Something To Think About Archive

English writer Izaak Walton believed that “Health is a blessing that money cannot buy.”

Jonas Salk, inventor of the polio vaccine felt that “…the greatest reward for doing is the opportunity to do more.” We hope that current trend of the FDA’s push back on and slowing down of the development of medicines, in particular vaccines, is done in a fact-based environment. We are particularly concerned about the elevated claims of ties to autism, a claim that has never been proven.  We also can’t help but note that the current HHS Secretary RFK, Jr, as a lawyer, has profited enormously from his involvement with class action litigation against drug and vaccine makers.

Civil Rights activist A. Philip Randolph Claimed that “Freedom is never given; it is won.”

Organizational behaviorist Tom Peters believes that “Nothing good or great can be done in the absence of enthusiasm.”

“Broadway Joe” Namath claims that “When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things.”

Benjamin Franklin advised us to “Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better person.”

“Tonight, we close the book—tomorrow we start a new chapter.”

Only 22% of 12th graders scored proficient in math on the National Assessment of Educational Progress last year, the lowest on record. Roughly one in eight freshmen at the University of California, San Diego—ranked sixth nationally by U.S. News & World Report—lack rudimentary high-school math skills defined as geometry, algebra and algebra 2. It doesn’t help that the UC Board of Regents in 2020 scrapped standardized tests as an admissions requirement under the guise of promoting “equity.” AI isn’t the real threat in the dumbing down Americans, lack of basic education standards is.

Goethe said: “A talent can be cultivated in tranquility; a character only in the rushing stream of life.”

Epictetus said: “There is only one way to happiness, and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.”

According to humorist Andy Rooney, “One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day.”

Doctor Norman Vincent Peale once noted that “Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.”

As columnist and author Marjorie Holmes said: “At Christmas, all roads lead home.”

168 million acres of America’s forests reportedly burned from 2002-2024, with little replanted; nearly 1200 people died and over 145,000 structures were destroyed. The 2003 Healthy Forest Restoration Act, signed into law by President Bush, was objected to by the Sierra Club and many other “environmental” groups wrongly claiming that it would “gut environmental protections.” The Obama/Biden Administration ignored it and instead enacted even more rigorous environmental review requirements with an emphasis on “climate adaptive strategies.” It took the burning down of the right zip codes with the recent destructive wildfires in Los Angeles to finally get Washington’s attention again. We need passage of the proposed “Fix Our Forests Act” that will reduce wildfire threat by thinning overcrowded forests; streamlining environmental reviews; restoring forest ecosystems; and reducing the massive greenhouse gas emissions from wildfire smoke that directly impacts health and the environment.

According to clergyman and author Robert S. MacArthur: “The highest genius is willingness and ability to do hard work.”

According to British novelist David Ambrose, “If you have the will to win, you have achieved half your success. If you don’t, you have achieved half your failure.”

As the late, great golfer Ben Hogan once noted: “There are no shortcuts in the quest for perfection.”

Self Help author Napolean Hill claimed that “The starting point of all achievement is desire.”

Philosopher Arther Schopenhauer believed that “Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits a target no one else can see.”

Like the feds, California has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. The non-partisan California Legislative Analyst has released a new report that’s a cautionary tale for America as Gavin Newsome prepares to make a run at the White House. Under the current trajectory, California will spend more money than it will take in via tax revenue facing a projected $18 billion budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year 2026-27 that starts on July 1st. The report adds, “Starting in 2027-28, we estimate structural deficits to grow to about $35 billion annually due to spending growth continuing to outstrip revenue growth.” And no one-time tax on billionaires will fix that.