Defining Freedom.

Today's Tids Issue 3,715

For seeing the elusive light:

This is for all my friends who can hardly wait for the venom of the election to pass. Never have the rational citizenry of the great country hoped more to feel the morning sun warming their backs without the echo of senseless barbs smudging the landscape. To wallow in the simple smile of child; to absorb the unrestrained embrace of a lover; to feel your heart flutter freely at little human moments. I think I speak for many I know who like I are sitting patiently waiting for the grand release. Can you say Aaaaaah!

One of the early traumas of life is when you realize you are too old to go out trick or treating.

My understanding is that a true White Sox Fan can never, ever root for the Cubs. But, somehow our Fan-in-Chief has an ability to wear both hats, which is probably one reason why his red line in the Syrian sand was so meaningless. But, it is not just him, it is also shallow celebs who quickly, shamelessly change loyalties from White Sox to Cubs for a spotlight in the stands. America has indeed become a Hypocrisy.

I was kind of an odd kid. I liked Cod Liver Oil.

One of the phenomenon’s I have noticed lately is the amazing array of creative, prepared salads offered by Supermarkets. It does indicate a serious digestive change in America. I like musing over the marketing effort and the complications of inventory control, but am not interested in increasing sales.

The Question:

What are the five hardest law Schools to get into?

The Headlines:

--Cubs-Indians Opener Has 30% Higher Ratings Than Last Year’s KC-Mets Game; Cubs Even Series.

--Markets Lower; Jobless Claims Plummet; September Home Sales Rise.

--Central Italy Recovering After Twin Quakes Hit Area.

--Newly Released Memo From Clinton Aide Doug Brand Details Relationship Between Clinton Foundation And Clinton Family’s Personal Business Interests; New Emails Show Clinton Aides In hock Over News About Hillary Servers.

--Trump Reveals “New Deal For Black America” At Charlotte Tally; Trump Would Commit 1 Trillion To Infrastructure Without Raising Taxes (?)..

--Conservative Pollster Luntz Says Trump Campaign Is Worst Ever; Says He Had Tapped Into The Hearts Of Working Americans and Threw It away Because of His Ego; Adds, “Stevie Wonder Reads TelePrompTer Better Than Trump”.

--Belgium Breaks Deadlock Which Will Now Enable Historic EU-Canada Pact.

--Twitter Cuts 9% Of Workforce; Tesla Makes A Profit!

Oh yeah, and how interminable will it be seeing Hillary in a Cubs hat if the team wins it all. Remember her smiling face in a Ya, Ya, Ya… (WYKWIM)…cap when she was running for Senator. Real fans don’t jump on other people’s bandwagons.

Over the years I have given you a lot of “rankings” of various things like schools, professions, movies, songs et. al. It gives you a relative sense of the bigger picture, but it is obvious that rankings can be influenced by the reporter. Rankings can be so commercial that companies, people and institutions can buy into them…or overwhelm them with PR assaults. So while they are interesting reading to research mavens like myself, there is always a possibility that there is something in there you can’t see.

Did you read where Mercedes is bringing out a pickup truck (Google “Mercedes Pickup” for a pic). It’s probably timed for the Trump presidency – you know the President for the working man. Got to drive the right thing.

New York interior designers must be seething as they realize that America’s favorite home fashion Queen is a woman wearing a cowboy hat from Waco Texas. It’s a Joanna Gaines world.

A smart guy named Simon Sinek speaking on millennials, smart phones and the changing corporations observed that he sees many aisles of “Self Help” books in book stores but nary a section on “Help Others” books. Good point. Of course, there is always the Bible section, with one book has a lot about both sides of the story.

(The Simon Sinek piece on You Tube is called “Understanding the Game We are Playing”. He points out that relationships and careers are a Journey, as opposed to the Instant Gratification the younger generation has come to expect. That Human relationships are far different than the technological advantages of their machines. And much more. It’s 30 minutes and goes quickly. I found it interesting.)

I read where a local athlete said he was happy to have received a scholarship to George Washington U where he will major in “Exercise Science”! Yikes. We need a $50K/year Degree for that?      

As The Tids Mighty Sport Devpartment comes off another downer at 7-7-1 adding now to a total of 61-47-1 we are learning that this is a weird year indeed. It is loaded with close matchups in what are not necessarily good meaningful games (Maybe one reason why ratings are down). This week for instance the picking is made tougher by the fact that the visiting teams in about 13 games look better than the home team. Home team means something but how much, that is the big question. Ok, so much for preamble, let’s get it on. The game of the week is in the NFC East where a surprising Philly team meets a surprising Dallas team, both doing it with rookie QB’s! I am a Philly fan, but have to pick Dallas at home. I typically hate picking Dallas. Tonight we have two “almosts” and I’m going with Tenn over Jax. Cinncy is the “home” team in London, and I’ll pick em’ over the Skins. (Remember the French and Skins Wars a against The British?). Detroit has been good to me, But I’ll take Houston at home. Ariz has disappointed and Charlotte is ready for a win. Indy makes mistakes and KC is good enough on “D” for a win. Could Jets be the fodder the Browns need to escape from mediocrity? Nah. New England will not lose twice to Buffalo. Seattle has great D and should at least slow down Drew for a win. I’m liking TB to take Oakland, but I’m worried about how “real” San Diego has become and can they beat Denver at home. Yeah, they will. Green Bay has not looked great to me, so I’m going Atlanta. Minn will bounce back against Chicago.

The Voice has 12 of its final 20 for the live performances: Christian Cuevas, Courtney Harrell, Belle Jewel, Billy Gilman, We McDonald, Riley Elmore, Josh Gallagher, Sundance Head, Simone Gundy, Ali Caldwell, Jason Warrior and Kylie Rothfield in no special order. Of those, in special order, I personally like Sundance Head, Kylie Rothfield, Billy Gilman of Rhode Island, We McDonald and Courtney Harrell. Of the rest there are some true power singers, but I find them just too similar to each other. Of Course Riley Elmore is nowhere near a powers singer and I am truly surprised he is in there at all. Monday will complete the “live” performers list, and then the viewer voters start paring it down.

Can you imagine the look on the faces of the denizens of Billy-Bob’s Roadside Bar and Grill when Trump  drives up in his Mercedes Pickup.

Did you read about the teacher who showed up to monitor a class outing…dead drunk? -- as in passing out in the women’s room. She was released from school but sued for $5 million and received $75 K because police released info about her sousiness which was embarrassing! She obviously felt no shame, but then that is part of the new America.

Before the 1980’s massive company job cuts were rare. This is probably why there is such a sense of employee/employer disloyalty in the business world these days. Management makes cuts to satisfy WS profit requirements instead of trying to find out how to make the company more profitable.

The Answer:

The hardest to get into is Yale. Next is Stanford, followed by Harvard, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Chicago, Wyoming, Columbia, Cal Berkley and Duke. According to the US bar the 25 best law schools are Yale, Harvard, Chicago, Duke, Penn, Columbia, Virginia, Cal Berkley, NYU, Michigan, UCLA, Texas, Cornell, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, SoCal’s Gould, Boston U. Washington, Emery, William & Mary, Notre Dame, Boston College and Alabama. So, where did Stanford disappear to?

This election dumb

Has my mind numb,

I think I’m like you

So tired of this zoo.

When we get it back

And elect one Hack.

Will it ever be the same,

Only United SA in Name!

Personally, I believe there are a lot of smart people in this country who shun the spotlight who will help us get back on track, somehow. History says it is so. Let’s just hope there are more people who read history than revise it.