Category: Uncategorized

Columbus: Is losing a football game as disappointing as losing an election? If it is Ohio State losing to Michigan for the fourth straight year, the answer is “Yes.”  Even if the election was for President. (Read the Historic quote below)

Here’s what I wrote after the Nov. 5 election, and it might apply on the Columbus campus Monday: “In some of our top universities, with our top students, the election results were so troubling that professors canceled classes Wednesday so they could get therapy, hold hands and play tiddlywinks. And that was just for the professors. “

The Michigan players were not satisfied with a 13-10 win.  Instead of running into their dressing room to celebrate, they embarrassed themselves and their university by planting a Michigan flag in the middle of Ohio Stadium. “An unsportsmanlike gesture by the Michigan players,” said Fox announcer Gus Johnson. “They won the game!”  Naturally the Ohio State players reacted and a skirmish broke out. Police used pepper spray to break up fights. A lot of Buckeye fans wish the players had had that much “fight” in them during the game.

Interestingly, a couple of other college teams won on their opponent’s field and followed the Michigan example.

Speaking of the election, President-elect Trump continues to nominate people who support his campaign promises to top positions. TV news commentators seem surprised Trump is choosing men and women who agree with him. Kash Patel as Director of the FBI is drawing the ire of Democrats who fear he will serve the political interests of the President. Oddly, they seem to forget that the FBI under Presidents Obama and Biden did exactly that. The Russian collusion hoax, targeting parents who complained at PTA meetings, and the Peter Strzok-Lisa Page love affair overshadowed the great law enforcement activities of the FBI agents on the ground across the country.

Tonight, President Biden changed his mind and pardoned Hunter. No one should be surprised. Despite a gun charge and tax evasion, Hunter was usually acting on behalf of his dad and helped accumulate millions of dollars for the Biden family, including “10% for the Big Guy.”

Biden’s 180-degree turn gives America something to argue over other than college football upsets and positions in the 12-team playoff.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

        “Dr. Wilce, the Ohio State coach, just showed me their new stadium, seating 100,000, built by hard study and excellent scholarship. They can seat 200 students to every book in the university. They lost to Michigan by a kick after touchdown. He has 400 students practicing day and night to kick goals.”  DT #139, Jan. 14, 1927

(Note: On Saturday, the OSU kicker missed 2 field goals in the 13-10 loss to Michigan.)

This is Thanksgiving Week. Expressing gratitude is too important to limit to only one day. Especially when half the day may be devoted to watching football games. (Or perhaps for the younger folks, playing touch football in the front yard.)

I was reminded as I listened to one of my favorite ministers this morning that we need to express our gratitude. And to be grateful even when it may be hard to find something to be thankful for.  As my friend, Willie Jolley says, “Every setback is a chance to recalibrate, refocus, and rise stronger.”

President-elect Trump has completed the nomination process for most high-level positions. I was hoping one of my friends would be nominated for Secretary of Agriculture. But Brooke Rollins seems to have a solid background in agriculture and may have the stature to work with other Secretaries and Congress in support of farmers and ranchers. Helping Congress maneuver the competition of a 5-year Farm Bill will be her first job. The bill is two years overdue.

You have heard that Trump wants to eliminate the Department of Education. This department has been on its own since 1979. Prior to that it was part of the Health, Education and Welfare Department, formed in 1953. Unfortunately, the rankings of our students compared to other countries have declined during those years.

I come from a long line of public-school teachers. It is not the teachers’ fault that only 80% of adults can read today, compared to 90% in 1950. And math scores for students rank behind 25 other countries. The various new-fangled ways of doing simple arithmetic problems are so complicated that well-educated parents and grandparents can’t help their 9-year-old with homework. What about the other one of the 3 R’s? Writing skills are lacking, too. It’s no surprise that only 40% of employers consider their new employees, including college graduates, proficient in writing.

So, eliminate the Department of Education. Encourage the 4400 federal employees there to return to their hometown and take a teaching position. They just might learn something from other teachers, and even their students.

I’m grateful for all readers of my Weekly Comments. Let’s hope our schools can focus on teaching students the basics of “readin’, ritin’, and rithmetic” so more youngsters can comprehend, decipher, and debate the written word.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“It’s not a bad old Thanksgiving at that… Let’s see what we got to be thankful for. Congress adjourning, I know will be the first thing that comes into your mind. But that blessing will be short-lived, for they are soon to meet again. Wall Street stocks are about back up to where the suckers can start buying again. The farmers can be thankful. Didn’t the Farm Board decide in Washington last week that they could have cheaper interest? All the farmers have to do now is to find something new to put up as security.” DT #1042, Nov. 27, 1929

“Thanksgiving Day. In the days of its founders, they were willing to give thanks for mighty little, for mighty little was all they expected. But now neither government or nature can give enough but what we think it’s too little. Those old boys in the Fall of the year, if they could gather in a few pumpkins, potatoes and some corn for the winter, they was in a thanking mood. But if we can’t gather in a new Buick, a new radio, a tuxedo and some government relief, why we feel like the world is agin us.” DT #2594, Nov. 28, 1934

“The reason there wasn’t much unemployment in the last ten years pre- ceding ’29 [the Roaring Twenties] was every man that was out of a job went to work for the government—state or city. It costs ten times more to govern us than it used to, and we are not governed one-tenth as good.” DT #1770, March 27, 1932

Donald Trump has created quite a stir in naming about 40 nominees for Cabinet and other high-level positions. A couple of individuals are controversial, but no one has gotten the attention in Washington as much as the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE).

It’s not really a department; more of an advisory team headed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. They are determined to identify wasteful projects and programs.

Senator Lankford of Oklahoma already has a list from 2023, including these highly questionable expenditures of our tax dollars: Free Drag Shows in Ecuador; a study of the value of wearing seat belts and helmets in Ghana; building a Wine Country Walking Trail in Napa Valley ($4 million); a project to re-educate people who are ignorant about climate change ($400,000); and almost a Billion dollars on tents along the Mexican border to process illegal immigrants.

Will Rogers summed it up in 1932, “The crime of taxation is not in the taking it, it’s in the way that it’s spent.”

As Donald Trump prepares to take office on January 20, what can we expect in the first months of the second Trump Administration? Remember, he survived two assassination attempts and many supporters say he was saved by the Hand of God. We have heard him say he’ll immediately start deporting criminal illegal aliens, including gang members. And expand oil and gas production, including more facilities for exporting LNG. He will eliminate many excessive regulations that add costs to almost every product and service that we buy.

Concerning tariffs, I think Trump will use them mainly for bargaining for better trade deals with other countries. Except for China. Items we are used to buying at low prices from China will increase in price. This is either because of the tariff, or they will be manufactured in a more expensive country, including here.

What about Democrats who despise Trump and said he is a “threat to democracy?” Do they think there will be an election on Nov. 7, 2028? Are they still convinced he is another Hitler? Reminder: Hitler killed 6,000,000 Jews. Perhaps it’s time to permanently ban such derogatory names when referring to prominent politicians from either Party.

As a fun question, we can ask what magazine will be the first to put a flattering photo of First Lady Melania Trump on the cover?

Here’s another fun question: what if acres voted instead of people? We all know about “red” states (Republican) and “blue” states (Democratic). But have you seen a map of red and blue COUNTIES? For the 2024 Presidential election, the map of counties is almost 90% red. Of course, the counties with big cities have vastly more people than a typical rural county.

For discussion, exclude land owned by government, churches, and other non-tax paying entities. Suppose every privately owned acre of land had one vote. One acre equals one vote.

You may say that wouldn’t be fair. But do you realize that every acre is taxed? A farmer pays property taxes on every acre whether it makes any money or not. Every business pays property taxes. Don’t forget that forests and cropland provide a valuable service to us and animals. Plants “breathe in” carbon dioxide and expel oxygen. Without millions of acres of green plants, we wouldn’t have any oxygen to breathe.

How would this work? In towns and cities, for example if an apartment complex had 10 adults living on one acre, they would meet and decide which candidate gets their one vote. For a business or manufacturer, the owner or a Board of Directors would cast the votes for their acres.

Don’t worry. There’s no way three-fourths of the states would pass a Constitutional Amendment to make this change. Three-fourths of counties, yes. But not states.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

“Did you charge off money given to the Democratic campaign? You could, it’s a legitimate charity, not organized, but a charity nonetheless.” DT #822, March 15, 1929

Today, most of my Republican friends are as happy as a hog wallowing in a mud puddle. And some Democratic friends are drowning in their tears.

As I watched the gathering at the Harris/Walz Victory Party, about midnight I halfway expected to hear the ghost of Don Meridith start singing, “Turn out the lights, the party’s over.” (Older fans of Monday Night Football will get that one.)

In some of our top universities, with our top students, the election results were so troubling that professors canceled classes Wednesday so they could get therapy, hold hands and play tiddlywinks. And that was just for the professors.

Another group dealing with grief are journalists. Many journalists have forgotten their job is to collect information and process it into a newsworthy form for the public. Instead, they became biased advocates and commentators in their “news” stories.

“All I know is what I read in the newspaper.” If the only newspapers you read recently were the New York Times and the Washington Post, three-fourths of the political news was slanted favorably toward Kamala Harris and negatively toward Donald Trump. Most network TV coverage was similar. In general, mass media failed to recognize the disappointment by the majority of Americans in the economy, inflation, illegal immigration, crime, religious division, and other issues they dealt with daily.

If our journalists, especially the White House Press Corps, had reported honestly on the mental decline of President Biden, the Democrats would have had an open Primary election season with several candidates, including Kamala Harris. The candidate who emerged would have been “toughened in battle” and well prepared to take on Donald Trump.

Unfortunately, Kamala Harris was plucked out of the air as an untested substitute. You are reading and hearing many reasons why she lost to Trump. I’m offering this one: she has no ability to respond to impromptu questions with answers that are precise, accurate and short. Naturally, almost every politician learns how to avoid direct answers. But at some point, a candidate for President has to clearly state their policies and plans to implement them.

Also, the Vice-President based her campaign mainly on abortion, January 6, and that Trump is a felon. Those were not the top issues for the voters.

Bill Clinton got elected in the 1990s with the theme, “It’s the economy, stupid.” I heard a pundit explain one reason Harris/Walz lost was their underlying theme, “The economy is great. You’re stupid.”

The Harris/Walz campaign raised and spent a BILLION dollars. As Will Rogers wrote in 1931, “Politics has got so expensive that it takes lots of money to even get beat with nowadays.”

Despite the Trump win, Democrats won more Senate and House seats than expected.

Tomorrow is Veterans Day. This date marks the official end of World War I, on 11/11 at 11:00 a.m., 1918. We salute all veterans. In 1927, Will Rogers wrote that we should honor our veterans and keep them in a good humor because if another war breaks out “we might want to use these boys again.”

With the election over, Congress will soon reconvene in what’s known as a lame-duck session. As Will Rogers defined it after the 1932 election, a Lame-Duck Congress is “like where some fellows worked for you and their work wasn’t satisfactory and you let ’em out, but after you fired ’em, you let ’em stay long enough so they could burn your house down.”

Historic quotes by Will Rogers

“FOR SALE—Would like to sell, trade, dispose of or give away to right parties the right of franchise of what is humorously known as Democratic Party. Said franchise calls for license to enter in national elections; said right of franchise is supposed to be used every four years, but if intelligent parties had it, they would let various elections go by default when understood they had no chance. If in right hands and only used in times when it had an ‘issue’ or when Republican Party had split, think it could be made to pay, but present owners have absolutely no business with it. Under present management they have killed off more good men than [railroad] crossings have.” DT #712, Nov. 7, 1928

“Let everybody, including the candidates, get into a good humor as quick as they got into a bad one. Both gangs have been bad sports, so see if at least one can’t redeem themselves by offering no alibis, but cooperate with the winner. So, cheer up. Let’s all be friends again. One of the evils of democracy is you have to put up with the [person] you elect whether you want him or not. That’s why we call it democracy.”  DT 1953, Nov. 7, 1932

Since I’m flying to Oklahoma tomorrow, I’m letting Will Rogers take over my column. After all, he knows a lot more about politics, campaigns, and elections than I will ever learn.

“Come pretty near having two holidays of equal importance in the same week: Halloween and Election, and of the two, Election provides the most fun. On Halloween they put pumpkins on their heads, and on Election they don’t have to.” DT #1334, Nov. 2, 1930

“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.” Life magazine, Oct. 19, 1928

“In this country people don’t vote for; they vote against.” Radio, June 9, 1935

“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

“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

“Every Guy just looks in his pockets and then votes.” WA #196, Sept. 12, 1926

        “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.  DT #1948, Nov. 1, 1932

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

“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

You all know Bob Woodward, the journalist who became famous for uncovering the “Watergate” scandal that led to the resignation of President Nixon.

Do you remember reading Woodward’s column in July 2023 in the Washington Post about the mental decline of President Biden? At a fundraising event Biden “never completed a sentence. He told the same story three times in exactly the same way and it meandered… He was just rambling and talking as to what came into his head.” Woodward included several other similar quotes by people close to Biden.

How did President Biden survive such an embarrassing column and go through the Democratic primaries with no prominent opponents? Why didn’t VP Harris jump into the race? And Governor Newsom, and even Gov. Walz?

Well, the reason is that Bob Woodward, the hotshot journalist, sat on this “Breaking News.” He never wrote about it in the newspaper. He kept it secret for 16 months so he could include it in a book he just released.

Thanks to Woodward’s lack of journalistic ethics, Joe Biden is still President. VP Harris is struggling in her three months as a candidate because she had no challenges to sharpen her politicking skills. It would be like an NFL team being selected to play in the Super Bowl after playing no games, NONE, during the season. In that scenario, even the Cleveland Browns could beat them 70-0.

Regardless, the Harris-Trump race is a dead heat, 50-50. Most political commentators think Pennsylvania is the key to victory. Candidate Harris discovered that natural gas is a major source of wealth to Pennsylvanians. (PA along with Ohio and West Virginia accounts for more than a third of this country’s natural gas supply.) So, she altered her total ban on hydraulic fracturing. She now says fracking is fine in Pennsylvania because a survey showed that more than 75% of voters there believe natural-gas drilling is important to the economy and do not want to pay an extra $100 a month for gas and electricity. For voters in the other 49 states, she wants you to know she is still against fracking.

Speaking of voters, the Biden Justice Department is forcing Virginia to allow non-citizens to vote. Is that in the Constitution? Is it a threat to democracy?

Trump and Harris are calling each other hateful names. You’ve heard them over and over so I don’t need to repeat them all. “Crazy” and “misguided” are two of the milder insults. One candidate was president for 4 years so we know his policies pretty well. The other candidate is President Biden’s VP and she says she agrees with him on all important decisions made since January 2021. The clear differences make you wonder how any legitimate voter could be undecided.

The World Series started and the LA Dodgers won the first two games over the NY Yankees. If it goes seven games, it will conflict with plenty of political speeches. As Will Rogers wrote in 1928, “My idea of the height of conceit would be a political speaker that would go on the air when that World Series is on.”

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. (They are) saying things that if they were in their right minds they wouldn’t think of saying.” DT #1948, Nov. 1, 1932

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

Note: I’ll be in Claremore, Oklahoma next weekend for Will Rogers Days, celebrating his birthday, #145. Will was born on Nov. 4, 1879.

Candidate Kamala Harris was interviewed Wednesday by Bret Baier on Fox News. Here is a link to the interview: https://www.foxnews.com/video/6363303582112. I encourage you to watch it.

In the interview, she responded to questions about immigration, trans-gender surgery, the economy, and inflation.

Do you wish she had given short, clear, honest answers? Well, you’re in luck! Here are a few of the questions Mr. Baier asked (paraphrased and shortened), and answers VP Harris might have said.

Bret Baier: How many illegal immigrants have you allowed into the country since January 2021?

VP Kamala Harris: About 10 million.

BB: Do you regret canceling Trump’s executive orders that would have required most of these 10 million to stay in Mexico until approved for asylum?

KH: No, we wanted them all here. The more the merrier. And the very first bill we submitted to Congress would have given immediate citizenship to almost all of the aliens already here.

BB: Do you regret that Laken Reilly and others were killed by immigrants that your administration released, and do you owe their families an apology?

KH: Of course, I feel sad for those families. But when you allow millions of immigrants into the country without proper vetting, you’re bound to get a few murderers, gang members and thieves.

BB: Why do the Border Patrol Agents support Trump instead of you?

KH: Probably because I want them to happily welcome immigrants as they cross the border. I insist they take good care of them, give them water, food that matches their culture, and put them on a bus or airplane to get them to a city or town of their choice.

BB: Do you still support taxpayer funded trans-gender surgery for illegal immigrant men in prison who want to become women?

KH: Yes.

BB: Why do more people support Trump on the economy than you?

KH: Well, when you honestly look at the economy under Trump before Covid, and compare it to the economy after Joe and I took office, who can blame them? We added trillions in Federal debt and accumulated 20% inflation, mainly with two bills that passed thanks to my tie-breaking votes in the Senate.

BB: Your campaign theme is ‘Turn the page.’ You’ve been VP since January 2021. What are you ‘turning the page’ from?

KH: I’ve said repeatedly that there were no actions that Biden took that I would change. I’m not Joe Biden. I’m not a Washington politician. My presidency will be based on my values. And my values are rooted in San Francisco, California.

BB: Almost 80% of Americans say the country is ‘on the wrong track.’ You’ve been in office three and a half years.

KH: A long time ago I think Will Rogers said that even if you’re on the right track, if you’re just sitting still, you’ll get run over. Well, we are NOT sitting still.

BB: You spent 90 minutes with Trump on the debate stage. You concluded that Trump is mentally unstable. You have been with President Biden at least once a week. When did you first notice that President Biden’s mental faculties appeared diminished?

KH: About two years ago.

BB: (Note: he didn’t ask this but could have) We invited you on Fox News so you could elaborate on your policies, your plans, your goals for the country. Instead, you mentioned Donald Trump 21 times and said very little about yourself.

KH: Well, since your viewers know very little about Donald Trump, I felt compelled to inform them using the majority of the 20 minutes I could spare for this interview.  On my website, KamalaHarris.com, I have summarized my policies, plans and goals clearly and precisely in a document that is only 80 pages of fine print. I hope your 8 million viewers will devote at least 6 or 7 hours, uninterrupted, to read and understand what I was determined to avoid saying tonight.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

“Every gag I tell must be based on truth. No matter how much I may exaggerate it, it must have a certain amount of truth.” WA #65, March 9, 1924

Columbus: Two hurricanes hit Florida in two weeks. Those of us with no direct experience with a hurricane usually think of it as extremely forceful winds. The worst effects of Hurricane Helene, in destruction and loss of over 200 lives, were the result of 20 to 30 inches of rain 500 miles from the coast. And Milton caused tornadoes that killed at least 17 in Florida.

Millions of victims in Florida and other Southeast states are suffering without electricity, clean water, infrastructure, and other basic necessities.

You can decide whether global warming has made hurricanes worse. A group of scientists concluded that both hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico were 30% worse because the global temperature has risen 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit since the Year 1750. They seem to suggest we return to the Pre-Industrial Age, before we had any machinery or other technology powered by fossil fuels, including electricity. Back then the world population was less than 800 million, about one-tenth the population today.

Here are a couple of questions to ponder. Did increasing the population to 8 Billion cause global warming? Did industrialization, powered mainly by coal, oil and natural gas, result in rapid population growth? If the rest of the world followed our lead in reducing “global warming emissions” would that cool the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and reduce our destructive hurricanes?

I read another science article that says we should expect to cool off with another “Ice Age.” But we’ll have to hang around for 100,000 years to see it.

Tomorrow, we celebrate Columbus Day, which used to be on October 12. Based on the quote below, Will Rogers (one-quarter Cherokee) would applaud the decision to also make it Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

      “Christopher (Columbus) was just a victim of not knowing what was going to happen to him next. Somebody would have found America though, even if he hadn’t, for you couldn’t hardly get around without running into it. Why they didn’t find it sooner is more than I will ever know. Being an Indian, I don’t mind telling you personally I am sorry he ever found it. The discovery has been of no material benefit to us, outside of losing all the land. And I am proud to say that I have never yet seen a Statue in Oklahoma to him. He wasn’t so much of a discoverer as he was just restless and couldn’t stay in one place.” WA #190, Aug. 1, 1926

The loss of lives and property from Hurricane Helene keep adding up. This hurricane may end up more horrendous than Katrina in 2005.

An outstanding farmer I know in Hickory, North Carolina, immediately rounded up a few friends and began using their drones to airlift supplies, up to 5 miles, to families in the mountains who were cut off. All they needed was an address. Others are bringing them trailer loads of equipment, water, food, generators and other necessary items, often from hundreds of miles away. Of course, charities such as Red Cross, Samaritan’s Purse, UMCOR, and others quickly geared up to help in all the states hit by flooding. The Federal government is providing help through FEMA and our military.

The union representing Longshoremen along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts agreed to a temporary 3-month delay in their strike. They will get a big raise in hourly wages to help offset the high inflation of recent years. But they are determined to stop automation from taking their jobs on the docks. Our ports are already far behind others around the world in efficiency, so automation and other technology advancements are inevitable.

Can you imagine if our farmers had resisted new technology and automation for the last 50 years? Yes, there would be 3 or 4 times as many people working on farms, earning a wage. But our food would more than double in cost. If fact, more of our food would be grown in other countries by farmers using the latest technology. Interestingly, that would provide more work for Longshoremen handling imports. However, our exports of corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, almonds, meat and most other agriculture products would dwindle because other countries would out compete us.

A few readers have replied than I have included more negative comments about Kamala Harris than about Donald Trump. To balance the discussion, I am hereby including quotes by Democrats trashing Trump.

Just like you, I’ve seen plenty on social media and television. Here are a few: “Donny Boy has his own special language: demented word salad gibberish.”  “It’s almost impossible to believe he actually exists.” “Trump needs to be extinguished.” “Corrupt and corrupting orange clown.” “Trump is an existential threat to democracy.” “Trump peddles in anti-Semitic stereotypes and fuels Islamophobia.” “What a f**king a**hole the guy is.”

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

       “Some people spend a lifetime juggling with words, with not an idea in a carload.” DT #2061, March 13, 1933

       “No man is great if he thinks he is.” DT #810, March 1, 1929

      “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.”  DT #1948, Nov. 1, 1932

Note: I switched parties on this quote because Republicans were in charge in 1932, and Democrats are today. “[Republicans] are attacking and the [Democrats] are defending. All the [Republicans] have to do is promise ‘what they would do if they got in.’ But the [Democrats] have to promise ‘what they would do’ and then explain why they haven’t already done it.” DT #1917, Sept. 26, 1932

If I told you there are 28,000 convicted murderers and rapists roaming freely around the country, you would be alarmed and demand, “Who are the idiots who opened the prisons?”

Well, it’s not open prisons. It’s open borders. And we know who opened the borders. These 28,000 are among the 400,000 illegal immigrants who are convicted or charged with severe crimes according to a report from ICE (U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

So, where are these criminal immigrants? Most are in sanctuary cities and states where local authorities are forbidden to arrest and turn them over to ICE. You will recall that VP Kamala Harris, the Border Czar, has been prominent in her support for illegal immigrants, including comparing ICE to the hated KKK. She has opposed detaining and deporting any illegal immigrants.

However, on Friday, Kamala Harris walked along the border wall in Cochise County, Arizona. (The same wall she opposed as a Senator; built during the Trump Administration). This was the first time she had been to the actual border. (Yes, she visited El Paso in June 2021, but stayed 8 miles away from the border.)

There are two questions candidate Harris needs to answer: “Have you completely changed your position on illegal immigration from 5 years ago?” “And, if so, why didn’t you insist that President Biden adopt your plan in January 2021?”

The only remaining debate will be Tuesday night (Oct. 1). This will be between the VP candidates, JD Vance and Tim Walz. Do you think we’ll learn anything new about their views or the policies of Trump and Harris?

I hope the Moderators ask a series of questions, such as, “If you are the ‘last person in the room’ with the President, what would be your advice on solving or minimizing international conflicts involving… Iran financing terror against Israel? Putin’s war against Ukraine? China’s threat to Taiwan and the Philippines? Mexican cartels controlling our southern border?

Hurricane Helene struck the Gulf Coast of Florida with a storm surge that flooded or destroyed structures up to 10 feet above sea level. The devastation continued across much of the Southeast with record rainfall. Ashville, North Carolina and other areas in the Smoky Mountains on both sides of the Tennessee border are especially hurting. Almost a hundred have lost their lives. The Red Cross and other supporting groups can use our help.

Last week I mentioned our farmers who are being hurt by drought. Now, the farmers in our Southeast states are losing crops to flooding and wind. For example, peanuts and cotton were ready for harvest. Peach and pecan trees were uprooted. The financial pain for the farmers and their communities will be much worse than us perhaps missing out on peanut butter fudge or peach cobbler.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

      “You know the more you read and observe about this Politics thing, you got to admit that each party is worse than the other.” WA #3, Dec. 31, 1922

     “People are marvelous in their generosity if they just know the cause is there.” DT #1523, June 10, 1931