April 4, 2010
COLUMBUS: All I know is what I read in the newspaper, and I’m not the only one. President Obama got angry with John Deere when he read a newspaper report claiming the new health care bill would cost the company an extra $150,000,000. Caterpillar, AT&T and a bunch of other companies made similar announcements, adding up to Billions.
Well, the President can pretend it was news to him, but these folks had been hollering for months. I suspect the Democrats kept their ears stuffed full of cotton until the bill passed, and now they are shocked at what they are hearing. Take John Deere for example. Suppose half of the $150,000,000 gets passed down to the farmer in higher tractor and machinery prices. Then it gets added on to your food bill. Now who’s hollering? For Cat, it means your new road construction will cost more. AT&T will jack up phone service prices.
There was some good news for new jobs. Of course half of what we added was census takers. This jobs plan is working so well, the President may propose we take the Census every year.
Tiger Woods is ready to play golf again. It has a whole different meaning than it used to when he says he wants to "play a round."
In basketball, "Hoosiers 2" plays Monday night in Indianapolis as little Butler takes on mighty Duke for the championship. Saturday night Butler knocked off Michigan State, then Duke won by 21 over my favorite, West Virginia. On Easter Eve, Almost Heaven was desecrated by the Devils.
I better quit joking about doctors and veterinarians. In the middle of this week I was struck by a pain, in my middle. This led to my first professional visit to an ER in more than 40 years. The doc who checked me out said, "It’s probably diverticulitis, but we’ll run you through a CAT scan to be sure." For anybody who has not had this experience, it is somewhat like taking you car to the shop, and the first thing they do is connect it to a computer to pinpoint the problem. Well, the CAT scan took only 5 minutes, and the woman running it told me that machine scans 150 to 200 people every 24 hours. Mighty efficient. After looking over the internal images, the doctor came back in and said, "It’s a kidney infection, not diverticulitis."
See, he was only off a couple of inches, but with help from that machine he pinpointed the problem and saved me from a few days of medical experimentation. These folks who complain about the increased cost of health care, and want to go back to the way it was 40 years ago, well, the CAT scan had not been invented yet. Neither had the MRI and a thousand drugs and other medical advancements. Before sacrificing any of those, I would rather give up the computer analyzer for my Ford.
Historic quote from Will Rogers:
(While watching his first golf tournament, in Los Angeles) "These fellows was doing just what I had seen those others do on a Long Island golf course, just walking around monkeying. Here, I had seen golf all the time and didn't know it. It is the only game in the world where practicing it and playing it is the same thing. Seeing a man walking around a golf course hitting a ball is like somebody handling a ukelele. You can't tell whether they are playing it or just monkeying around... The main thing that struck me about the game was the amount of skill they had developed in getting near the hole, and how little they displayed getting into it." WA #163, Jan. 24, 1926
Randall Reeder
Will Rogers Today http://willrogerstoday.com
614-477-0439 willrogers@aol.com
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
Showing posts with label Health Care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health Care. Show all posts
Monday, April 5, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Weekly Comments: Will dives into milk and meat debate #596
March 28, 2010
COLUMBUS: Politics takes a back seat to basketball this week. You’re gonna be hearing a lot about "Hoosiers" (the movie), as Butler takes on the big boys in their hometown, Indianapolis. If Butler gets by Michigan State they will be playing either Duke or the West Virginia Mountaineers for the NCAA championship. I have my own favorite among these Final Four, but I’ll save it till next week. Don’t want to influence your picks in the office pool.
Friday I was in Michigan State territory speaking to young dairy farmers in Lansing. These milk producers survived a tough year and are hanging on. They are counting on us to drink more milk and order extra cheese on our pizzas and hamburgers.
Their governor is no help. She proclaimed a No Meat Saturday, and it riled the farmers so much they turned around and declared the same Saturday as Michigan Meat Day. You might remember a few months ago Michigan capitulated to Wayne Pacelle of the mis-named Humane Society of the U.S. and put him in charge of farm animal care. He’s a vegetarian who wants to rid the whole country of meat.
The farmers won that Meat Battle. Michigan set a record for the most meat eaten in one day. You may wonder, why would dairy farmers be upset; they still have Kellogg’s Corn Flakes to pour milk on. Well, if the HSUS succeeds in banning meat, the dairy farmers will have as much trouble getting rid of old Holsteins as we do old horses.
I just read that a lot of farmers do not have health insurance, so you may wonder where they stand on this new health care law. They’re pretty independent and frugal, and if they get sick they go to the doctor and just pay for the visit and any prescriptions. And if they get really sick and need an operation, they call their veterinarian.
Not really. But I did say, in 1927, that "the best doctor in the world is the Veterinarian. He can’t ask his patients what is the matter. He’s got to just know."
President Obama took a quick trip to Afghanistan to compliment our troops. They have a tough job and need all the support we can give them. And with the continuing arguments over the health care bill, he figured he was just as safe in Kabul as in Washington.
Historic quote from Will Rogers:
"A farmer at Claremore named Morris Haas hid $500 in bills in a barrel of bran and a cow ate it up. He has just been able to get $18 of it back, up to now." DT #1740, Feb. 21, 1932
Randall Reeder
Will Rogers Today http://willrogerstoday.com
614-477-0439 willrogers@aol.com
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
COLUMBUS: Politics takes a back seat to basketball this week. You’re gonna be hearing a lot about "Hoosiers" (the movie), as Butler takes on the big boys in their hometown, Indianapolis. If Butler gets by Michigan State they will be playing either Duke or the West Virginia Mountaineers for the NCAA championship. I have my own favorite among these Final Four, but I’ll save it till next week. Don’t want to influence your picks in the office pool.
Friday I was in Michigan State territory speaking to young dairy farmers in Lansing. These milk producers survived a tough year and are hanging on. They are counting on us to drink more milk and order extra cheese on our pizzas and hamburgers.
Their governor is no help. She proclaimed a No Meat Saturday, and it riled the farmers so much they turned around and declared the same Saturday as Michigan Meat Day. You might remember a few months ago Michigan capitulated to Wayne Pacelle of the mis-named Humane Society of the U.S. and put him in charge of farm animal care. He’s a vegetarian who wants to rid the whole country of meat.
The farmers won that Meat Battle. Michigan set a record for the most meat eaten in one day. You may wonder, why would dairy farmers be upset; they still have Kellogg’s Corn Flakes to pour milk on. Well, if the HSUS succeeds in banning meat, the dairy farmers will have as much trouble getting rid of old Holsteins as we do old horses.
I just read that a lot of farmers do not have health insurance, so you may wonder where they stand on this new health care law. They’re pretty independent and frugal, and if they get sick they go to the doctor and just pay for the visit and any prescriptions. And if they get really sick and need an operation, they call their veterinarian.
Not really. But I did say, in 1927, that "the best doctor in the world is the Veterinarian. He can’t ask his patients what is the matter. He’s got to just know."
President Obama took a quick trip to Afghanistan to compliment our troops. They have a tough job and need all the support we can give them. And with the continuing arguments over the health care bill, he figured he was just as safe in Kabul as in Washington.
Historic quote from Will Rogers:
"A farmer at Claremore named Morris Haas hid $500 in bills in a barrel of bran and a cow ate it up. He has just been able to get $18 of it back, up to now." DT #1740, Feb. 21, 1932
Randall Reeder
Will Rogers Today http://willrogerstoday.com
614-477-0439 willrogers@aol.com
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Weekly Comments: Health care bill may sink Democrats #592
Feb. 28, 2010
COLUMBUS: President Obama moderated a meeting last week on health care, with Democrats and Republicans. It went on for 6 hours and was the second most watched daytime TV drama in recent days, behind the true confessions of Tiger Woods.
Americans are telling the president they want more jobs and a reduced deficit. The President says, "I hear you. We’re gonna change your health care."
Speaker Pelosi says the health care bill will create thousands of new jobs. She didn’t say how many of those new jobs would be in Washington. I’m not an economist, but how can they cut health care costs by hiring more people? How about if they pay for more doctors by paying for fewer lawyers. Hire more nurses for rural areas by cutting bean counters in Washington. Reduce paperwork and increase medical research. Most people would like everyone to have a chance to buy insurance, but don’t want to lose their own.
Pelosi says her fellow Democrats should vote for health care reform even if it costs them reelection in November. President Obama agrees with her but neither one promised to resign if other Democrats happen to lose. See, they are willing to sink the ship if necessary, but do not plan to go down with it.
There’s some Toyota owners I need to apologize to. It seems the gas pedal problem is more than just a few drivers who never learned how to shift to neutral. Toyota engineers are working on a solution, and they’ll likely get it fixed way before Congress fixes health care.
Chile got hit with an earthquake 500 times more powerful than the one in Haiti, but with less damage. That don’t make it any easier on the ones that are suffering, so give generously.
The Winter Olympics ended tonight. I said last week that Canada had a better chance of getting a gold medal in curling than in hockey. Well, they got gold in both. The US got the most medals, just not the preferred color.
This will go down in history as the warmest Winter Olympics ever held. I was planning to write a joke, that now that everyone is leaving, Vancouver would be hit by a gigantic snow storm. But I checked the Weather Channel, and they predict a heat wave for the next ten days, temperatures in the fifties. So forget Washington DC, and New York City; Vancouver is the place to point to if you are a proponent of global warming.
NBC televised the Olympics and they can feel proud of a marvelous job. But they expect to lose $250 Million. When you add the $40 million lost on Conan O’Brien don’t be surprised if they’re next in line for a government bailout.
Historic quote by Will Rogers:
"Spending when we didn't have it puts us where we are today. Saving when we have it will get us back to where we was before we went cuckoo." DT #1353, Nov. 24, 1930.
Randall Reeder
Will Rogers Today
http://willrogerstoday.com
614-477-0439 willrogers@aol.com
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
COLUMBUS: President Obama moderated a meeting last week on health care, with Democrats and Republicans. It went on for 6 hours and was the second most watched daytime TV drama in recent days, behind the true confessions of Tiger Woods.
Americans are telling the president they want more jobs and a reduced deficit. The President says, "I hear you. We’re gonna change your health care."
Speaker Pelosi says the health care bill will create thousands of new jobs. She didn’t say how many of those new jobs would be in Washington. I’m not an economist, but how can they cut health care costs by hiring more people? How about if they pay for more doctors by paying for fewer lawyers. Hire more nurses for rural areas by cutting bean counters in Washington. Reduce paperwork and increase medical research. Most people would like everyone to have a chance to buy insurance, but don’t want to lose their own.
Pelosi says her fellow Democrats should vote for health care reform even if it costs them reelection in November. President Obama agrees with her but neither one promised to resign if other Democrats happen to lose. See, they are willing to sink the ship if necessary, but do not plan to go down with it.
There’s some Toyota owners I need to apologize to. It seems the gas pedal problem is more than just a few drivers who never learned how to shift to neutral. Toyota engineers are working on a solution, and they’ll likely get it fixed way before Congress fixes health care.
Chile got hit with an earthquake 500 times more powerful than the one in Haiti, but with less damage. That don’t make it any easier on the ones that are suffering, so give generously.
The Winter Olympics ended tonight. I said last week that Canada had a better chance of getting a gold medal in curling than in hockey. Well, they got gold in both. The US got the most medals, just not the preferred color.
This will go down in history as the warmest Winter Olympics ever held. I was planning to write a joke, that now that everyone is leaving, Vancouver would be hit by a gigantic snow storm. But I checked the Weather Channel, and they predict a heat wave for the next ten days, temperatures in the fifties. So forget Washington DC, and New York City; Vancouver is the place to point to if you are a proponent of global warming.
NBC televised the Olympics and they can feel proud of a marvelous job. But they expect to lose $250 Million. When you add the $40 million lost on Conan O’Brien don’t be surprised if they’re next in line for a government bailout.
Historic quote by Will Rogers:
"Spending when we didn't have it puts us where we are today. Saving when we have it will get us back to where we was before we went cuckoo." DT #1353, Nov. 24, 1930.
Randall Reeder
Will Rogers Today
http://willrogerstoday.com
614-477-0439 willrogers@aol.com
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Weekly Comments: Congress, Canada and curling for gold #591
Feb. 21, 2010
COLUMBUS: President Obama announced he will meet with Congress this week on the health care bill. So many have announced they are leaving, he is hoping they still have a quorum.
Senator Bayh of Indiana is the latest. He wrote a column in the New York Times saying that he will not run for re-election because the Senate is not like it was in the old days. He says that filibusters and political bickering get in the way of passing good bills today, and he wants to help reform the Senate to make it more like it was years ago. (See historic quotes)
Most of the bickering and discontent today is from a lack of money. A politician at any level, whether Democrat or Republican, likes to play Santa Claus and pass out the presents. But it’s no fun to play Scrooge, and say, "No, the well has run dry, and the feed trough is empty."
The Governors are gathered in Washington this week. They arrived in their red suits and sleighs, hoping to return home with a bag full of presents. Everybody in the country has heard the news that the federal government is broke, except these governors.
We know states are in a quandary. In Ohio, for example, the Columbus Dispatch says that the budget must be cut by $7 Billion, and that if the governor were to fire all 58,000 state employees he would still be $2 Billion short. It’s pretty bad when an Ohio governor might have to lay off all his state workers, and then have to borrow 20,000 employees from Michigan and fire them too, just to balance his budget.
The problem is a matter of distribution. In Ohio 85% of state money is passed down to local governments. So local units get their money from the state, states get theirs from the Federal, and the Federal government get theirs from, who else, local individuals and businesses. (Except for what they borrow from China.) The solution is for each level to collect just what they need. See, when most of the money gets collected in Washington, then shuffled back through the state capitals, and eventually to the ones that paid it in the first place you’re lucky to get back a nickel on the dollar.
We’ve been working for months on an important trade deal with Canada, and tonight we messed up and made them mad. Our young hockey team went up to Vancouver and knocked out the veteran Canadian team. Now, Canada is still in the hunt, but they’ve got a better chance of winning gold in curling than in hockey.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
"The Senate is having what is called a filibuster. The name is just as silly as the thing itself. It means that a man can get up and talk for 15 or 20 hours at a time, then be relieved by another, just to keep some bill from coming to a vote, no matter about the merit of this particular bill, whether it's good or bad." WA #12, March 4, 1923
"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
"Cussing Congress was never as popular as it is now. They are not doing the best they can, but they are doing the best they know how." WA #492, May 29, 1932
Randall Reeder
Will Rogers Today http://willrogerstoday.com
614-477-0439 willrogers@aol.com
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
COLUMBUS: President Obama announced he will meet with Congress this week on the health care bill. So many have announced they are leaving, he is hoping they still have a quorum.
Senator Bayh of Indiana is the latest. He wrote a column in the New York Times saying that he will not run for re-election because the Senate is not like it was in the old days. He says that filibusters and political bickering get in the way of passing good bills today, and he wants to help reform the Senate to make it more like it was years ago. (See historic quotes)
Most of the bickering and discontent today is from a lack of money. A politician at any level, whether Democrat or Republican, likes to play Santa Claus and pass out the presents. But it’s no fun to play Scrooge, and say, "No, the well has run dry, and the feed trough is empty."
The Governors are gathered in Washington this week. They arrived in their red suits and sleighs, hoping to return home with a bag full of presents. Everybody in the country has heard the news that the federal government is broke, except these governors.
We know states are in a quandary. In Ohio, for example, the Columbus Dispatch says that the budget must be cut by $7 Billion, and that if the governor were to fire all 58,000 state employees he would still be $2 Billion short. It’s pretty bad when an Ohio governor might have to lay off all his state workers, and then have to borrow 20,000 employees from Michigan and fire them too, just to balance his budget.
The problem is a matter of distribution. In Ohio 85% of state money is passed down to local governments. So local units get their money from the state, states get theirs from the Federal, and the Federal government get theirs from, who else, local individuals and businesses. (Except for what they borrow from China.) The solution is for each level to collect just what they need. See, when most of the money gets collected in Washington, then shuffled back through the state capitals, and eventually to the ones that paid it in the first place you’re lucky to get back a nickel on the dollar.
We’ve been working for months on an important trade deal with Canada, and tonight we messed up and made them mad. Our young hockey team went up to Vancouver and knocked out the veteran Canadian team. Now, Canada is still in the hunt, but they’ve got a better chance of winning gold in curling than in hockey.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
"The Senate is having what is called a filibuster. The name is just as silly as the thing itself. It means that a man can get up and talk for 15 or 20 hours at a time, then be relieved by another, just to keep some bill from coming to a vote, no matter about the merit of this particular bill, whether it's good or bad." WA #12, March 4, 1923
"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
"Cussing Congress was never as popular as it is now. They are not doing the best they can, but they are doing the best they know how." WA #492, May 29, 1932
Randall Reeder
Will Rogers Today http://willrogerstoday.com
614-477-0439 willrogers@aol.com
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Weekly Comments: Earthquakes seldom change #586
Jan. 18, 2010
COLUMBUS: Massachusetts is voting this week on whether they want their health care reformed. I think this voting is a good idea and should have probably been used in other states. Nebraska and Louisiana got it whether they wanted it or not.
One of the health care debates is over putting a big tax on the so-called Cadillac insurance plans. The vast majority figured that’s fair because they’ll never get close to owning a Cadillac. The only time they even expect the pleasure of riding in one is on a final trip to the cemetery. Well, you can imagine the shock when so many of these folks driving Fords and Chevys learned they have health insurance fit for a Cadillac owner. They aren’t so high on the tax now.
It’s terrible what’s happened to the people in Haiti. It won’t be easy rebuilding a country that was never built in the first place. Any new building that’s done had better be done well. Geologists had been predicting this earthquake for years, and they say it still only affected about ten percent of the likely area. There are more shocks to come.
Earthquakes don’t change and neither does the generosity of American people. Cuba and Venezuela like to criticize, but how many shiploads of food and supplies do you see them delivering?
We could help Haitians improve their farming. Why are people going hungry in a country where they can grow food year round? Give them seeds to grow vegetables and fruit rather than cotton and coffee. Show them how to set up farmers’ markets in town, and how to sell to the cruise ships and tourists.
Before you can do all these good things, they need water and food to survive. We love to complain about our government, but Haiti has no government. No police, no army, no law and order. Well, they got some semblance of a government, but it’s useless. Looters and hoodlums are keeping supplies from starving children. But our many charities and churches have been there for years and they will persevere and do the best they can.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
"They tell you pictures don't lie, but the ones you saw of this earthquake did, for they didn't tell that eight days after it happened there is from one to three hundred bodies still under those ruins. Sitting here in a Marine tent writing this and am going to sleep here.
Naturally what they need is money. The government or the people haven't got a cent. The Red Cross combined with the relief organizations here has done great work as usual. If through the Red Cross and public donations... it would relieve the situation as to food and get some roofs to cover these people.
Goodness knows, you generous folks have been asked till you are ragged, but honest, if you saw it, you would dig again. I have finally found somebody poorer than a southern cotton renter farmer.
It just falls where everything else does, on the generosity and goodness of the American people. If you saw, as I did this morning, 2500 mothers with babies in their arms go by and get their ration of milk you would say there was some poor devil that needed it worse than you do." DT #1469, April 8, 1931 (in Managua, Nicaragua)
Randall Reeder
Will Rogers Today http://willrogerstoday.com
614-477-0439 willrogers@aol.com
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
COLUMBUS: Massachusetts is voting this week on whether they want their health care reformed. I think this voting is a good idea and should have probably been used in other states. Nebraska and Louisiana got it whether they wanted it or not.
One of the health care debates is over putting a big tax on the so-called Cadillac insurance plans. The vast majority figured that’s fair because they’ll never get close to owning a Cadillac. The only time they even expect the pleasure of riding in one is on a final trip to the cemetery. Well, you can imagine the shock when so many of these folks driving Fords and Chevys learned they have health insurance fit for a Cadillac owner. They aren’t so high on the tax now.
It’s terrible what’s happened to the people in Haiti. It won’t be easy rebuilding a country that was never built in the first place. Any new building that’s done had better be done well. Geologists had been predicting this earthquake for years, and they say it still only affected about ten percent of the likely area. There are more shocks to come.
Earthquakes don’t change and neither does the generosity of American people. Cuba and Venezuela like to criticize, but how many shiploads of food and supplies do you see them delivering?
We could help Haitians improve their farming. Why are people going hungry in a country where they can grow food year round? Give them seeds to grow vegetables and fruit rather than cotton and coffee. Show them how to set up farmers’ markets in town, and how to sell to the cruise ships and tourists.
Before you can do all these good things, they need water and food to survive. We love to complain about our government, but Haiti has no government. No police, no army, no law and order. Well, they got some semblance of a government, but it’s useless. Looters and hoodlums are keeping supplies from starving children. But our many charities and churches have been there for years and they will persevere and do the best they can.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
"They tell you pictures don't lie, but the ones you saw of this earthquake did, for they didn't tell that eight days after it happened there is from one to three hundred bodies still under those ruins. Sitting here in a Marine tent writing this and am going to sleep here.
Naturally what they need is money. The government or the people haven't got a cent. The Red Cross combined with the relief organizations here has done great work as usual. If through the Red Cross and public donations... it would relieve the situation as to food and get some roofs to cover these people.
Goodness knows, you generous folks have been asked till you are ragged, but honest, if you saw it, you would dig again. I have finally found somebody poorer than a southern cotton renter farmer.
It just falls where everything else does, on the generosity and goodness of the American people. If you saw, as I did this morning, 2500 mothers with babies in their arms go by and get their ration of milk you would say there was some poor devil that needed it worse than you do." DT #1469, April 8, 1931 (in Managua, Nicaragua)
Randall Reeder
Will Rogers Today http://willrogerstoday.com
614-477-0439 willrogers@aol.com
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Weekly Comments: Plenty of turkeys, and not just in Congress #578
Nov. 22, 2009
COLUMBUS: It’s Thanksgiving in America, and turkeys are plentiful. And not just in Congress either. Our turkey growers outdid themselves and the country is flooded with cheap gobblers. Grocery stores are practically giving away turkeys this year. Plan to buy an extra one or two and donate them to a charity that’s feeding the hungry.
You might remember a few weeks ago I wrote about a shortage of chicken wings. Well I think if one of these Wing restaurants wants to be a big hit with customers, they can advertise a “super size” special and hand out turkey wings. No need to pretend that little chunks of chicken breast is boneless wings. These are real wings, bones and all.
The health care bill got 60 votes in the Senate, but it don’t mean anything. They are merely agreeing to sit down and argue over it till Christmas. But still, these votes didn’t come cheap. Senator Landrieu wrangled $100 million for her Yes vote, and she practically said it’ll take far more to get another Yes in the final round. Senator Lieberman is in there to look out for his Connecticut insurance folks, and no one knows what he received.
An Illinois senator, who already received a prison and 3000 jobs, voted for it. He said on television that the American people want this health care bill passed so we can get on to fixing the economy and finding jobs. Really, I think what most people want is a job and the economy fixed, then worry about health insurance later.
When more than 10% is out of work, having a job is something to be thankful for. Prospects are looking mighty bleak for next year because employers are cutting jobs faster than President Obama can manufacture new ones. He’s holding a Jobs Summit in Washington next month but I doubt it’ll add many jobs, at least outside of Washington. He just returned from China and all he had to do was look around over there and he could see where many of our jobs went to.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
“A bought vote is better than no votes at all. The counters can't tell whether they are bought or just bargained for.” DT #73, Dec. 4, 1926
“You can't have a picnic lunch unless the party carrying the basket comes.” DT #1714, Jan. 21, 1932
Randall Reeder is Will Rogers Today
http://willrogerstoday.com willrogers@aol.com
614-477-0439
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
COLUMBUS: It’s Thanksgiving in America, and turkeys are plentiful. And not just in Congress either. Our turkey growers outdid themselves and the country is flooded with cheap gobblers. Grocery stores are practically giving away turkeys this year. Plan to buy an extra one or two and donate them to a charity that’s feeding the hungry.
You might remember a few weeks ago I wrote about a shortage of chicken wings. Well I think if one of these Wing restaurants wants to be a big hit with customers, they can advertise a “super size” special and hand out turkey wings. No need to pretend that little chunks of chicken breast is boneless wings. These are real wings, bones and all.
The health care bill got 60 votes in the Senate, but it don’t mean anything. They are merely agreeing to sit down and argue over it till Christmas. But still, these votes didn’t come cheap. Senator Landrieu wrangled $100 million for her Yes vote, and she practically said it’ll take far more to get another Yes in the final round. Senator Lieberman is in there to look out for his Connecticut insurance folks, and no one knows what he received.
An Illinois senator, who already received a prison and 3000 jobs, voted for it. He said on television that the American people want this health care bill passed so we can get on to fixing the economy and finding jobs. Really, I think what most people want is a job and the economy fixed, then worry about health insurance later.
When more than 10% is out of work, having a job is something to be thankful for. Prospects are looking mighty bleak for next year because employers are cutting jobs faster than President Obama can manufacture new ones. He’s holding a Jobs Summit in Washington next month but I doubt it’ll add many jobs, at least outside of Washington. He just returned from China and all he had to do was look around over there and he could see where many of our jobs went to.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
“A bought vote is better than no votes at all. The counters can't tell whether they are bought or just bargained for.” DT #73, Dec. 4, 1926
“You can't have a picnic lunch unless the party carrying the basket comes.” DT #1714, Jan. 21, 1932
Randall Reeder is Will Rogers Today
http://willrogerstoday.com willrogers@aol.com
614-477-0439
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
Weekly Comments: This time it’s Pelosi sweet talking Reid #577
Nov. 15, 2009
COLUMBUS: The Health Reform bill finally passed the House. I think it was by 220-215, and now our Senators get to argue over it.
Don’t be surprised to see Speaker Pelosi standing beside Harry Reid addressing questions about the merits of the bill. She’s liable to reach over, put her arm around Harry’s waist and say, “Harry, we have written a perfect health care bill; why don’t you go to your Senators and sweet talk them into passing it as is, as a favor for little ole me.” Well, you’ll see Harry’s eyebrows raise and his eyes open wide as he inches sideways out of her grasp.
No doubt we need some reform for the few million who can’t get insurance. I was talking to a Judge in Claremore a week ago, and she said it’s really sad to see so many foreclosures in her court because severe illness has wiped out a family’s ability to make house payments. And some of these houses are old and small, worth only $35,000 she said.
Just wish Congress would concentrate on helping those kind of folks and reducing costs for the rest of us without messing up what’s good about our system. Why would you cut salaries for doctors and nurses and leave the lawyers alone? Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and other Wall Streeters say we have to pay bonuses of $30 Billion this year or we’ll lose these bright financiers. Aren’t they the ones who helped shove us into this recession? Wouldn’t it make more sense to reserve the $30 Billion for doctors?
I just returned from speaking in Lubbock. Headline in the Avalanche-Journal says: Cotton producers are all smiles. They’re smiling because cotton yields in West Texas are ten percent above last year, while the rest of the country is down. Bet you didn’t know almost forty percent of our cotton will come from Texas this year. Wonderful people in Lubbock; even got to see the famous American Windmill Museum, a must-stop for a windy speaker.
The President decided to try the foreign terrorists in New York instead of at Guantanamo in a military trial. The Attorney General says we will convict them in NY, then put them in prison in Illinois. He did not say what would happen if their lawyers are better than our lawyers and they are set free.
Senator Durbin is thrilled that 3000 Illinois Democrats will be hired to guard the 200 prisoners from Gitmo. They plan to buy an empty prison and fix it up. I’m wondering, with 15 armed guards for each prisoner, why do you even need a prison.
Back in May I proposed Nevada as a better choice. We already spent $10 Billion tunneling out a storage space for nuclear materials under Yucca Mountain, but Senator Reid won’t let us store any. So, just build a steel gate across the entrance and put the terrorists in there. Once a week bring in food and water and let them take care of each other. No guards needed inside. Let those 3000 do something useful, like farming or working in a meat processing plant. Maybe some could become doctors and nurses. Anything but Wall Streeters.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
“(Congress) 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. 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 man's thoughts are naturally on his next term, more than on his country.” WA #78, June 8, 1924
Randall Reeder is Will Rogers Today
http://willrogerstoday.com willrogers@aol.com
614-477-0439
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
COLUMBUS: The Health Reform bill finally passed the House. I think it was by 220-215, and now our Senators get to argue over it.
Don’t be surprised to see Speaker Pelosi standing beside Harry Reid addressing questions about the merits of the bill. She’s liable to reach over, put her arm around Harry’s waist and say, “Harry, we have written a perfect health care bill; why don’t you go to your Senators and sweet talk them into passing it as is, as a favor for little ole me.” Well, you’ll see Harry’s eyebrows raise and his eyes open wide as he inches sideways out of her grasp.
No doubt we need some reform for the few million who can’t get insurance. I was talking to a Judge in Claremore a week ago, and she said it’s really sad to see so many foreclosures in her court because severe illness has wiped out a family’s ability to make house payments. And some of these houses are old and small, worth only $35,000 she said.
Just wish Congress would concentrate on helping those kind of folks and reducing costs for the rest of us without messing up what’s good about our system. Why would you cut salaries for doctors and nurses and leave the lawyers alone? Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and other Wall Streeters say we have to pay bonuses of $30 Billion this year or we’ll lose these bright financiers. Aren’t they the ones who helped shove us into this recession? Wouldn’t it make more sense to reserve the $30 Billion for doctors?
I just returned from speaking in Lubbock. Headline in the Avalanche-Journal says: Cotton producers are all smiles. They’re smiling because cotton yields in West Texas are ten percent above last year, while the rest of the country is down. Bet you didn’t know almost forty percent of our cotton will come from Texas this year. Wonderful people in Lubbock; even got to see the famous American Windmill Museum, a must-stop for a windy speaker.
The President decided to try the foreign terrorists in New York instead of at Guantanamo in a military trial. The Attorney General says we will convict them in NY, then put them in prison in Illinois. He did not say what would happen if their lawyers are better than our lawyers and they are set free.
Senator Durbin is thrilled that 3000 Illinois Democrats will be hired to guard the 200 prisoners from Gitmo. They plan to buy an empty prison and fix it up. I’m wondering, with 15 armed guards for each prisoner, why do you even need a prison.
Back in May I proposed Nevada as a better choice. We already spent $10 Billion tunneling out a storage space for nuclear materials under Yucca Mountain, but Senator Reid won’t let us store any. So, just build a steel gate across the entrance and put the terrorists in there. Once a week bring in food and water and let them take care of each other. No guards needed inside. Let those 3000 do something useful, like farming or working in a meat processing plant. Maybe some could become doctors and nurses. Anything but Wall Streeters.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
“(Congress) 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. 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 man's thoughts are naturally on his next term, more than on his country.” WA #78, June 8, 1924
Randall Reeder is Will Rogers Today
http://willrogerstoday.com willrogers@aol.com
614-477-0439
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Weekly Comments: Peace talks are fine but keep your gun loaded #570
Sept. 27, 2009
COLUMBUS: This was quite a week for peace. At the United Nations, President Obama called to order the Security Council and they unanimously passed a motion to work toward a world without nuclear weapons. As soon as the vote was announced they all cheered, and every leader there slipped out and called home with the same message: Build more Nukes.
Next up was the speeches. Qaddafi of Libya and Chavez of Venezuela and the little fellow from Iran that we can’t pronounce all got their turn on stage. They took turns bashing America and the rest of the civilized world, and seeing who could tell the biggest lies. Where is Joe Wilson when you really need him?
Our President is back in Washington, working on changes in health care. He already promised to cut prices by eliminating waste and fraud. But he never defined exactly what fraud he would go after. Well, in a recent interview he gave a hint. After ACORN was embarrassed by videos where they promoted illegal activities, he was asked about the $50 million the government had paid to ACORN. He said that’s nothing to be concerned about because we have bigger problems to solve. So right there, he pretty much set the bar on fraud. If you want to cheat the government out of health care funds, keep it under $50 million and you’ll be home free.
Food prices are back in the news. Farmers are getting paid less than a year or two ago, but grocery stores and restaurants are charging more. Not much different than in 1925: “Steak on the plate went up, steak on the hoof went down.” Now, the Dept of Agriculture has a solution for you; get to know a farmer and buy direct. Not only do you cut out the middle man, you get acquainted with the folks that work to grow your food.
Speaking of farmers, one thing they are all praying for is a late frost. All across the country many crops got planted a week or two later than normal. They’re growing fine, but a delay in freezing weather would be greatly appreciated. Norman Borlaug, the great agricultural scientist who died recently, developed genetically-modified crops that helped keep a billion people from starvation. But I doubt he came up any that would keep growing after a hard freeze.
I just returned from Norfolk where I spoke at the Performing Arts Exchange. It’s mainly musical groups, singers, and dancers in kind of a gigantic tryout to get booked for live shows across the country. My angle to get hired was to promise not to sing, dance or play an instrument. Being over there so close to Washington, I told them for my act I just watch the government and report the facts. Don’t even have to exaggerate. There’s no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
“It's all right to go to these (Disarmament) Conferences. But it's always well to come home and reload your gun after each one is over.” WA #416, Dec. 14, 1930
Randall Reeder is Will Rogers Today
http://willrogerstoday.com willrogers@aol.com
614-477-0439
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
COLUMBUS: This was quite a week for peace. At the United Nations, President Obama called to order the Security Council and they unanimously passed a motion to work toward a world without nuclear weapons. As soon as the vote was announced they all cheered, and every leader there slipped out and called home with the same message: Build more Nukes.
Next up was the speeches. Qaddafi of Libya and Chavez of Venezuela and the little fellow from Iran that we can’t pronounce all got their turn on stage. They took turns bashing America and the rest of the civilized world, and seeing who could tell the biggest lies. Where is Joe Wilson when you really need him?
Our President is back in Washington, working on changes in health care. He already promised to cut prices by eliminating waste and fraud. But he never defined exactly what fraud he would go after. Well, in a recent interview he gave a hint. After ACORN was embarrassed by videos where they promoted illegal activities, he was asked about the $50 million the government had paid to ACORN. He said that’s nothing to be concerned about because we have bigger problems to solve. So right there, he pretty much set the bar on fraud. If you want to cheat the government out of health care funds, keep it under $50 million and you’ll be home free.
Food prices are back in the news. Farmers are getting paid less than a year or two ago, but grocery stores and restaurants are charging more. Not much different than in 1925: “Steak on the plate went up, steak on the hoof went down.” Now, the Dept of Agriculture has a solution for you; get to know a farmer and buy direct. Not only do you cut out the middle man, you get acquainted with the folks that work to grow your food.
Speaking of farmers, one thing they are all praying for is a late frost. All across the country many crops got planted a week or two later than normal. They’re growing fine, but a delay in freezing weather would be greatly appreciated. Norman Borlaug, the great agricultural scientist who died recently, developed genetically-modified crops that helped keep a billion people from starvation. But I doubt he came up any that would keep growing after a hard freeze.
I just returned from Norfolk where I spoke at the Performing Arts Exchange. It’s mainly musical groups, singers, and dancers in kind of a gigantic tryout to get booked for live shows across the country. My angle to get hired was to promise not to sing, dance or play an instrument. Being over there so close to Washington, I told them for my act I just watch the government and report the facts. Don’t even have to exaggerate. There’s no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
“It's all right to go to these (Disarmament) Conferences. But it's always well to come home and reload your gun after each one is over.” WA #416, Dec. 14, 1930
Randall Reeder is Will Rogers Today
http://willrogerstoday.com willrogers@aol.com
614-477-0439
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Weekly Comments: Health care plan floods air waves #569
Sept. 20, 2009
COLUMBUS: This morning President Obama booked himself on five TV news shows, and Monday night he’s on Letterman. Don’t be surprised if next weekend he preempts the half time show of every football game.
He says that if he can’t persuade us on television, he’ll start calling on the telephone. Can you imagine him calling 300 million of us? Naturally he’ll commence with the Democrats. He’ll hope to convince enough Democrats that he don’t have to worry with the Republicans at all.
His problem is that the majority like their health care the way it is. Don’t change a thing, they say. Well, the reason they like it is because they aren’t the ones paying for it. If everyone knew the cost, and had to pay it themselves, they might be willing to shop for a cheaper option.
The President says medical costs are too high and they have increased way too fast over the past ten or twenty years. He may be right, but half the increase is because of new medicines and technology. Do you want to give that up? What’s that leave to cut, other than trial lawyers and insurance profits? I rather doubt you want to cut your doctor’s salary, at least not until after your surgery.
It kinda looks like he’s gonna keep hounding us till we give up and accept it. Only then can we ever hope to find out exactly what it was we accepted.
Some of our big economists announced the “Recession is over.” Well, that’s just an economist’s way of saying it probably won’t get any worse unless you lose your job. It’s like a weatherman reporting that the river has stopped rising; it don’t mean the flood is over if you have five feet of water in your living room.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
“I’m not a member of any organized political party... I’m a Democrat.” (no specific date)
“The trouble with the Democrats has been up to now that they have been giving the people ‘what they thought they ought to have,’ instead of ‘what they wanted’.” Saturday Evening Post, March 30, 1929
“Democrats never agree on anything... That’s why they’re Democrats; if they could agree with each other, they would be Republicans.” Saturday Evening Post, May 1, 1926
“Perhaps in a few months our Politicians will change... You know, Politicians, after all, are not over a year behind public opinion.” WA #25, June 3, 1923
Randall Reeder is Will Rogers Today
http://willrogerstoday.com willrogers@aol.com
614-477-0439
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
COLUMBUS: This morning President Obama booked himself on five TV news shows, and Monday night he’s on Letterman. Don’t be surprised if next weekend he preempts the half time show of every football game.
He says that if he can’t persuade us on television, he’ll start calling on the telephone. Can you imagine him calling 300 million of us? Naturally he’ll commence with the Democrats. He’ll hope to convince enough Democrats that he don’t have to worry with the Republicans at all.
His problem is that the majority like their health care the way it is. Don’t change a thing, they say. Well, the reason they like it is because they aren’t the ones paying for it. If everyone knew the cost, and had to pay it themselves, they might be willing to shop for a cheaper option.
The President says medical costs are too high and they have increased way too fast over the past ten or twenty years. He may be right, but half the increase is because of new medicines and technology. Do you want to give that up? What’s that leave to cut, other than trial lawyers and insurance profits? I rather doubt you want to cut your doctor’s salary, at least not until after your surgery.
It kinda looks like he’s gonna keep hounding us till we give up and accept it. Only then can we ever hope to find out exactly what it was we accepted.
Some of our big economists announced the “Recession is over.” Well, that’s just an economist’s way of saying it probably won’t get any worse unless you lose your job. It’s like a weatherman reporting that the river has stopped rising; it don’t mean the flood is over if you have five feet of water in your living room.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
“I’m not a member of any organized political party... I’m a Democrat.” (no specific date)
“The trouble with the Democrats has been up to now that they have been giving the people ‘what they thought they ought to have,’ instead of ‘what they wanted’.” Saturday Evening Post, March 30, 1929
“Democrats never agree on anything... That’s why they’re Democrats; if they could agree with each other, they would be Republicans.” Saturday Evening Post, May 1, 1926
“Perhaps in a few months our Politicians will change... You know, Politicians, after all, are not over a year behind public opinion.” WA #25, June 3, 1923
Randall Reeder is Will Rogers Today
http://willrogerstoday.com willrogers@aol.com
614-477-0439
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Weekly Comments: Tips for writing health care bill #568
Sept. 13, 2009
COLUMBUS: This was a big weekend for football. And it seemed that anybody not watching football was in Washington Saturday for the 9-12 gathering. In some of the football stadiums where the home team got beat, the chant at the end of the game was the same as it was in Washington: Throw the Bums Out!
The main problem with this health care reform bill is that there are a half dozen versions and they’re all written by lawyers. (See Historic quotes.) Each one is a thousand pages, so naturally you can find something on page 523, say, of one bill that contradicts page 879 of another one.
Only way to clear this thing up is to condense it down to about 20 pages that spells it out straight. Does this new government insurance cover American citizens? (Yes or no). Does it cover people who are here illegally? Does it cover the birth of a baby? Abortions?
If insurance is offered to everyone, will they charge the same for a healthy 30-year old as for an overweight 60-year old smoker? (Before answering, think of charges for auto insurance based on driver age and vehicle value.)
Once they get it down in simple English you won’t need any politician to stand up and explain it and risk being called a liar. He can just hand it to you and say read it yourself.
Now when it comes to cost, if they claim it won’t cost you anything, why that’s like your dentist saying, “This won’t hurt much.” And if they say it will be paid for by eliminating waste and fraud, just ask how much waste and fraud they eliminated last year. No matter how many scoundrels they eliminate, there’s always another batch ready to pounce on easy money.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
“The minute you read something and you can't understand it you can almost be sure that it was drawn up by a lawyer. Then if you give it to another lawyer to read and he don't know just what it means, why then you can be sure it was drawn up by a lawyer. If it's in a few words and is plain and understandable only one way, it was written by a non-lawyer.
Every time a lawyer writes something, he is not writing for posterity, he is writing so that endless others of his craft can make a living out of trying to figure out what he said, course perhaps he hadent really said anything, that's what makes it hard to explain.” WA #657, July 28, 1935
“Today, Saturday, minds are not on politics, they are not on national affairs, they are on football. Did you know that football is becoming about as big a nuisance as politics? Millions of football fans are going to football games this afternoon. Mind you, I think it's a great thing.” DT #726, Nov. 23, 1928
Randall Reeder is Will Rogers Today
http://willrogerstoday.com willrogers@aol.com
614-477-0439
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
COLUMBUS: This was a big weekend for football. And it seemed that anybody not watching football was in Washington Saturday for the 9-12 gathering. In some of the football stadiums where the home team got beat, the chant at the end of the game was the same as it was in Washington: Throw the Bums Out!
The main problem with this health care reform bill is that there are a half dozen versions and they’re all written by lawyers. (See Historic quotes.) Each one is a thousand pages, so naturally you can find something on page 523, say, of one bill that contradicts page 879 of another one.
Only way to clear this thing up is to condense it down to about 20 pages that spells it out straight. Does this new government insurance cover American citizens? (Yes or no). Does it cover people who are here illegally? Does it cover the birth of a baby? Abortions?
If insurance is offered to everyone, will they charge the same for a healthy 30-year old as for an overweight 60-year old smoker? (Before answering, think of charges for auto insurance based on driver age and vehicle value.)
Once they get it down in simple English you won’t need any politician to stand up and explain it and risk being called a liar. He can just hand it to you and say read it yourself.
Now when it comes to cost, if they claim it won’t cost you anything, why that’s like your dentist saying, “This won’t hurt much.” And if they say it will be paid for by eliminating waste and fraud, just ask how much waste and fraud they eliminated last year. No matter how many scoundrels they eliminate, there’s always another batch ready to pounce on easy money.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
“The minute you read something and you can't understand it you can almost be sure that it was drawn up by a lawyer. Then if you give it to another lawyer to read and he don't know just what it means, why then you can be sure it was drawn up by a lawyer. If it's in a few words and is plain and understandable only one way, it was written by a non-lawyer.
Every time a lawyer writes something, he is not writing for posterity, he is writing so that endless others of his craft can make a living out of trying to figure out what he said, course perhaps he hadent really said anything, that's what makes it hard to explain.” WA #657, July 28, 1935
“Today, Saturday, minds are not on politics, they are not on national affairs, they are on football. Did you know that football is becoming about as big a nuisance as politics? Millions of football fans are going to football games this afternoon. Mind you, I think it's a great thing.” DT #726, Nov. 23, 1928
Randall Reeder is Will Rogers Today
http://willrogerstoday.com willrogers@aol.com
614-477-0439
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Weekly Comments: Congress wants to fly, not read #563
August 10, 2009
COLUMBUS: This health care argument is putting a dark cloud over summer vacation, and not just for Congress. About three-fourths claim they like their health care just the way it is. But President Obama is trying to convince us to sign up for another plan that will “save the health care system.” Only trouble is it will mainly increase costs and reduce care for the three-fourths in order to insure the other one-fourth.
I happened to talk this week with a young woman who has been accepted to start medical school, and I asked what she thought of the health care proposal. Well, she isn’t too thrilled about it. She’s dedicated to becoming a doctor, but she figures “many of the brightest students will choose a different direction”. I jumped in with, “like becoming a lawyer?” No wonder she’s concerned. With the government adding 40 million people to the health care system, that’s what the country needs all right: fewer doctors, and more lawyers to sue ‘em.
People are shocked that their Congressman hasn’t read the bill he voted for. They’re just now learning what many of us have known for years: nobody in Congress has ever read any bill in it’s entirety.
Well, I ain’t read it either. But according to those who have, the bill is 1000 pages explaining that government commissions will be appointed to fill in 98 percent of the details about the plan. There’s supposed to be about 50 of these commissions and they will bring the final bill up to around 100,000 pages, which of course nobody will ever read. If you want to get a glimpse of the future of your health, ask your Congressman or Senator this question: Out of those 50 commissions, how many will be headed up by a Doctor, and how many by a lawyer?
Congress spent much of 2009 shaming the big banks and automobile companies into selling their executive jets. Claimed it wasn’t right for outfits dependent on public money to have their top people flying hither and yon unless it was coach. Now the newspapers are reporting that Congress ordered a bunch of new jets of their own, costing us half a Billion dollars. I guess if these folks at GM, or Chrysler or Bank of America want to fly anywhere, maybe they can hitch a ride with Speaker Pelosi or Senator Reid. Congress has no intention of signing up to use the same health care plan they’re proposing for the rest of us, and apparently that applies to airplanes, too.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
“I don't suppose there ever was a time when everybody knew as little about what they were talking about as they do today. Actual knowledge of the future was never lower but hope was never higher.
Confidence will beat predictions any time.” DT #2224, Sept. 19, 1933
“...People who send useless wires (telegrams) – I was about to say, people who send useless wires to useless Congressmen, but I wouldn't say a thing like that. That's kind of raw, and I wouldn't do a thing like that. I wouldn't say that. So on either one of these plans don't wire your Congressman. Don't wire him; even if he could read, don't wire him.” Radio, May 26, 1935
Randall Reeder is Will Rogers Today
http://willrogerstoday.com willrogers@aol.com
614-477-0439
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
COLUMBUS: This health care argument is putting a dark cloud over summer vacation, and not just for Congress. About three-fourths claim they like their health care just the way it is. But President Obama is trying to convince us to sign up for another plan that will “save the health care system.” Only trouble is it will mainly increase costs and reduce care for the three-fourths in order to insure the other one-fourth.
I happened to talk this week with a young woman who has been accepted to start medical school, and I asked what she thought of the health care proposal. Well, she isn’t too thrilled about it. She’s dedicated to becoming a doctor, but she figures “many of the brightest students will choose a different direction”. I jumped in with, “like becoming a lawyer?” No wonder she’s concerned. With the government adding 40 million people to the health care system, that’s what the country needs all right: fewer doctors, and more lawyers to sue ‘em.
People are shocked that their Congressman hasn’t read the bill he voted for. They’re just now learning what many of us have known for years: nobody in Congress has ever read any bill in it’s entirety.
Well, I ain’t read it either. But according to those who have, the bill is 1000 pages explaining that government commissions will be appointed to fill in 98 percent of the details about the plan. There’s supposed to be about 50 of these commissions and they will bring the final bill up to around 100,000 pages, which of course nobody will ever read. If you want to get a glimpse of the future of your health, ask your Congressman or Senator this question: Out of those 50 commissions, how many will be headed up by a Doctor, and how many by a lawyer?
Congress spent much of 2009 shaming the big banks and automobile companies into selling their executive jets. Claimed it wasn’t right for outfits dependent on public money to have their top people flying hither and yon unless it was coach. Now the newspapers are reporting that Congress ordered a bunch of new jets of their own, costing us half a Billion dollars. I guess if these folks at GM, or Chrysler or Bank of America want to fly anywhere, maybe they can hitch a ride with Speaker Pelosi or Senator Reid. Congress has no intention of signing up to use the same health care plan they’re proposing for the rest of us, and apparently that applies to airplanes, too.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
“I don't suppose there ever was a time when everybody knew as little about what they were talking about as they do today. Actual knowledge of the future was never lower but hope was never higher.
Confidence will beat predictions any time.” DT #2224, Sept. 19, 1933
“...People who send useless wires (telegrams) – I was about to say, people who send useless wires to useless Congressmen, but I wouldn't say a thing like that. That's kind of raw, and I wouldn't do a thing like that. I wouldn't say that. So on either one of these plans don't wire your Congressman. Don't wire him; even if he could read, don't wire him.” Radio, May 26, 1935
Randall Reeder is Will Rogers Today
http://willrogerstoday.com willrogers@aol.com
614-477-0439
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
Weekly Comments: Ole Will recalls 1927 health insurance plan #562
August 2, 2009
COLUMBUS: Congress has adjourned for their August vacation, at least the House did. The Senate says they want to stay another week to argue over the next Supreme Court Justice and appropriations for agriculture. But really it’s to let the Congressmen and women go home first and take the heat on health care, energy, and global warming.
Dairy farmers say they need support from Congress the same way the automobile manufacturers are benefitting from “Cash for Clunkers”. They figure if the government paid them for sorta de-commissioning every old Holstein cow of a certain age that might reduce the milk surplus and let ‘em get back to break even. Only trouble is that whereas the old cars have to be traded for a new one giving more miles per gallon, most old Holsteins get replaced by young heifers giving more gallons per cow.
The whole health insurance debate has boiled down to who gets the care they need, who pays for it, and who gets a share of the payment. The only ones we can agree on to cut out of the payment is the lawyer, but you’ve got a better chance of cutting lobbyists out of politics.
No dairy farmer wants to go back to milking cows the way they did fifty years ago, and no American in his right mind wants to give up the advancements in medical science over the same time frame.
Well, just as Congressmen sometimes do, I’m yielding the rest of my time here, to a man who had gall stones removed, at age 47, and lived to write and joke about it.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
(Excerpts from “Ether and Me”, a 32 page book Will wrote about his gall bladder surgery in June 1927. The book has sold over 80,000 copies, and is available for about $6 from the Will Rogers Museum at willrogers.com.)
(After the diagnosis, but before going to the hospital) “My wife was setting on the edge of the bed and we were talking it over. She got up and went into another room. I got up and went in to console her. She was digging in an old musty leather case marked Insurance Papers....
(After the surgery...) One day I was a-laying in the hospital and I just happened to have the only bright thought that had come to me in weeks. This operation comes under the heading of sickness, so I thought of those insurance policies I had been paying on for years. This sickness is going to turn out all right. I began thinking how I could stretch it out into a slow convalescence. When my wife called again I broke the good news to her. “If we can get a bona-fide doctor to say I have been sick and couldn’t spin a rope and talk about Coolidge, we are in for some disability.”
Well, I noticed my wife wasn’t so boisterous about this idea. Then the truth slowly came out; she told me the sad story of cutting down on the insurance. She said my good physical condition had misled them. She said the operation would not be money-making.
So if you want to stay well, just bet a lot of rich companies that you will get sick; then if you can’t have any luck getting sick, have the policy cut down, and before six months you’ll be saying “Doctor, the pain is right there.”
Of course if I had had the bigger policy, why, it would have had some clause in there where I got sick on the wrong day or had the wrong disease. There would have been an alibi somewhere, because those four pages of clauses in a policy are not put in there just to make it longer.
We kid about our Doctors and we hate to pay 'em after it's all over and we have quit hurting. But I expect a lot of us have got 'em to thank for us being here.”
Randall Reeder is Will Rogers Today
http://willrogerstoday.com willrogers@aol.com
614-477-0439
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
COLUMBUS: Congress has adjourned for their August vacation, at least the House did. The Senate says they want to stay another week to argue over the next Supreme Court Justice and appropriations for agriculture. But really it’s to let the Congressmen and women go home first and take the heat on health care, energy, and global warming.
Dairy farmers say they need support from Congress the same way the automobile manufacturers are benefitting from “Cash for Clunkers”. They figure if the government paid them for sorta de-commissioning every old Holstein cow of a certain age that might reduce the milk surplus and let ‘em get back to break even. Only trouble is that whereas the old cars have to be traded for a new one giving more miles per gallon, most old Holsteins get replaced by young heifers giving more gallons per cow.
The whole health insurance debate has boiled down to who gets the care they need, who pays for it, and who gets a share of the payment. The only ones we can agree on to cut out of the payment is the lawyer, but you’ve got a better chance of cutting lobbyists out of politics.
No dairy farmer wants to go back to milking cows the way they did fifty years ago, and no American in his right mind wants to give up the advancements in medical science over the same time frame.
Well, just as Congressmen sometimes do, I’m yielding the rest of my time here, to a man who had gall stones removed, at age 47, and lived to write and joke about it.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
(Excerpts from “Ether and Me”, a 32 page book Will wrote about his gall bladder surgery in June 1927. The book has sold over 80,000 copies, and is available for about $6 from the Will Rogers Museum at willrogers.com.)
(After the diagnosis, but before going to the hospital) “My wife was setting on the edge of the bed and we were talking it over. She got up and went into another room. I got up and went in to console her. She was digging in an old musty leather case marked Insurance Papers....
(After the surgery...) One day I was a-laying in the hospital and I just happened to have the only bright thought that had come to me in weeks. This operation comes under the heading of sickness, so I thought of those insurance policies I had been paying on for years. This sickness is going to turn out all right. I began thinking how I could stretch it out into a slow convalescence. When my wife called again I broke the good news to her. “If we can get a bona-fide doctor to say I have been sick and couldn’t spin a rope and talk about Coolidge, we are in for some disability.”
Well, I noticed my wife wasn’t so boisterous about this idea. Then the truth slowly came out; she told me the sad story of cutting down on the insurance. She said my good physical condition had misled them. She said the operation would not be money-making.
So if you want to stay well, just bet a lot of rich companies that you will get sick; then if you can’t have any luck getting sick, have the policy cut down, and before six months you’ll be saying “Doctor, the pain is right there.”
Of course if I had had the bigger policy, why, it would have had some clause in there where I got sick on the wrong day or had the wrong disease. There would have been an alibi somewhere, because those four pages of clauses in a policy are not put in there just to make it longer.
We kid about our Doctors and we hate to pay 'em after it's all over and we have quit hurting. But I expect a lot of us have got 'em to thank for us being here.”
Randall Reeder is Will Rogers Today
http://willrogerstoday.com willrogers@aol.com
614-477-0439
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Weekly Comments: Will offers health care plan: adoption #559
July 11, 2009
COLUMBUS: T. Boone Pickens is back in the news again. With Congress working on a bill to replace coal with wind and sunshine, Boone cancelled his plans for installing 600 wind machines in West Texas. Now there’s as much wind as ever around Lubbock and Amarillo, and you can’t find a better place to set up gigantic windmills. Only problem is, where they need electricity is East Texas, and nobody has volunteered to pay for the transmission wires.
So Boone is looking for a home for his wind machines. Frankly, a perfect location for half of ‘em is downwind of Washington. You’ve got both the source and the need in the same vicinity. As for the other 300, I’m open to suggestions.
Congress figured out how to pay for health care for 50 million people without insurance: let the rich cover ‘em. According to the plan, any family making over $350,000 will be asked to contribute. The government collects the money, then after taking out the overhead, doles it out to the uninsured whether they want it or not.
I think a simpler plan would be adoption. We have about 1 million who are wealthy enough to be the “payers”, and 50 million “payees.” So I suggest each rich payer kinda adopt 50 payees. Set it up like one of these dating web sites, call it www.healthEharmony.com, and let each of our wealthy select their 50. Maybe some millionaires could adopt 100, like Jay Rockefeller and Warren Buffett (and Boone Pickens if he ever sells his windmills). My plan eliminates the middleman and minimizes the operating cost, assuming we can find someone to build the web site for less than $18 Million, which seems to be the going rate in Washington.
To be fair, the first ones to choose can’t just pick up 50 young, healthy guys who don’t expect to ever see a doctor till they’re at least 80. No, they can take about ten of those, but the other forty are split between the unemployed, those too sick to work, and our so-called undocumented immigrants.
The only problem is gonna come when another 50 million or so see this adoption plan as such a good idea they want in on it. I’m not sure families making, say, $200,000 are going to look favorably on adopting their share.
How’s this for stimulating jobs? General Motors got $20 Billion more from the government, and announced they’re cutting 6000 salaried workers and maybe 20,000 more in factories. At least they’re out of bankruptcy, and they’ll do all right if they can keep running the company from Detroit instead of Washington.
Historic quotes by Will Rogers:
“Everybody says, ‘Where's the money coming from we're spending?’ Well, I don't know, but just offhand, I'd say it's coming from those that got it.... There's one good thing about the American form of government. The fellow that's got nothing, he don't pay nothing.” Radio, April 7, 1935
Randall Reeder is Will Rogers Today
http://willrogerstoday.com willrogers@aol.com
614-477-0439
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
COLUMBUS: T. Boone Pickens is back in the news again. With Congress working on a bill to replace coal with wind and sunshine, Boone cancelled his plans for installing 600 wind machines in West Texas. Now there’s as much wind as ever around Lubbock and Amarillo, and you can’t find a better place to set up gigantic windmills. Only problem is, where they need electricity is East Texas, and nobody has volunteered to pay for the transmission wires.
So Boone is looking for a home for his wind machines. Frankly, a perfect location for half of ‘em is downwind of Washington. You’ve got both the source and the need in the same vicinity. As for the other 300, I’m open to suggestions.
Congress figured out how to pay for health care for 50 million people without insurance: let the rich cover ‘em. According to the plan, any family making over $350,000 will be asked to contribute. The government collects the money, then after taking out the overhead, doles it out to the uninsured whether they want it or not.
I think a simpler plan would be adoption. We have about 1 million who are wealthy enough to be the “payers”, and 50 million “payees.” So I suggest each rich payer kinda adopt 50 payees. Set it up like one of these dating web sites, call it www.healthEharmony.com, and let each of our wealthy select their 50. Maybe some millionaires could adopt 100, like Jay Rockefeller and Warren Buffett (and Boone Pickens if he ever sells his windmills). My plan eliminates the middleman and minimizes the operating cost, assuming we can find someone to build the web site for less than $18 Million, which seems to be the going rate in Washington.
To be fair, the first ones to choose can’t just pick up 50 young, healthy guys who don’t expect to ever see a doctor till they’re at least 80. No, they can take about ten of those, but the other forty are split between the unemployed, those too sick to work, and our so-called undocumented immigrants.
The only problem is gonna come when another 50 million or so see this adoption plan as such a good idea they want in on it. I’m not sure families making, say, $200,000 are going to look favorably on adopting their share.
How’s this for stimulating jobs? General Motors got $20 Billion more from the government, and announced they’re cutting 6000 salaried workers and maybe 20,000 more in factories. At least they’re out of bankruptcy, and they’ll do all right if they can keep running the company from Detroit instead of Washington.
Historic quotes by Will Rogers:
“Everybody says, ‘Where's the money coming from we're spending?’ Well, I don't know, but just offhand, I'd say it's coming from those that got it.... There's one good thing about the American form of government. The fellow that's got nothing, he don't pay nothing.” Radio, April 7, 1935
Randall Reeder is Will Rogers Today
http://willrogerstoday.com willrogers@aol.com
614-477-0439
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Weekly Comments: Congress to replace oil from overseas with wind from Washington
June 28, 2009
COLUMBUS: I flew back from Reno Thursday after contributing slightly to the local economy. The Reno Gazette-Journal reported their state economy is so bad they are laying off university professors.
Then I read in the Columbus newspaper that the Ohio Governor plans to solve the state budget problems by – now get this – introducing slot machines. Considering the shape Nevada is in, with their millions of slot machines, I rather doubt they will do much to close a $3 Billion gap for Ohio. But give the governor credit; all five days I was gone he was on the job, working. No side trips to South America.
In Washington, while President Obama had everybody focused on changing health insurance, Congress passed a bill to make all our best fuels more expensive. Now I don’t mean to sound like a Rockefeller in singing praises of oil (and coal and natural gas for that matter), but the reason oil is so popular is because nobody has discovered anything better. You may remember that before crude oil started oozing out of the Pennsylvania hills, we depended on whale oil. It didn’t take an act of Congress to get us off whale oil (although if our current Congress had been around at the time such a bill would have at least been introduced). Their heart may be in the right place; they think our part of the planet is getting warmer, and they did have the good sense to wait to pass it until most of the country was wilting at 90 to 100 degrees.
The Senate hasn’t seen the bill yet, so there is some hope for common sense. A young friend of mine sent a note that “Passage of the Cap and Trade bill and continued federal debt would mean we are trading our dependence on oil for dependence on credit.” Of course the ones we will depend on for loans are China and India. They’ll have plenty of extra dough because they don’t have a Cap and Trade bill.
On Saturday I was at a reunion of some older folks, and they aren’t too thrilled either at the direction the country’s headed. They remember when electricity was a luxury and more people walked than drove. They probably got by on 20 percent of what they use now, which is what the President wants us all to do by 2050.
Last week we lost Ed McMahon, Michael Jackson and Farah Fawcett. They all made millions, but two of the three died a pauper. They’ll all be missed in their own way.
Next Saturday is Independence Day. As we celebrate, remember the ones who sweated over the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and those who have fought to preserve it since. The women in Iran understand that independence from tyranny is worth fighting for.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
“There is one rule that works in every calamity. Be it pestilence, war or famine, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The poor even help arrange it.”
DT #1019, Oct. 31, 1929
“Never blame a legislative body for not doing something. When they do nothing, they don't hurt anybody. It's when they do something is when they become dangerous.” DT #1038, Nov. 22, 1929
“... reunions... To talk of old times with old friends is the greatest thing in the world.” WA #169, March 7, 1926
Randall Reeder is Will Rogers Today
http://willrogerstoday.com willrogers@aol.com
614-477-0439
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again
COLUMBUS: I flew back from Reno Thursday after contributing slightly to the local economy. The Reno Gazette-Journal reported their state economy is so bad they are laying off university professors.
Then I read in the Columbus newspaper that the Ohio Governor plans to solve the state budget problems by – now get this – introducing slot machines. Considering the shape Nevada is in, with their millions of slot machines, I rather doubt they will do much to close a $3 Billion gap for Ohio. But give the governor credit; all five days I was gone he was on the job, working. No side trips to South America.
In Washington, while President Obama had everybody focused on changing health insurance, Congress passed a bill to make all our best fuels more expensive. Now I don’t mean to sound like a Rockefeller in singing praises of oil (and coal and natural gas for that matter), but the reason oil is so popular is because nobody has discovered anything better. You may remember that before crude oil started oozing out of the Pennsylvania hills, we depended on whale oil. It didn’t take an act of Congress to get us off whale oil (although if our current Congress had been around at the time such a bill would have at least been introduced). Their heart may be in the right place; they think our part of the planet is getting warmer, and they did have the good sense to wait to pass it until most of the country was wilting at 90 to 100 degrees.
The Senate hasn’t seen the bill yet, so there is some hope for common sense. A young friend of mine sent a note that “Passage of the Cap and Trade bill and continued federal debt would mean we are trading our dependence on oil for dependence on credit.” Of course the ones we will depend on for loans are China and India. They’ll have plenty of extra dough because they don’t have a Cap and Trade bill.
On Saturday I was at a reunion of some older folks, and they aren’t too thrilled either at the direction the country’s headed. They remember when electricity was a luxury and more people walked than drove. They probably got by on 20 percent of what they use now, which is what the President wants us all to do by 2050.
Last week we lost Ed McMahon, Michael Jackson and Farah Fawcett. They all made millions, but two of the three died a pauper. They’ll all be missed in their own way.
Next Saturday is Independence Day. As we celebrate, remember the ones who sweated over the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and those who have fought to preserve it since. The women in Iran understand that independence from tyranny is worth fighting for.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
“There is one rule that works in every calamity. Be it pestilence, war or famine, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The poor even help arrange it.”
DT #1019, Oct. 31, 1929
“Never blame a legislative body for not doing something. When they do nothing, they don't hurt anybody. It's when they do something is when they become dangerous.” DT #1038, Nov. 22, 1929
“... reunions... To talk of old times with old friends is the greatest thing in the world.” WA #169, March 7, 1926
Randall Reeder is Will Rogers Today
http://willrogerstoday.com willrogers@aol.com
614-477-0439
Need a Speaker? Hurry up and hire me before I die... again
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