Nineteen children and two teachers were slaughtered in Uvalde, Texas, by a crazed 18-year-old with a semi-automatic rifle and 300 rounds of ammunition. He and others like him, including the 18-year-old who killed ten in a Buffalo grocery store, should never be allowed anywhere close to any weapon more powerful than a slingshot.

A school can have a great plan for safety and security with a hundred elements. But if even one is not followed, disaster can occur, especially if amplified by poor judgement and bad decisions.

Tomorrow is May 30, Memorial Day. It used to be that May 30, regardless of the day of the week, was always the day to honor those who sacrificed their lives in defense of the country. May 30 was called Decoration Day because those graves were decorated with flowers and/or flags.

While President Biden and other leaders around the world are pushing farmers to grow more crops this summer, one group of farmers is being held back.

According to John Boyd, Jr., President of Black Farmers of America, the U.S. Department of Agriculture promised $5 Billion to “farmers of color” a year ago. But those payments have been held up by a lawsuit alleging reverse discrimination against white farmers. Many of these Black farmers have debts and are unable to borrow money for seed, fertilizer and diesel fuel.

You may be wondering, why would these minority farmers deserve special treatment? For decades discrimination against Black farmers was prevalent in the South. Much of the USDA money allocated to farmers is determined by local county committees, not by USDA employees in Washington. Those committees were dominated by White farmers. They often refused to grant funds, loans or services to Black farmers, which often forced them to sell their land. You may be surprised to know that Black farmers once owned 14 percent of all farms in the country; now just over 1 percent according to USDA.

For John Boyd and other minority farmers, even if the $5 Billion relief funds were released immediately, it may be too late to help increase total crop production needed to alleviate food shortages in poor regions of the world.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“Good judgement comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgement.” (Attributed to Will, but not verified)

“Another Decoration Day passed and Mr. Abraham Lincoln’s 300-word Gettysburg Address was not dethroned. I would try and imitate its brevity if nothing else.” DT #268, May 31, 1927

“This would be a great time in the world for some man to come along that knew something.” DT #1611, Sept. 21, 1931

“Farmers are learning that the relief they get from the sky beats what they get from Washington.” DT #2445, June 4, 1934