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Thanksgiving is over and we’re in a Christmas mood. In the spirit of the season I’ll follow a suggestion from a good friend who said, why don’t you lay off Biden and Trump for a while and ride a fresh horse.

Another friend, a fine Democrat in Oklahoma, (yes, there are still a lot of wonderful Democrats in Oklahoma but here lately they’ve been outnumbered.) Well, this friend kinda scolded me for not insisting that Trump open up the White House to Biden’s folks so they could prepare for the transition. Amazingly, before I could send a telegram to Trump, he had already done it! Immediately, Mr. Biden jumped on Amtrak in Wilmington. He took his bicycle so he could ride from the Station to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. That’s his subtle hint to John Kerry.

The transition team has serious work to do. Since the Blue states won out over Red states, anything in the White House with even a hint of red has to go. The red towels with tiny elephants in the President’s private bathroom will be replaced by blue ones with donkeys. The red Fiesta dinnerware from West Virginia will be replaced with fine China from… China.  Their red-to-blue fixation may show some hope of reconciliation–right there in Nature–when they get to the Rose Garden.

Democrats complain about Trump’s lawyers filing lawsuits over election results in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and other states. Most folks, including Republicans, admit there aren’t enough miscounted ballots to erase a Biden-Harris lead. The time to insist that election officials across the country clean up their voter registration lists and eliminate fraud is after you’ve WON the election, not lost it. See, when you’ve lost, if you complain and sue ‘em, they just think it’s sour grapes and they don’t take you seriously. After the 2016 election is when Trump should have jumped on all the states to root out cheaters, dead voters, and registration errors. Not 2020.

Here’s a question from a reader: What would happen if ANTIFA tried to tear down a Will Rogers statue? If she’s referring to one where I’m riding my favorite horse, Soapsuds, they had better not approach from the rear. Soapsuds might just haul off and kick the snot out of ‘em. From any other direction, my right arm holding a lasso may come to life and I’ll rope and hold ‘em till the Police show up. If they haven’t been Defunded.

On the other hand, a statue of me without a horse is less at risk from ANTIFA than from Speaker Nancy Pelosi. You may recall a few months ago she removed from the Capitol Rotunda any statue of a Confederate officer or slave owner. Well, I’m still there, in a wide hallway favored by TV newscasters, right outside the main entrance to the House. So please don’t tell her my full name is William Penn Adair Rogers. My Dad named me after a famous Colonel in the Confederate Army that he served under. If she finds out, I may be battered into tiny pieces scattered over the marble floor. So if you’re watching a TV news interview of a Congressman and you don’t see me, but the microphone picks up crunching sounds of bronze on marble as other folks walk by, you may rightly suspect I’m just another casualty of 2020.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“Herbert [Hoover] has invited Franklin [Roosevelt] down to see him. Now, on the face of it, that looks like the last word in hospitality. But let’s look that gift horse in the face. Is Herbert just crazy about Franklin? No, prominent men are never crazy about each other.” DT #1959, Nov. 14, 1932

“Here is one thing I want somebody to explain to me: Why is it, during a campaign, after a campaign, or at any other time, why can’t our Presidents speak of each other by name and say, ‘Well, I wish Mr. So-and-so well. He is a fine man and will make you a good President.’ Or, to have the victor say, ‘He had a hard time, and did the very best he could have under the circumstances.’ Even small-town Mayors have been known to speak of each other complimentary, but if Presidents ever did, I think we would drop dead.” DT #2038, Feb. 14, 1933 (FDR was inaugurated March 4, 1933)

Hurricanes and tropical storms have been so prolific this year we have used up our entire alphabet and most of the Greek letters. It got me wondering, if hurricanes start heading toward Greece and we’ve used up all their letters, how will they name them? My guess is Greece will resort to Roman numerals. Yes, Hurricane I, Hurricane II, Hurricane III…

Harvard students are so upset with the failures of the Trump Administration they demanded that no one who worked there since 2016 be allowed to speak or teach at Harvard. They also implied that offspring of the 70 million who voted for Trump should not be admitted as students. I suggest that to be authentic, Harvard donate the Five Billion dollars their endowments gained in value during the Trump years. That $5,000,000,000 could help pay off student loans for those who couldn’t afford an Ivy League school, starting with young teachers and nurses.

President-elect Biden is upset that Trump won’t give his team details on how Covid vaccines will be distributed to the 50 states. I’ve heard the current plan by the military includes FedEx and UPS planes and delivery trucks. Considering the unbelievable speed of the development, testing, and production of the vaccines, maybe the folks in direct charge should be kept on until the first 100 million doses of vaccine have been delivered.

If President Biden wants his own people in charge after January 20, that’s fine as long as he ignores Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and her green energy plan. She would insist that all vaccines be delivered by Electric Vehicles and they could only use charging stations powered by wind or solar. To keep the vaccines cold, as low as 90 degrees below zero, her Squad partner, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, would suggest using blocks of ice cut from Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“You know it’s been said that when you graduate from Harvard or Yale it takes the next 10 years to live it down, and the next 40 to try to forget it.”  WA #160, Jan. 3, 1926

(Headline) “‘Harvard bars (Evangelist) Aimee (McPherson) from the campus.’ Harvard must have some smart men to think up all the fool things that school does to get notoriety.” DT #1633, Oct. 16, 1931

Here’s another topic Democrats and Republicans can’t agree on: Voter fraud. Should votes count if they were submitted by dead people or people who moved away?

Democrat election officials, plus a handful of Republicans, claim there wasn’t any fraud, and if a few votes by the recently deceased got counted, so what? A young man said, “Grandpa told me several times that he always voted Republican for President. But I guess after he went to heaven he saw the light and became a Democrat.”

Maybe they can compromise on a definition of voter fraud. Democrats claim that if only a few dozen mail-in ballots in a county shouldn’t be counted, it’s not really fraud. Republicans claim that for every dozen uncovered, there are probably a few hundred that sneaked through.

The problem comes in cleaning up the voter registration list. Should the dead be removed? Should ones who moved out of the area be removed? How about ones who haven’t voted for years and can’t be located? Of course! But any time officials try to clean up the rolls, shouts of “VOTER SUPPRESSION” drown them out.

In his speech last Saturday, apparent President-elect Joe Biden spoke about unifying and healing the nation after a contentious election. I presume he wants full cooperation and support from the current administration just like he and President Obama offered four years ago. Yeah, right.

Democrats are talking about shutting down the whole country for a month or more to eradicate Covid. I think that anyone who would continue to get paid during a shutdown should not be allowed to promote it.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

“When you start out to educate people you are just about sunk before you start. I try to tell ’em these men are doing the best they can according to the dictates of no conscience, but it’s hard to change the old established idea of what the politician is.” WA #278, Apr. 22, 1928

“I am always kidding about something the Democrats did to the Republicans, and then I got the Republicans on my back. Then I will sing a praise of some Republican uprising, and I will have all the Democrats down on me. My junk is always controversial. That’s all because I haven’t got the range of knowledge, the background of reading, the literary foundation. There is just so much you can say in praise, or in reprimand of our Government. And when I just keep saying it over and over again, it don’t stand up like these other (writers). And don’t I know it.” WA #645, May 5, 1935

Well, it was close, but not a tie. Barring thousands of illegal votes in 4 or 5 states, Joe Biden wins. As a result of this election, there are a lot of winners. And losers.

Winners include: Congressman Clyburn, SC, for rescuing Biden’s campaign; Willie Brown, for giving a young Kamala Harris a boost; and the Chinese Communist leaders.

Losers definitely include: Political pollsters; Country folks; and Georgia TV viewers. I’ll talk about a couple more in a moment.

Here’s a list of (likely) Winners and Losers; I’ll let you ponder which is which: The market for slightly-used plywood; Rioters; Antifa; Europe (NATO countries); Sen. Elizabeth Warren; Ballots arriving after Nov. 3; Illegal immigrants; Dreamers; Kamala Harris (President-in-Waiting?); Liberal Journalists (but I repeat myself); Smith &Wesson; Exxon; AOC and her Squad; Female Republicans in Congress; Police in big cities; Inner city residents; Deceased voters; Post Office; Wall Street; Stock holders; New York Times; CNN; Amazon; Zoom; School kids; Parents of school kids; Lawyers; Teachers’ unions; Hunter Biden; Trump Family business; Women’s Fashion magazines; Airlines; Cattle ranchers; Veterans; Pentagon; Obama’s Intelligence officials; James Comey; Florida coastline; and the Constitution.

Here are two losers who may not realize they lost. Pennsylvania voters, especially in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. They helped elect a President who wants to eliminate a major economic boost for the state: natural gas. They voted for less manufacturing, and higher costs for heating and electricity. Financially, Pennsylvania may become another Illinois.

A second loser is Las Vegas. Those folks voted for a President whose main measure to control Covid-19 (besides what Trump is already doing) is to shut down all “non-essential” businesses until mid-summer. Can you name ONE essential business in Las Vegas (well, other than that one)?

Another group, non-political, who lost today are Jeopardy viewers. Alex Trebek lost his battle with cancer, at a young age 80. He will be missed, and much more so than Political Pollsters.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“Two very important headlines in the papers: ‘Mr. Roosevelt [Biden] to visit Mr. Hoover [Trump]’ and the other, ‘Mr. Roosevelt takes out a $500,000 (life insurance) policy.’ I do hope these two items together have no significance.” DT #1963, Nov. 18, 1932

 “In most places it’s awful hard to get folks to go and register to vote, but out here in Los Angeles [also Philadelphia, Detroit, Atlanta, Las Vegas??] where we do everything big, why, each qualified voter is allowed to register himself and ten dead friends. If he hasn’t got ten dead friends, why, he is allowed to pick out ten live ones, just so they don’t live in the state. The Republicans are kicking on this arrangement, as they claim that system of registration gives the Democrats the best of it, as very few Republicans have ten friends.” DT #2558, Oct. 17, 1934

 

A friend posted on Facebook: 2020 is not a good year for political comedy. So, I’ll turn this last issue before the election over to Will. Most of these quotes are from the 1932 election, Hoover vs. Roosevelt.

Historic quotes on Elections and Campaigns by Will Rogers:

“You can’t beat an administration by attacking it. You have to show some plan on improving it.” WA #101, Nov. 16, 1924

“The less a voter knows about you, the longer he is liable to vote for you.” Life magazine, Oct. 26, 1928

“Wall Street is betting two and a half to one on Roosevelt [Biden]. That’s a bad omen for the Democrats, for Wall Street hasn’t been right in three years. You can hear anything you want around here about the outcome, depending on who you talk to, Democrat or Republican.” DT #1947, Oct. 31, 1932

“Don’t you all kinder wish that the President of our country wouldn’t have to run around all over the land getting up on a soap box to shout his merits like a backwoods Congressman running for reelection? That’s why a President’s term should be six years; no re-election, and be retired for life on half salary…. But, after all, there is very little dignity, very little sportsmanship, or very little anything in politics, only ‘get the job and hold it.’” DT #1949, Nov. 2, 1932

“This President business is a pretty thankless job. Washington or Lincoln either one didn’t get a statue till everybody was sure they was dead.” DT #1951, Nov. 4, 1932

“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.” DT #1953, Nov. 7, 1932

Is your mailbox stuffed with daily reminders to vote early? Fifty million already voted. If this trend keeps up, a lot of polling sites three days after Halloween will be an empty ghost town. No excuse for not voting. If states counted the early votes early, we would know the winners five minutes after the polls close.

The Covid-19 pandemic is getting worse. CNN says 225,000 have died and they make sure we know the running total up to the minute. And Joe Biden makes sure we know who to blame for every one of ‘em.

I’ve said it before: Trump is an optimist. He knows the coronavirus is a tough opponent and he has thrown everything against it except the kitchen sink.

Meanwhile Joe Biden is a pessimist. He’s telling us it will be a dark winter, all 50 states need to require masks, no large gatherings, and no relief until at least next summer.

CNN is even more pessimistic. Because a few staff for both VP Pence and VP candidate Harris have tested positive, CNN says those two, plus Trump, should follow Biden’s lead and stop in-person campaigning and camp out in a basement until the election is over. I doubt Trump will take advice from CNN.

Have we forgotten who caused the worldwide pandemic? The Chinese Communists! We need to be reminded it’s the Chinese leaders who have killed 225,000 Americans. Not Trump, not Dr. Fauci, not Fox News, not anyone else.

This fact will upset you even more. American exports are down 18 percent compared to a year ago. Guess what the drop has been for Chinese exports. Zero! The country that started Covid-19 and exported it to the world has already returned their export sales to pre-Covid levels. China thrives while the United States and the rest of the world suffers.

Do you still think Russia is the main country influencing our election?

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“There should be a moratorium called on candidates’ speeches. They have both called each other everything in the world they can think of. From now on they are just talking themselves out of votes. Of all the conceit. This country is a thousand times bigger than any two men in it, or any two parties in it. These big politicians are so serious about themselves and their parties. This country has gotten where it is in spite of politics, not by the aid of it. That we have carried as much political bunk as we have and still survived shows we are a super nation.

So, you two boys just get the weight of the world off your shoulders and go fishing… You will be surprised, but the old United States will keep right on running while you boys are sitting on the bank.” DT #1948, Nov. 1, 1932

“If you ever injected truth into politics you would eliminate politics.” WA #31, July 15, 1923

With two weeks left until the official Election Day, the polls are showing Biden has it wrapped up. About the only ones that disagree are Trump supporters who keep showing up by the thousands to see him.

The only hope for the underdog Trump is the third Debate this Thursday. If the Moderator from NBC News is like her NBC colleague in the “half debate” with Trump last week it will be intense.

Six debate topics have been announced including American Families and their financial condition. Don’t be surprised if Trump zeroes in on the Biden Family financial condition.

Trump might also ask a question about adding six Supreme Court Justices. So far Biden has been talking mainly about the Trump Administration. Trump will insist Biden talk about a Biden Administration.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“If all the charges that’s been made in regard to both the Candidates were layed end to end it would take ’em over two hours to pass a given point. And if all the ‘Denials’ were heaped in a pile, Lindbergh couldn’t fly over ’em.  You know it’s a funny thing about a denial; it takes twice as many words to deny it as it did to make it.” Life magazine, Oct. 19, 1928

“The Literary Digest is taking a poll to see how many people there are in the United States who are interested in politics that can write their name. Up to now there has been about a third more Republicans that can write than Democrats. Course, when election day comes and all you have to do is make your mark, why I think the Democratic total will pick up. Republicans have to learn to write on account of signing checks, but Democrats never have to be bothered with that.” DT #695, Oct. 18, 1928

“Hoover dug up a whole new subject last night, and made the best speech of his campaign. It was about keeping Congress and the Senate from having anything to do with the nation’s business. If he had gone a step further and come out for their entire abolishment, I believe he would have been elected unanimously on the spot.” DT #699, Oct. 23, 1928

“Of all the ‘dumb’ issues that candidates bring up to try and influence people how to vote, I think ‘prosperity’ takes the cake. How a speaker can convince a man that he is prosperous when he is broke or that he is not prosperous when he is doing well is beyond me.” DT #704, Oct. 29, 1928

“I honestly believe there is people so excited over this election that they think the President has something to do with running this country.” DT #1946, Oct. 30, 1932

To debate or not to debate. Soon after the Vice-President Debate, the Biden-Trump Debate scheduled later this week got cancelled.

A side debate is about Trump’s health. Democrats, especially Speaker Pelosi, insist that President Trump is deadly sick, should be confined to his bed, and isolated for another week or two. But Trump claims he is feeling great, fully recovered from a mild case of coronavirus, and chomping at the bit to get back on the campaign trail.

In the V-P debate, I predicted we wouldn’t learn anything new from Mike Pence, and we didn’t. Also, I hoped that Sen. Kamala Harris would answer questions about “packing the Court.” She not only refused to answer that question, but added a curious quote related to the current Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. Referring to an October vacancy on the court in 1864, she said President Lincoln refused to send a nominee to the Senate until after the election, “Honest Abe said ‘It’s not the right thing to do.’”

Now if Pence had tried to correct her, she would have turned toward him, with a wide smile and said sternly, “I’m talking,” and added, “And Lincoln was so honest, he also warned, ‘Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.’”

Don’t you wish that joke was the only foolishness about this campaign?

Well, by constantly not answering the question about adding 6 new Justices, Biden and Harris actually let us know the real answer, “Yes, if Democrats win the Senate, of course we’ll pack the Court.”

Another hot issue is taxes. Joe Biden promises to raise taxes. But only on taxpayers making more than $400,000.

If that were actually true, there’s no way that small group of highly paid folks could pay enough income taxes to cover all the extra costs planned by the Democrats.  Biden also promises to eliminate Trump tax cuts. That includes middle class, meaning those folks would in fact pay more in taxes.  Another item not mentioned is this: increasing taxes on corporations and other businesses means that their consumers will pay higher prices. It may not count as a tax on those medium- and low-income people, but regardless, it means they will have less money to save and invest.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“Politics pretty quiet over the week-end. Democrats are attacking and the Republicans are defending. All the Democrats have to do is promise ‘what they would do if they got in.’ But the Republicans have to promise ‘what they would do’ and then explain why they haven’t already done it.” DT #1917, Sept. 26, 1932

“Congress, with an eye, not on the budget but on the November 4, put a tax as high as 72 percent on some incomes. That’s three-fourths…. And Russia [Communists] only gets half…. The crime of taxation is not in the taking it, it’s in the way that it’s spent.” DT #1764, March 20, 1932

“We know that everybody should ‘share the wealth.’ And our own downright conscience tells us that there’s no reason why anybody should have more than you. There ain’t nothing wrong with the plan, only this one little defect: Nobody ain’t going to share it with you, that’s all. I know a lot of tremendously rich people that should share their wealth with me, but they just don’t see it that way. And I know folks that ain’t got as much as I have that think I ought to share it with them. Well, I just can’t hardly see it their way either. That is, even if I can see it that way, I’m not doing it.” Radio, April 21, 1935

First, like all reasonable folks here and around the world, we are pleased to hear details about President Trump’s progress recovering from Covid-19. His team of doctors said he might get to return to the White House on Monday.

Late this afternoon, he even climbed in the back seat of his Chevy Suburban for a short drive. He and others in the vehicle were wearing masks. Meanwhile, CNN commentators are convinced he is seriously ill and should be tied to his hospital bed, with intravenous tubes, oxygen tank, and a bed pan.

We were shocked to get the news early Friday that President Trump tested positive for Covid. Then we learned that 3 Senators and a few other prominent people also have it. They attended the introduction of Amy Coney Barrett as the nominee for the Supreme Court, or the Debate on Tuesday. That’s probably where they caught it, but we don’t know who they caught it from. The best news is that none, apparently, is seriously ill.

Although most of us wish a quick recovery, a few nuts are hoping for the worst. Perhaps the most disgusting comment is from the Chinese Communists. The Chinese leaders are the ones responsible for spreading this coronavirus around the world, infecting more than 35 million people, and killing 1 million. But they had the nerve to blame Trump for catching it.

Before Trump’s illness, the Presidential debate was the big news. I felt that Joe Biden won it by not losing it. He stood strong for more than 90 minutes, looked into the camera at times and spoke directly to the American people.

Oddly, I did not learn much from either candidate.  Trump has been on television constantly and did not add anything. Somehow, even with questions (and demands) from Trump, Biden avoided telling us much about his plans for the next 4 years. He refused to answer about “packing the Court,” and his responses on health care and green energy seemed to contradict previous views.

The Vice-Presidential debate this week is drawing more interest than usual. Maybe Senator Harris will be more definitive about what we can expect from a Biden-Harris Administration. VP Pence will likely repeat Trump’s views that we have already heard a hundred times.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“Debates don’t settle nothing, but they are entertaining. Proposing something in a debate is just about like writing a letter to your congressman, nothing ever comes of it.” WA #637, March 10, 1935

“When you straddle a thing it takes a long time to explain it.” Convention Articles, June 29, 1924

“America has the best politicians money can buy.” (Undated notes)

Will Rogers had gall bladder surgery. The next day, still groggy, his syndicated newspaper column, in full, was, “Relax – lay perfectly still, just relax.” DT #284, June 19, 1927

Have you been deluged with political mail, text messages, phone calls and notes slipped under your bedroom door? They all insist that you hurry up and VOTE. It’s still September, but on both sides, they want you to vote for their candidate NOW.

What’s the rush? Well, the first Presidential debate is this week (Sept. 29). Each candidate figures they have a better chance of grabbing your vote before you learn the truth about their plans for the next four years.

This may be more important for Joe Biden than for Donald Trump. Trump has been flying all over the country, speaking. He’ll park Air Force One, climb up on a stage beside it and rattle on for an hour or two to a crowd of a couple thousand. A few wear masks, and all of them should because they are jammed together.

On the other hand, Biden ventures out two or three times a week, dutifully wears a mask, and speaks to a crowd that is spaced 6 feet apart. If he is asked a question about where he stands on important issues he usually says, “Nobody wants to know about me; they want me to discuss Trump’s plans and why they’re terrible for America. See, if I told any of my plans that would draw attention away from Trump’s failures with the coronavirus, riots in our cities, police brutality, high unemployment for Democrats, and imminent threats to abortion. It’s terrible the damage he has done in one term, and this country can’t stand another four years of his failed policies.”

In California, Governor Newsom announced that in 2035, any vehicle you buy in California will be electric powered. I don’t know how he can enforce this executive order unless he expects to be re-elected 4 or 5 times. But he knows California lawmakers better than I do and the Legislature may be nutty enough to go even further. They may pass a law that any manufacturer expecting to sell cars in California cannot manufacture any except electric.  That sounds outrageous, but they already did it with egg producers.

Do you remember photos from Havana a few years ago, with all the American cars from the 1950s? Well, in 2050 California may look similar with most folks driving vehicles 15 to 20 years old. Actually, there may not be many of those left because the owners had already loaded their SUV’s and pickup trucks and moved to Texas or other state where oil and gas are appreciated. Congress may eliminate tax credits for wind and solar, so the only electric vehicle an ordinary Californian can afford to own and operate will be a scooter.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“You can’t beat an Administration by attacking it. You have to show some plan of improving on it.” WA #101, Nov. 16, 1924

“Politics is the best show in America. I love animals and I love politicians, and I like to watch both of ’em at play, either back home in their native state, or after they’ve been captured and sent to a zoo, or to Washington.” (Undated notes)

“No matter what a President does he is wrong according to some people.” WA #352, Sept. 22, 1929

“Everything is in California, all the great sights of nature, and along with all the wonders we have out here is the world’s greatest collection of freak humans.” WA #363, Dec. 8, 1929