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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

Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday. Only a handful of Supreme Court Justices have had as much impact as she did on equalizing opportunities for all Americans. In fact, she might be alone at the top because of her fierce determination that, primarily, made half the population equal to the other half. While supporting women, her influence also supported the rights of men. She was an amazing person who was influenced by own experience as the top graduate of Columbia Law School. Imagine being Number One in anything, but discriminated against simply because she was a female, a Jew, and had kids.

But within hours of her death, controversy erupted in Washington. Although she had apparently asked that the next President pick her replacement, the existing President (with agreement by the Senate) always has that Constitutional right. She could have ensured her replacement would be selected by a Democrat by resigning in July 2015, but she chose to keep fighting for her beliefs.

President Trump quickly announced her replacement would be a woman. Although Democrats are objecting, can you imagine that any of the women on Trump’s list would ever vote to overturn Landmark rulings such as equal pay for women, equality for gays, and equal opportunities among men and women?

Joe Biden says that if he wins the election, Trump should withdraw his nominee so Biden can nominate a woman who is Black.  We know who is on Trump’s short list, but Biden has not announced any potential nominees. Biden reminded us to recall specific comments made by Senators Cruz, Rubio and Graham and hold them to their previous statements on the record. But he doesn’t want voters to check on his previous positions.

A reminder: Ginsburg’s nomination was confirmed by the Senate 97-3. What are the odds of such a vote today?

In New York, Mayor DeBlasio announced a one-week furlough for himself and non-essential city employees. Wow, seven days without a mayor! That gives folks a chance to straighten out the disastrous situation he created. Disappearing for a week or more is a great option that should be followed by a lot of Mayors in cities affected by riots, looting and arson. The Minneapolis Mayor and Council are clueless; can’t figure out why crime went up when funding for police went down.

Speaker Pelosi found out last week that rioting and looting is occurring in American cities. She also announced tentative plans to impeach President Trump.

In other news you might have missed, two Arab countries signed historic peace deals with Israel. UAE and Bahrain seem to trust Israel more than Iran.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

 “Many a public man wishes there was a law to burn old records.” DT #627, July 30, 1928

“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

“A President just can’t make much showing against (Congress). They just lay awake nights thinking up things to be against the President on.” WA #430, March 22, 1931

“If you have a radio [or television or internet], the next three months is a good time to have it (quit working). All you will hear from now until the 4th of November will be: ‘We must get our government out of the hands of predatory wealth.’ ‘The good people of this great country are burdened to death with taxes. Now what I intend to do is …’ What he intends to do is try and get elected. That’s all any of them intend to do. Another one that will hum over the old static every night will be: ‘This country has reached a crisis in its national existence.'” WA #86, August 3, 1924

“New York has just appointed a new police chief. The murderers just wouldn’t surrender to the other one.” DT #743, Dec. 13, 1928

Columbus:  A consultant has been hired right here in Columbus to round up solar and wind electric sources, at the least additional cost, to satisfy all the electricity needs for city residents by 2023. For this service, which will increase electric rates, he is expected to receive over a million dollars a year for 15 years.  No contract has been signed because city residents will vote in November whether to go through with this “green deal.”

Well, I have a better idea. It won’t get on the ballot, but I hereby offer my services to the residents of Columbus to sign up the lowest cost electricity from generating plants powered by natural gas. This will decrease their monthly bills. My compensation will come from a tiny part of those savings, never more than $500,000 a year.  Furthermore, I will guarantee the electricity will keep flowing even when the wind don’t blow and the sun goes down.

Columbus ain’t the only city with dumb decisions. Los Angeles has canceled Halloween. Because of Covid-19. Now, help me understand this. The one day of the year when everyone wants to wear a mask, it’s banned. The one evening a year when kids look forward to turning off the computer, going outside, and walking!

A lot of politicians and commentators are hysterical over the prospect of mail-in ballots delaying the election results for weeks. It seems that several states allow requests for absentee ballots until the day before the election. And none of the ballots received early can be counted until Election day. Well, these Legislatures need to pass a bill that any request for a ballot must come 10 days before the election, ballots must be received by Election day, and each county Election Board will designate two honest people to count the ballots as they arrive and not blab the results. Then on election night add those numbers to the in-person voting results.  And we can go to bed by midnight.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“President (Roosevelt) made one of his best speeches in Tupelo, Miss., Sunday. He told that the people could make their own electric energy cheaper than they were getting it. And say, by Monday morning he had the companies talking ‘new rates.’” DT #2586, Nov. 19, 1934  (referring to the TVA)

“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

“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.” DT #1948, Nov. 1, 1932

“I make a living off (politicians), so I can’t knock ’em. Every time we elect some fellow, we think he’s terrible and then when we get another one in, he’s worse. So, I am always in favor of keeping the one we’ve got and let the other go.” NBC Radio, May 16, 1932 (Pomona, CA)

“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 may be wondering what I think of Speaker Nancy Pelosi getting her hair fixed up at her favorite Salon. I’m sure she saw the “Closed” sign on the front door, but she walked around to the back and they let her sneak in.

Her mistake was not in getting fancied up before flying back to Washington. No, her mistake was this: she should have insisted that ALL hair salons in San Francisco and across the country be open for business. Not just beauty parlors but barber shops, workout gyms, and any other business that helps us keep looking fit and presentable.

Many of us her age sometimes need assistance, especially if the “19” in Covid-19 means we added 19 pounds. Mechanical equipment in a gym is better for us than having to call on some mechanical force to help us at least resemble a human frame. Besides, if you are extra fleshy it requires two accomplices to help congregate yourself inside a side-lace corset.

In this era of physical distancing it might be hard to find two people willing to get within 6 feet of you to pull the strings, even with masks.

I have a feeling that Doctors offering Botox injections and face lifts have stayed open. No business in California is more essential than those two.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

            “Tomorrow is Labor Day, I suppose set by act of Congress. Everything we do nowadays is either by or against acts of Congress. How Congress knew anything about labor is beyond us, but anyhow tomorrow is Labor Day. It’s a day in the big cities when men march all day and work harder than they have in any other of the 365. Even the ones that ain’t working labor on Labor Day.” DT #967, Sept. 1, 1929

“When a man goes in for politics over here, he has no time for labor, and any man that labors has no time to fool with politics. [In England] politics is an obligation; over here it’s a business.” DT #892, June 5, 1929

“Well, no good news along the steel strike front. Both [sides] are standing tight… If it comes to the worst, we can do like some old famous queen in Paris when she said, ‘Let ’em eat cake.’ We can build it out of wood instead of steel.” DT #2450, June 10, 1933

(Note: the comments about the side-lace corset and mechanical force are based on Will’s Weekly Article #12, March 4, 1923)

The political conventions are over, even if the protests and riots are not. Biden’s acceptance speech was 20 minutes and Trump’s was 70. So, on average, the speeches were about the right length.

The Democrats wrote a long, detailed Platform that Joe Biden never mentioned, and probably never will. The Republicans took notice and decided they did not need one. Why go to the trouble to write a Platform since Trump would ignore it anyway?

After Biden’s speech, his supporters got back in their cars and drove home. No protesters. (Maybe they didn’t know how to get to Delaware.) After Trump’s speech from the White House lawn, his supporters were harassed verbally and physically as they left.

Back to peaceful protesters… Both Democrats and Republicans agree the original cause of these protests was the death of George Floyd at the hands (or knee) of police in Minneapolis. I’m confident 99.9 percent agree that was wrong. Do you, or anyone you know, disagree?

But what about the violent protesters (including thieves, vandals, and arsonists)? Democrat leaders know the violence costs them votes in November. Republican leaders agree. It appears most of these violent protesters are supporters of Black Lives Matter and Antifa. So, if they are mostly Democrats, why aren’t Democrat mayors doing all they can to stop the violence?

Let’s all hope and pray the violence stops and we can get back to the usual political arguments. That’s enough to handle while still battling Covid-19.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“The greatest trait to recommend the Democrats is optimism and humor. You’ve got to be an optimist to be a Democrat, and you’ve got to be a humorist to stay one.” Radio, June 24, 1934

“You know the Democrat at heart is just naturally an amiable fellow. He would rather talk with you anytime than make a dollar off you. He just loves politics… he just wants to be known as a politician. Now a Republican don’t; he just wants politics to be known as a side line. He wants to work at it, but he wants people to believe he don’t have to.” WA #310, Dec. 2, 1928

“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.” DT #1948, Nov. 1, 1932

“Flew down here [Claremore, OK] to recuperate from one straight month of speeches.   Heard a mule braying a while ago at the farm and for a minute I couldn’t tell who he was nominating.” Convention Articles, July 3, 1932

“If we got one-tenth what was promised to us in these acceptance speeches there wouldn’t be any inducement to want to go to Heaven.” DT #645, Aug. 20, 1928

“Pat Harrison [the keynote speaker] told things on the Republicans that would have made anybody but Republicans ashamed of themselves. When he mentioned old Andy Jackson, he just knocked those Democrats off their seats. Then he hit ’em with the name of Thomas Jefferson, and that rocked them back.  Then he mentioned Woodrow Wilson, and that sent them daffy.” Convention Articles, June 25, 1924

No sooner did the country survive one political convention, we’re getting hit with another.  This was the first time for a Virtual political convention, with only two hours each night for four nights. The TV networks said viewers will watch a 3-hour football game, but 2 hours is the limit for political games.

The Democratic Convention was different than the usual rip-roaring dog fights we’re used to.  It was mainly pre-recorded speeches, entertainment and “crowd” reactions. Without delegates in a big convention center there was no applause, laughter or boos. Every evening had an Emcee who is a Hollywood star, all women. Wednesday night when Comma-la Harris accepted the nomination as the first woman of color for VP, I think only women were included in the broadcast. (I might have missed a couple of men.) Even at the end of her speech, a big screen showed about 30 images (like a Zoom meeting) of people applauding, all women.

There was no opportunity for a reporter to corner Bernie Sanders and John Kasich, who both spoke the same night, and ask how they could give opposite descriptions of what a Biden Administration would favor.

Thursday night Joe Biden gave a concise acceptance speech. The theme of the entire convention was “Vote early, Vote Democrat.”  His theme was light over darkness.

California agrees. They are tired of darkness, from electricity shutdowns. When it’s 105 degrees a Californian might manage without light, but not air-conditioning.  California is showing the rest of the country our future of solar and wind energy, with fossil fuels eliminated by 2035. They are learning that when the sun goes down and the wind stops blowing there’s not enough power plants left to keep them cool.

At the other end of the temperature scale, Bernie Sanders is well-prepared for freezing temperatures in  a “solar powered” Vermont. He spoke in front of a big rack of firewood.

I don’t know if it is in the final Platform, but Democrats want to build 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles. Maybe that’s a reasonable proposition. But, back in the 1920s, can you imagine President Coolidge saying, “With Henry Ford selling so many Model T’s, the government had better build 500,000 filling stations?”  Of course, they didn’t have to because John D. Rockefeller and his Standard Oil companies had already put one on every corner.

You may have noticed a couple of things left out of the convention. They did not invite the mayors of Portland, Seattle, Chicago or New York to speak. And no one mentioned the riots and shootings in those cities. My guess is we’ll hear plenty about them from the Republicans.

In conclusion, if Harris gets all the women’s vote, and Biden gets the men, Trump may just pack up Nov. 4 and head to Florida.

Speaker Pelosi and the House sent a bill to the Senate asking for $25 Billion for the USPS. I haven’t seen the bill, but I’m guessing it includes a lot for overtime pay so the mail can get delivered, even if it takes till midnight. As I wrote last week, the Post Office might have to handle 300 million ballots if all states use mass mailing to everybody. That sounds like a lot, with most of those in October. But guess how many pieces they deliver at Christmas time? I bet you’re not even close. It’s 500 million per DAY. A few pieces of mail get stolen, trashed, lost, or delivered 6 months late, but not many. In case you’re wondering, the package I mailed to San Francisco last Saturday arrived in 4 days.

The Indy 500 today was won by a great driver from Japan, Takuma Sato. Interestingly the car owner is Bobby Rahal, who’s son Graham Rahal finished third.  (Rahal Letterman Racing is headquartered about 4 miles from my house in Hilliard, Ohio.)

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“[The Platform] favors fixing everything the Republicans have ruined, and keeping everything that they haven’t.” Article #7 Democratic Convention, June 29, 1924

“I am being paid to write something funny about this Republican convention.  That’s funny. All a fellow has to do to write something funny on a Republican convention is just write what happened.” Article #1, Republican Convention, June 1920

“There is no reason why other people from neighboring states shouldn’t know of our [California] climate. Why keep it hid? It’s here. We got it.  Of course I will admit that we have done a little good in a small way with picture post cards. [A farmer visiting from Iowa] sent a picture post card back with the picture of a man picking oranges off the trees in January, and told them how fine it was and everybody that read the post card, including the postmaster, come on out. So when they came they sent back picture post cards to all their friends who like oranges, and in time they came, too, and so on, each newcomer bringing out just as many more as he could afford post cards.” WA #47, Nov. 4, 1923

“[Carl G. Fisher] built the Indianapolis Speedway, a place where if Motorists didn’t like the fast driving on the roads or streets, they could go in there once a year and kind of take their time and slow down.” WA #148, Oct. 4, 1925

Joe Biden selected his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris of San Francisco. Most of us outside of California knew nothing about her until 2 or 3 years ago, including how to pronounce her name. When she announced her run for President most folks called her “Ka-moll’-a” Harris, even though it looked like Kamala should rhyme with Pamala.

Well, it doesn’t. Now we learn it’s “Comma-la” Harris. So, from now on I’ll just spell it Commala Harris so I don’t mess up.  Her mother is a native of India, which makes Sen. Harris half Indian. But she won’t be the first Indian VP. My friend Charles Curtis, 1/16^th Kaw Indian, was VP from 1929-33. (Now, don’t yell at me; I know the correct terms today are Indian-American and Native American.)

Another friend replaced Charley as VP after the ’32 election, John Nance Garner. VP candidate Harris may need reminded of his famous quote, “The Vice Presidency isn’t worth a pitcher of warm spit.” I think she is out to prove that statement wrong.

The Democratic Convention is this week. It’s mainly a Virtual convention, which means the protesters hardly know where to show up. They may decide to just stay in Portland.

Our U.S. Postal Service is drawing a lot of criticism lately. Keep in mind that people complained about it even when stamps cost 3 cents.  Up until 1971, the President got to appoint all the local postmasters, which was usually a reward for a prominent member of his Party.  The Post Office had 250,000 employees in 1928 and topped out at almost 800,000 in 1999. Today it is down to 500,000. Funding the retirements of those 800,000 and all the others is causing the current financial headache, along with email, FedEx, UPS and Amazon.

I mailed a package to a friend in San Francisco yesterday (Saturday). The Post Office says it will arrive on Tuesday. If they can get a package 2500 miles in 4 days, why can’t we count on them to get letters (ballots) between your county election headquarters and your house (less than 20 miles for most of us) in 3 days. Even if 150 million registered voters received mass mailed ballots, and all of the completed ballots get sent back by mail, those letters represent less than 1 percent of a normal year’s volume for the Post Office.  Can you name any organization or business that can’t handle a 1percent increase in workload? If there is so much concern about ballots getting back to Election Headquarters by Nov. 3, let’s declare that no “junk mail” will be accepted or delivered between Oct. 27 and Nov. 3. Also encourage everyone to avoid mailing any letters during that week, except ballots.

A bigger problem is all the states that have never done mass mailing of ballots. Oregon has done it for a few years, but not many others.  I heard a TV commentator say, “Any country that can send a man to the moon, should be able to do voting by mail.” Yes, when President Kennedy famously promised that, he did not say it would be done in 3 months.

Historic fact: Will Rogers had famously pleaded for a pension for old folks. On Aug. 14, 1935 President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act. The next day Will and Wiley Post died when their plane crashed at Point Barrow, Alaska.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“Now we got an election coming along and us ‘Injuns’ got an entry in the race. It’s Charley Curtis, who was smart enough to live in a Northern State, which is a physical hardship, but a political advantage.  Charley has used awful good judgment in the Presidential ambitions. Indian Charley Curtis with one swoop embraced a requirement that will be of more advantage in a Presidential race than all the combined qualifications of the others: he’s a Republican. Of course, that ain’t saying much. So, if we get Charley in there we will see what he does for the Indians.” WA #267, Feb. 5, 1928

“Congress even has Slogans: ‘Why sleep at home when you can sleep in Congress?’… ‘Be a Politician — no training necessary.’… ‘Be a Republican and sooner or later you will be a (hometown) Postmaster.’” WA #122, Apr. 12, 1925

(A “conversation” between President Hoover and the Postmaster General)
Mr. Hoover: “How much does it cost to run your racket?”
“Eight hundred and thirty-eight million, Mr. President.”
Mr. Hoover: “Yeah?”
“That’s with strict economy and getting all the Congressmen’s free mail to the voters on time.”
Mr. Hoover: “Yeah? Well, you lop off the 38 million. We got to get Andy Mellon (Treasury Secretary) out of the red by November, ‘32.” DT #1509, May 25, 1932

You probably noticed that I have been optimistic about COVID-19. Yes, I admit it. Back in January, it appeared that W.H. O. and China had the “Wuhan virus” under control. When it showed up on cruise ships in the Pacific, we kept them from landing on the West Coast, and Trump cut off air travel from China, and then from Europe. Through February, the overall optimism continued. When the whole economy was shut down about March 10 it was shock. But I figured if everyone stayed home except “essential workers” it would be over soon. And warm weather was supposed to stop it, like the flu.

In June and July, it spread to more states. I figured it would be under control by August and we would be back to “near normal” in the Fall. But now, with college football cancelled and more schools going online my optimism has dwindled. Will we have Thanksgiving and Christmas family celebrations?  (I’m not concerned about Halloween; that’s one time when everyone is excited to wear a mask.)

Will we still be holding Zoom meetings and Virtual conferences in 2021?

Joe Biden is definitely following the COVID rules. He mainly stays home in Delaware, doesn’t say much, and when he does speak it gets him in hot water. He probably wishes he could let his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, do all his talking. When he identifies his running mate maybe she will do most of the talking. Democrats may agree on four debates, but insist the V-P candidates do three of ‘em.

The Democratic Convention is in Milwaukee, but there may be only a few delegates there because police are refusing to protect them from protesters. Biden says he will give his acceptance speech from home.

President Trump announced he wants to accept the Republican nomination from the White House, partly to save costs for security. Critics claim it’s not fair to use the White House for a political speech. Here’s my suggestion: invite Joe Biden to also give his acceptance speech from the White House. Or if he prefers, from the V-P residence where he lived for 8 years. That would eliminate security costs for Biden, although the primary “security need” at his house is to keep geese from honking outside his basement window.

As if we don’t have enough problems here at home, Russia and China are taking sides on the election. The word on the street is that Russia is betting on Trump and China is for Biden. Not only betting, they are bribing the referees, cheerleaders and scorekeepers. Seeing as how China has at least a hundred times as much loose change laying around as Russia, I’ll side with China. But don’t let me sway you; keep in mind I bet COVID would be over by Mother’s Day.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“Nothing was guessed right all year. Optimism was overrated and pessimism was underrated.” DT #1418, Feb. 8, 1931

“I have been asked to cover the Republican Convention, to write something funny. All you have to do to write something funny about a Republican Convention, is just tell what happened.” Notes

“Clem Shaver, the head of the Democrats, tells me that the Democrats are going to be so peaceful and hungry for harmony at their convention that you won’t hardly know they are Democrats. Well, if I go there and they are as he says, I certainly will ask for my money back. They have worked for years to bring their conventions up to a show and now they want to crab it.” DT #541, Apr. 20, 1928

“I still hope we could all find and settle on some man and do away with both conventions. It would be such a good joke on the Delegates.” WA #263, Jan 8, 1928