Something To Think About Archive

Peggy Noonan, a former speechwriter for Ronald Reagan, notes that “Big things are best said, are almost always said, in small words.”

If you have any questions on how the government got $35 trillion in debt, look no farther than the Biden Administration’s recent $6 billion “loan” to electric car manufacturer Rivian. This is a company that lost $100,000 on each and every one of the 37,000 vehicles it sold in 2024. Add to that the $2 billion in subsidies through federal tax credits for all the electric vehicles sold in 2024. Reminds us of the $535 million Obama wasted on solar cell-maker Solyndra who promptly went bust in 2009.

The Four Virtues, according to writer Ryan Holiday, are: Courage, Temperance, Justice and Wisdom.

Ralph Waldo Emmerson advised us to “Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience.”

According to the artist Francis Bacon, “The wonder of a single snowflake outweighs the wisdom of a million meteorologists.”

Bernie Sanders of Vermont now argues that the Democratic Party suffered losses on Election Day because it was insufficiently hostile to the wealthy. According to the Tax Foundation: in 2022 The top 50 percent of all taxpayers paid 97 percent of all federal individual income taxes, while the bottom 40 percent paid none and 10% paid the remaining 3 percent.

On this first day of a new year, we reflect upon Steve Jobs’ 2005 commencement speech at Stanford. He said: “I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been no for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”

As the White House considers pre-emptive pardons for officials not yet convicted or even accused of breaking the law, we can’t help but wonder: What have our so-called “Leaders” been up to these past years that they require such unprecedented forgiveness?

Henry van Dyke “Every mountain is, rightly considered, an invitation to climb.”

As writer Barbara Taylor Bradford said: “Character is what drives everything forward.”

Educator and lecturer Randy Pausch believed that “Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.”

Choosing Oregon Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer as his Labor Secretary has us a bit perplexed as she supported the pro-union, anti-worker so-called PRO Act which seeks to reclassify tens of millions of independent contractors as employees therefore giving them less flexibility and autonomy in their working lives.

Columnist Burton Hillis once observed that “The best gift around any Christmas tree is the presence of a happy family wrapped in love.”

Tonight is a time to believe in magic, to hold onto wonder, and to let the spirit of the season light up the darkest night.

According to Calvin Coolidge, “Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery.”

Tennis great Arthur Ashe believed that “Everybody must learn to lose because you can’t play the game if you can’t take losing.”

Actress Tallulah Bankhead, from the so-called “Golden Age” of Hollywood claimed that “If I had my life to live over, I’d make the same mistakes, only sooner.”

Author and poet John Seaman Garns wrote: “Real leaders are ordinary people with extraordinary determination.”

Woodrow Wilson wisely noted that “I not only use all the brains I have, but all I can borrow.”

According to Calvin Coolidge, “Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery.”