U.S. Senator, the only thing the law says you have to be is 30 years old. Not another single requirement necessary.”  (June 21, 1935)

On Friday, Nov. 11, we ignored politics for awhile to celebrate and honor our Veterans. As Will Rogers said in a speech, “Take care of the ones who fought in the last war because we might want to use ‘em again.”

          Christmas is right around the corner. An 80-foot-tall Norway Spruce was delivered to Rockefeller Center in New York City. Now, when you stretch to place the star on top of your family Christmas tree, be glad you don’t have to decorate this one. The “star” weighs 900 pounds. Thankfully, they will wait until after Thanksgiving to light it.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“When the votes are counted, let everybody, including the candidates, get into a good humor as quick as they got into a bad one… So cheer up. Let’s all be friends again.” DT #1953, Nov. 7, 1932

“If your side lost don’t take it too much to heart. Remember there is always this difference between us and Italy. In Italy, Mussolini runs the country. But here the country runs the President.” DT #1954, Nov. 8, 1932

Got back home last night after a delightful visit to Claremore, Oklahoma. It’s always fun to celebrate another birthday, especially when it’s #143.

Powerball is getting almost as much attention as the election. So many people have gambled and lost since August 3, that it reached $1,900,000,000. It’s almost false advertising because if you win you get less than half that much cash, $929,000,000. Minus taxes. And if you lose, like other millions of folks who seem to be both generous and unlucky, you hope to have enough left in your pocket to buy gas and milk with.

Tomorrow is Election Day, Nov. 8. Plenty of excitement from both Democrats and Republicans, especially where races are close. President Biden added another factor: FEAR. Did you hear him? This election is a “Threat to Democracy.” Many other Democrats use that phrase, too. (Actually, we live under a “Constitutional Republic” but most of us call it a democracy.)

But how is an election a threat to democracy? The President says that a vote for anyone other than a Democrat will lead to the “end of democracy.” All right, suppose we vote for Democrats and they keep control of Congress. Here’s where the FEAR becomes real. With support of a big Democrat majority in Congress, President Biden said this week he will stop oil and gas drilling, and no more coal burning electric power plants will be built.

That would mean, yes, you’ll still have a democracy. But this winter you may starve or freeze at home in the dark. No diesel to deliver food and other essential goods. No gasoline to let you drive to a warmer climate. No electricity to charge an Electric Vehicle. If you’re lucky, you’ll have a cord of firewood, a dozen candles, and a few cases of Chef Boyardee.

Of course, this is a farce. Democracy won’t end, no matter who you vote for. And President Biden can huff and puff all he wants about solar and wind. It can’t provide 100% of the energy needs for our growing economy. Not by 2030, not by 2050, and probably not by 2100. So just relax and vote.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers: (on elections)

“Coolidge made less speeches and got more votes than any man that ever run. (William Jennings) Bryan was listened to and cheered by more people than any single human in politics, and he lost. So there is a doubt just whether talking does you good or harm.” DT #673, Sept. 21, 1928

“You know the more you read and observe about this Politics thing, you got to admit that each party is worse than the other. The one that’s out always looks the best.” WA #3, December 31, 1922

“(You know) Lincoln’s famous remark about ‘God must have loved the common people, because he made so many of them.’… Well, you are not going to get people’s votes nowadays by calling ‘em common. Lincoln might have said it, but I bet it was not until after he was elected.” WA #82, July 6, 1924

“There is only one redeeming thing about this whole election. It will be over at sundown, and let everybody pray that it’s not a tie, for we couldn’t go through with this thing again. And, when the votes are counted, 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, for no matter which one it is the poor fellow is going to need it. So cheer up. Let’s all be friends again. 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

Were you surprised to hear that gasoline was $5.00 a gallon in January 2021 and now it’s down to $3.39? That’s what President Biden said last week. However, most of us will recall gasoline was less that $3.00 when the President took office, not $5.00. Today it’s around $3.75 here in Ohio. As Will Rogers wrote in 1923, “If you ever injected truth into politics, you have no politics.”

(Background: Will wrote about Dr. Robert House of Texas, “who has invented a serum that when injected into you will make you tell the truth, at least for a while… It really is a wonderful thing, and if it could be brought into general use it would no doubt be a big aid to humanity. But it will never be, for already the politicians are up in arms against it. It would ruin the very foundation on which our political government is run.” WA#31, July 15, 1923)

       Do you think Elon Musk will inject truth into Twitter?  At the very least, maybe we’ll get to read lies from both sides instead of just one.

President Biden gave a speech Wednesday where he laid out how he is working to get inflation below 8%. Most of us are well acquainted with inflation because we buy gasoline, pay for heating our homes, and shop for groceries every week.

So, what does the President see as the #1 inflation item to tackle? Legroom on airplanes. He insists that airlines must stop charging passengers extra if they want 6 more inches of legroom. Oddly, he says this is unfair to ‘people of color.’ Does he think they have longer legs than people of no color? Can’t we find an issue that doesn’t involve racism?

By coincidence I’ll be flying to Tulsa this Thursday on Southwest Airlines. Maybe I’ll ask the boarding agents if I can have one of those seats with 6 more inches of legroom. I’ll ask with a smile because I already know the answer. They’ll say, politely, “Sir, the legroom for every passenger seat on the plane is the same. No extra charge.”

You probably know that 5,500,000 illegal immigrants have crossed our border with Mexico since January 2021. But half the country didn’t know we had a problem with illegal immigration until 49 of ‘em landed in Martha’s Vineyard in September. Maybe our major News outlets would have reported it earlier if 5 million had landed in Massachusetts instead of Texas and Arizona.

I heard we will spend $10 Billion on Halloween. Besides buying candy and costumes, dog owners are dressing up their pooch. I know children like fancy costumes. But would a Border Terrier look in the mirror and wonder, “How would I look in a Kamala Harris costume.”

How about putting a costume on your cat? Don’t even think about it! For most cats, with the scratching and clawing, your own scary costume would be splattered with real blood.

(I welcome your suggestions on matching a dog, or cat, with a politician.)

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“Politics is a great character builder. You have to take a referendum to see what your convictions are for that day.” DT #1199, May 29, 1930

“I love a dog; he does nothing for political reasons.” DT #2288, Dec. 3, 1933

What is your opinion on the future of fossil fuel? Do you want to phase out of oil and gas drilling by 2030? Do you think it’s possible?

Can solar and wind energy replace all fossil fuels by 2050? Are the people who believe that ‘tilting at windmills?’

Regardless of YOUR view, many environmental activists, including several in Congress and the Biden Administration, want us to stop drilling. They want to pass a law forbidding banks from lending money to companies in the oil, gas and coal business. Does that make sense? If not, you had better vote November 8.

Here’s my opinion: Expecting this country to prosper without fossil fuels is fantasy.

I also respect the decision of anyone who decides to get ‘off the grid,’ commute by bicycle, and grow their own food. However, I don’t appreciate anyone trying to force me to do the same.

To bring back a phrase from the 1930s, “Now we’re cooking with gas.” (Young folks may not know it also has a figurative meaning: doing something really well, achieving something important.)

Something the U.S. does really well is produce oil and gas. Thanks to a recent invention called horizontal drilling, the efficiency and cost of getting crude oil and natural gas from deep in the ground improved dramatically.

Let me focus on oil. In the first half of 2022, the U.S. produced 11.6 million barrels per day (b/d). We use more than that, so more oil had to be imported. The price of gasoline jumped to over $5/gallon. In an attempt to lower the price, President Biden decided to draw 1.0 million b/d from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve. (That’s a massive storage of crude oil in old salt mines under Texas and Louisiana that was created in the late 1970s for emergencies, like a war.) A couple of weeks ago Saudi Arabia and other OPEC producers decided to cut their output by 2.0 million b/d to raise the worldwide price. Of course, President Biden objected. So, the President ordered even more oil to be pumped from the Reserve, at least until after the election.

You may be wondering, “Why can’t we produce more than 11.6 million b/d ourselves?” We can, and we did! Oil production in the US increased from 9.2 million b/d in March 2017 to 13 million b/d in March 2020, making us a net exporter of oil. Of course, Covid knocked it way down. Considering how rapidly oil production increased in those 3 years, we could easily eliminate oil imports and lower the price of gasoline and diesel if our elected officials got out of the way.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

“Our children are delivered to the schools in automobiles. But whether that adds to their grades is doubtful… It’s also a question, what we can convert these 4 billion filling stations into in years to come [when the oil runs out].” Saturday Evening Post, June 2, 1928

       “If you ever injected truth into politics, you have no politics.” Will Rogers wrote that 99 years ago (July 15, 1923), and some politicians have been perfecting their skill at truth avoidance ever since.

President Trump was accused of telling the “Big Lie.” There are so many lies in politics it’s hard to judge which are small, medium, big, or biggest.

We now know the famous “Steele dossier” accusing candidate Donald Trump of Russian collusion in the 2016 election was a lie. The dossier was financed partly by candidate Hillary Clinton. The FBI offered Mr. Steele $1,000,000 if he could prove the accusations were true. Unbelievable! Who in the FBI, other than Director Comey, could make such an offer? Please tell us.

In October 2020, fifty Intelligence officials signed a letter claiming the Hunter Biden laptop computer stories had “all the earmarks of Russian disinformation.” Even though he knew the truth, candidate Joe Biden quoted that letter in a Presidential debate, saying absolutely the stories were Russian disinformation.

This week on Fox News, one of those fifty officials said if you read the full letter, you would see they were not sure the stories were Russian disinformation. And furthermore, anyone who reached that conclusion was at fault because they didn’t look up the exact meanings of the words used. Would you like to know who meticulously composed that letter? And who got 50 high-level Intelligence officials to sign it? Please tell us.

Despite Joe Biden and all our major news outlets “misinterpreting” the letter, not one of the fifty publicly clarified the exact meaning of the words used. They, and Joe Biden, let the voters believe a lie to influence an election. Will the FBI offer $1,000,000 to disprove the lie? Is impeachment in Biden’s future?

The January 6 Select Committee showed a video of Speaker Pelosi and Senator Schumer desperately calling for more police support during the riot in the Capitol. The video was recorded by Pelosi’s daughter. Earlier we learned that the Secret Service intercepted messages on December 24 that Oath Keepers planned to attack the Capitol on January 6 and harm members of Congress.

Would you like to know if Speaker Pelosi’s daughter was videotaping when the Secret Service informed her about the impending danger? We know there were more direct reports to Congress on or before January 4 which should have rung alarm bells in the Speaker’s office. She had to know that protecting the Capitol with bike racks and a modest number of Capitol Police would be no match for radical insurgents. Did Pelosi have a reason to ignore the warnings and delay until the afternoon of January 6 to call for help from the National Guard?

I’m sure you remember when the Border Patrol agents on horseback were accused of whipping illegal immigrants from Haiti. Those agents work for the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas. Hours after he learned his agents were simply doing their job, not whipping anyone, he spoke at a White House news conference and repeated the lie.

President Biden gave a campaign speech on the West Coast, warning that if Republicans win control of Congress, “Inflation will go up.” Somewhat shocking since inflation was about 2% when he took office and now it’s over 8%. Does he also think Republicans would cause crime to increase? Or the number of illegal immigrants crossing the Mexican border? Would deaths from accidental fentanyl poisoning increase?

The New York Times gave President Biden a new title, “Storyteller in Chief.” He has told some whoppers. He said recently he grew up in the Puerto Rican section of Delaware, his son lost his life in Iraq, he attended Synagogue services often on Saturday, he was a “full Professor for four years” at an Ivy League university, his house nearly burned down from a lightning strike, and his son Hunter “is the smartest person I know.”

To be fair to the President, I think he is preparing for life after his term ends. He is practicing for “Tall Tale Contests.”  I know West Virginia holds one every year. Probably most other states, too. However, he will need to read the rules. The one in San Antonio, Texas, pointedly says, “no politicians allowed.” They know the average liar would not stand a chance against a professional.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

“Candidates have been telling you that if elected they would “pull you from this bog hole of financial misery.” Now is a good chance to get even with ’em, by electing ’em, just to prove what a liar they are.” DT #1334, Nov. 2, 1930

In our history, the United States has gone through many “transitions.” Here are a few examples. At one time half the population lived on farms; today less than 2 percent feed the other 98 percent.

Transportation from the East Coast to the West evolved from horses to railroads to airplanes. Communication transitioned from Pony Express to telegraph to telephone to internet.

For Will Rogers in the 1920s, movies transitioned from silent to “talkies.” And later to color. Now you don’t even have to go to a theater to see a movie.

In the early 1900’s Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller changed personal transportation from horse and buggy (fueled by locally grown organic oats) to cars (fueled by gasoline available at local filling stations). For farmers, the horsepower in 1900 was about 95% horses; by 1950, 95% of the power was from tractors. Even earlier, homeowners and businesses depended on whale oil to power lamps; then Thomas Edison invented electric lights.

Did these transitions benefit the country? Or did they cause widespread pain?

None of these transitions was forced on us by the government. But today we are in the midst of a transition that IS painful. On purpose!

Since January 2021, President Biden has forced a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, knowing that it is “painful.” He intentionally reduced the supply of American oil, and refused to allow pipeline construction for economical transport of oil and natural gas. Yes, Biden is adding one million barrels a day from our precious oil reserves, but OPEC is reducing production by two million.

Massive amounts of money in our economy have been diverted from beneficial industrial and social uses to subsidize costs of solar panels, wind farms, Electric Vehicles, and the installation of 50,000 EV charging stations.

Last week President Biden began a speech on the economy, “Let me start with two words: Made in America.” So, in the Biden Administration, 1+1+1=2.  Of course, we want our goods to be made in America as much as feasible. Computer chips, medicine, medical supplies, automobiles… But one essential item Biden does not want produced in America is fossil fuel. He likes oil from Iran, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia over oil from Texas or Canada. China increases their use of coal and oil, but we’re supposed to live without ‘em.

Yes, I know the goal is to stop climate change. But even John Kerry has admitted the rest of the world accounts for 85% of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. If we eliminated ALL fossil fuel use here, the global total of carbon would not decrease 15%. It might even increase because more of our goods (trucks, railroad cars, refrigerators, cement) would be manufactured overseas and shipped here. And not on sailboats. Why would we want people in other countries to suffer with more pollution so we can have a clean environment? Don’t Chinese Lives Matter?

California Governor Newsom decided gasoline prices in his state are too high. So, he wants to raise taxes on Exxon, Chevron and other companies that provide the gasoline. Yes, you read that right. That harebrained scheme would not only INCREASE the price in California, it would do the same in the other 49.

California has a habit of passing laws that force other states to pay the price. You may remember California passed a law (Proposition 12) four years ago that, essentially, tells farmers across the country how to raise hogs, chickens, eggs, and veal. The California market is so huge that they set the standard. The law is scheduled to start in January. Like the tax on oil companies, this law would raise the price of food in all states. Who wants to pay more for bacon, eggs, and chicken? Who wants a “backwards transition” to raising farm animals like 50 years ago?

Fortunately for the rest of us, the Farm Bureau and Pork Producers have taken this to the Supreme Court. I realize a lot of people are angry at the Justices. But if the Supreme Court throws out that California law, we can all celebrate. With bacon!

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“I think most countries have kinder overestimated the importance of our Artists and underestimated the importance of people that did something to help provide Corn Bread and Bacon and cheapen the things we had to have.” There’s Not a Bathing Suit in Russia, 1927

“(It takes) 2 bushels of wheat to get a frying chicken… (and) 3 bushels of wheat to get you two pounds of bacon.” WA #452, Aug. 23, 1931