Today's Tids Issue 2,768

Opening Stuff:

The key to reading a newspaper or Internet report is going to the last paragraph. It is there where even the most shallow journalist will reluctantly tell the truth. Everything before that, and especially the Headline. This is especially true when newspapers have to report facts conflicting with their ideology, or in bold public interest announcement like "People who drink water die." In the last paragraph it would say something like "this conclusion may have been drawn from insufficient data." Of course, that doesn't change the fact that every body drinks water will eventually die.

Profoundness out the Window, Department:
A rather insightful reader wrote to let us know that "Catch 22" in itself means nothing at all, except that what it has become to mean. Apparently when Joseph Heller originally wrote his book, it was titled "Catch 18". The publisher decided that his title might be confused with Leon Uris' new book, "Mila 18", an address of a house in the Warsaw Ghetto. Dig for a deeper meaning and you will find an answer you don't like.

The Question:
What are the ten toughest states for obtaining Mortgages

The Headlines:
--North Korea Defies UN, Tests Nuke.
--Prez Speaks Tonight; Netflix Movie Arrives In Time.
--Angst Eases On wall Street; EuroStocks Extend Losses; Japan Surges..
--South American, African Pope Candidates Rise To top Of early List.
--Medal Of Honor winner Clinton Romesha says, "
--Qatar Newest Threat To MiddelEast Peace.

The Police looking for LA Cop killer Dormer in the snowy mountains actually said "the trail has grown cold".

Without question, I suspect the next big epicurean trend will be South African wine. This will resound even more on the cultural front if the new Pope is African.

I don't care how nutritionists and green leaf aficionados try sell em' as tasty, vegetables are always better smothered in meat gravy.

I think I'm one of the few people in all the towns, in all the world who has never seen Casablanca, nor who wants to. That's what contrarians do.

How come, if we are at Winter lower gas rates, the price of the precious fuel here has gone up 8 cents in one week? Oh yeah, only 6 weeks til the end of the quarter.

I have always felt that Wall Street quarterly profit demands have had a lot to do with the decline of US industries, which resulted in the disappearance of the strong middle class as we knew it. What was the old line about how to stifle global competition from Asia and Europe: "Send them our MBA's"

There are many reasons why the existence of a marauding government makes it harder for many to live off of what they think of decent wages. They artificially inflate average earnings with handouts. Big pots of Government money, for instance in defense or medical services (Insurance money too) inflates the cost of simple procedures. The theres encroachment by the Federal monster on education, developing bloated programs that fall to the local taxpayer. Or, the Gov in its wisdom driving people to new programs, say alternative energy which cost way more than traditional means. Then of course there are bailouts which allow ineffective, money losing operations to survive and go on milking the average wage earner.

Hey, last week in response to my little piece on the cost of alternative energy like Windmills, a very intelligent reader with years upon years of experience in electricity generation (The Tids new Honesty in Energy Czar) wrote to point out that "when the sun does not shine and wind does not blow there is no "alternative power" Thus, what the press does not tell you is that to be considered reliable power by the regulators, alternative generation sources have to have essentially "on-line /fast start" back up fossil power plants. So here is the kicker for every say 100 of the very largest wind turbines built today [5MW] (at a multiple of the installed cost/MW of a fossil power plant) the power system has to have a 500MW back up power plant sitting there ready to run, which has to be manned and connected to a reliable fuel supply! 

Note also from the Honesty in Energy Czar: The US was much more energy efficient in the 1920's when central city based power plants used their "waste heat" for central heating and hot water. Once environmental folks decided that power plants were bad, - they had to move and disrupt the peaceful the countryside and all that waste heat was truly wasted via cooling towers etc. So a significant slice of the money spent for fuel to drive large turbo generators at their most efficient higher temps and pressures is not used [wasted] after it exhausted from the turbo-gen sets by recondensing that still very usable but lower pressure steam directly
.
The Answer:
Banks in general have become more vigilant, but in these states the standard are extremely high and the average credit ratings are very low, making impossible to get a mortgage: Number 10 is Wyoming In  order after that are Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alaska, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi. 

Gotta run, see you tomorrow. Enjoy the day. It will be a ueaut, albeit a little shushy around here.