The beginning of the end.

Today's Tids Issue 3,620

For Rationality:

How outrageous is that 1 ½ cent per ounce tax on soda pop beverages (Sugar and “diet”!) just enacted in Philadelphia. The concept of the Liberty bell must really be cracked if this is where our nation is going. They should call it the non-Liberty bell as this is a big government takeover of human choice, pure and simple. It is egregious at that level, and maybe even more so if they are persecuting their citizens with just another hidden tax to raise money -- $90 million per year, they say. The city of brotherly Love – Hah!

It seems logical to me that the people listed on the “terrorist watch list” would be one group not allowed to buy guns. Let me parse that: “Terrorist” as in people who like to kill lots of innocents to disrupt societies. “Watch” – as in we know who they are. “List” – they are written down and readily available to any computer seeking data. But then, you haveto remind yourself that w-this would be just one more feather in the cap of Anti-Constitutionalists. Take away peoples freedoms, one carbonated drink at a time.

Tired of the nutty world of do-gooding? Take a trip to Clarksburg West Virginia where there is a lot of good ole’ banjo pickin’ goin’ on. The blue grass crowd has found that sippin’ coffee at MacDonald’s is the place to pick rather the big front porch overlooking Main Street, or Pike Street. And even better for acoustics, the country musicians say, is Hardee’s. As the WSJ says, “I’ll have some Blue Grass with a side of fries, please.” They’re adding food coloring to pot?

The Question:

In what year did Iceland officially become a country? Bonus: List the five most famous battles of the Revolutionary War.

The Headlines:

--Markets In negative Territory; Global Growth Outlook Looking Grayer.

--Trump Poll ratings Plummeting; 2/3’s Of Americans Don’t Like Him, Which Makes Even Hillary’s Negatives Look better..

--John McCain Backs Off Blaming Obama For Orlando; CIA Chief Bennett Splits With “O” On Success Of War Against Islamic Terror.

--Omar Mateen’s Wife Has Disappeared.

--England Angry Over Street Killing Of Parliament Minister.

--Wasserman Out; Hillary To Anoint Her Own DNC Chief.

--Lebron Powers The Cavs To A Game 7.

--Biejing Bans IPhone 6 In City; Will Philly Be Next To Ban Smart Phones?

Did you hear about the women in England who always uses Please and Thank You when asking Google a question? I think we need more of that.

In case you missed it, today is the anniversary of the day that the Watergate burglars were arrested. Think about that for a moment, and now consider that DNC and RNC geeks are probably hacking into each other’s computer files on a daily basis.  Technology turns crime into cool accomplishment.

I’m giving up coffee for breakfast. Instead I’ll be drinking caffeinated diet Coke in honor of those poor souls in Philly who have been decapitated by health nuts.

Oh, I messed up, and It wasn’t just spelling. I forgot to give you the answer to the Question earlier this week about who was on the Detroit Red Wing’s powerful and renown “Production Line” in addition to Goodie Howe. The answer is Sid Abel and Ted Lindsay. Actually, I was a bigger Lindsay fan the Howe fan at the time.

Remember when finding a quarter on the sidewalk was a big deal.

Let’s hear it for the Ponaganset High baseball team! This rural high school just one their first baseball state championship ever. Their excitement was infectious. The cable news and TV programs sspend hours upon hours lauding and memorializing the icons, but for me it‘s just the everyday accomplishments of real people doing what people do that gets my juices flowing.

There’s something funny to me about the headline, “Meatloaf collapses.”

Reading Between the Lines Movie Reviews:

--I’ve heard mixed reviews on Finding Dory, but the consensus is that it will entertain and has a great theme about the true meaning of family.

--Central Intelligence is a comedy that could work if it isn’t as outrageous as it appears to be. A former High School, bullied geek has found himself in life as an accomplished lethal agent of the COa. At a High School reunion he seeks out the old big man on campus who is now an accountant and itching for his old time lime light. The agent gent recruits him for a very special assignment and he soon finds himself over his head. Good laughs at times and a real plot.

--Tickled is a strange movie loved by critics. A reporter after seeing a viral video about men being tied up and tickled, seeks out the Tickler only to be mocked for his sexual orientation. This reinforces the mission to uncover the tickling empire. It is bigger and uglier than he thought, and criminal in nature. The reporter becomes obsessed about getting to the truth. I’m not obsessed about seeing it.

The Answer:

Though Iceland was first settled in 894 AD and became independent of Norway and later Denmark by 1918, it didn’t become an official Republic until 1944. Bonus: #1 are the frist two – Lexington and Cncord. 2. Bunker Hill  3. Quebec  4. Charleston  5. Trenton  6. Saratoga  7. Rhode Island  8. Kings Mountain (SC)  9. Cowpens 10. Yorktown. I’d say the battle of Long Island, Brooklyn was very significant as it magnified the weaknesses if the Americans and forced them to rethink war strategy that culminated with the Trenton surprise. BTW, “Cowpens” in South Carolina was a key battle in the War of the southern colonies that ignited American confidence and set up the march to victory over Cornwallis at Yorktown.

I think this country needs a thorough national legislative lobotomy.

Have a great weekend, E-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y!