The Oscars used to be a respite of sorts from the all consuming negative politics of the day.

Today's Tids Isseu 3,540

Opening Stuff:

Happy Today, a day when you can do anything you want. It‘s an extra day devoid of typical worldly pressures simply because it didn’t exist a year ago. It’s the perfect day to kick off your shoes at home or at work or school, sit back munching fattening food, and dream your own personal dreams and wallow in them. If your spouse or parent or teacher or boss comes harrumphing around, just say, “The Tidster made me do it…wanna crab-corn fritter?”

I don’t find as much startling real news in the paper as I used to. Maybe it’s because what is written nowadays is generally just history repeating itself with new characters…and I’m becoming part of history.

I just realized that the Office of the Secretary of the Treasury used to be right next to the President. That must have been when going back to the times the President didn’t authorize expenditures until he checked with the Treasurer to see if there was money in the bank. What a novel concept.

Al Sharpton just sealed the deal for a Donald Trump presidency when he said, if Trump is elected I’m leaving the country.

The Question:

This is, “Names-from-the-past” day. See how you do naming TV programs or films linked to the fame of Howard Hesseman, Barbara Babcock, Debra Monk and Timothy Spall. Odd collection, eh? Bonus: What was the highest tax rate under Eisenhower? Speed Bonus: Quick now, which is female, Francis or Frances?

The Headlines:

--Stock Losses In China Will Not Bode Well For USA Today.

--Oscar Very Black As Spotlight Picks Up Top Film Honor

--The Hill Smothers Bernie In SC; Has The Fat Lady Sung?

--Trump Reminds The RNC That When He Took The Pledge That They Promised Support Too.

--Death Toll From ISIS Bombings In Baghdad Reaches 73.

--Dem Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard Quits DNC To Throw Her Support To Sanders; Kasich Says He Will Make Decision After Ohio Vote.

--Virginia Female Police Officer Murdered On First Day; Hill Condemns Cops In SC Acceptance Speech.

--Reformists/Moderates Make Big Gains In Iran Parliament.

The Oscars, Department:

Could the Hollywood crowd have squeezed any more political issues onto a stage that is supposed to be there to honor superior movie making? –Of course Blackness was the big topic and most agree that Rock was funny in the opening monologue. But most also agree that it sure got tedious as it became black all night long. --I didn’t think Spotlight was that great. --I see they had to get Joe Biden to step in for the campaigning Bill Clinton to talk about sexual abuse of women. –Hey, Leo DiCaprio, you could have made your movie in Boston. –I really hate Oscar people demeaning big industry when they all work in the biggest industry remaining in America which has plenty of greed and where they themselves make more money than almost all of the CEO’s they seem to despise. --Maybe the Pope could bring back Limbo and save it for celebrities. –People who wonder why Joe Biden got such a big standing “O” should remember that this group would do the same for Roman Polanski. --Speaking of low points, Rocks joke about cops killing blacks was as low as it gets…maybe worse. –76 years ago, Hattie McDaniel, a black woman, won the Oscar.

I’ll never forget the thrill of that day when I got my Trapper’s mitt. I could catch anything. I was invincible.

There is no doubt in my mind that if Hillary is elected the country will be more divided than it is now under the 0-Man. She’s a divide and conquer operator at exactly the time when the country needs a coming together more than ever. Then consider that some Repubs who cannot stand the Donald are advising a hold-your-nose vote for Hillary, saying that they/we can rebuke her efforts once in office. If it’s Trump and Hillary, it is going to be one weird election with a mere plurality for the winner. But then, the Clintons only win by pluralities.

Sittin’ back and munching crab/corn fritters, Department:

Melt 1 tbs butter in pan and then sauté for 5 mins 2 tbs minced shallots, 3 minced garlic cloves, 2 jalapeno peppers seeded and minced, 2 cups frozen whole kernel corn and 2 sliced green onions.  Combine I bowl ¾ cp flour, 1 tbs sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, 18 tsp ground red pepper. Separate two eggs. Lightly beat two egg yokes and add ¾ cp buttermilk. Stir in sautéed vegetables. Fold in ½ lb lump crabmeat. Whip heartily the egg whites to peaks and fold into crab batter. Heat 2” oil to 375. Make 2 tbs sized fritters and drop in oil cook about 3 mins until golden brown. Give one to your boss if he looks as peaked as the egg whites.

BTW, in case you are interested, here are the presidents who were elected by pluralities – less than half of Americans wanted them: 1844 – Polk, 1848 – Taylor, 1856 – Buchanan, 1860 – Lincoln, 1880 – Garfield, 1892 – Cleveland, 1912 and 1916 – Wilson, 1948 – HST, 1968  - Nixon, 1992 and 1996 Clinton.

Why would we ever want to measure the mood of the country by the actions of mad tweeting fanatics? I would rather be guided by  considered thinking. Call me T-Rex.

Ben Carson still makes as much sense as anybody, and could be the kind of president we need for healing. Think about a smart guy like him rising above the GOP fray where we see increased desperate, maniacal behavior from Rubio and Cruz trying to derail a less than presidential Trump. Cruz feebly injected the baseless idea that DT is mafia and Marco has him dressed in the white robes of the KKK. Could the Repub mess get any more debased?

There’s a 99.5% chance that you’ll never see me sitting down to a meal of mushroom soup and banana bread.

The Dems and Repub Opponents of Trump will say that the IRS says it is ok for him to release his tax returns while under an audit. But, wiser people like lawyers and accountants would advise, are you crazy, putting your records out in public to be scrutinized by enemies while the IRS is nosing around.

I always disliked what I consider the unappealing name, “Ragu”, and is why have always chosen other tomato sauces over that one.

The only thing mere insane than the US presidential race is the Peace efforts in Syria. Assad says, he will observe a cease fire unless fired upon, The ISIS and related Terror groups are not part of the peace process at all. They will surely fire. End of cease fire. Oops, Russia reports that the cease fire had been breached 9 times over Saturday by rebels and Turkey.

Actually ISIS like groups love cease fires so they can regroup and change strategies.

Spell-Check must have had too much to drink over the weekend.

The more I think about it the more I see the Super delegate as the ultimate signature of the establishment, and most certainly undemocratic. That rigging of the delegate count is a great example of the many reasons why Trump support continues to grow, getting votes from those tired of being snubbed by self serving politicians and the various behemoth political organizations.

The Parking Lot: Chapter 48 continues…

   Elizabeth could hear singing rising out of the church. Some of the women on the hillside started singing along with the mourners. It seemed like any other quiet Sunday with music in the air, but she felt different. The music of praise humanized the life she took. She had rationalized her deed, but now she felt the anguish. A month ago it could have been she who followed the casket into the church, who sat and cried and wondered about life without Jeremiah.

   But, Howland was no Jeremiah. Does that make a difference?

   The singing stopped, and Elizabeth watched the men gathered in front, not wavering, ready to accept the mourning crowd. Would they be hostel or will they have accepted the love of God inside the church.

   The door opened and a lone man came out. It was young Tom Howland. He motioned to Richard, who swung is leg over and slid off the horse. The two men stood staring at each other. Elizabeth focused on the hands of Tommy. Would he be like his father and lure Richard to his fate as Big Howland lured Jeremiah? There is no reason to suspect any of the Hicks. How could they?

  It seemed like minutes but was only long seconds. The younger man came forward his hands up, not darting to is belt or pocket. He wrapped his arms around Richard and said something in his ear. The boy released him and walked over to Jeremiah and started talking. After about minute, Jeremiah reached down and took his hand.

   Suddenly, the church door flew open and another younger man, Tommy’s brother Zach came running out directly towards Tommy. He screamed something, brought up his fist and slugged his brother in the chin. Tommy crumpled.

The Answer:

You should remember Howard Hesseman as your favorite Disc Jockey on WKRP in Cincinnati – Johnny Fever. Barbara Babcock was in many movies and several TV shows but received her first recognition as Grace Gardner in Hill Street Blues… for which she won the Emmy! She was also nominated for an Emmy for her role in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Another veteran actress of many good roles, Debra Monk, also won her fame in a police drama. She won an Emmy for her role as Katie Sipowicz in NYPD Blue. She also won a Tony and was nominated for many more. She was in 30 movies. Timothy Spall is a very successful British actor who probably became best known to the masses playing Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter series. He won the Cannes Film Festival acting award for his work as J. M. W. Turner in the film Mr. Turner. He actually became a UK household name in 1983 after appearing the TV series, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. Bonus: We hear a lot about the Eisenhower tax rate of about 91%, and that is true. What we don’t hear is the phrase “Tax Burden” – the total of all state local and hidden federal taxes et. al. With that measurement, the Eisenhower years were lower than Reagan and Obama. The calculation of all taxes during the “I Like Ike” years compared the 0-Man years shows Ike’s “burden” slightly less that O’s – 26.4% to 26.7%. I have seen other analyses that show the average percentage income tax “paid” by high income individuals under Ike went from 49% in 1953 to 31.3 % in 1960. Speed Bonus: It’s Frances for women. A lot of people avoid the confusion by just saying Frank or Fanny.

The more I hear opinions of last night’s Oscars, the more I hear the word, “Awful.”

I hope your do nothing day is very productive. Actually we need this to recover from the Oscars.