In the old days boys wanted an education. They even had reading, writing, and arithmetic, instead of football. Up to then boys had gone there for their heads and not their shoulders — Will Rogers August 26,1928 In the old days must have been before 1928! I would have figured it to be later than that but maybe what we have been doing since that … Continue reading Wanting An Education
Nobody wants to be called Common People, especially common people.” – Will Rogers, 21 June 1925 Ain’t that the truth Will, even in the 21st century. It is always surprising at how many people claim themselves to be middle-class versus those who really are. According to Wikipedia most researchers put the middle class in two categories: Upper Middle Class – Those are folks who earn … Continue reading Common People….
I heard a comment recently that has stuck to me. It went like this You can’t just say you have rights, you have to use them to prove you have them” I know of so many people who scream about the first amendment right to free speech but then villainize those who speak out against things that they don’t agree with. It seems, at least … Continue reading You Have To Use Them…
Who would ever have guess that the title of the “Great Regulator” would be a Republican! That seems totally impossible in today’s world! But that is indeed the case. A hundred years ago Teddy Roosevelt was just that person. He was also called the “Trust Buster” as he took down many of the extremely wealthy of his day. He was also the one who put … Continue reading The Great Regulator…
We ask all Republicans to come together to defeat extremist Hollywood liberal Allison Lundergan Grimes this fall.” SOURCE: Conservative Groups Spin a Loss in Kentucky Senate Primary – ABC News. I see where Mitch McConnell escaped the attempted siege of the Senate Minority leader recently. The words above are part of his victory speech. Even though this quote is about politics, this post is not … Continue reading Those Words…
WASHINGTON — It’s entirely up to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) whether 2.6 million unemployed Americans get their benefits back, at least according to the two senators most involved in legislation to restore the compensation. SOURCE: Unemployment Extension In Boehner’s Hands, Says Heller. It troubles me that so much power is being concentrated in so few people. When one person can decide whether millions will … Continue reading What Happens???
What’s at stake, after all, is citizens’ representation in Congress. Partisan gerrymandering undermines the whole notion of a representative government. For proof, just look toward the lopsided seat distribution in the current Congress. SOURCE: What 60 years of political gerrymandering looks like – The Washington Post. I don’t know if gerrymandering was a foregone conclusion when our democracy was formed. Everyone wants to take … Continue reading 60 years of Political Gerrymandering
Somebody is always telling us in the papers how to prevent war. There is only one way in the world to prevent war and that is for every nation to tend to is own business. Trace any war and you will find some nations was trying to tell some other nations how to run their business. All these nations are interfering with some other nations’ … Continue reading To Prevent War…
The header of this blog contains one of my favorite Will Rogers quote. “Do the best you can and don’t take life too serious”. It would be years before I realized the power of putting those two things together. We all have different skills and capabilities. We all have different talents. I think that the secret to a satisfying life is to discover just what … Continue reading Do The Best You Can….
We all are constantly exposed to all those red State folks who rail against the big bad federal government. But who actually benefits from this bigness? As usual it is not surprising to learn that the biggest ranters are also the biggest takers when it comes to this category. Almost twice as much money per capita goes to red states than blue. South Carolina is … Continue reading Big Government – Big Payback….
“We are living in an age of ‘urge.’ We do nothing till somebody shoves us.” – Will Rogers, 25 February 1931 Some things never change. We still do practically nothing until someone shoves us. Lets face it, there are just too many of us who are so stricken with fear of change and isn’t change the name of the game lately? We let a few … Continue reading Till Somebody Shoves Us….
Today is the primary election day in my State. I write my posts usually well in advance of them being published but I can assuredly say that I have voted already. Those of you who know me at all know that I am a self-proclaimed “bleeding heart liberal”. I am a big believer in social and economic justice issues. They are a very strong part … Continue reading Primary Election Day…
If we can just let other people alone and let them do their own fighting. When you get into trouble 5,000 miles away from home, you’ve got to have been looking for it.” – Will Rogers, 9 February 1932 Thanks Will for reminding us what common sense, which seems to be a rare commodity these days, sounds like…. My Republican friends like to say that … Continue reading Let Them Do Their Own Fighting…
“This country is a thousand times bigger than any two men in it, or any two parties in it. These big politicians are so serious about themselves and their parties. This country has gotten where it is in spite of politics, not by the aid of it. That we have carried as much political bunk as we have and still survived shows we are a … Continue reading Sitting Pretty….
“I guess our country holds the record for dumbness. The Pope spoke to the world this morning in three languages and we didn’t understand a one of ’em. But the minute he finished and the local stations got back to selling corn salve and pyorrhea tooth paste we were right up our intellectual alley again.” – Will Rogers, 15 May 1931 Continue reading Our Dumbness….
“America is just like an insane asylum. There is not a soul in it will admit they are crazy.” – Will Rogers, 28 April 1935 This has got to be one of the best and maybe most accurate post by Will. We sure do have a lot of crazies in this country. Thank heavens I am not one of them. 😉 Continue reading Not A Soul Will Admit….
“Well we get pretty excited over politics, and pretty soon it’s all over, and we settle down to cussing the guy we just elected. It just seems like we can’t get a man that can take care of all of us after he gets in office. There just ain’t enough favors to go round. – Will Rogers, 15 July 1934 Continue reading Not Enough Favors To Go Around…
“The short memories of American voters is what keeps our politicians in office.” – Will Rogers, 7 April 1930 That and very uninformed, some might say ignorant, voters…. Continue reading Short Memories…
“Hunt out and talk about the good that is in the other fellow’s church, not the bad, and you will do away with all this religious hatred you hear so much nowadays.” – Will Rogers, 11 March 1923 This quote hit home with me especially after my recent post about Pope Francis and the poor. There was one sad creature who tried multiple times to … Continue reading Hunt Out The Good…..
Tesla’s campaign to sell its electric cars directly to consumers shifted into high gear this week as state lawmakers debated Tesla-related bills while powerful auto lobbyists braced for a fight. In New York, a measure designed to ban Tesla from opening new stores passed a key hurdle, while in Arizona, lawmakers pushed a bill to make it easier for Tesla to sell its cars without … Continue reading Direct From The Manufacturer….
“Plans get you into things but you got to work your way out.” – Will Rogers, 25 June 1931 For me “getting into things” is the most difficult part of a new project. Writing a post for this blog starts out with an idea or quote and then progresses from there. So I don’t take Will’s quote here as getting into trouble as many probably … Continue reading Getting Into Things….
This being April Fool’s Day I thought I would talk a little about politicians…. This is sort of political but not really. It is more in the line with personality types than about politics itself. Again, remember not to take life or this post too serious. I am mainly just poking fun of those who think they are different from us. I have been thinking … Continue reading Baby Bush Type Politician….
All my life I have been for the underdog. I don’t know if it is because I was one or if it is just some innate empathy built into me. As I mentioned a few posts ago my favorite saint from the Catholic days was St Jude – the patron saint of lost causes. It is just something about these David/Goliath type battles that brings … Continue reading The Underdog…
I was in college in the 1960s and can say I never took a spring break cruise or anything so lavish. There were a few kids I knew who did go to Ft. Lauderdale for the week but that was about it. But then again I lived my college life in a dormitory. I suspect that the frats and sororities whose kids usually came from … Continue reading Spring Break Cruises…
Legislatures are like animals in a zoo. You can’t do anything about ’em’. All you can do is to stand and watch ’em’ About being a U.S. Senator, the only thing the law says you have to be is 30 years old. Not another single requirement. They just figure that a man that old got nobody to blame but himself is he gets caught … Continue reading A Couple of Quotes From Will….
I always try to tell the truth or at least my version of it. I acknowledge the premise that all of us lie to one degree or another and that certainly includes me. But I always try to tell the truth. Sometimes that makes me seem insensitive and maybe even an ass. I tell the truth when others would lie to make someone feel better. … Continue reading I Tell The Truth….
For-profit prisons have now become the norm throughout our country. We now leave it up to others to house those who we deem unfit for society. Some, especially fiscal conservatives, say that is a good thing. After all doesn’t the private sector always do it better than the public one. Doesn’t the drive for profit always mean a better way of doing it? Here are … Continue reading Privatizing Prisons…
I will admit here that I got a first time comment today that I immediately sent to the trash because I don’t have the energy to deal with it on a serious level right now. It goes like this. “I will ignore the needs of the 99 in order to prevent the 100th one from getting something he doesn’t deserve”. This comment also declared that … Continue reading Whose Fault???
What About The Bible… ? (Chapter 6) This is the final post on my series about the Bible. It has been an enlightening time for me. This final post is about the history of Christianity and how it seems to stop with the establishment of the biblical text. But before I get into that I must mention that I have found that to really understand … Continue reading The History Of Christianity???
I’m not sure who brought up the concept but it is about how churches are actually more like clubhouses than anything else. They are buildings that are built almost exclusively for their members comfort. Yes that comfort does bring in some to hear the message but that seems to be very secondary at best. I had a recent round of comments on this topic over … Continue reading Everyone Needs A Clubhouse….
That second set of ears belongs to Sharon Wolozin, who takes notes the old-fashioned way – with pen and paper – and then reads some of the main points aloud to confirm them with the doctor. If the patient forgets a question she told Wolozin she planned to ask, Wolozin will remind her. But she is not an advocate and has no medical training. “We … Continue reading During Doctor Visits….
What About The Bible… ? (Chapter 5) I used to mourn the fact that there are almost 40,000 different versions of Christianity around today. But, in reality maybe I should celebrate that statistic. At least it shows that we are all trying to find the heart of God. But the problem with this is that we end up picking the type of God we want. … Continue reading Religious Diversity…
Time and again, those who opposed Jesus would quote Scripture. They would remind him of the Sabbath law, the requirement to fast, the provision for divorce, and the penalty for adultery. Jesus seemed unimpressed with a person’s ability to quote Scripture. His interest was in a person’s ability to hear God’s voice. He said, “He who belongs to God hears what God says” (John 8:47). … Continue reading Muzzling God….
No slick lawyers, or income tax experts can get you out of a national sales tax. It’s so much on the dollar on every luxury you buy. Then, if you live in luxury, the poor fellow knows you are paying for it and he will even encourage you to buy more so it will help out the government. — Will Rogers November 2, 1924 Continue reading An Argument For A National Sales Tax…
Most of us, and especially my very conservative friends at least during Democrat administrations, have in our minds how government simply can’t do anything right. Whatever it does is most likely screwed up and can be done much better in the private sector…. In direct contrast is one thing most conspiracy theories contain is the idea of a hyper-competent government doing things way beyond any … Continue reading Conspiracy Theories and a Hyper-Competent Government….
This is going to be one of those totally off-the-wall unrealistic posts that pops off the top of my head. But it sure would be great if somehow, anyhow it could be accomplished. So here goes. We all know that profits are the total 100% driver for American businesses for the last thirty years or so. Ever since the MBA’s took over during the Reagan … Continue reading Its All About Sharing…
RJ's Corner 