Columbus: If you ever doubted the expertise and creativity of the engineers and scientists in Israel, they just removed all doubt.

The Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon were warned by their funders (bosses) in Iran that cell phones could be used to track individuals. So, they decided to communicate by old-fashioned pagers and walkie-talkies instead. On Tuesday, thousands of the pagers blew up simultaneously as the terrorists “answered” their pagers. Wow!

The Hezbollah murderers who survived, switched to walkie-talkies. On Wednesday, on cue, the walkie-talkies blew up.

Now Israel has the attention of Iran and all of their puppets in Gaza, Yemen, and especially in Qatar. The top Hamas leaders are living in luxury in Qatar. Do you suppose they might be afraid to answer or even be within ten yards of their phones? Or open an email on their laptop computer?

Pretty soon, the Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthi Islamists in Yemen, and Hamas in Gaza will be communicating with smoke signals.

Candidate Kamala Harris keeps letting us down. Ever since she became the choice of the Democrats to run for President, many folks (but definitely not all) have been asking her to clearly state her policies. For example, she has been asked, “What will you do to bring down prices which have gone up 20% since you and President Biden were elected?” Her answer, “So, I grew up in a middle-class home in a neighborhood where everyone was proud of their lawns.”

VP Harris refuses to explain why she changed her mind on “fracking.” Her response should be, “I’ve learned in the last few months that hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling are essential and safe technologies. Without them the price of natural gas and oil would likely triple. And oil and gas are essential fuel supplies for electricity and our trucks and automobiles, and manufacturing and farming. We like solar and wind, but it will be many decades before our country can thrive without depending on our abundant supply of natural gas and crude oil.”

Rather than speaking like a serious candidate for President, she sounds more like a failed motivational speaker. I won’t put quotes on this but you have heard her say things like: Americans are optimistic because our values are based on principles and the children of the community are the children of the community and will be future voters in the future.

Forget politics for a moment. Severe drought is hurting the southern half of Ohio and the whole state of West Virginia. We’re accustomed to hearing about drought in the Great Plains and Southwest. But for this area (and probably others I’m not familiar with) the lack of rainfall this summer is the worst in almost a hundred years. Corn and soybean crops are maturing early and yielding less. Farmers with cattle and sheep have hauled water and fed bales of hay since July because pastures, creeks, and ponds have dried up.

The Federal Reserve Board met and lowered interest rates by half a percent. This was the first reduction in four years. The reduction was somewhat of a surprise. The Board usually avoids changing interest rates a few weeks before an election. Wall Street liked the reduction. Mortgage rates may decrease.

Economists don’t agree on which candidate or political party will benefit. Some economists say the Federal Reserve Board should be dissolved. And Will Rogers agrees, “There is two things that can disrupt business in this country. One is war and the other is a meeting of the Federal Reserve (Board).” (DT #837, April 2, 1929)

Historic quote by Will Rogers:

     “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