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.

The worms were digging in Earnest.

Today's Tids Issue 3,539

Opening Stuff:

Right now the Republican party looks like Libya with little hope for unification, and Obama dropping bombs all over the place.

As far as I culd see, last night’s Repub “debate” was like WWE Naked Wrestlemania. It is apparent to anyone that watched that Rubio took home the big prize and that the Trumpster fell victim to his own very thin skin. Yes everybody thought Rubio won…except potential voters, 75% of whom gave the evening Trump! Go figure. It is that kind of year when getting rid of the old in Washington is the only thing.

Police were suspicious when the wine merchant blurted out that his basement was where the berries were bodied. Thanks to Hillary Price

The Question:

Name three books by John Updike, and Upton Sinclair. Bonus: BTW, Updike won the Pulitzer twice for fiction. Only two others did it twice. Who were they? Double Bonus: A lot of early US manufacturing expertise (And wealth) grew out of the gun industry. Name five of America’s early gun inventors and manufacturers.

The Headlines:

--4 Dead. 14 Wounded In Kansas Workplace Shooting; Son In Phoenix Kills Five Family Members, Sets House On Fire.

--US Economic Growth Revised Upward By One Percent; US Futures Looked Strong To End Week Higher, Market Opened Stagnant; Oil Moving Up; China Stocks Rebound Slightly.

--US Fires ICBM To Display Power To Russia And NK.

--The Hill Reemphasizes The Need For “O” To Appoint True Progressive As Replacement For Scalia; Hill Confuses Declaration Of Independence With Constitution In Gun Pitch.

--Many Not Buying trump Tax Release Excuses.

--Israel Blasts Iran For Its New Cash-For-Martyrdom-In-Israel Program.

--37 Stranded On Antarctica Icebreaker Rescued.

--Three Black Women Who Cried Racism, Were Convicted Of Several Misdemeanors As Part Of A Giant Hoax; Video Evidence Shows Three Black Albany U Students Attacking 19 Year Old White Woman On A Bus.

When you think about it, two of the biggest discriminators in the country are Hollywood and the fashion industry who try to dictate exactly what constitutes acceptable beauty, which necessarily surpresses the wonderful attributes of probably of 98% of the population. Why just yesterday an undernourished model lambasted SI for putting a generous model on the cover – Probably to protect her own malformation. Think of the money that’s spent trying to live up to the arbitrary expectations. Think of the pressure. the pain of not being among the chosen. Think of the jobs lost. It is the quiet discrimination that nobody talks about.  

The New US slogan: In Superficiality we Trust.

Consumer Reports Says 15 new cars to avoid at all costs are Smart Car for 2, Scion iQ, Nissan Titan, Nissan Armada, Mitsubishe Mirage, Mitsubishe iMiEV, Lincoln MKT, Lincoln MKS, Jeep Wrangler, Jeep Patriot, Jeep Compass, Fiat 500L Dodge Journey, Cadillac STS and BMW 7 Series. The BMW may be a big surprise but it is seen to have lost that famous “edge: and is also rated very low on resale value and very high on operating expense. Yikes. Where have you gone, Ultimate Driving Machine.

The new manager of anything wants to take the human out of the formula. We talked about sabermetrics picking ballplayers yesterday. But docs are relying numbers as do employers and government agencies. So, the while the machines see digits upon digits, the flesh and bones person sees a spark in the human eye that is undeniable.

I think March came early yesterday. The winds were wild and the ocean was amazing; foam filled waves rolling for 100’s of yards across the deep blue wintry sea. I inhaled it al and enjoyed the cleanliness of the churning seas.

I was pleasantly appropriate to see a Terminex “Pest” Control ad pop up in my Spam.

I think Kasich is sounding more like a “Peter Principle” guy. And Carson a “Peter, Peter , Pumpkin Eater” Man. Salads?

I guess the “J’s” are out in AI land as two of my favorites, Jeneve and Jenn were ousted by the voters. In my estimation, they went for screamers over talent.

Newish TV, Department:

You, me and the Apocalypse is a well acted, well produced strange little new TV series that will keep you watching (well, it held me)…and you will wonder about your mental stability when you find yourself understanding it. – Another fairly new venture is Full Frontal starring the extremely liberal feminist Samantha Bee who basically eviscerates everybody outside of her smallish intolerant sphere. She is clever and at times funny but unfortunately thinsk that crassness and four letters are a big part of a humor. As you might imagine she blasted Scalia under the pretense of paying honor to dead rather despised adversary. She balanced that a bit with funny gig on Bernie and some good shots at Hillary, But always with too many of the words this family column does not typically ingest.

I still think good ole’ Sears has the best selection. But, they have one big problem – people have stopped going there. In today’s society, being up is far more important than being good. Remebr when the pages of the Sear’s catalog was part of your daily constitution.

The Parking Lot: Chapter 48.

    Elizabeth stood back with the rest of the women on the hilltop  overlooking Sakonnett harbor. It was magnificent New England day by blue and shining sea, but a black cloud hung low over the little village. She could feel it.

   She was in awe of her father-in-law who always seemed to have an answer for the toughest situations. His answer this time was, “Be the man who you are.”

   So there he was riding slowly down the hill leading the procession, Jeremiah following in his one horse carriage and the other Hicks, and neighbor men joining together for Howland’s funeral. Richard knew that the town could easily blame his family for the death, seen though he had heard it appeared accidental. Being there at this moment was important for the entire region, he had told them all after young Howland had left.

  They came off the hill and joined on the path to town, now passing the point where she had leapt off the rock to bring down big Howland. She felt big hands grasping her stomach.

   The party paused. She assumed they were all taking in a large breath of air as they sat up strong to face the unknown. She left the ladies to walk higher up the hill for a better view of the small church and the crowds that had gathered. She felt a sense of victory even as the possibility of a retaliative disaster rose. This was right she said.

   Elizabeth wondered what young Howland had told the sea town people, when he returned two days ago. He seemed good after he calmed down at the Hicks compound. He seemed to respect Richard. But he said little.

   Now she saw the riders coming into view at the church. Towns people’s heads turned, and then looked away, moving now to the doors of the church. There were no shouts, but there was neither a welcome. The mourners were there to mourn. They moved away from Richard, who had doffed his hat in respect; the others followed.

   The people quickly moved into the church, and The door slammed. There was no need to put out a “Do not enter” sign.

    

Reading Between the Lines Movie Reviews:

--Eddie the Eagle is fun and easily one of the best overall Pics for the Weekend. It has that Hoosiers feeling as we watch the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics journey of Michael “Eddie” Edwards, the ski jumper who fought the British establishment and the experts who said he had no chance. As many of you remember, Eddie became the best story of the show, and was rooted for by the word as the experts slinked into the corner. Want to feel good? This is it.

--Triple 9 is a good cast, mediocre movie that is so-so with the crtcis but might be good entertainment for the mindless like me. It’s about dirty cops blackmailed by the Russian mob To abet an almost impossible bank heist. It is fiolled when a rookie cop who is planned to be killed goes off script and beguns a surge against the bad guyts with amny a double cross and lots of revnece and grteed. Kate Winsletis pretty god as a  nevi mob boss. RThat might beworththe price of admission.

--Gods of Egypt looks like a terrible film, and I can’t even tell what it’s about. It is a big action move which I suspect has too much Dolby sound around.

The Answer:

John Updike is known for the “Rabbit” Series – Rabbit Run, Rabbit Redux, Rabbit is Rich, Rabbit at Rest and Rabbit Remembered. Sinclair was prolific, writing over a 100 books including the popular The Jungle (About the meat packing industry), The Bronze Check (About yellow Journalism), The Money Changers and Call Me Carpenter: A Tale of the Second Coming. Bonus: The other two double “P” winners were Booth Tarkington and William Faulkner. Double Bonus. Sam Colt comes to mind first as does Eliphalet Remington (America’s Oldest). But then we have  Daniel Wessen and Horace Smith, Oliver Winchester, John Moses Browning, John Garand, Richard Gatling, John T. Thompson (“Tommy” Gun) and Hiram Maxim. There plenty more, but those are some of the historic US names.

Help me. I don’t want to be digitized.

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

The loves of Tony.

Today's Tids Issue 3,538

Opening Stuff:

Most people seem smarter when they keep their mouths shut.

Ethereal is such a wonderful word because it reflects the idea of lifting the mind out of the ordinary into perfection. It’s a special way to describe all of those people we love, delicate and light and too amazing for the ordinary world. It’s perfect for those days when you are floating on clouds and dreaming of the pure beauty of love. It’s what you see when you look through eyes into the heart.

I come back down to earth when I when I watch Hillary on myriad clips trying to rehabilitate her image of dishonesty. It seem all that I can really think of is Shakespeare’s, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” This from Hamlet has become a figure of speech to describe someone’s too frequent and vehement attempts to convince others of some matter of which the opposite is true. No comment.

The Question:

NYC has been dethroned at the world city with the most billionaires. What city is on top now? Bonus: Name 5 different types of paint finishes that are available for refreshing up your interiors.

The Headlines:

--China Stocks Drop 6.4%; Dow Hanging In There

--US Durable Goods Orders Surge 4.9%!

--AG Lynch Confirms To congress That career JD Attorney’s Are Working With FBI On Criminal Investigation Of Hillary Clinton.

--Powerful East Caost Storm Kills 7; Power Outages From Middle Atlantic To New England.

--ISIS Threatens FaceBook’s Zuckerberg And Twitter’s Jack Dorsey.

President Barack Obama is playing games as usual, and is probably thinking he would put Repubs in an awkward position by nominating Republican Nevada Governor Sandoval for the SC Justice. Except, that Sandoval being the best Pal of, and indebted to, the most onerous Harry Reid is certainly evidence of questionable judgment. Repubs should have no feeling of embarrassment dropping that crony.

A brilliant Tids observer writes to tell me that I forgot another quality Italian Presidential candidate – Rick Santorum. Father was from Italy and Mom was of Irish Italian ancestry. Ciao.

From Baseball to Politics, Department.

I was going to write a Tidlet on Sabermetrics, the statistical tool used by baseball management to analyze, pick and pay players (Often enormous, irrevocable salaries) that more often aren’t working. My Beloved Red Sox have done it for years, shunting aside the human factor for the digital one. It has failed miserably lately, and even the statistical mind of owner Henry now agrees that human judgment is very necessary. Now I see that statistical guru and inventor of Sabermetrics, Bill James is saying the numbers won’t work for Trump because there is not enough of the “Moron” vote to support him when the other candidates disappear. Sounds like their maybe a little bias in James analysis, primarily because he defining the word moron. The fact that baseball teams are running away from the James failed system maybe making the case for a Trump win. Bedsides, despite the bombast of the left, Repubs are indeed very kind people and they will rush to the aid of their moron friends. The greater the insults against us, the stronger the bond!

The Oscars, Department:

Could this be the first year ever when a non-nominated film or actor wins an Oscar. Will the guilt ridden voters write-in diversity? Nah, not even Hollywood would go that far. Best Pic: The winner will probably be Revenant with Spotlight and Big Short as possibilities. Leo DiCaprio will win for Revenant effort and for longevity (0-5 in nominations). I believe the Brie Larson will win for room, and I hope so. But it wouldn’t be awful to see Saoirse Ronan walking up to take the statue. Everybody is enthralled with the idea of Stallone winning, but there are many who think Ruffalo did the better jobin Spotlight. Personally, Steve Carrel was my favorite and outstanding in Big Short, but he didn’t get nominated. But, who knows! The Best Supporting Actress will probably go to Alicia Vikander, but Winslet will be a possibility. Others like Rooney Mara. BTW, I won’ be protesting, but will probably tire of the pap real fast.

I’m worried that Spell-Check is losing touch with American culture as it does not recognize FaceBook. How far off the mainstream can it be?

NCIS  lovers are sadly enduring the last episodes of Tony on the popular show. They have brought back the love of his life, Jeanne,  but the meetings have been tenuous and torturous for Tony -- because she seems very happily married to a nice guy, and she still is angry over the past big incident involving her father. He looks for forgiveness and it isn’t coming, yet. The romantics in the audience are hoping that the two will eventually spark again and ride off into the sunset. But, is Jeanne really the love of Tony’s life? I don’t think so! The wonderful Ziva character captured his true heart years ago, and I’m betting she will return for the Tony grand finale, and kill four bad guys along the way..

Foreclosures are still a problem even 8 years after the big foundation collapsed. The 10 worst sates are #10 California and then on to #1 we have South Carolina, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Delaware, Florida, Nevada and New Jersey. People are still struggling and that helps explain why America are willing o try something different. Why political experts are befuddled.

Last night American Idol trotted out their final 14 missing several of my favorites. The judges immediately gave a pass to four, all good choices – Dalton Rapattoni, Olivia Ro, Trent Harman and La’Porsha Rae. I would Have replaced Olivia with Jeneve Rose Mitchell. Jeneve is special, and entertaining. She got criticized so I’m concerned that voters will leave her behind. Yes the voters are back so the cute guy effect is in play. I would definitely put through McKenzie Bourg who I thought was the best of the night. I also likes Jenn Blosil, but the masses may not. Sonika Vaid sang a nice tune, but is a bit of a screamer. Avalon Young is very good, but may not get the vote. I think I could also go with Tristan McIntosh. So that’s six. Unfortunately Lee Jean, who showed nerves, Stringfellow who is just ok, and Manny who is too much the same all of the time, probably shouldn’t be there but may get the young girl vote. Actually, it is very complicated. But, not as bad as Libya.

It really doesn’t matter anymore that there are years old magazines in Doctors and dentists offices. People bring their own reading material in their smart phones.

The parking Lot: Chapter 47 continues…

    Jared was deep into the North side of Providence. He knew it well, and was hoping the tail which lagged back at least 2 ½ blocks didn’t. “Gather your stuff, and be ready to move quickly.” Nancy reacted immediately, but looked over at Jared, with a small grin as he gave no nonsense orders to her.

    Her arms were now holding tightly all of her precious papers. “I’m going to turn slowly,” started Jared, “and then about four houses in I will stop. There will be a narrow alley next to the white old home, Jump out and into the alley and you will find a fence that will give you cover. She glanced at him questioning,” He turned, smiled, it’s my old Mother-in-law’s house.”

   “You must have been a nice guy.”

   The car turned slowly and then lurched up to the wall, Nancy had the door wide open well before the house, and jumped just as the car stopped. Se slammed the door and ran. Without hesitating, Jared moved forward at his old slow pace. About a block and a half up, he saw the tail turning into the street. His heart rate slowed.

The Answer:

The Billionaire City is now Beijing with 100 of the super rich to NYC’s 95. What happened was that the China Government which has been holding back IPO’s, opened the floodgates last year creating 32  new billionaires. NYC added 4. The rest in order are Moscow (66), Hong Kong (64) and Shanghai (50). Bernie Sanders has been banned in China. Bonus: Flat or matte for a cool finish, but shows stains easily. Eggshell is a little brighter than flat. Satin is a soft sheen good for trim. Semi-Gloss makes things pop, and is resistant to stains and easy to clean. High gloss can add a lot of drama. And the newest entrant is VOC, a newer paint that contains fewer Volatile Organic Compounds which can be toxic.

Have a beautiful ethereal day. It’s good for the soul