Today's Tids Issue 2011
Opening Stuff:

The perfect quiet day, when the world we know receives a fresh coat of white snow and for a moment bears no scars, muffles the cries of anger, is not to be scorned for inconvenience but to be cherished if only for a moment for the magic of pure beauty. 

With all the hullabaloo attending the announcement of a 7 step jobs improvement plan, The RI Senate only continued to play feel good touch football, failing to grasp, or if so, failing not to play tough enough to eliminate the real problem, themselves.

Did you hear about the Roman soldier who had an epileptic fit in ice storm? It was a Hail Siezure! Shoot me.

One of the scariest things about Twitter is how fast it could chnage opinions about stocks., one way or the other.

The Question:
What are the nine states with no income tax?

The Headlines:
--Northeast Enjoys Cover Of White Before Clean-Up Turns It Ugly.
--NASDAQ Hanging In There; Dow Stumbling; IBM Loses Steam.
--Morgan-Stanley Downgrades Gold For Next Two Years; Other Experts Say Gold Could See 800 If Treasuries Go To 4%.
--Violence Escalates In Syria As Peace talks Open.
--Thai Capital Under Emergency Law After Shooting Of Pro-Government Leader.
--RI Senate Announces 7 Point Plan To Revive RI Economy; More Of The Same Fails To Connect With Employer Leaders.
--Ex-Va Gov Indicted.
--Self-Proclaimed "Sinner" Vitters On Top Of Heap In La Gubernatorial Race.
--News Takes Sideline When It Snows.

I see where the NBA season is half over, and I'm still thinking it's just getting started. Ditto NHL.

I may not publish my NCAA Final Four picks this year because I want to keep the Buffett Billion for myself.

So far most of what I have heard from the Governor and the legislature is to pour more money into the Education industry, when we know that the smartest kids in RI routinely leave the state because there are so few  good jobs worthy of a great education. The best jobs in RI seem to be in the hierarchy of the NEA union leadership...and they never leave.

One thing you have to admit about the cold, dry weather is that Potatoes chips are crispier and Cheeto's are snappier.

This is about the time of the year when most people stop listening to the hysterical reports of doom created by weather forecasters. 

I see where the Ya-Ya-Ya...(Well You Know Who I Mean) signed superstar Japan pitcher Isahiro Tanaka for $150 Mill. We can only hope he works out as well as ex-superstar Japan pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka!

Richard Sherman has been Vitter-Like in trying to restore his rep as a good guy instead of loudmouth jerk.

Speaking of vile celebs, our intrepid San Diego reader wants to add Robert Filner to the Tids 2013 Selaziest Slimeball list headed by Weiner and Spitzer. I say, well deserved.

There's no truth to the rumor that Boston U.'s highly regarded Public Relations program will be using The Tids Slime ball List to test their students' ability to make cotton candy out of pollution sludge. Now that's tackle football.

Seriously though, it seems to me that every intelligent person in this state knows what the problem is with regards to economic growth, except all of those who vote for the state legislature.

And, a big "I'm sorry" to all of you non-RI'ers across the country for the focus on the ineptitude of my State Government. But, I know all of you in Illinois, and maybe in every state across our magnificent nation, know what I'm feeling.

Let's hope that if CBS had known that most Americans would be shuttered in last night, they wouldn't have had an evening of repeats.

I told the doctor I slipped on his front step and he said, "Icy?"

I just realized that Mark Zuckerburg and I were born in the same city. He must have had better teachers.

The Answer:
#1 Alaska doesn't have an Income or Sales tax! The rest are Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, New Hampshire and Tennessee

As this edition of the Tids comes to an end, the sun is poking through, and the soft, gentle white of a fresh fallen snow is transforming into a glistening carnival of dancing diamonds.

Cooking is always better with butter, and now the hysterical watchdogs are reversing course saying it may not be so bad after all. Yum!

No novel excerpt this morn. Had to shovel snow. Ah Winter, The days of Shovelry!

I had nothing to say this morning, and it shows.

See you tomorrow.