Category: Uncategorized

Instead of giving you my comments on current issues, I’m going to ask questions and let you answer. It’s not a quiz. No grades will be published.

If a Deputy Sheriff stops a person for going 80 mph in a 55-mph zone, should the driver obey her request to check license and registration?

If that speeder ignores the request and roars off, should the Deputy quickly follow, or let her go?

If an illegal immigrant sexual predator has been living in your state for 5 years, should he be arrested by I.C.E. and deported?

If an illegal immigrant sexual predator moves in next door, should he be arrested by I.C.E. and deported?

If a sanctuary state orders federal law enforcement to leave, should the President agree? And also stop all federal funding?

What percent of total federal income taxes should the top 10 percent of wage earners pay: 50%; 75%; 85%; or 95%?

What percent of total federal income taxes should the bottom half of wage earners pay? 1%; 3%; 10%; or 25%?

Who deserves the most support, the victim of a crime or the perpetrator?

If the victim of a major crime is a person you don’t like, do you favor a light sentence for the perpetrator?

Which organization is known to arrest citizens of its own country, send them to concentration camps and kill thousands: I.C.E.; FBI; or Gestapo?

Which type of government is most likely to provide plenty of good food at a reasonable price to poor people: Socialist or Capitalist?

Which type of government is most likely to provide opportunities for an average person to increase income and prosper: Socialist or Capitalist?

Of the two main groups of protesters, those for freedom in Iran, or those against I.C.E, which has had the most shot and killed by officials?

If a paid protester throws a brick through the windshield of an I.C.E. vehicle, is that considered freedom of speech?

If protesters commit a crime, should the persons who paid and trained the protesters be charged also?

If legal immigrants are defrauding the state or federal government, should they be deported?

If elected officials (Governor, Attorney General, Legislators, etc.) know about and ignore major fraud, should they be tried and sent to prison?

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

“An Indian (says) the reason a white man always got lost and an Indian didn’t was because an Indian always looked back after he passed anything so he got a view of it from both sides. You see the white man just figures that all sides of a thing are the same. That’s like a dumb guy with an argument, he don’t think there can be any other side only his. That’s what you call politicians.

You can learn a lot from what that Indian (said) besides just how not to get lost. You must never disagree with a man while you are facing him. Go around behind him and look the same way they do when you are facing him. Look over his shoulder and get his viewpoint, then go back and face him and you will have a different idea.” WA#514, October30, 1932

What a way to start the celebration of our 250^th year!

Nicolas Maduro, a narcotics kingpin with a $25 Million bounty on his head, was arrested in Venezuela on Saturday. Venezuelans around the world are celebrating. Wow!

If that was all you knew about this big News, probably everyone in the U.S. would be celebrating with the Venezuelans (except the Venezuelan drug gangs).

But because President Trump ordered our Armed Forces to make the arrest, and without alerting 535 members of Congress a week ahead about the top-secret mission, plenty of people are criticizing and protesting Maduro’s removal.

New York City has a new mayor, Zohran Mamdani. At his inauguration he declared an end to individualism, to be replaced by collectivism. Collectivism sounds familiar to anyone who knows the history of the old USSR. It is still practiced in Cuba and North Korea.

Mayor Mamdani was cheered wildly by his supporters as he was sworn in by a U.S. Senator. It wasn’t a Senator from New York, but Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a fellow Democrat-Socialist who splits his time among three houses. Since none are in New York City, Senator Sanders is in no danger of losing two of them in the name of collectivism.

It’s no surprise that the protest in New York City about Maduro’s arrest was led by the young folks who swept Mamdani into office. They hate to see a fellow Democrat-Socialist lose power. They are too young and uninformed to know that in the 1990s Venezuela was the third strongest economy in the Western Hemisphere. That all began a slow decline 25 years ago when a new president was elected on the promise to “eliminate income inequality.”

Minnesota Governor Walz is thrilled to be off the front page for a few days. But the fraud by the Somalis that he ignored cost us Billions. I read that in Somalia bribery and fraud is ordinary practice. It’s a way of life. So, it should be no surprise that several would continue the same lifestyle in Minneapolis.

By the way, the bounty on Maduro’s head was increased to $25 million by President Biden. Also, in the last 8 years, about 8 million Venezuelans left the country. If Mamdani is in office for 8 years, do you think an equivalent number may leave New York City?

I’m optimistic about 2026. Regardless of politics, we are optimistic folks. The sun will come up in the morning. The economy will keep growing. For those who, unfortunately, may not benefit, the second Will Rogers quote below gives hope. We are generous to those in “actual need throughout the country.”

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“A conservative [Republican] is a man who has plenty of money and doesn’t see any reason why he shouldn’t always have plenty of money. A Democrat is a fellow who never had any, but doesn’t see any reason why he shouldn’t have some.” WA #535, March 26, 1935

“Well, Christmas has passed. I was just thinking if there was some way to make the Christmas spirit continue during the other days of the year, why we would be the most happy and wonderful Nation on Earth. Gosh, if all of us that was able would just feed and do things for folks without waiting till Christmas. I think we mean well, but we just sorter got in our heads that about one day a year pays our obligations off, then we swell up and hide our Conscience till the next gift day comes along. With all of our fact-finding departments in our Government, and all our statistics gatherers, I believe you could increase generosity 100 to 1000-fold if there was some way of finding out just exactly the people that were in actual need throughout the country.”  WA #628, Jan. 6, 1935

How has 2025 been for you? For many, it has been a mix of both good and sad news, high expectations and disappointing results.

The year had a crushing start for Will Rogers fans and family. On Jan. 7, the Pacific Palisades fire in California destroyed the house and barn at the Will Rogers State Historic Park.

I won’t go into details of policies and politics that contributed to the tragic loss of over 6000 structures. Unfortunately, hardly any new construction has been started to rebuild Pacific Palisades and other LA suburbs destroyed by the fires.

Of course, the election of Donald Trump and a Republican Congress has had the most impact on 2025. This is probably the most sudden impact for any new President since Franklin Roosevelt in 1933. The country is divided on whether that impact is good or bad.

On the economy, Sen. Schumer gave President Trump an F. However, most Republicans are pleased with low inflation, lower gasoline prices, slightly lower interest rates, and the S&P 500 is up 18%. And Trump emphasizes the changes in taxes that will take effect in 2026.

The contrast of illegal immigration under President Biden and President Trump is the most dramatic, from 10,000,000 to near 0. The Dept. of Homeland Security (I.C.E.) has arrested and deported 600,000 criminal immigrants and 2,000,000 have self-deported.

Oddly, a lot of Americans protest the removal of murderers, rapists, drug dealers and other illegal aliens who committed serious crimes. They are led by a few Governors and Mayors who seem to favor criminals over their own citizens and victims of those criminals.

Internationally, Trump’s success at negotiating peace settlements, including Radical Islamists vs. Israel, has hit a road block in Ukraine. Putin of Russia does not negotiate. Unlike other national leaders, Putin has no soul, no concern for human life except his own. For Putin, capturing Ukraine is simply the first step to overrun eastern Europe and restore the former USSR.

A couple of personal notes: I recovered quickly from open-heart surgery in July. Only missed a couple of events and was back to full strength by September. Jennifer Rogers, Will’s great-granddaughter, and I finished our little book, “Common Horse Sense from Will Rogers: Seven Timeless Tips for Leaders (and Everyone Else).” And I announced that I am transitioning out as the main organizer for the annual Conservation Tillage and Technology Conference after 39 years.

Looking forward to the new year… I’m continuing as Executive Director of the Ohio No-Till Council. I’ll be speaking at the National No-Till Conference in St. Louis, Jan. 6-9. Jennifer Rogers and I are working on an expanded version of our “Common Horse Sense” book and preparing for presentations across the country as the USA celebrates 250 years. Plus, Historic Route 66, from Chicago to Santa Monica (and going through Claremore, Oklahoma) is celebrating 100 years.

I hope you have plenty of reasons to anticipate a Happy New Year.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

       “If I wanted to start an insane asylum that would be 100 percent cuckoo, I would just admit applicants that thought they knew something about Russia.” DT #1291, Sept. 14, 1934

      “I know common sense when I see it, and the commoner the better I know it.” WA #202, Oct. 24, 1926

      “A comedian is not supposed to be serious nor to know much. As long as he is silly enough to get laughs, why, people let it go at that. But I claim you have to have a serious streak in you or you can’t see the funny side in the other fellow.” WA #13, March 11, 1923

COLUMBUS, Ohio: I feel sad for “my” friend Henry Ford. In 1908 he sold the first Model T Ford for $850. In a few years, half the vehicles on American roads, including those in the ditch, were Model T Fords.

Henry Ford accomplished this feat without government support or incentive payments to the buyers. And he never sold one for less than it cost to produce it.

Roughly a hundred years later, Henry’s great-grandson Bill Ford, and the Board of Directors, announced the company would take an immediate write off of $19,000,000,000 after losing $13,000,000,000 in four years of manufacturing an electric pickup, the Ford F-150 Lightning.

How and why did this happen? Bill Ford is a smart man. The Board is comprised of smart business people. But in 2021, President Biden followed the advice of climatologists and announced that any automotive manufacturer that hoped to be in business in ten years had better plan to shut down production of gasoline cars and trucks. All new vehicles would soon be electric, with the power coming from solar and wind.

So, Ford was coerced into spending billions to produce the Ford F-150 Lightning, then sell each one at a $50,000 loss.

Two weeks ago, in “Weekly Comments” I wrote about this situation, without the details. President Trump lifted the Biden-era restrictions on gasoline.

Of course, this is not without controversy. Many well-informed smart folks say that reducing carbon dioxide is more important than allowing us to drive vehicles that we prefer. And if manufacturers lose Billions, that’s better than the Trillions global warming will cost us. With rising ocean levels, coastal cities and communities will be swamped. With rising summer temperatures, the Corn Belt will become the new Cotton Belt.

Meanwhile, Congress left town without solving the over-priced health insurance problem. Here’s why the “Affordable Care Act” is unaffordable. Imagine an auto insurance company that announces they will only insure cars and trucks for lousy drivers. They know the claims will be at least triple the income from premiums, but are counting on the government to keep them in business. Now, this is not exactly how Obamacare was set up. But by setting the rates the same for healthy young folks as for people with chronic diseases and other health problems, it’s logical that healthy people would refuse to buy the insurance. Congress can’t seem to reach a compromise that keeps health insurance subsidies for low-income people, eliminates cheating, and reduces overall health costs for all of us, not just the 20- to 40-million on Obamacare.

I hope you are in the Christmas spirit. Men are glad to have three more days to decide what to buy for the women in their lives. And if you are buying your wife a new vehicle, please consider a Ford. They need a few million sales to make up the $32 Billion lost on Lightning.

Historic (Christmas) quotes by Will Rogers:

“I am too busy replacing presents to write today. I bought some mechanical and electric things for the kids and wore ’em out playing with ’em myself.”  DT #120, Dec. 23, 1926

“Merry Christmas, my constant readers, both of you…. Men, act surprised this morning as if you didn’t know the tie was coming.”  DT #121, Dec. 24, 1926

“Well, tomorrow is ‘wish’ day. Everybody is ‘wishing’ somebody something, and I guess it’s just as well everybody don’t know what they are being ‘wished.’ But, generally speaking, we do have good cheer in our hearts on Christmas. ‘Course, we can’t hardly wait till the day is over and to get back to our devilment again.” DT # 1379, Dec. 24, 1930

Wars, and rumors of wars. Some folks say we are at war with Venezuela. Did you know Thailand is at war with Cambodia?

Will Rogers wrote, “They are pretty bad, these big wars over Commerce. They kill more people. But one over religion is really the most bitter.” (WA #350, Sept. 8, 1929)

The biggest and longest war over religion is one that President Thomas Jefferson entered in 1801 against radical Muslims in the Mediterranean Sea. Attacks by radical Muslims continued through the years. The deadliest for us was on September 11, 2001. Israel was attacked on October 7, 2023. In a relatively minor attack, we lost two soldiers in Syria last week. Then yesterday in Australia, on the first day of Hanukkah, a pair of Islamic radicals killed at least 16 Jews and injured 40 others.

Radical Muslims have been in a religious war against Jews, Christians and everybody else for more than two hundred years. The hatred against Jews was allowed to expand here on college campuses and a few cities after the Oct. 7 murders. You may criticize President Trump, but he put an end to those campus takeovers. The FBI and Homeland Security are searching out potential Islamic murderers who either entered illegally or were welcomed as refugees from Afghanistan, Somalia and other countries.

In Australia, the government was warned for two years about radical Islamic influence but did nothing to stop it.

Unfortunately, the civilized world may be harassed by radical Muslims for another 200 years.

You probably heard that farmers will receive $12 Billion from USDA. And you may be wondering why. Well, the cost of the inputs a farmer needs to raise a crop (seed, fertilizer, diesel fuel, pesticides) has increased a lot over the last 5 or 6 years while the price received for those crops has been stagnant. Tariffs against China get part of the blame.

China has been a major buyer of our crops, especially soybeans. When President Trump started using tariffs as a way to balance trade, the Communist leader, Xi Jinping, decided to stop buying our soybeans to get even with Trump.

Our farmers are so productive that we depend on exports, especially for soybeans, corn, wheat and cotton, to use up our crops.

Ninety years ago, the plan was to reduce production. As Will Rogers said on radio, April 21, 1935, “Somebody had a plan to plow under every third acre of wheat…We wanted to raise commodity prices, and (Secretary of Agriculture) Henry Wallace, naturally wanted to give the farmer a profit.” For the last fifty years, the policy reversed: grow all we can grow, find non-food uses (ethanol from corn), and “feed the world.” But the world found other places they can get their food from, often at a cheaper price.

This is far from a complete explanation of why or how, or even which, farmers will receive their share of the money. The funds will come from tariffs already collected.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

        “This Tariff, it’s what started Politics… It split Washington and Jefferson…  (President) Hoover pulled a bad one when he ever let them kid him into promising to monkey with that thing. It was before election and he was trying to please everybody. All he had to promise to do was to get some sort of legislation to assist the Farmer. If there is one deed in Mr. Hoover’s life he would like to live over and have another crack at, it’s this same opening up that Tariff debate. For twenty men can enter a room as friends and someone can bring up the Tariff and you will find nineteen bodies on the floor with only one living that escaped. There is only one answer to it. ‘I want everything protected that I make, or raise, and I want everything to come in free that I have to buy.’ So as no two raise, make, eat and wear exactly the same things, there is no two that would ever agree 100 percent.” (WA #350, Sept. 8, 1929)

On this date in 1941, also a Sunday, Japan launched a surprise attack on our naval base at Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands. The USS Oklahoma and USS Arizona were sunk and other battleships were badly damaged. More than 2400 Americans were killed and 1100 wounded.

You may remember that last year the Biden Administration declared the average gas mileage for cars and SUVs would increase dramatically to 50 miles per gallon by 2031. In response, Ford, GM, and most other auto manufacturers invested billions in factories to build electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries. Why? Because it would be impossible to persuade us to trade our roomy SUVs and pick-ups that get 20 to 30 mpg for tiny gas-powered “minis” that get 50.

Meanwhile, the manufacturers have lost billions on the EVs they sold (with a $7500 rebate to the buyer). They have to charge more for gas-powered cars and trucks to make up for the loss.

The exception to this financial debacle is Tesla. Their EVs are popular and Tesla (Elon Musk) has made a pile of money. Tesla’s stock price in ten years rose from $15 to $450. Ford stock in 2015 was $9 and today it’s up to… $13.

This week, the Trump Administration canceled the 50-mpg requirement, reducing it to 35 miles per gallon.

I don’t pretend to know the business of building cars and trucks or what fuel they ought to run on. I’ve heard that we are getting short on electricity as demand, especially from huge data centers, is increasing faster than we are building baseload power plants. At the same time, we seem to have an abundance of oil.

New York City is gearing up for the new mayor. Except for the 1,100,000 that voted for Mr. Mamdani, everyone understands the wisdom from Winston Churchill, “The vice of capitalism is that it represents the unequal sharing of blessings; whereas socialism stands for the equal sharing of misery.”

On a high note, as we enter the Christmas season, we recognize a fellow who, 40 years ago, started building computers in his dorm room at the University of Texas. This week, Michael Dell and his wife announced they are donating $6.4 Billion to add to the $1000 accounts set up for every baby born in the next 3 years. That gift will add about $250 for each of those babies. Dell is encouraging other wealthy folks to donate. As Will Rogers wrote, “People are marvelous in their generosity if they just know the cause is there.” (DT #1523, June 10, 1931)

Here is an item in the new book by Jennifer Rogers and me, “Common Horse Sense from Will Rogers: Seven Timeless Tips for Leaders (and Everyone Else)”: On Henry Ford, who invented assembly line production for cars: “If there had never been a Ford car, there never would have been a cheap car…. Ford’s success is due to the fact he uses common sense in his business instead of a board of directors. He shames a lot of the other concerns in paying high wages. He believes in giving a man a job.” (Radio, June 1, 1930)

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

         “The best news in the paper today was no joke. The Rockefeller Foundation, for the health and betterment of people of all parts of the world, spent $22,000,000 last year and $144,000,000 since its organization in 1913. And it’s been worth $1,000,000 as an inspiration to other tremendous rich men to do fine things.   

          “The whole viewpoint of the people in regard to our rich men has been changed in the last few years. Now we judge a man’s greatness on how he has spent his money. I guess there has never been a time in our history when as many fools are making money as now. Just to be rich and nothing else, is practically a disgrace nowadays.” DT #897, June 11, 1929 (Note: this was 5 months before the stock market crashed)

Sarah Beckstrom, a young National Guard soldier from Webster County, West Virginia (about 30 miles from my hometown) was murdered by a radical Islamic Muslim from Afghanistan. He is in this country only because he was one of thousands flown here after our disastrous withdrawal from the country in 2021. He shot another West Virginia soldier, Andrew Wolfe, who may not survive.

We’re always generous towards those who help us in war. In the case of Afghans, we should have safely transported them to another country where Islam is the main religion. They would feel right at home there instead of being so frustrated a few of them decide to murder Americans.

We’ve got some home-grown nutty folks, too, including political leaders. They oppose law enforcement officers who are arresting dangerous criminals.

Switching from today’s news… here is a highlight from our new book, “Common Horse Sense from Will Rogers: Seven Timeless Tips for Leaders (and Everyone Else).”

“Will Rogers lived his life as a role model for leaders (and everyone else). ‘Live your life so that whenever you lose (it), you’re ahead.’ When Will wrote that in 1931, he added, ‘Get a few laughs, do the best you can.’

“Once, on the ‘lecture circuit,’ Will left his hotel and walked to the theater just in time to go on stage. Outside the theater, a group of black kids, teenagers, and probably a few adults were standing on the sidewalk, hoping to get a chance to see the famous Will Rogers. You might guess that a star performer would greet the group briefly and move on. But not Will. He pulled out his lassos and gave them a free show for at least 30 minutes, while the folks inside waited impatiently for him to take the stage. Why did Will do this? The theater was segregated. Those young Blacks were not allowed to go inside.

“In 1929, he made the first of 21 “talkies” (movies with sound). The producers and directors, including Oscar-winning John Ford, gave Will complete freedom to change scripts and alter scenes. Will used that freedom to promote the growth of fellow actors, including Lincoln Perry, known as Stepin’ Fetchit, Bill Robinson, known as Bojangles, and Henry B. Walthall. Will Rogers created situations where these three actors could grow beyond what was expected of them.”

This $5 book, by Jennifer Rogers and me, is available from: ShopWillRogers.com/collections/books. It can make a nice little gift slipped in with bigger presents.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

       “Like a lot of my big ideas, they don’t seem to work out. There must be a bit of college professor in me somewhere.” DT #2208, Aug. 31, 1933

Since this is Thanksgiving week I’m focusing on gratitude for blessings received in 2025.

I’ll start with the doctors and nurses at Riverside Methodist and Dublin Methodist Hospitals. They detected an aortic aneurysm and replaced it in July.

The rest of these are in random order.

My friends in the National Speakers Association and the Ohio Chapter of NSA are inspiring and generous with tips to make me a better speaker. Several have been friends for more than 30 years.

I’m grateful for friends and colleagues in my work as an agricultural engineer, especially at Ohio State University since 1979, and farmers and other professionals involved with no-till farming and soil health across the state and country. It is a pleasure to serve with them in making our food system the best in the world. Healthy soils are the foundation for healthy people.

Jennifer Rogers (Will’s great-granddaughter) is the co-author of our new book, “Common Horse Sense from Will Rogers: 7 Timeless Tips for Leaders (and Everyone Else).” At a time in the country when common sense is often lacking, this little book provides inspiring, uplifting stories from Will Rogers. We’re grateful for readers who have left wonderful messages. (Available for $4.95 at ShopWillRogers.com/collections/books)

Carl and Deb Potter of Haskell, Oklahoma, suggested I write a leadership book based on Will Rogers and in one evening we had the basic framework for it.

Tracey Jones, owner of TremendousLeadership.com, published our book. It is the 37^th in a series of Life-Changing Classics.

The YMCA in Hilliard provides the equipment to help me get in good physical shape and stay in shape.

Of course I’m grateful to family. My sister and a lot of cousins in West Virginia always welcome me when “Country Roads” take me back home. Our son and daughter, their spouses, and six granddaughters are delightful. The granddaughters are in the Gen Z generation and are nothing like the negative stereotype of that age group. They study hard, work hard, earn money, pay off loans, and they have lots of friends. The oldest is married to a Lt. in the new Space Force.

To all of you who read my Weekly Comments, I thank you also.

I’m grateful to others not mentioned here. I’ll thank them personally.

Who are you thankful for? What blessings have you received in 2025?

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

         “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

COLUMBUS, Ohio: Eight Democrat Senators voted with Republicans to end the Shutdown after 43 days. I’ll let you reach your own conclusions about the Shutdown and the decision to end it.

Essential federal employees were working and “non-essential” employees were not working. Their paychecks are delayed, but ALL of them will receive their pay. A surprising number of Democrats wanted the Shutdown to continue indefinitely. I’ve heard they mainly wanted to hurt the Trump economy.

Speaking of the economy, a new political issue is “affordability.” Affordability has always been with us as a personal or family problem. But it hasn’t been viewed often as a divisive political topic.

You might like to drive a Cadillac Escalade but all you can afford is a Chevy. T-bone steak and lobster sound mighty tasty, but the main course for supper is usually chicken, hamburger, or pork loin. We cook our meals because it’s more affordable to eat at home than in a restaurant. It’s common sense that some items are more affordable than others. And we make choices accordingly.

But a smiling Socialist in New York City convinced 51% of the voters (especially young single women) that he can make living there “affordable.” How? By freezing rent prices, lowering other prices, and providing some things for free.

Concerning affordability, most of us make decisions throughout our lives. Not many wait for a Socialist politician to suddenly make everything affordable. A 12-year-old might decide to study harder on math and science because engineers make more than a waitress. Or at 15, a student might decide to concentrate on trade school to become a top welder. At 22, a new college grad passes up a job opportunity in New York City or San Francisco to take the same job in Tulsa or Tampa. Many more decisions we make affect affordability.

Our schools should teach affordability, otherwise known as economics. Spend as much time teaching about capitalism as they do Communism. Students (future voters) need to know the difference between a free capitalist society contrasted to Cuba or Venezuela.

Happy birthday Oklahoma! Became our 46th state on Nov. 16, 1907. Clem Rogers, Will’s dad, served on the board that wrote the state Constitution.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

          “Why don’t somebody print the truth about our present economic situation? We spent six years of wild buying on credit… This would be a great world to dance in if we didn’t have to pay the fiddler.” DT #1224, June 27, 1930

         “I started out on my little tour at Chicago… I don’t see how it is that people can afford to live in Chicago. They switched from pistols to Machine Guns, and now from Machine guns to Bombs. I can’t see how a poor man can afford it. Well anyway we had a… mighty appreciative audience. Chicago people are mighty fine when they live.” WA #272, March 11, 1928

Weekly Comments: Fasting and Praying. Common Sense in the Senate? #1284    Nov. 9, 2025

COLUMBUS, Ohio: We’re still shut down after 40 days. Even Jesus only had to spend 40 days in the Wilderness. He fasted and prayed, which is what a lot of federal employees and SNAP recipients are doing now.

Churches, businesses, and individuals are stepping up to provide food. As one example, the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma set aside $6.7 Million to help its citizens get through the Shutdown.

Will Rogers experienced the generosity of Americans, “People in America have got the money and will give if they know the need is there.” (DT #1411, Jan. 30, 1931)

Will Rogers also understood why Congress creates roadblocks to common sense solutions, “Now these fellows in Washington wouldn’t be so serious and particular if they only had to vote on what they thought was good for the majority of the people in the U.S. That would be a cinch. But what makes it hard for them is every time a bill comes up, they have things to decide that have nothing to do with the merit of the bill. The principal thing is of course: What will this do for me personally back home?…  A (lawmaker’s) thoughts are naturally on his next term more than on his country.” (WA #78, June 8, 1924)

The whole Shutdown debate seems to be over Obamacare. Officially it’s the “Affordable Care Act” and was passed in 2010 with the promise it would reduce the cost of health care. To be honest, when the folks in Congress passed it, they knew it would not reduce costs, and probably not be “affordable” for everyone. They promised to cover “pre-existing conditions” which is a wonderful, caring idea. But it’s expensive.

One reason Obamacare policies need tremendous subsidies is that you could sign up anytime you like. You didn’t have to sign up and start paying immediately or the day you turned 21.  So, many healthy young folks decided to take the risk until later in life. Also, most workers have health insurance provided through their employer. The result is Obamacare is overloaded with unhealthy people.

How many are on Obamacare? There is some disagreement but it ranges between 25 and 45 million. The Senate has hindered normal life for 330 million Americans for 40 days and nights because they can’t agree on how much to subsidize the health insurance for those 25 to 45 million. Should the subsidy continue at 80% or drop to 70%? And should people with incomes from $200,000 to $500,000 qualify for a subsidy?

Since I was flying last weekend, I want to personally thank the TSA folks and Air Traffic Controllers who were working. We know they will be paid, eventually. My Southwest flights both directions were on time so I had better thank those folks, too.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“You can’t legislate intelligence and common sense into people.” DT #2377, March 16, 1934

“(Senator) Magnus Johnston says he is ‘going to use common sense in the Senate.’ That’s what they all say when they start in. But if nobody don’t understand you, you naturally have to switch.” WA #59, Jan. 27, 1934