Category: Uncategorized

This is Mother’s Day.

Here’s Will Rogers in 1930, “My own mother died when I was ten years old.  My folks have told me that what little humor I have comes from her.  I can’t remember her humor but I can remember her love and her understanding of me. 

“Of course, the mother I know the most about is the mother of our little group.  She has been for twenty-two years trying to raise to maturity four children, three by birth and one by marriage. You know, there ought to be some kind of a star given to any woman that can live with a comedian.  Now, that little compliment ought to repay for the flowers that I forgot to get today.” (Radio, Mother’s Day, 1930)

The Federal Reserve Board met and raised its official rate by half a percent to a target of one percent. That is still far, far below the rate needed to tamp down inflation which is over 8%. The Dow has been on a roller coaster this year with a lot more downs than ups.

Will Rogers wrote often about the Federal Reserve Board, “If a 1 percent raise in rate [from 5% to 6%] can upset the whole of Wall Street, then they are working on a mighty slim margin.” (DT #881, May 23, 1929) A few weeks earlier he wrote, “There is two things that can disrupt business in this country. One is war and the other is a meeting of the Federal Reserve.”  (DT #837, April 2, 1929) You will recall that a few months later, in October 1929, the stock market crashed, starting the Great Depression.

The Federal Reserve by itself can’t control inflation. The President and Congress need to act. So far, the Biden Administration has been adding fuel to the flaming inflation rate. They may know how to cool inflation, but refuse to do it.

For the first time in over 200 years, someone in the inner circle of the Supreme Court broke a sacred trust by printing a 100-page first draft of an opinion and sneaking it out of the building months before a final version will be announced. This is shameful. I hope they catch the culprit soon before they do more damage to the Supreme Court.

Putin’s war on Ukraine has reached 75 days. He thought it would be over in 3 or 4 days. We celebrate V-E Day today (Victory in Europe, May 8, 1945) while Russia celebrates on May 9. Since Putin can’t claim a great victory over Ukraine, there is speculation he may ramp up attacks. He could order the slaughter of thousands more civilians, destroy more industries, and wipe out wheat harvest and the planting of other crops. All of our aid in the future, even more than the $33 Billion being considered in Congress, must be for direct military aid to help Ukraine defeat Putin and restore their original border.

The Kentucky Derby win yesterday by Rich Strike, an 80-1 long shot, will be talked about for decades. That horse was not even in the field until the day before. Rich Strike winning could only be topped by a Model T Ford winning the Indy 500.  As Will Rogers said, “Money, horse racing and women are three things the boys just can’t figure out.”  (DT #2679, March 7, 1935)

[Correction from last week: on Twitter I’m @WillRogersToday]

My little offering last week on student debt was on point. It’s been on the national news every day. Remember, I said that around 10% deserve relief. And the Biden Administration has already canceled the debt for most of those.

For the other 90%, one of my friends in Arizona had a great suggestion: each individual should appear in front of three “evaluators” to justify why they cannot afford to pay their loan. Each would be questioned on their reasons, and offered tips on ways to cut other expenses, and/or add income. After a 30-minute session, most would leave the room disappointed. A few may cry. But they would have a plan! Another friend added, “Make it a reality TV show!”

I think we’re onto something big. With millions pleading their cases, starting with Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, the show could run 24 hours a day. Why, it might become such a tremendous success, so huge in fact… well, there’s a rare possibility… it could even resurrect CNN+.

Elon Musk is paying over $40 Billion for Twitter. You might think it’s a social media powerhouse. But it’s not. The revenue generated is tiny compared to Facebook, YouTube, and other parts of Jeff Zuckerberg’s Meta. Few people use it, and 10% of those write 80% of the Tweets.

So why do we all think Twitter is a huge platform? Because newscasters report on Tweets by politicians, athletes, actors, and other famous people. Do you ever hear one say, “Here’s something I saw in an email message or on Facebook.”?

I’m getting back on Twitter (@randall_reeder). I got on it years ago but stopped using it because almost all Will Rogers quotes are more than 140 characters. Even with the current limit, quotes by Will (and me) seldom fit. I have a lot to learn. First lesson: brevity.

Did you hear this? The Biden Administration saw that bank robberies are up. So, they created a “Board to Reduce Bank Robberies” and started looking for a person to run it. Among the applicants one stood out. He appeared to be supremely qualified. The only negative was he insisted on working remotely instead of moving to Washington. At the confirmation hearing in the Senate, conducted on Zoom, after several Democrats praised this outstanding individual, one Republican Senator asked, “Concerning this need to work remotely, exactly where do you reside?” “I’m currently in Kansas. To be exact, in Leavenworth. I wouldn’t mind moving to Washington, but that will depend on the Parole Board.” Well, that ended the hearing. But one staffer admitted, “At least he’s an expert on robbing banks.”

Ok, that didn’t happen. But the Biden Administration did create a “Board to Reduce Disinformation.” And they found the perfect person to run it. Nina Jankowicz is an expert on disinformation. Concerning disinformation in politics, she is at the top of the pile. She was such a prolific producer of disinformation during the 2020 election that a few Democrats credit her with winning the election for Biden-Harris and the two Georgia Senators.

Why didn’t they offer the job to Congressman Adam Schiff? He was outstanding at providing disinformation for four solid years. He would have probably turned it down so he could remain as Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. See, in that esteemed post, everyone believes him when he speaks out on top secret information, even when he makes it up.

Is it a coincidence the Disinformation Board was announced just days after Twitter ceased to be a liberal-leaning social media platform? If Biden had been President in 1996, I bet he would have formed the same Board on Disinformation when Fox News Network began broadcasting.

The Gridiron Dinner was last night. The newspaper, TV, and other media folks gave President Biden a standing ovation and uproarious applause. Comedian Trevor Noah got plenty of laughs. [A few people think the dinner should have been cancelled and each person donate the money they would have spent on it to support Ukraine.]

Will Rogers was the MC for a few of these dinners. He was in the audience in 1931 and wrote this: “Tonight’s Gridiron dinner here in Washington, where the President attends and sees the cleverest kidding and satires, was put on by the newspaper men who know these big birds backwards.”

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

“We used to look on [May Day] as a beautiful Spring Day when we had a picnic and fastened ribbons to the top of a pole and danced around and sang and played… Everybody was just poor and ignorant enough to be happy.” DT #863, May2, 1929

Student debt is a mess. The total owed to the federal government is $1,700,000,000,000.00. An entire book could be written about it, and I’ll attempt to hit highlights (or lowlights) in a page or two.

A student loan should be like any other loan: you borrow money, you pay it back. And historically, many poor students from inner cities, rural areas, and Appalachia, for example, borrowed money from a bank to get a good education. And the extra income from a good job meant they could pay off the loan quickly and get on with their lives.

The student loan business became a mess when the federal government got heavily involved, passing rules, and eventually taking over 90% of the loans.

Let’s start by saying perhaps 10% of these former students have a legitimate reason for not being able to repay the loan. Severe illness, a tragic accident, or they were fraudulently talked into a big loan for a worthless education at a private for-profit school.

The other 90% ought to pay up. College graduates are in a much better income situation than the average person without a degree. The unemployment rate for college graduates is 2%. There are 11 million open jobs. There is no reason why they can’t repay their debt to the federal government.

Suppose President Biden lets you walk away from your part of the $1.7 TRILLION debt. Who will pay it? The debt you signed for will end up being paid by workers who never attended college and college graduates who managed their finances and paid off their student loans. Do you think that’s fair? If Biden cancels $5000 of debt for all 44,000,000 who owe money, should he also give $5000 to ones who already paid off their loans? Maybe the most unfair part of forgiving a loan is that a third of the debt is owed by wealthy families. Doctors, lawyers, and other high salaried graduates hold 40% of the debt.

One suggestion is that if you insist on forgiveness of your student loan, the college should cover at least a third of that cost. “No, no, no!” they would yell. Would colleges allow another feasible plan? As part of their continuing fundraising from alumni, encourage them to contribute to an account that would help pay off loans run up by other alumni. No, colleges only want contributions to help present and future students. Or suppose a wealthy alum offers $25,000,000.00. It’s likely that person wants his/her name on a building rather than simply sharing it among other alumni to help pay off student debt. And the college leaders would fiercely agree.

Student loans should be approved based on the expectations of the recipient paying it off. This is how all other loans operate. For most students, this is the first loan they ever signed for. Paying it off quickly is a good lesson that would serve the rest of their lives. Can you believe a fourth of these loans are owed by grads over 50 years old? They ought to be embarrassed by having their pictures published. A lot of ‘em retired before paying off what they owe. Did they learn nothin’ in college?

Credit: some of this information is from “Forbes Advisor” (Apr. 5, 2022), and the “NY Post” (Apr. 24, 2022).

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. Give ’em four more years in college, and it will save parents an awful lot of worry, too. Just think of taking a son or a daughter off your hands for another four years. You’ll say, ‘Well, what could they learn in another four years?’ Well, there must be some little 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

“Hurrah for [Treasury Secretary Andrew] Mellon for answering, today, the Faculties of Columbia and Princeton on debt cancellation. It almost takes a sense of humor for college professors to advise Mellon on money matters.” DT #200, March 17, 1927  (this “debt” was owed by allies in WWI, not students)

Elon Musk has Twitter all shook up. He offered $54.20 a share, which is about a 10% profit for anyone willing to sell. Everybody at Twitter, including the Board of Directors, is scared he might force Twitter to allow a few conservative commentators to share the platform with the likes of socialists, communists and terrorist leaders from around the world.

The Board is so mad they passed a rule that if Musk buys more than about one-sixth of the shares, then any shareholder can buy all the shares they want for $40 each. Now I don’t claim to understand such a rule. But you better believe, if Elon Musk backs away completely from Twitter, the bias has been exposed and they’ll be lucky to get $40 a share.

Have you heard apologies from top officials and the media who criticized the Border Patrol employees on horseback at Del Rio for doing their job? I wrote in Weekly Comments Sept. 26, 2021, (“Don’t Blame a Horse in Texas”) that elected officials were outraged. Even though the photographer explained within 3 days there was no “whipping,” a government investigation dragged on for seven months before announcing there was no wrong-doing. Those Border Patrol agents were kept off the job for seven months.

Back in September, VP Harris said she was “outraged” and it reminded her of the treatment of Native Americans and slaves. Has she apologized? Secretary of Homeland Security Mayorkas was shocked by the “horrific image.” Did he apologize to his employees and the nation? And President Biden said “these people will pay.” Well, they have paid! But don’t expect the President or anyone else to apologize for wrongly accusing them.

Speaking of Texas, the Governor has sent 4 busloads of illegal immigrants to Washington DC as of today. Only 896 more busloads to go. So far, none of them have been invited to have dinner at the White House.

Meanwhile, Biden is sneaking planeloads from the Texas border to a New York City suburb in the middle of the night. If the Biden Administration has their way, in their first two years in power 5,000,000 illegal immigrants will have settled here. That’s about 3 times the population of the state of West Virginia. Imagine if those 5 million had their own state; they would elect 6 Congressmen and 2 Senators. You may say, “But they can’t vote.” The Biden response would be, “Well, not yet.”

Putin’s war on Ukraine has reached 54 days. President Zelensky and his fellow citizens are determined to drive the Russians completely out of Ukraine, including Crimea. Now, the Ukraine government is not perfect; they have a history of poor management. Some Americans object to providing any more military assistance, partly because of the cost. If we help Ukraine defeat Putin and put him out of power, our cost will be a tiny fraction of what it would cost us, with other NATO countries, to defeat Putin. The thousands of innocent victims Putin’s men have slaughtered are enough reason for our help. The sooner Putin is defeated, tried and convicted as a War Criminal for genocide, the sooner we can shift our attention to the expansion-minded Chinese Communists. Will Rogers was in China 90 years ago and recognized a danger, “There is quite a big communistic hold in certain parts of China. The influence is growing rapidly.”

Have you finished your Income Tax Return? It might be painful; if you’re in the top 10%, you are paying 70% of all the federal income taxes collected. And President Biden thinks (and whispers) you’re still not paying “your fair share.” But he won’t say what that would be. Should the top 10% pay 80% of our taxes? How about 90%?

Easter, Passover and Income Tax Day rarely share the same weekend. Years ago, families dressed up fancier to go to church on Easter than they do today. The women would wear a new dress and especially a new ‘Easter bonnet with all the frills upon it.’ In 1929 Will Rogers had an interesting suggestion to increase church attendance, “I believe I discovered a way to aid preachers in getting people to church. Publish their pictures in the papers every Monday, instead of just on the day after Easter. There is no reason why people should have to wait from one Easter to another.”

Maybe if we all filled out our tax returns on Sunday afternoon, we would have fewer people like the ones Will Rogers jokingly referred to in 1923, “The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has.”

April is National Humor Month. As Will Rogers wrote in 1931, “Get a few laughs, do the best you can, take nothing serious.” For this column, let’s ignore serious problems here at home and in Ukraine. And believe me, they are serious.

We’re always learning new words. President Biden’s spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, has to be precise with statements and answers to reporters’ questions. Commenting on immigrants who illegally entered, she said they ‘irregularly’ entered. I guess they gave up on getting us to call them ‘undocumented.’ Now they are just ‘irregular.’

Congress got word that the Texas Governor is sending 900 busloads of ‘irregular’ immigrants to Washington, DC. So, they decided to leave town for two weeks. All except Congresswoman Maxine Waters. She will stay to meet the buses and tell ‘em, “I want everybody to go home.”

Sorry, Maxine, the homeless you told to go home last week in Los Angeles didn’t go home. And neither will these folks. They will all want to camp out on the Mall, right there in front of the Capitol and the White House. Those 900 buses can transport about 35,000 of ‘em. To be representative, among the 35,000, there should be a few hundred MS-13 gang members with pockets full of fentanyl.

President Biden hasn’t decided how to handle 35,000 Mall campers. He has been letting Governors deal with the 3,000,000,000 who crossed the border since he took office. With the expected surge next month, if Governor Abbott can round up enough buses and drivers, the President can expect 35,000 more every two days. Imagine a Memorial Day celebration on the Mall with a million ‘irregulars.’ And all of them talking on their free cell phones. It’ll be a regular ‘irregular’ Tower of Babel. (Genesis 11:1–9)

The folks who run Disney decided to take on the Governor of Florida. They declared, “If you won’t let teachers show and tell 5-year-olds all about LGBTQIA, then we’ll do it. We’ll slip it into kid’s cartoons and parents won’t ever know.” Well, I kinda doubt if Walt would approve. In 1933, Will Rogers wrote this about his friend, “We were all down to a mighty fine dinner they gave to Walter Disney.  He is the Sire and Dam of that gift to the world, ‘Mickey Mouse.’”  I’m darned sure those Disney folks today would demand I replace “Sire and Dam” with “birthing person.”

Exactly a hundred years ago, a high government official accepted a bribe to give two friends a special deal on a valuable resource owned by the federal government. That act did not bring down President Harding, but it ruined his reputation. Today we’re wondering if special financial deals over many years for the current President’s family members might force Biden to resign.

The scandal of 1922 was called the Teapot Dome. The Secretary of the Interior secretly leased oil rights from government petroleum reserves in Wyoming and California to Harry Sinclair and Edward Doheny in exchange for cash gifts. I’m sure those cash gifts were nowhere near the $20,000,000 the Bidens have reportedly received from China, Ukraine and Russia.  If the Biden Clan can avoid convictions until Jan. 20, 2025, the “Big Guy” and his family will leave the White House laughing…. all the way to the bank.

Concerning laughter, Greg Kozera, a good friend and fellow professional speaker, wrote that laughter is good for our health. He suggested turning off the News for a while and watching reruns of The Beverly Hillbillies. I also love those old shows, like The Real McCoys, Green Acres, and Petticoat Junction. One thing about Jed Clampett and the Beverly Hillbillies: there will be a few people who will refuse to watch it because they can’t stand the idea of anyone becoming rich from oil.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

“With the politicians horning in, our comedian business is overcrowded.” WA #524, Jan. 1, 1935

Will Rogers famously said, “I’m not a member of any organized political party… I’m a Democrat.” In my talks, that line always gets a big laugh.

Will was even-handed and usually neutral in elections, not favoring either side. “They will all do the best they can. None of them from any party are going to purposely ruin the country.” (WA #289, July 8, 1928)

Lately, I’ve been pondering on that phrase, ‘purposely ruin the country.’ Up until 2020, of the 45 Presidents I doubt than any set out to ruin the country. Oh, maybe one or two. But the country survived any problems over the last 245 years. Not only survived, but thrived.

Like the majority of Americans, I’ve begun to question the current Biden/Harris Administration. Do you think the following actions might be intended to ‘purposely ruin the country’ as we knew it?

1. On the first day in office, President Biden declared war on the industry that supplies 80% of our energy. Perhaps that seemed like a logical boost for solar and wind energy. But the passage of time (as V-P Harris might say), has shown how dangerous it is to sacrifice ‘energy independence’ and become dependent on enemy nations, including Russia, Iran and Venezuela.
2. Biden stopped construction on the border wall that was intended to serve as the major deterrent to illegal immigration. And all policies related to illegal immigration can accurately be called an ‘Open Border’ policy. Biden named V-P Harris to be in charge of our border with Mexico, but in reality, the ones in charge are the Mexican Drug Cartels. Since January 2021, at least 3,000,00,000 illegal immigrants from over 150 countries are now scattered throughout the nation. This includes repeat criminals, gang members, and drug lords. Fentanyl has become the leading cause of death for Americans 18 to 45 years old. Further loosening of border security next month will cause the flood of illegal immigrants to double or triple.
3. Our foreign policy is a mess. The exit from Afghanistan (which was a good idea) was bungled, leaving behind thousands of Americans and Afghan friends, Billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment, and the strategically important Bagram Air Base. Our weakness on the world stage led directly to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Unless Putin is run out of Ukraine, the Chinese Communists figure they can take over Taiwan without any concrete resistance from us. Instead of leading the Free World, we’re not even, as President Obama once said, leading from behind.
4. On COVID-19, I’m reluctant to criticize except for a couple of decisions. No one would have predicted, two years ago, that we would still be dealing with variants. But too much ‘printing press money’ ($2,000,000,000,000.00) was handed out to states and individuals. Many states still have funds they haven’t figured out how to spend. Fraud was rampant. Giving free money to people who weren’t producing anything contributed to inflation, supply chain problems and empty shelves. Teachers’ unions set policy for the CDC, which kept most schools closed much longer than necessary. Reluctance to blame the Chinese government added to the problem. Could it be because the Biden family has collected millions under the table from China? Inquisitive Americans are “hunting” for answers.
5. Crime has increased in many states and cities because of anti-police policies and turning dangerous criminals loose on their own recognizance. Stealing is legal if it’s under $1000. President Biden has not condemned these policies nor tried to correct them.
6. Inflation is over 7%. A couple of items mentioned above are the main cause. A new Biden plan to give people more cash to help pay the higher prices would make it worse. At a time when we need at least two million more qualified workers, higher taxes on individuals and companies in the budget submitted this week would reduce production and create fewer new jobs. Have you ever heard of a poor person hiring anyone?

You are welcome to disagree with these points. Please don’t claim I’m a traitor to Will Rogers’ philosophy. Will freely expressed his opinions about policies and decisions by the people in charge. Also, he never joked about anyone’s appearance, including bald heads. And as far as I know, he never got slapped in the face.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

“(President) Roosevelt ain’t going to ruin the country. The Constitution will remain as is. The Russians are not going to take us.”  WA #655, July 14, 1935

I’ve never pretended to be a wordsmith. I leave that to Webster or Funk & Wagnalls.

This week our top folks in Washington have had difficulty with a few words. One was ‘deter.’ Everyone claimed that deter meant to stop Putin from invading Ukraine, but then we heard from our President it don’t mean that at all.

Then President Biden said yesterday that Putin cannot ‘remain in power.’ Within minutes, some underling corrected the President, “No, no, he didn’t mean to stop him from being the dictator of Russia.” Earlier Biden had called Putin a ‘war criminal’ and a ‘butcher.’ So, I guess if the people in Russia want to be ruled by a butchering war criminal, it’s their choice.

In the Senate hearing for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, she seemed to be puzzled by the word ‘woman’ when asked to define it by another woman. Oddly, the basis for her being nominated is because Mrs. Jackson is a woman. I learned in 1935 to leave that whole argument to women to decide, “Money, horse racing and women: three things the boys just can’t figure out.”

I am concerned to read that a lot of female professors at top universities can’t define ‘woman’ either. These women ought to know because they are professors of Gender Studies. I wouldn’t dare ask them to define ‘man.’

I would never pretend to be an economist either. However, over time, you tend to pick up a few basic rules, especially as it relates to the government. For example, if you want more of a certain product, the government can subsidize it. Generally, the volume will increase and often the price to the buyer will go down.

On the other hand, if you want less of a product, the government can over-regulate it, place restrictions on production, tax it, and simply say bad things about it. As a result, the amount produced will decrease. And if the need for it is still high, the price will go up.

Today, Americans are suffering through high prices for fuel and everything transported by fuel because President Biden signed orders that canceled new oil and gas wells, pipelines, and fuel processing. Instead of continuing a bright future as a net exporter of energy, we are forced to import it. Faced with a short supply and higher prices, instead of changing policies to produce more, the government proposes to print more money and give it to us so we can afford high priced gas. In California, instead of drilling for its own oil and gas, or encouraging more drilling in nearby Alaska, the Governor wants to give people a $400 gas card.

Now, with Europe in a bind, Biden promised to provide them LNG (liquified natural gas) to replace gas from Russia. Do you suppose President Biden will encourage more drilling in the gas-rich region of Ohio-Pennsylvania-West Virginia? Will he order construction of new pipelines to the East Coast for processing to LNG for export to Germany and other European countries? (Two such pipelines were stopped and canceled because of excessive regulations.)

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

“The difference between good times and bad times is gasoline, and what goes with it.” WA #636, March 3, 1935

Americans have added $2.3 Trillion to their savings during the two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. How can that be?

Think back to the Great Depression in the 1930s. Even with a lot of new government programs to support the unemployed, which peaked at 25%, do you think an average American had more in savings in 1939 than 1929?

Two years ago, the Feds started printing a few Trillion dollars and sent it out to individuals and states whether they needed it or not. Yes, at Food Pantries there were long lines of cars (including many late model vehicles) with families who ran out of food and money. Many Americans live paycheck to paycheck, but too many SPEND paycheck to paycheck. There were also a lot of fraudulent payments.

Many states have a surplus despite two years of Covid expenses. How? Again, the federal government passed out too much “printing-press money.” More than the states needed. One result is 7% inflation. That’s what happens when the government prints money and gives it to people who aren’t producing. With more money and fewer products to buy, the price goes up.

I have friends who have insisted since mid-November 2020 that the election was rigged against Trump. I have consistently resisted because recounts and other in-depth analysis in swing states verified the original count.

But no longer.

It is clear that if the incriminating details discovered on Hunter Biden’s laptop computer a few weeks before the election had been widely reported, Joe Biden would have lost to President Trump. The New York Post published the full news article immediately. This week, 17 months after the news broke, the New York Times admitted the computer has details about Joe Biden’s financial gains from China and other countries. Almost all of our major news sources (TV Networks, newspapers, NPR, Twitter, Facebook, Google…) ignored this news story. Not only ignored it, they vigorously downplayed it and blocked any comments about it. Called it a Russian hoax.

Even worse, fifty top former leaders of our Intelligence Agencies (CIA, FBI, etc.) signed a letter confirming that all the damning evidence on Hunter Biden’s laptop computer was secretly put there by Russian supporters of Trump. Not one of those prominent broadcasters or Intel officials has apologized.

In the Presidential Debate on October 22, 2020, President Trump challenged Joe Biden with information from the laptop, “You made $3.5 million (from China), and your son gave 10% to the big man. You’re the big man.” Biden replied, “I have not taken a penny from any foreign source ever in my life.” Evidence on Hunter’s computer, which would have been easy for a journalist to verify, was never checked out and reported by a major news source, except Fox News.

I’m glad to see so much support for President Zelensky for the Nobel Peace Prize. No one else should even be nominated. And if they are, they should ask to have their name withdrawn.

Zelensky says he will not give up any land to Russia. Putin ordered that he give up Mariupol, a city the size of Miami. Zelensky essentially said, “Nuts!” (Remember General McAuliffe’s reply in WWII.)

I can understand the reluctance of NATO and specifically the US, to challenge a ruthless, war criminal who threatens to use his supply of nuclear weapons. Three weeks after Putin invaded Ukraine, the aid going to Ukraine seems aimed at delaying the loss rather than defeating Putin. Instead, the leaders of the Free World should be aggressive, “Ukraine wins, Putin loses.”

The atrocities by Putin are unforgivable: killing women and children, forcing millions to leave the country, randomly destroying property, and ruining farmland.

Remember this Will Rogers quote, “Governments change, but the people remain the same.” Ukraine will still be there long after Putin is deposed. And Xi Jinping, the Communist dictator in China, had better remember that quote before he invades Taiwan. In 1949 the reason Chiang Kai-shek moved his government, the Army, and a lot of people to Formosa (now Taiwan) was they did not want to live under Mao Zedong’s Communist rule. They hated Communism. Those Chinese Nationalists thrived! And they still hate Communism.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

“I would like to state to the readers of THE NEW YORK TIMES that I am in no way responsible for the editorial or political policy of this paper. I allow them free reign as to their opinion, so long as it is within the bounds of good subscription gathering. But I want it distinctly understood that their policy may be in direct contrast to mine.” DT #1979, Dec. 7, 1932

It’s been two looonnngg years since March 12, 2020. Here are a few highlights from the “Weekly Comments” I wrote that day.

“In the last couple of weeks, the Dow Jones has dropped from 27,000 to 21,000 because of the China virus and our reactions to it. Everything is being cancelled or postponed. Businesses and college classes are online instead of face-to-face. People who are sick or have the virus are supposed to self-quarantine. NBA games are cancelled. The NHL, baseball spring training, and all NCAA basketball tournaments and all other sports being CANCELLED.

“Yes, these actions, including shutting down schools for a few weeks, make sense to slow down and tamp down the illnesses and deaths from the China virus. Let us not forget this started in China and became a pandemic because the Communist government avoided actions that could have contained the virus instead of letting it spread out of control.

“In January when the ‘medical professionals’ in the Trump administration became aware of the virus and started planning, where were the Democrats in Congress? They were concentrating on Impeachment. When Trump cut off all incoming travel from China, did they agree? No, they complained that Trump was being xenophobic against Chinese people.

“Let’s avoid crowds as much as possible. Wash our hands for 20 seconds. Use sanitizer. Don’t contaminate your older relatives. In case you have not noticed, farmers will continue to take care of their livestock, milk the cows twice a day, and prepare for spring planting.”

Ok, back to 2022. Last week we had 300 farmers and agricultural professionals at our annual Conservation Tillage & Technology Conference in Ada, Ohio. Many of the 70 presenters and panelists focused on practices to improve soil health, water quality and assist with climate change issues. The most interest this year was on speakers who helped answer the question, “How can I reduce the cost of raising a crop? Thanks to inflation, supply chain issues, and Putin’s war on Ukraine, our farmers are dealing with high prices for diesel fuel, plant protection chemicals, and animal feed. Fertilizer is two to three times higher. We had better pray they don’t cut back on these expensive inputs because we’ll need every bushel, pound, and gallon they can produce. The world will suffer shortages of the vast amounts of grain that farmers in Ukraine and Russia normally grow and export.

Do you realize our corn growers could help replace the banned crude oil from Russia? We’re all used to filling our gas tanks with fuel that is 10% ethanol. If President Biden would allow that to raise to 15% ethanol, we can grow enough corn for ethanol to replace the Russian oil. However, Biden is determined to create shortages and raise the price of gasoline and diesel so high we’ll all want to trade for an expensive Electric Vehicle. The joke’s on him because 60% of our electricity is generated by fossil fuels he wants to eliminate: coal and natural gas.

Meanwhile in Ukraine, President Zelensky, the former comedian turned statesman, is setting a defiant standard unseen since Churchill during World War II. While the rest of the world leaders are quivering at Putin’s threat to unleash nuclear weapons on Europe and the US, he is leading his over-matched citizens in standing tall against Putin’s evil invaders. When the nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize are opened, there should be only one. We hope and pray Zelensky lives long enough to accept it.

Here’s Will Rogers, 90 years ago, “People are taking their comedians [Zelensky?] seriously and politicians [Biden?] as a joke, when it used to be vice versa.” (Nov. 22, 1932)

The State of the Union speech last week fell flat. Instead of the President trying to tell 330 million Americans what shape we’re in, they should have reversed the process. They should have selected a dozen ordinary citizens from across the country and had them each speak for 5 minutes on the “State of the Union” as they see it. And President Biden, V-P Harris, the Cabinet, Congress, and top staff people would have to sit there, listen, and take notes.

St. Patrick’s Day is this week, a day celebrated by many Americans, even if they aren’t Irish. You probably know that Will Rogers was proud to be one-quarter Cherokee. He was also proud of his Irish heritage. In 1800, his great-grandfather, Robert Rogers, immigrated from Ireland to what is now West Virginia. In 1815, he married Lucy Cordery, who was one-half Cherokee. Interestingly, a small community in the middle of West Virginia, named Ireland, will celebrate all week, culminating with the arrival of Spring next Sunday at 11:33 a.m. EDT.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“Ireland’s got ’em all beat for beauty, romance, humor and hospitality, and the best horses in the world.” DT #1450, March 17, 1931

“Ireland treats you more like a friend than a tourist.” DT #36, Sept. 8, 1926

 

Yes, it is Putin’s War. Events on the ground in Ukraine are changing by the minute so a few of the points below may be outdated by the time you read it.

There are several ironies about the Putin war on Ukraine.

For almost a year, Putin built up his military presence on Ukraine’s border. Meanwhile, our military leaders were “booting out soldiers without Covid vaccinations,” planning for “demographically diverse leadership”, allowing woke “gender pronouns in email signatures” and designing uniforms for “non-binary service members” and “pregnant airmen.”

The actor/comedian who is President of Ukraine stated boldly, “I’m staying and fighting,” while our President, a self-proclaimed experienced master of dealing with Putin, said, “I’m going to my Delaware beach house for the weekend.”

Ukraine fights to hold back Putin’s invasion a day at a time. President Biden replied about the effect of sanctions on Putin, “I’ll check back in a month.”

Biden said his Administration will use “every tool at its disposal to protect Americans from rising prices at the gas pump.” It’s ironic he didn’t mention the best tools: encourage drilling more wells, installing more pipelines and maximizing production of our oil and natural gas to also supply Europe.

A young mother in Ukraine, holding her baby, reports tearfully on television about the war around her. Here in the US, television host Joy Behar of The View complains, “I’ve been wanting to go to Italy for four years, and now this.”

European countries, especially Germany and France, pressured us in 2015 to join the Paris Climate Change Agreement to reduce fossil fuel production, which we did (with a 4-yr interruption under Trump). The irony is, until yesterday Germany was balking at aggressive actions against Putin because they depend on Putin for heat, transportation and electricity from… FOSSIL FUELS.

Putin is the cause of this ongoing disaster but is the main beneficiary because he’ll make Billions more from higher priced oil and gas exports, including oil he is selling to us.

John Kerry is really mad at Putin for invading Ukraine with tanks, aircraft, missiles, and warships because they aren’t powered with renewable energy, thereby setting a terrible example for the rest of the world. “The northern two-thirds of Russia is frozen tundra. Thawing puts the people of Russia at risk.” Putin might respond, “If it thaws, we can grow more wheat. That’s less risk of starvation.” See, ironically, Russia might benefit from global warming.

It is NOT ironic that German leaders changed their minds about helping Ukraine. The people of Germany rose up, recalling how Hitler’s Nazis ransacked and stole from Ukraine during WWII. They probably mentioned that Ukraine President Zelensky is Jewish.

It is NOT ironic that Ukraine’s military and civilians are fighting fiercely for their country. There are many examples of bravery and sacrifice reminiscent of Patrick Henry, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Or General McAuliffe’s reply to the German demand to surrender, “Nuts!”

As I’m finishing this, it’s about daybreak Monday in Ukraine. Let’s pray for a peaceful solution.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

(Dateline: ODESA) “Who hasn’t pictured Odesa on the Black Sea? Russia and Turkey have been fighting over this for a thousand years.” DT #2520, Sept. 2, 1934

“People don’t change under Governments; the Governments change, but the people remain the same.” There’s Not a Bathing Suit in Russia, 1926