Glimpses.

Today's Tids Issue 3,980.

For Friendship:

It is amazing the faces we have passed. The eyes we have met, yet so fleeting at times. A quick smile, an eager awakening. Yet we are in a hurry. There is no time for the moment. How many friendships are lost to time. Images of people dashing by that were forgotten. There are so few chances to go back. Where are you? Have you gone forever? Hitherto, the images never fade, and I always wonder what if, I had slowed or saw what was really there.

How about that Chuck Schumer saying we have to pass the Murray/Alexander temporary health care effort to save Americans from dramatically increasing ObamaCare premiums? It seems to me that’s what the Repubs have been saying for about six or seven years now. This is one of the things I hate about politics, not hearing for party sake

Target is doing some pretty creative things to stay ahead or at least current with rapid changing retailing, selling stuff. One of their best announcements this week echoes their concerns about “Christmas Creep”. They have decided to give pre-hawking Christmas a break, and bombarded consumers arrest -- and spend more time putting “Thanks” back into Thanksgiving. A good idea. Kind of like putting humans back into humanity.

Amazon has received 238 HQII proposals from Cities and regions. By the time they finish playing all the wannabees against each other, they might be able to get a $5 Billion expansion for nothing.

While Media Grasps on to Dem Congresswoman Wilson’s attack on President’s handling of his phone call to her friend the mother of La David Johnson, the lives of the three other soldiers killed have been overlooked:  29-Year-old Staff Sgt Dustin M. Wright – A guy with a great sense of humor from a military family who always retained a sharp sense of duty. He was to move into a new home with is girlfriend. Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, a very smart guy who not only spoke 3 languages but learned Hausa, the language of Niger. He wanted to communicate directly with the people. He was serious, focused and inquisitive. He’s married with two sons. Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson was a loyal friend who loved his country. He was always running at a pace of a hundred miles an hour. This NC born, Ohio man left behind a wife and two daughters. “O say can you see…”

The Question:

CR Magazine has just announced their 2017 “Best Corporate Citizens”. Name the top five.

The Headlines:

--Market Responds Favorably To Upbeat Earnings From 3M, Cat, GM And Micky D’s.

--Tillerson In Afghanistan Mending Fences; Iraq Next; Media Creating Mini Tempest Over Alleged Afghan Photo Alteration; Secretary Of State Now In Iraq Telling Iran Armies To Go Home.

--Saudi’s Aramco Hosting World’s Top Investors; Saudi Looking Into New Areas To soften reliance On Oil.

--Dems Admitting Russia Probe Going Nowhere; Russia Collusion Claims Switching To Hillary And Barack.

--Kim Adds Threats Of Biological Weapons To that Of Nukes And Cuber devastation.

The Penn State Ohio State game this weekend at 3:30 Saturday looks like one of winners for this season. I’ll be rooting for Paterno U. A couple of other potential thrillers is pesky Iowa State against current media favorite TCU. And then there is Notre Dame coming off an impressive trouncing of USC. But, with NC State showing some mettle, I like this intersectional meeting. So that will be my Saturday.

Arianna Huffington describes Uber founders as Brilliant jerks. It appears that the jerk phase of development is over.

Almost all promotion videos for trips to Hawaii end with a pleasant visual of a flower in a hollowed-out pineapple with a straw. I should travel 6000 miles for a pineapple?

Thomas Jefferson once said: “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate for a moment to choose the latter.”

That’s an interesting statement these days, when Government is far too large and suffocating and there is too much biased media adding to the confusion. Maybe Jefferson should have said newspapers without bias.

One of the growing problems in media is that in their effort to fill all of the pages and minutes, small incidents creep up to major tragedies. And we mis-focus attention away from real problems and achievements.

Every lib is up in arms about the US dropping the Paris accords, but the many open minded people see it as incredibly unfair to the US, providing generous allowances for continued pollution for  Russia, China and India; and India inserting their sticky fingers into our national wallet for $2.5 Trillion dollars to help them “Make up their Mind”. In addition, we and others are mandated to payout  hundreds of thousands of dollars to some UN slush fund with no supervision. The accord is not an agreement but political extortion. America has been making great strides towards cleaner air and water for decades, and the laggards should be forced to spend their own money to catch up to us.

One word that is creeping into today’s common vernacular is “Trolling”. And, it isn’t about what I remember about Billy Goat Gruff, either… or fishing for that matter. Trolling is being an annoying cynic on the internet because you can be there; or posting inflammatory or inappropriate comments on message boards to upset other users. Example: Guy: “I just found the coolest ninja pencil in existence”. Troller: “I just found the most retarded thread in existence.” This is part of the new world. Actually is safer than making comment in a bar where you could get stabbed or shot.

There are so many concurrent disaster aftermaths that lawyers are having trouble knowing where to run to next.

We have so much knowledge, but so often miss so much that counts.

The Answer:

Microsoft retains its place as Number 1, followed by Intel. Number 3 is Hasbro followed by Johnson and Johnson, Ecolab, Bristol Meyers Squibb, Xerox, Lockheed Martin, Lexmark and #10campbell Soup and #10.

Interestingly, Hasbro is having some trouble with Wall Street because of the impending bankruptcy of Toys ‘r Us. Where do you sell an annual inventory buildup if they shut their doors before Christmas? My guess is that Hasbro along with toymaker competitors will fund their short-term continuity. Whatever happened to elves?