Category: Uncategorized

Feb. 13, 2011

COLUMBUS: Except for Egypt, all the attention lately has been on Valentine’s Day. Chocolates, cards, roses, diamonds… that’s all we heard. Not a single mention that Saturday was President Lincoln’s birthday.

We could use a President Lincoln to tackle the budget. A President who saw  600,000 Americans die in the Civil War would not call a 4 percent spending cut a catastrophe. But that’s what they are facing in Congress. When a man can trim $0.15 Trillion from a $3.5 Trillion allocation he ought to be applauded, not crucified.

Mubarak finally stepped down on 02-11-2011, forced out by peaceful protests. Most news stories say the protests started after the protests in Tunisia.
But here’s another explanation, from my friend in Egypt: Last summer, a young man named Khaled Said was arrested at an Internet café in Alexandria by two plain-clothed policemen. He demanded proof of their identity and they beat him to death. The policemen attempted to cover up the murder, were tried, and received a light sentence. The public outcry never stopped.
Recently, a 31-year old Google executive, Wael Ghonem, created a site on Facebook seeking justice for the murder of Khaled Said. The government put Wael on a list of troublemakers. He and three other young Egyptians called for a demonstration in Tahrir Square on January 25. Hundreds of thousands showed up.

The army has taken temporary control of Egypt. Under Mubarak, the national police force numbered about 2 million, including 1.25 million for controlling riots, whereas all branches of the army totaled 400,000.  The police were intended to protect Mubarak and his regime, not the security of the citizens. These police will need to be retrained to focus on citizen safety, including patrolling highways. Being an optimist, I think Egyptians have a chance to transform to a constitutional government with individual rights.

These protests have spread to Algeria and Yemen, even to Italy. Italy? Yes, 100,000 Italian women protested against their President’s, uh, sexual habits. If they want to get rid of him, just pass a law that he can only have sex with a woman his own age. He’ll be out by nightfall.

The conservative wing of the Republican Party held a straw poll, and Ron Paul got 30 percent of the votes. If he ends up with the nomination for 2012, that’s about the percent he’ll get against President Obama. The Republican Party without Ronald Reagan is kinda like the Cleveland Cavaliers without LeBron James. Well, not that bad. They do have a dozen or so good prospects, but no one that stands head and shoulders above the crowd.

A lawyer plans to file a $5,000,000 suit against the National Football League on behalf of Super Bowl fans who were not allowed into the stadium because 400 temporary seats were deemed unsafe. So far this lawyer has signed up 2500 of those 400 ticket holders.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“Papers today say, “What would Lincoln do today?” Well, in the first place, he wouldn’t chop any wood. He would trade his axe in on a Ford… Being in sympathy for the underdog he would be classed as a radical progressive. Having a sense of humor he would be called eccentric.” DT #2349, Feb. 12, 1934

“The budget is a mythical bean bag. Congress votes mythical beans into it, and then tries to reach in and pull real beans out.” DT #2047, Feb. 24, 1933

 “This relief thing is a hard thing to balance into your budget. You can’t sit down a year ahead and figure out who all is going to be hungry and how many of them there will be. It’s like sickness. It can upset the best family budget.” WA #656, July 21, 1935

Feb. 6, 2011

COLUMBUS: With twenty inches of snow at Claremore and Oologah, a lot of the Oklahoma home folks wish they still had a horse. Ford cars and ATVs got stuck in the drifts, but an old horse had no trouble at all. More snow coming.

That snow was from the same winter storm that froze Dallas during Super Bowl week, making Green Bay and Pittsburgh fans feel right at home. At least they played the game inside. The Packers beat the Steelers 31 to 25, and Aaron Rodgers escaped Brett Favre’s shadow.

My friend in Egypt sent me a first-rate report and analysis on the protest, including a couple of details you haven’t heard on the networks: “The present violence is the result of the damned dictatorship. The regime is so corrupt. Mubarak’s party netted all except 6 of the 498 Parliament seats in the elections last October!

“Many TV stations put the wealth of the president, his wife and his two sons at $52 Billion. The UN says 40% of all 85 million Egyptians live below the poverty line on $1 a day. The  government claims only 20%, or17 million Egyptians, are in poverty. [Folks, can you imagine the uproar if one of our Presidents amassed even $1 Billion while in office?]

“Party officials use the secret police and hired thugs to make us feel unsafe and force the protestors to return to their homes to defend them. They want us to choose between safety (and no democracy) under the present regime, or party-sponsored terrorism under any other regime. It is the classical birth pains of a new order in Egypt, painful but necessary!

“The protest focuses on the Tahreer (Liberation) Square in front of the Egyptian Museum, the Nile Hilton and the massive government office building. Protestors overflow into the square between the Museum and the Ramses Hilton, near the entrance and exit ramps of the October Bridge in the TV coverage. There are also many major demonstrations in other parts of Cairo and in other cities and towns around Egypt.

“Egyptians are safe as long as the army does not take the side of the government. This might have changed, however, after the army failed to protect the unarmed protestors from being massacred in the Tahreer Square (Feb 2) by government thugs and secret police.

“Our city, about 20 miles from Cairo,  has been relatively quiet during the current uprising. There were scattered serious incidents, however, in several other towns. When the national police vanished on Friday night, January 28, the country was terrorized by lawless bands that ran wild and unchecked, stealing, terrorizing and killing. It was no accident. The regime that withdrew the police most probably planned and organized the bands, consisting of undercover police, government-paid thugs, thousands of convicts who broke out (or were forced to break out), and criminals who simply took advantage of the situation.

“On January 29, our village owners association put in place an emergency protection plan using armed security groups during the curfew hours, 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. No serious incidents occurred to the village, except perhaps a couple. The armed guards were let go 4 days later.”

“The guards were placed inside and along the 3-mile long village fence about 100 yards apart. Each could see the groups on either side. They consisted of volunteer male residents and the village security, cleaning and landscape employees. Volunteer female residents stood watch high in their homes. The association also hired additional security guards, 10 with handguns and shotguns and 4 with automatic weapons; they started the following day and were posted outside the fence (not trusted inside the village!). A command center coordinated the groups by walkie-talkies, cell phones and the village land phones. I volunteered to patrol in my car inside the fence at least once a night around 3 a.m. I stopped often to talk to various fence groups. The tour took me some 90 minutes.

“The army appears now in force around the city. American-made tanks are stationed at the corners of the village and at nearby squares. Armored troop carriers are also present. We appreciate the army presence, stop often to visit with the troops and offer them refreshments. And the police started to appear gradually and reluctantly on the streets. Things are quieting down security-wise, maybe getting back to normal. We already let the hired armed guards go since Tuesday. I no longer have to patrol at night!”

President Obama is limited in what he can suggest or do with Egypt. We want democracy and elections, but not if the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood is likely to win. If we had supported the Iranian protesters last year, maybe the current situation would be more predictable.

In Egypt, half of all income for the average family is spent on food. By comparison, in the U.S. we only spend 10% for food, and half of that is in restaurants. If Mubarak’s $52 Billion were returned from Swiss banks and spread around, Egyptians could be well fed for a while.

Today was Ronald Reagan’s 100th birthday celebration. He seems to have picked up a few more friends since he died, which offers eternal hope for the rest of us.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:
“Hurry up planes and start leaving here. I can’t walk in these snowshoes. Been run over by two sleighs today. Taxicabs are being pulled by dog teams and the weather man says there will be a blizzard tonight.” DT #2361, Feb. 26, 1934
“There’ll never be a time when the old horse is not superior to any auto ever made.” WA# 507, Sept. 11, 1932
 “Just passed thru Chicago. It’s not a boast, it’s an achievement. The snow was so deep today the crooks could only hit a tall man.” DT #1079, Jan. 9, 1930

Jan. 30, 2011

COLUMBUS: While we’re all worrying about China and the deficit, why Egypt breaks out on us. It seems that a poor young Egyptian heard about the protests in Tunisia, sent a few friends a message on Facebook saying, ‘Let’s protest against our dictator Mubarak,’ and the next day a million showed up. I know they’re poor, with extreme unemployment, but how bad can it be when everyone seems to have a computer, a cell phone, and a TV to watch Al Jazerra.
Mubarak has been in there for thirty years and frankly no one in Washington expected him to last this long without getting shot. If we had a President for even half that long we would have riots, too. Mubarak helped keep the Muslim terrorists from getting a foothold in Egypt so we kinda strung along with him. We don’t like dictators, but we don’t like Hamas and other Islamic radicals either, like the ones running Iran and Gaza.
I have a friend in Cairo and I hope he can let me know soon how it looks to him. Egypt is a great country with a civilization going back thousands of years. It has survived storms worse than this, but a fairly smooth shift to democracy would be good for them, and the rest of us, too.
President Obama gave his solution to the budget deficit in the State of the Union speech: keep spending the same amount for the next five years. He probably meant it as a joke, but nobody is laughing. His plan would raise our debt $7,500,000,000,000 by 2016 if revenue stays the same.
There are two industries doing well through the Great Recession. Maybe with some encouragement those two can increase revenue and add to the overall economy. What are they? One is agriculture. Don’t laugh; farmers are growing more crops and exporting more than ever to balance imports of other goods. The other is the oil and gas business. Producing more of our own fuel can decrease imports, reduce prices, and lessen the headache that might result if the Egyptian protests spread to Saudi Arabia.
Hey, it ain’t all doom and gloom. Groundhog Day offers hope for an early spring.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:
“It’s kinder as I heard a very learned American man one time say, ‘Dictatorship is the greatest form of Government there is, provided you have a good Dictator.’”  WA #641, Apr. 7, 1935
“A Senator introduced a bill where the government couldn’t appropriate more money than was coming in. That is, if you didn’t have any money you could not dole out any. Well the Senate like to mobbed him. They called the idea treason, sacrilegious, inhuman and taking the last vestige of power for a politician, that is, the right to appropriate your money which you don’t have.” DT #2024, Jan. 29, 1933

Jan. 23, 2011

COLUMBUS: President Obama spent the past few days preparing his State of the Union address to Congress. You notice that the speech was scheduled to come after (not before) a visit from the leader of China. Our President wanted to sure that he didn’t give a glowing report to the nation about our economy only to have China show up the next day and foreclose.

We rolled out the red carpet for China’s President Hu. Even honored him with a State Dinner at the White House. But he did not appear to enjoy the trip, never smiled, usually just looked straight ahead like a good poker player with four aces.

All our big comedians were telling jokes on him, not to his face of course, but I think he got wind of it. His name is Hu (pronounced Who), and they brought up the old joke about “Who’s on first, What’s on second.” Someone asked Hu, “How’s the president of North Korea?” Hu replied, “He’s Ill.” Well, that may be funny to us, but in China poking fun at the President can land you in jail. Don’t be surprised if the next time we need to borrow a Trillion dollars, he’ll jack up the interest rate a couple of points.

Congress is getting serious about cutting the budget deficit. Republicans want to cut spending, but have not admitted which expenses they want to cut. Democrats prefer to raise taxes, but are afraid to tell which ones. Here’s a modest proposal for consideration: Return federal employment to 2008 numbers, and trim the salaries of the ones left to 2006 levels.  That may seem cruel, but if a small business found itself spending a third more than it took in, that’s what the owner would do, usually starting with his own pay. As for taxes, concentrate on raising more revenue, not higher rates. If a business or manufacturer doubles production, tax revenue would naturally go up. And they might hire some of those out-of-work federal employees.

Folks in Washington and on television continue to harp on any use of battlefield language in politics. Words like target, attack, cross hairs, gunning for, aiming at, and bullet points. In Detroit Sunday afternoon, a gunman barged into a police station and shot four officers. I’m waiting to see if the New York Times blames Sarah.

The Chicago Bears and New York Jets made it close at the end of their games, but it’ll be Green Bay against Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl. After winning games in frigid weather, these two old industrial towns will battle each other in comfort in Dallas.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:
“Politics pretty quiet over the week-end. Democrats are attacking and the Republicans are defending.” DT #1917, Sept. 26, 1932

 “One of the few stipulated duties of the President is that every once in awhile he delivers a message to Congress to tell them the “Condition of the Country.” This message as I say is to Congress; the rest of the country knows the condition of the country, for they live in it.  But the Senators and Congressmen being in Washington all the time have no idea what is going on in America.  So the President has to tell ’em.”  WA #371, Feb. 2, 1930

“The budget is a mythical bean bag. Congress votes mythical beans into it, and then tries to reach in and pull real beans out.” DT #2047, Feb. 24, 1933

Jan. 16, 2011

COLUMBUS: There’s some good news from Tucson. Congresswoman Giffords continues to improve, and it may not be too long until she is talking.

I know a fellow in Atlanta, Ken Futch, who accidently shot himself in the head, and he makes a good living entertaining and inspiring people across the country talking about it. So let’s pray that she fully recovers, and when she gets tired of Congress she can give humorous speeches for a living. She’s already got the perfect nickname: Gabby.

She and the six who were killed were gunned down by a drug and alcohol addicted paranoid schizophrenic who should have been locked up in a psychiatric ward years ago.
Everybody knows he committed the crime except for Sheriff Dupnik. He says the bullet that went through Giffords’ head was fired from Wasilla, Alaska.

He’s not the only one that got it wrong. Dozens of journalists on television and in newspaper columns have blamed this tragedy on everyone from the Tea Party to the Republicans, radio commentators, the NRA and political ad writers.

Congress is getting down to business this week, balancing the budget. At least that’s what they claim. John Boehner of Ohio is the new Speaker of the House, replacing Nancy Pelosi. Four years ago she announced she would balance the budget every year, and she only missed her target by $5,000,000,000,000. So keep your fingers crossed for this new bunch. Mr. Boehner is the first Speaker from Ohio in more than 75 years. “Nick Longworth is the most able and popular Speaker the House has had. In fact the greatest since Alexander Hamilton.” (1928)

I met Congressman Boehner in 2000. I was invited to speak at a retreat of the House Agriculture Committee, and he introduced me. At that time it was headed up by two Texans, Charles Stehnolm and Larry Combest. Now an Oklahoma rancher is the chairman, Frank Lucas.

Congress will take up the President’s Health Care plan. Mr. Boehner knows he has the votes to repeal it. But he also knows the Senate will turn him down, and if it did pass the Senate, the President would veto it. The whole exercise will waste a week, but for the rookie members it will be kinda like pre-season practice for when the real games begin.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“What the government has got to do is live as cheap as the people.” DT #1990, Dec. 20, 1932
 “Anything that has to pass by that Senate is just like a Rat having to pass a Cat Convention; it’s sure to be pounced on, and the more meritorious the scheme is the less chance it has of passing.” WA #385, May 11, 1930

Jan. 9, 2011

COLUMBUS: America suffered a tragedy in Tucson when Congresswoman Giffords was shot in the head, and six people with her were killed, including a federal judge. Twenty were shot all together in a few seconds by a kook who never should have had a gun in the first place. We all joke about Congress, but no one wants to see any harm done to ‘em.

Saturday night an Ohio Cattlemens group asked me to say a few words at their banquet in Barnesville. After some lean years these folks are feeling better with cattle on the hoof bringing around a dollar a pound. As long as they have enough hay to get through the winter, it looks like a good year for these cowmen and women. Their steaks and hamburgers will be mighty tasty off the grill next summer and fall.

Everybody knows we need to produce more food for a growing population so you might be surprised to learn that our farmland is disappearing. Not completely, of course, but every state has fewer acres for farming than they did 25 years ago. Texas and Florida are two of three states that lost the most.

In related news last week, we learned that, starting in 2012, Texas and Florida will be asked to house a few excess Congressmen from New York, Ohio and a couple of other states. It seems that in the last ten years a lot of folks decided to leave these northern states and move south, perhaps to escape from their Congressmen. But now these birds are following them.

This population shift and loss of farmland paint a picture that’s not so rosy. “You can just tell the difference when you look at land that has to support a Senator or a white-faced bull. (I’m) for more cattle and less Congressmen.” (1927)

Last week I wrote that in four years our debt had gone up $3 Trillion, but I was wrong. It has increased $5 Trillion, with $3 Trillion of that in the last two years. Instead of cutting back, Congress will vote to raise the debt limit to about $15,000,000,000,000. When the President signs the bill, I hope he will go on television and announce, “This total debt load now means that every man, woman and child in the U.S. owes $50,000.” Brother, that would cut off illegal immigration faster than any 15-foot fence. And a few million of the ones already here would be scrambling to get out before the bill comes due.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“There is a change coming over the country. People have just got to get more used to debt. If we just let the fellow we owe do the worrying, the U. S. will be the happiest land on earth.” DT #2421, May 7, 1934

“There is not a better day in the world to be spent than with a lot of wise old cowmen around barbecued beef, black coffee and good (refried) beans.” DT #2430, May 17, 1934

Jan. 2, 2011

COLUMBUS: With everybody predicting what 2011 will bring, I decided to go back and see what I wrote here a year ago about 2010. Let’s see how I did…

“Unemployment is over 10 percent and will drop to 8 or 9 percent by Christmas.”  Well, it didn’t, but maybe it will by Christmas ‘11 or ‘12.

“The stock market is at 10,500, a third below 2007. Even if it don’t go up, you can bet on Wall Streeters collecting million dollar salaries.” In 2010 it went up1000, but still needs another 3000 point gain to eliminate the losses. Meanwhile, Wall Street salaries have recovered nicely.

“The deficit will get worse. But nobody knows how much worse because it depends on how much China will lend us. Half of our states are broke and looking to Washington for help.” That one was easy to get right. Speaker Pelosi predicted four years ago the national debt would not increase while she was Speaker, but she let $3 Trillion get added to it. That’s the most expensive mistake ever made on a New Year’s prediction.

“On global warming… Ever since that conference in Copenhagen, the weather has gotten colder. These global warming proponents got us excited about the prospects of vacationing at home instead of Florida. We should have suspected it was a trick when the President booked his vacation in Hawaii.” And again this Christmas, he flew off to Hawaii when he could have taken the train to New York City or Philadelphia and shoveled snow. My prediction is that Earth will continue the way she has for the past million years, sometimes warmer and sometimes colder. And there’s nothing 300,000,000 Americans can do to persuade her one way or the other.

“On the end of the inheritance tax… You would be surprised at the number of rich old men who have been hanging on for the last month or two (of 2009) just to avoid paying this tax. Since the death tax returns next January at around fifty percent, 2010 is liable to go down in history as a record year for the high number of our wealthy men and women passing on.” On that one the Lame Duck Congress gave a reprieve to anyone with less than $5 million. And ones with more will only pay 35 percent.

In my predictions a year ago I said nothing about the election. On Nov. 2, the Democrats took, as Obama described it, a shellacking. There was no shellacking even close to it until yesterday’s drubbing suffered by five football schools from the Big Ten. They played like the Little Sisters of the Poor. Even the mighty Badgers from Wisconsin were chased back in their hole by the Christians from Texas.

Historic quotes from Will Rogers:

“Nothing much in papers today but just what I predicted to you the other day would be on New Year’s Day — optimistic predictions by all prominent men who are doing well.” DT #759, Jan. 1, 1929

[a year later] “We are obliged to read the usual New Year’s prosperity apple-sauce by our same prominent men who are always rich enough to see a great year coming up. And to show you they don’t know any more about it than Clara Bow, last year they had their usual hokum predictions, and in October we lost (a huge amount), and yet not a one of these predicted it.” DT #1070, Dec 30, 1929

 “There is not a single person that knows any more about what 1933 has in store for us than a billy goat. Ten million people have gone without work for three years just listening to ‘big men’ solve their problems.” DT #2000, Jan. 1, 1933

Dec. 26, 2010

COLUMBUS: I hope your Christmas and other holiday celebrations were fruitful and all presents were appreciated. The perfect Christmas present this year might have been His and Her snow shovels. But don’t call it a present when you hand it to her. Be sure to include a pair of insulated designer gloves. And fur-lined boots, too, without high heels. This may not be the most romantic ensemble, but it’s practical. From Atlanta to Maine it was a White Christmas weekend. In the Midwest, it has been a White December.
As the new year begins you’re gonna hear a lot of optimistic predictions from business leaders and bankers and politicians. But today on Fox News, Senator Tom Coburn said that if we don’t change our ways and get our finances in balance, then we’re in for “apocalyptic pain.” He said we have to cut spending or in the next 3 or 4 years production will drop, unemployment could double, and hyper inflation would hurt everybody, especially the poor. If you’re wondering how a Senator knows anything about apocalyptic pain, well, Coburn is a medical doctor, in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He has delivered 4000 babies and the mothers of many of those 4000 have gone through apocalyptic pain, at least for a few hours. He says if we keep acting like Greece and Ireland our apocalyptic pain will last a whole lot longer.
The tax bill just passed by Congress gave a nice present to rich old men (and women). Unless you have more than $5 million the inheritance tax won’t apply to you in 2011, the same as this year. If Congress had not acted, I was concerned the Obituary pages would be filled this week with members of the wealthy class whose heirs kinda nudged them along into the Hereafter.
Of course if you are above $5 million in assets, the government will grab 35 percent after December 31. In that case, when one of your offspring hands you a glass of eggnog be sure it don’t include some tainted moonshine.

Historic quotes from Will Rogers:

“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.” WA #628, Jan. 6, 1935

“They have passed the big inheritance tax, and that gets you when you are gone. You used to could die and be able to beat taxes, but not now. The undertaker don’t go over your body as carefully as the assessor does your accumulated assets, and he gets his before the undertaker. They have it on these big fortunes now where they pay as high as 60 to 70 percent of what they leave. That’s mighty expensive dying when it runs into money like that, and you won’t see ’em dropping off as casually as they have been.” WA #594, May 20, 1934.

Dec. 19, 2010

COLUMBUS: Congress has been rushing around this week to make up for two years of procrastination. A couple of important bills passed.

But a Trillion dollar appropriations bill failed. It was so loaded down with Christmas presents, it never got off the ground. Six thousand pork barrel projects were wrapped and loaded in the back of Santa’s sleigh, and all it could do was slide down Capitol Hill and crash into a pile of stunned lobbyists. No doubt some of these earmark requests are valuable, but when you know $ 8 Billion would have to be borrowed from China, it puts these projects in a different light.

New Jersey asked for $500,000 for cranberry and blueberry breeding. Is that for people who want blue cranberries to go along with the red ones?

Retiring Ohio Senator, George Voinovich, asked for $20 million for a Coast Guard station in Cleveland, apparently to protect Ohio from an impending invasion of Canadians. There was $10 Million earmarked to build a Ted Kennedy Institute. The Kennedy family still has over a Billion of old Joe’s bootlegging profits, so they can easily build it themselves.

Florida requested $500,000 for “oyster safety”. You know, the best way for a Florida oyster to stay safe from human hands is to claim it’s a close relative of Rocky Mountain oysters. Get a YouTube video showing how “Uncle Rocky” gets harvested and peeled, post a few photos on Facebook, and believe you me, Florida oysters will be safe from consumption by Easterners.

The whole tax argument is over who gets to play Santa Claus. Congress wants you to give ‘em a big chunk of what you earn so they can decide who gets a visit from St. Nick, and how much will be in each stocking. On the other hand, most folks would kinda like to keep most of what they earn, and make up their own mind on spending, investing, or what needy person or charity to give it to.

Merry Christmas everybody, including Congress. Let’s pray the Lame Ducks get out of town before turning into Turkeys. Or mountain oysters.

Historic quotes from Will Rogers:

“Taxes is all there is to politics. You take taxes out of politics, and you don’t have any politics, or taxes, either.” WA #161, Jan. 10, 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

 “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

Dec. 12, 2010

COLUMBUS: The tax deal between the President and the Republicans would leave income taxes where they are, but workers who pay into Social Security will end up with a 2% raise for a year. That may be the only raise they get, so it’ll be appreciated. But the problem is, that means Social Security will go broke sooner.

A better plan would be to eliminate ALL employee contributions to Social Security for a year. But in return, everybody would have to wait a year later to start drawing out their SS checks. The workers won’t complain because they get the money . They can spend it, like the Democrats want them to, or invest it as the Republicans prefer. They’re gonna raise the age anyway, why not do it at once and get it over with.

President Obama had President Clinton join him for a news conference. That went over so well, don’t be surprised if the next one, he’ll invite President Bush. Can you imagine the questions the White House press corps would fire at him? Are Sam Donaldson and Helen Thomas still around?

The President’s supporters are howling that he’s being too easy on the Republicans, giving in on taxes for the rich and estate taxes. Well, all he has to do is point to the election results. A bunch of these folks have been asleep since the election, and most of them were asleep during it. If they had all voted Nov. 2 Obama wouldn’t be in this predicament.

Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve fired up the old printing press. He got tired of waiting for the rest of us to spend some of the money we have stashed in the cookie jar. So he’ll run off $600,000,000 in new bills and spread them around the country. I know that Mr. Bernanke is a smart man, but it has me puzzled how this differs from your local counterfeiter. Either way, if the Xerox is working perfectly, these fresh bills spend the same as the real ones you’ve been hoarding. And the ones you’re been hoarding won’t buy as much as they used to.

John Boehner says that he’ll cut the budget for Congress by 5%. Makes you wonder why the whole federal government can’t do the same thing. At least it’s a start.

Historic quotes from Will Rogers:

 “Congress put a tax as high as 72% on some incomes. Of course for a man to give up three million out of four is tough; but, on the other hand, 90 percent of our people would be willing to give up 99 percent of a million if allowed to make one… The crime of taxation is not in the taking it, it’s in the way that it’s spent.” DT #1764, March 20, 1932

(On inflation) “There’s two different schools of thought in this country on the value of money.  People who have money are against the printing press.  They’re against printing any more money.  And people that haven’t got any are in favor of it, you see?  That’s the two schools.  Both of them, mind you, are equally honest.  It’s awful hard to reconcile two views like that.  The only way I see for folks to ever view the money question alike is for everybody not to have any.  Then they’ll all look at it the same way; or go the other way and let everybody have some, and then they’ll all look at it the same way.  But if nobody’s got any, the old printing press will look pretty good. But if everybody’s got some, in the ash can goes the printing press.” Radio, May 26, 1935