May 2, 2010
COLUMBUS: The BP oil well in the Gulf is causing havoc. It’s not the first time an oil gusher got out of control, but they say trying to cap this one is like trying to plug a volcano. It’s a shame we lost those 11 men, just like the 29 miners killed in West Virginia. We need some new safety procedures enforced to reduce the hazzards. But oil, coal and natural gas are incredible fuels and keep the country moving. For now, nobody but a hermit can live without them.
A lot of folks are saying we ought to stop off shore drilling; there’s too much risk. But, for a moment put aside the damage to the Gulf region. This well is producing 200,000 barrels a day! Most farmers and ranchers would be thrilled to have a well producing 2 or 3 barrels a day. It make no sense to ignore the potential of these offshore sites.
In the Kentucky Derby, Calvin Borel won again by staying on the rail. This year he rode Super Saver. Thanks to Calvin they need to add another statistic on the Racing Form: width of the horse. I think his secret is that he only rides extremely thin horses. Then he can squeeze through a sliver of space against the rail that no other jockey would even consider.
The Arizona illegal immigration law got a lot of people riled up. All this hollering seems to be about a person having to show ID once in a while. But we all show ID to board a plane, cash a check, vote, enter the Capitol, and even to donate blood at Red Cross.
This new law is the same as a Federal law that’s been around since Roosevelt signed it in1940. Only difference is that Arizona intends to enforce theirs.
Just suppose you bought tickets to the Kentucky Derby, or a baseball game in San Francisco, or a Broadway play in New York. You arrive to find someone sitting in your seats and they refuse to budge. Naturally this would upset you and you would find an officer, show your tickets, and insist the freeloaders be removed. The officer walks with you to your seats, and says to you, "Sorry, I’m not allowed to ask these folks to show a ticket, or any ID. In fact when we opened today, half the seats were occupied because no one guarded the entrances last night. You and the other ticket holders are out of luck." So think awhile before you jump on Arizona and start a boycott.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
"No business in the United States is as cockeyed as the oil business. If ever a business needed a dictator it is them." DT #2115, May 15, 1933
"If you think this ain't going to be the worst winter for unemployment we ever had, just count the number in these college graduation classes. Immigration is not our biggest problem, it's surplus diplomas." DT #1526, June 14, 1933
"I am here in Iowa looking over the future Californians. We are just picking the best. We are not letting them all come like they used to; it's restricted immigration now." DT #491, Feb. 22, 1928
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 Volcano. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Volcano. Show all posts
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Weekly Comments: Cloud over Wall Street is not from a volcano #600
April 25, 2010
COLUMBUS: While the ash cloud hangs over Europe, another cloud hangs over Wall Street. In Europe everyone knows the Iceland volcano is to blame, but in New York we’re not sure if the blame belongs to Goldman Sachs, the SEC, Congress or our own ignorance.
Rather than keeping an eye on Wall Street, the S-E-C was watching S-E-X tapes. Now, it’s hard to blame those men, given the option of spending eight hours a day looking at Bernie Madoff, Barnie Frank, Chris Dodd and Lloyd Blankfein. Washington is blaming the brokers and bankers, but really it was Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae propping up loans to people they knew could never pay it back.
Earth Day was April 22. For forty years, we’ve been spending one day a year caring for our land and water. The one-day celebration of our environment is a wonderful idea. But some of my farmer friends reminded me that they take care of the Earth every day of the year. So you tend your own little patch of ground, and be thankful that a farmer is taking care of a few hundred acres, or even thousands of acres, of farm and ranch land.
Farmers are mighty happy this spring. Weather has been good in the Corn Belt and Great Plains and planting is way ahead of schedule. Farmers would welcome a day or two of rain just so they can get some rest.
In Arizona the Governor signed a bill that says illegal immigrants are illegal in Arizona. Seems reasonable, but a lot of folks say the bill is illegal, and that illegal immigrants in Arizona are not illegal. I’m no lawyer, but even a high-paid shyster lawyer would have a tough time proving that illegal is legal. Maybe the half million illegal immigrants in Arizona should go back home where they would be legal. Or take their chances in New Mexico.
Concerning the problem with Wall Street and the big banks, it was mortgages that caused the housing bubble in the first place. If people bought a house to live in, and not to make twenty percent a year, they wouldn’t care so much what it’s worth. It’s home. Live in it thirty or forty years and you get your money’s worth even if it goes to zero.
The government should stop encouraging big mortgages, especially for us old folks. When you reach 60, or maybe even 55, cut off the tax deduction for mortgages. By the time you get within sight of retirement, you ought to pay off your debts and be ready to live off of interest instead of paying it.
(Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to duck before some of my old mortgage-afflicted friends shoot me.)
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
"After Wall Street had been dead for a couple of years....(a government investigation) will find out exactly what everyone else already knows: the deceased died from overgorging while the gorging was gorgeous." DT #1783, April 11, 1932
"Did you read that Senate Wall Street investigation? ... Twenty-four thousand patriotic Americans was all betting against the country. And we used to arrest men for just saying something against it." DT #1793, April 22,1932
"You know it's too bad everybody was so busy getting in on it, that no one had time to investigate Wall Street before 1929, when the horse was being stolen." DT #1796, April 26, 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: While the ash cloud hangs over Europe, another cloud hangs over Wall Street. In Europe everyone knows the Iceland volcano is to blame, but in New York we’re not sure if the blame belongs to Goldman Sachs, the SEC, Congress or our own ignorance.
Rather than keeping an eye on Wall Street, the S-E-C was watching S-E-X tapes. Now, it’s hard to blame those men, given the option of spending eight hours a day looking at Bernie Madoff, Barnie Frank, Chris Dodd and Lloyd Blankfein. Washington is blaming the brokers and bankers, but really it was Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae propping up loans to people they knew could never pay it back.
Earth Day was April 22. For forty years, we’ve been spending one day a year caring for our land and water. The one-day celebration of our environment is a wonderful idea. But some of my farmer friends reminded me that they take care of the Earth every day of the year. So you tend your own little patch of ground, and be thankful that a farmer is taking care of a few hundred acres, or even thousands of acres, of farm and ranch land.
Farmers are mighty happy this spring. Weather has been good in the Corn Belt and Great Plains and planting is way ahead of schedule. Farmers would welcome a day or two of rain just so they can get some rest.
In Arizona the Governor signed a bill that says illegal immigrants are illegal in Arizona. Seems reasonable, but a lot of folks say the bill is illegal, and that illegal immigrants in Arizona are not illegal. I’m no lawyer, but even a high-paid shyster lawyer would have a tough time proving that illegal is legal. Maybe the half million illegal immigrants in Arizona should go back home where they would be legal. Or take their chances in New Mexico.
Concerning the problem with Wall Street and the big banks, it was mortgages that caused the housing bubble in the first place. If people bought a house to live in, and not to make twenty percent a year, they wouldn’t care so much what it’s worth. It’s home. Live in it thirty or forty years and you get your money’s worth even if it goes to zero.
The government should stop encouraging big mortgages, especially for us old folks. When you reach 60, or maybe even 55, cut off the tax deduction for mortgages. By the time you get within sight of retirement, you ought to pay off your debts and be ready to live off of interest instead of paying it.
(Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to duck before some of my old mortgage-afflicted friends shoot me.)
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
"After Wall Street had been dead for a couple of years....(a government investigation) will find out exactly what everyone else already knows: the deceased died from overgorging while the gorging was gorgeous." DT #1783, April 11, 1932
"Did you read that Senate Wall Street investigation? ... Twenty-four thousand patriotic Americans was all betting against the country. And we used to arrest men for just saying something against it." DT #1793, April 22,1932
"You know it's too bad everybody was so busy getting in on it, that no one had time to investigate Wall Street before 1929, when the horse was being stolen." DT #1796, April 26, 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, April 18, 2010
Weekly Comments: Volcanic ash has clouded Will’s brain on tax solution #599
April 18, 2010
COLUMBUS: Who would ever imagine that a volcano in Iceland could shut down air travel in Europe. The ash is wreaking havoc and travelers are crowding onto trains and ocean liners, and squeezing into those little cars.
Kinda reminds me of 75 years ago and the dust storms in Oklahoma, Kansas and other Great Plains states. "Flew through these dust storms last night, with the pilot flying entirely by instruments. It’s a terrible thing, and it’s going to bring up some (peculiar) legal cases. If Colorado blows over and lights on top of Kansas, it looks like Kansas ought to pay for the extra top soil. But Kansas can sue them for covering up their crops." (March 28, 1935)
Whether that ash blowing onto Europe will add any value to their soil, I’ve got my doubts. Everyone is focused on the ash, ignoring all the carbon dioxide spewing into the air with it. If it keeps up for a year or two, the question Al Gore and the rest of us will have to answer is: Will all that CO2 cause global warming, or will the ash block the sun and cool us off?
I read a poll that said 66% of Americans are unhappy with the federal income tax system. That’s not unusual around April 15, but the fact is only 53% of us pay income taxes. So I guess there’s a bunch that claim their handout ought to be bigger. With all these unhappy taxpayers, we’re still only paying two-thirds of the cost of government. President Obama has admitted we’ll have deficits of a Trillion dollars a year for ten years, or until China runs out of cash. And he says he has no idea how he can cut costs to decrease the deficit.
A new tax is being tossed around, called a Value Added Tax. It’s a sales tax, and if the VAT is 10%, the Administration says it would collect... now get this... a Trillion dollars a year. What a coincidence. But I don’t think it will work. If everything costs ten percent more, we’ll buy less, and make do. Instead of buying, we’ll grow it, raise it, build it ourselves or do without.
The President held a Nuclear Summit and asked for volunteers to give up their nuclear materials. He was hoping Iran and North Korea and Pakistan would offer to sell us all they got. But no, it was Canada, Mexico and Chile. I bet everyone along our northern border will sleep better tonight knowing the Canadians won’t nuke them.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
"You can’t say civilization don’t advance. In every war they kill you in a new way." DT #1063, Dec. 22, 1929
"Now hang onto your seats while you get this item of expense: Interest on the Public debt is $731 million. They keep jugging with millions and we owe billions. That's where all the money goes that we pay in Taxes. Let's sell off enough of this Country to somebody and pay off all National debts, then the taxes wouldn’t be nearly as much. The Democrats will agree to peddle Texas and Florida, and I am certain the Republicans will let Massachusetts and Rhode Island go." WA #312, Dec. 16, 1928
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: Who would ever imagine that a volcano in Iceland could shut down air travel in Europe. The ash is wreaking havoc and travelers are crowding onto trains and ocean liners, and squeezing into those little cars.
Kinda reminds me of 75 years ago and the dust storms in Oklahoma, Kansas and other Great Plains states. "Flew through these dust storms last night, with the pilot flying entirely by instruments. It’s a terrible thing, and it’s going to bring up some (peculiar) legal cases. If Colorado blows over and lights on top of Kansas, it looks like Kansas ought to pay for the extra top soil. But Kansas can sue them for covering up their crops." (March 28, 1935)
Whether that ash blowing onto Europe will add any value to their soil, I’ve got my doubts. Everyone is focused on the ash, ignoring all the carbon dioxide spewing into the air with it. If it keeps up for a year or two, the question Al Gore and the rest of us will have to answer is: Will all that CO2 cause global warming, or will the ash block the sun and cool us off?
I read a poll that said 66% of Americans are unhappy with the federal income tax system. That’s not unusual around April 15, but the fact is only 53% of us pay income taxes. So I guess there’s a bunch that claim their handout ought to be bigger. With all these unhappy taxpayers, we’re still only paying two-thirds of the cost of government. President Obama has admitted we’ll have deficits of a Trillion dollars a year for ten years, or until China runs out of cash. And he says he has no idea how he can cut costs to decrease the deficit.
A new tax is being tossed around, called a Value Added Tax. It’s a sales tax, and if the VAT is 10%, the Administration says it would collect... now get this... a Trillion dollars a year. What a coincidence. But I don’t think it will work. If everything costs ten percent more, we’ll buy less, and make do. Instead of buying, we’ll grow it, raise it, build it ourselves or do without.
The President held a Nuclear Summit and asked for volunteers to give up their nuclear materials. He was hoping Iran and North Korea and Pakistan would offer to sell us all they got. But no, it was Canada, Mexico and Chile. I bet everyone along our northern border will sleep better tonight knowing the Canadians won’t nuke them.
Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
"You can’t say civilization don’t advance. In every war they kill you in a new way." DT #1063, Dec. 22, 1929
"Now hang onto your seats while you get this item of expense: Interest on the Public debt is $731 million. They keep jugging with millions and we owe billions. That's where all the money goes that we pay in Taxes. Let's sell off enough of this Country to somebody and pay off all National debts, then the taxes wouldn’t be nearly as much. The Democrats will agree to peddle Texas and Florida, and I am certain the Republicans will let Massachusetts and Rhode Island go." WA #312, Dec. 16, 1928
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.
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