Everything, really is quite simple.

Today's Tids Issue 4,164

For Cutting to the Chase:

There are days my friends,

When I find new aches in

Head and hips, knees, toes.

But that all happily ends,

When I start munching, Cheetos.

Yesterday I named The Tids of the day, “The Big Blot”. The more I thought about that and the main discussion topic of the day, abortion, how appropriate is the name “the big blot” to describe the Abortion controversy that has so driven apart America,

I remember when it was fun reading the weekly newspaper fishing column. Now, it’s all about government regulations and limitations. Ah, give me a quiet sea and a sturdy craft and set me free. But, don’t look up. A satellite may be watching.

A crime Reporter for the The Capital Gazette said yesterday that he has spent his life reporting on the most gruesome of murders. He said he gained a new perspective yesterday in his own office hiding under a desk as shot rang out around him. Yes, knowledge does change perceptions.

The Question:

Who was the child riding in the back of car who survived a crash that took the lives of Jayne Mansfield, Sam Brody and Ronnie Harrison – and then went on to become a big TV star? Bonus: Name the five best all-time tennis rivalries

The Headlines:

--The Capital Gazette Publishes One Day After 5 Are Murdered In Newsroom; Suspect Jerrod Ramos Known To Have Had Past Clashes With Paper; Harassed CG Reported Had Moved Out Of State To Avoid Suspect.

--Stock Traders Hoping To Close Out Q2 On An Up Note.

--Deutsche Bank Fails Fed Stress Test; Goldman And Morgan Stanley Are Seen Weakest of the Other 34; They Will Not Be Allowed To Boost Dividends.

--Silicon Valley Hails Trump For Backing Off On China Tech Investment Limitations.

--Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray Undergo Tough Questioning Before Congress.

--Kelly Denies Rumors That Have Him Stepping Down; Replacement Talk Centers Around Hope Hicks And Mick Mulvaney.

--New Evidence Indicates That D.B. Cooper May Have Been CIA Agent.

My favorite TV show, “The Americans”, was named by Variety as the top TV Show for the first half of 2018. Some critics feel that this Fx show’s final season may have vaunted it up to all-time list status. Other best for the first half of 2018 are American Crime Story: The Assassination Of Gianni Versace (Fx), Atlanta (Fx), Barry (HBO), High Maintenance (HBO), Jane The Virgin (CW), Killing Eve (BBC), Mosaic (HBO), One Day at a Time (Netflix) and Up Shitt’s Creek (How sophomoric). Some others are Westworld, Queer Eye, The Tale and Superstore. BTW, I never liked One Day at a Time in its original version, so I was never enticed to go back.

Believe it or not, I spend a lot of time editing this Tids mess. Much of that time is spent changing “form” to “from”. It’s an aging mind-to-finger thing.

The immigration discussion boils down on whether you are angry over deportations or whether you are angry over unlawful entry.

So, I’m wondering – can you make wine out of withering grapes, like raisins? I looked it up. Well, it turns out you can and it is pretty easy. And, it is a mellow drink for a cold day, like a sherry they say. Drying fruit intensifies flavor. So, take your morning bran flakes and dowse them with raisin wine. The healthy way to start the day.

At the deli where I work, I learned the finer aspics of making jellied salads.

Yesterday I jokingly said Yellow Cards were probably the reason that a downtrodden Argentina got into the final 16. I had decided to use “Yellow Cards” (Of which I know nothing) as my comic foil in reports about the World Cup. But, a funny thing happened on the way from midfield to the back of the goal, Japan got in over Senegal because it had fewer -- Yellow Cards. Yes folks. Yellow cards are the fourth tiebreaker. And now my face is red.

Celebrity interviews make me crazy.

While the whole world is worrying about Nukes, the military is working on Hypersonic Weapons, which are said to be impossible to defend! There’s always something.

So, is that why powerful nations are willing to denuclearize?

Like it or not, oil production in the USA is alive and well, and exporting like crazy – like never before in history. This current economic phenomenon produces the best kind of jobs, the kind that people outside the US pay for. That’s called leverage, as, opposed to eating each other’s’ hamburgers.

“There is nothing that government can give you that it hasn’t taken from you in the first place.” – Winston Churchill.

I used to go to comedy clubs a lot, but now I don’t understand the jokes.

Reading Between the Lines Movie Reviews:

--Leave No Trace is liked by audiences and critics. It’s about a father and daughter living “off the grid” who are put into a social services program where they resist adapting. That is until set off to get back to their wild homeland.

--I might like Uncle Drew mainly because it was the brainchild of the star and Boston Celtics player Kylie Irving. It’s about aging city court hoop legends and their reuniting to recapture the old spirit, and a championship. It’s fair.

--Sicaro: Day of the Soldado is a sequel to the original, popular Mexican border flick. The characters in this one have no soul so it’s tough to root for anyone. But, it is timely, about agents and a hired assassin with a history fighting cartels trafficking in delivering terrorists across the border. Sounds like my kind of movie.

The Answer:

Of course, you knew that Mansfield’s daughter Mariska Hartigay[RH1]  went onto star in SVU. Bonus: The #10 on the all-time list is Margaret Curt and Billie Jean King. Next is Helen Wills and Helen Jacobs followed by Andre Agassi/Pete Sampras, Bill Johnston/Bill Tilden, Steffi Graf/Monica Selas, Rod Laver/Ken Rosewall, Serena versus sister Venus, Roger Federer/Rafael Nadal and John McEnroe/Bjorn Borg. The #1 All-Tie tennis Rivalry is considered the battles between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. This Bleacher report sounds reasonable to me.

If you look hard, really look hard, you will begin to see that there is nothing terribly difficult about even some of the most dire issues driving the day. It’s all in the rhetoric.

---

 [RH1]

The Big Blot.

Today's Tids Issue 4,163

For Unraveling:

With the agreement for a Putin/Trump sit-down in Finland, intrepid journalists will be overusing the headline, “Give em’ Helsinki, Donald”!

The other shoe dropped yesterday and the sides took their predictable positions on the nominating process for the replacement of Justice Kennedy. I found it interesting that abortion was considered by many observer experts as a major issue of concern for both parties. I thought there was more to life than just a single issue. Yes, a lot more to…life.

Sorry for the cheezie typos yesterday. Some of them were pretty grate.

I think you can predict modern day hoarder syndromes by looking at the number of apps a on a person’s phone. I may need that app someday.

There’s always something, and that something today in the midst of Trump tariff threats and edgy markets is the steady, probably managed, decline of the yuan. China, which currently is experiencing an economic growth slowdown, will become more competitive on the world stage as their currency gets cheaper. China is a controlling player regardless of how powerful the US economy becomes. That’s the new world.

A reader reminds me that the left has new complaints about Trump’s inhumane treatment of children. Yes, his jobs program is creating real opportunities for millennials to the point where they must now separate from their parents and move out of the basement. Will the cruelty ever end?

The Question:

Here’s a couple of Movie stars who are generally recognized as pretty solid actors year in and year out – Kathy Bates and John Cusack. Name five of their best movies.

The Headlines:

--Trade Concerns Ease, Stock Future Are Up;

--Amazon Blockbuster Purchase of PillPack Has CVS Down Nearly 10%, Walgreens And Rite Aid Tumbling.

--Xi Tells Mattis That China Will Never Give Up One Inch Of territory.

--Australia Parliament Passes Strong Anti Foreign Interference Laws. While Not Mentioned Specifically, Laws Appear Aimed At China.

--German Migrant Issue Has Merkel Running Hard To Beat The Clock.

--Former Fox News Exec Bill Shine Likely To Become New WH/Trump Communications Director.

--WalMart Rolling Out Beta On Virtual Shopping; Amazon Underwriting Ma And Pa Delivery Service Start-Ups To To Build Own Delivery System Against UPS And FedEx. .

After that rather significant victory by socialist Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez over a staunch old-line Dem, you have to figure that a lot of regular Democrats are worried a bit more about America now that their party has been hi-jacked. Maybe many of them will look to the Midwest for salvation, peace and normalcy just as the Repubs have done for years.

Odds are that the Kennedy replacement will make it through the Congress by October, regardless of rhetoric and hyperbole. Unless of course the anger around the choice ignites the second US civil war.

It would be nice if all of the old rules that have been used to create a relatively secure stock portfolio still worked. But things are changing so rapidly that old financial chestnuts are just not as reliable and secure as they have been in the past. Of course, GE is a latest prime example of how grand institutions can fall in a twinkling of an eye. And then today we learn of the ease with which Amazon became a player in health care, much to the dismay of CVS, Rite-Aid and the brandy new DOW component Walgreens. Falling asleep at the switch is more dangerous than ever.

FDR always said that there should never be Public Employee Unions, that they were inherently a conflict of interest. So, maybe the Supreme Court yesterday was hearing FDR.

If you think we have all lost our rational minds around here, how about Paris where vegans are attacking Butcher shops. I guess if they can’t convince the majority that kale tastes better than roast pork smothered in rich brownish gravy, then the idea must be to eliminate the delicious food option all together. Not coming together is a very liberal thing to do.

Now, I’m not sayin’ that all vegans are liberals, but I am thinking that they appear to be as intolerant all liberals.

A line from Winston Churchill tells us that the inherent value of socialism…is the equal sharing of misery.

Alas, The Tids World Cup Sure Thing Prediction Service initiated with a final 16 forecast earlier this week has died an early death. Germany is out of the finals and Argentina sneaks in. How could Argentina have moved up so many spots so fast? It must have something to do with yellow cards.

Voters who were able to escape the emotions driving the 2016 election, like T-Pad (Tids Political Analyst Department) knew for sure that it was mainly about getting a Repub President to ensure control over Supreme Court appointments. No matter what good or bad Trump does, his legacy will be a conservative Supreme Court for a generation and a half, unless we have a civil war. By the way, the next oldest Justices are Ginsburg and Souter.

The Oldest 4^th of July parade in America which draws upwards of a couple hundred thousand enthusiastic flag wavers each fourth is in beautiful downtown Bristol Rhode Island. I mention this because a new survey just said that RI was in the group of the five “Least Patriotic States in America” with #50 Massachusetts, New Jersey, Illinois and New York. The most Patriotic were Virginia, Alaska, Wyoming, South Carolina, and Idaho Try telling the mothers and fathers of deceased soldiers in sprawling military cemeteries that numbers say their state is less patriotic than others. Patriotism isn’t statistics, it is in the heart. (Note: The Survey measured state’s per capita veterans and enlistees plus voter engagement and Volunteerism.)

The Answer:

Cusack was very good in Pushing Tin, Identity, The Thin Red Line, The Sure Thing, Being John Malkovich, The Grifters, Grosse Point Blank, Say Anything, High Fidelity and #1, Con Air. My favorites were Pushing Tin, Identity, The Grifters and Grosse Point Blank. For Kathy Bates, what first comes to mind was her role in Stephen King ‘s Misery. But that was #3 on her list I used. Number 1 was Midnight in Paris followed by #2 When Marnie Was There. #4 is Titanic followed by anther King film Deloris Claiborne, Primary Colors, Charlotte’s Web, Fried Green Tomatoes, The Morning After and Revolutionary Road.

I titled this Tids The Blot, because after all the rhetoric and yelling and arrogant claims of victory in November, all I see right now about 4 months before the elections is a giant ink blot, which in all honesty is hard to to define. I think the murkiness will continue, matching the oppressive humid days of July and August.

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill.

Keeping up with the publicists.

Today's Tids Issue 4,162

For Cooling Breezes:

Well, it’s that awful time of year.

Weather brings us summer drear.

That old summer sun beats down.

High humidity makes you drown.

And so, I imagine that golden fall,

To help me sanely get through it all.

While others will dream of more heat,

And winter Florida’s crowded streets.

Being a Tids writer is a little like being Pavlov’s dog. It only takes a few notes of appreciation to keep my tail wagging while torturing myself.

Have you noticed that most young families buying a new homes crave an enormous kitchen, at a time when more people are eating out or bringing home prepared meals.

Am I seeing signs that it may be time to hold your breath when Q2 profit reports start flooding the biz news? I have always had this fear about the premonitions coming out of July for the fall, and this year they are earlier than ever.

A sad story came across my email last night. It wasn’t about family member or a friend. But then maybe it was. It was an email written with angst by a guy name Ed Shea, telling all of the people who loved his efforts and have enjoyed his 2^nd Story theater for the past 18 years that he was forced to close down. Ed, a truly great actor, brought wonderfully entertaining theater to many across the region at affordable prices. And now to the amazement of throngs, it is a gone. Just like that, in what seemed like seconds. I hate writing obits about the death of a person’s dream. Tanks Ed.

The Question:

Dhallywood is the film capital of what Asian country? Bonus: Who invented the “QWERTY” System and why?

The Headlines:

--Trade Fears Up, Trade Fears Down – Stocks Expected To Follow Emotions; Opening Is Positive For Today; Trump To Back Off Limiting China US Tech Investment; US Effort To Shut Out Iran Has Oil Prices Rising.

--Bernie Socialist Ocasio-Cortez Beats Powerful Dem Crowley In NY Primary; Former Kennedy Aid Dumps Dem Mentioned As Potential Pelosi Replacement; Other Dem Races See Candidates Revolting Against Pelosi; Popular Repub Candidates – Romney (UT), McMaster (SC) And Donovan (NY) Sail through; Chelsea Manning Trounced By Cardin In Maryland Primary.

--HCMS’s (Health Care Sharing Ministries) Making Positive Progress As Health Care Insurance Alternative.

--Bolton Mets Putin In Moscow To Discuss Confab.

--Starbucks Schultz Says Climate Change Could Diminish Coffee Industry; General Mills Q2 Profits Down 13%; ConAgra Buys Pinnacle Foods For $10.9 Bil.

--“Red Hen” Owner Resigns From Community Business Group.

--RI”s Classical HS Jacob Furland Wins National HS Hammer Throw; Two Other RI’ers In Top Five In Nation.

Eyes are focused on the US southern border but mass migration is a global problem where today several other countries are reacting to border assaults. I believe that migration will continue to grow as a huge problem, perhaps the biggest we all face, as the millions with nothing seek better places that have something. What’s the solution? Well, it certainly isn’t transforming functioning societies into chaos. The problem seems to be in the governing of the places with nothing. Financial aid from the bigs certainly hasn’t been working. So maybe that UN Human Rights Committee can begin to turn itself around, starting by adding a little muscle to the fight for the survival of those millions of innocents ravaged. Perhaps the USA will come back if they start dropping the hammer on despots, despite the smiles of thier diplomats.

I have to say also, that it appears to this simple observer that private non-profit enterprises and the amazing selfless people in those organizations are doing more for citizens of have-nots than than their own governments.

It’s faster that internet, well almost. Boeing’s new hypersonic plane will get passengers from the US to Europe in 2 hours! That’s probably safer than disassembling through the internet.

Before you great cheese, freeze it. This is especially helpful when grating softer cheeses.

Showtime’s “The Affair” is back for another season. I watched the first episode of season three and see it as probably the most depressing show, or at least among the top ten, of all time. Nobody is ever happy, and when occasionally you see some body smiling and elated, you know it won’t be long before the deep crash. Yes, this show for some reason has gathered a large devoted audience and I for one at least wonders why. It is a show that has no point, no reason to watch another episode because two seasons has proven that it goes nowhere, except down. I don’t why it exists, much less how it ever gained such popularity. Unless because it is a show that tries to normalize dysfunction. If you call that going somewhere. Great for antidepressant meds sales though.

But, maybe The Affair does reflect on real life. In a letter to the advice columnist this morning, a women asked if she should marry her ex-husband for the third time now that he has promised to stop beating her like he had in the first two marriages.

Netflix has a new 6-episode series, “Secret City” that I like quite a bit. The conspiracy drama takes place at the seat of government in Australia and revolves around the Chinese takeover of South China Sea islands, and that down under country’s US/China relationship. You never know who’s on who’s side as mysterious Aussie intelligence operatives and so-called Chinese “diplomats” are in and out of the sights of intrepid reporter Harriet Dunkley, who is digging herself into a life-threatening hole. I’m hooked.

People are buying homes with bathrooms bigger than basketball courts at a time when more people are going to spas outside the home.

There is not journalism more useless than that here in RI when the big newspaper devotes space to comments from the four democrat congressional puppets about national events about the republican administration or congress.

The potential good thing about rising gas prices is that it may give us back our beaches as tourists stay home by fire pits in their back yard.

Fire pit sales are booming and from where I’m seeing, it is all about America’s new love affair with roasting marshmallows.

I always had a fire pit when goring up. It was called burning leaves in the back yard.

Government buffoonery at its finest: Up in Providence, the Mayor who would love to be managing a sanctuary city, announced with fanfare that the city will issue a new Providence ID card, with picture, but no sexual identity. This card cannot be used to drive, vote, buy booze or butts, receive public assistance or board a plane. Am I losing my mind, or what.

The Answer:

Dhallywood is the center for film making in Bangladesh. Bonus: In1868, Christopher Latham Sholes introduced a crude typewriter the US using keys in alphabetical order in two rows. This layout caused jamming for frequently used pairs like ST and TH. In collaboration with educator Amos Densmore, he figured out the current combination which would eliminate all possible jamming and speed up typing. Querty made its debut in 1872. In 1874, Remington introduced the first typewriter to the broader market. But it took people a while to get used to finding their letters in QUERTY.

Maybe that’s why I have so many typos – I’m still trying to break free from alphabetical order. Conservative views die hard.

Well, I’ve managed to pare down my guilt laden list of simple chores. So, this old dog’s tail is wagging. Which is great for tales from Tids. Life is good when you get things behind you.  

Comparing is wearing.

Today's Tids Issue 4,161

For us being us:

There is little I like more than a serious morning chill at the start of a summer day.

For 13/14-year-old young lad, the visual presentations and written descriptions of the Korean war were hard for me to digest, comprehend. War is terrible, but the Korea morass to that young mind awakening, looked worse than any of them. The frigid cold. The desolate hillsides. The North Korean communist hordes that seemed to just keep on coming and coming and coming. No matter what our lads did, the massed armies from the North just flowed down in endless streams. These are images that impacted me then and I which I can still see today – the huddled soldiers in frozen foxholes.

The bigs of baseball are stumbling over themselves trying to gin up a great game for people who don’t understand baseball. I think baseball is as wonderful as ever, despite the growing popularity of other so-called faster actions sports.  I good easily argue that it takes greater all around skills to play baseball well . No other sport has the strategy, the player wo can hit 100 mph fastball and then go out and slickly field a hard shot to the infield or up against the outfield wall.  Other sports Amy appear faster or more dangerous, but they will never equal the exactment of an outfielder cutting down a runner at home, or a pitcher striking out the side wit he bases loaded. Baseball is what it is, as they say, and it will never emulate the speed of hockey or soccer or the hitting of football. But, there is nothing like it to this old fan.

People spend too much energy trying to be something they aren’t instead of being contented with the talents within them. Instead of putting that energy into maximizing their own peculiar capabilities.

The Question:

Football is coming, and the NFL just released their top 100 players list. Who were the Top Ten?

The Headlines:

--Stock Up Early A Smidge; Then Moving On To The Start Of A Positive Rally.

--Home Sales At Higher Prices Soar.

--Supreme Court Upholds Trump Travel Ban; DoJ To Ease Off Zero Tolerance Objectives.

--Brexit Bill Becomes Law After Queen Elizabeth II Gives Approval; Britain Now Able To Leave EU.

--Dems Call Out Waters For Uncivility; Dem Leadership Fears Backlash After Waters Rant And Celeb Attacks On First family.

--AG Sessions: Cartels Are Using Migrant Children To Smuggle Drugs Into US.

--GE To Spin Off Health-Care Biz; Will Divest Itself Of Baker-Hughes; Stock Price Blasts Off On NewsOf Slim-Down.

--Bear Spotted Near South Kingstown (RI) HS, Near Old Mountain Fields.

When I see people wearing those quilted winter coats/sweaters, I think back to the Chinese communists in the Korean war. That’s probably why I’ve never bought one.

Zsa Zsa the English Bulldog just won the “Ugliest Dog” title. Did you know that the lesser attractive humans make more money? Just in case you are having a bad mirror day.

I am not a particularly big fan of Mark Cuban, but I do agree with him that Political parties are pretty much useless. They are a little like unnecessary Public Employee Unions that’s serve no real purpose other than add cost to governments. And Parties are like that in that their main aim is to improve their own lot and power bases at the expense US taxpayers. They generally survive by manufacturing division and promoting anger. Keeping neighbors apart for their own advancement is their game. Oh, there are differences between groups of people, no question. But people left alone to work out grievances and misconceptions together would probably come to compromise agreements without having adjust common sense conclusions to the needs of distant masters.

Simply put, it seems to me that the US economy is based on getting a piece the actions instead of creating the action. Did you know that the greatest percentage of US lobsters are processed overseas an then shipped back into the USA as imports, with various and sundry brokers getting a piece of the pie along the way.

TDS, Department:

If you still don’t think ideologies destroy brain-cells, how about the ABC newscast of a Trump speech where under the President’s image appeared a scroll: “Manafort pleads guilty to 5 charges of manslaughter”. ABC says they “No Nothing”.” And then there is that Red Hen owner who openly preaches love yet condones the hate. That film floating upon the seas of the world isn’t volcanic ash but the deceased brain cells of the intolerant – the new global pollution. (TDS = Trump Derangement Syndrome)

Remember when Madelaine Albright said, “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t support women.” I guess she meant non-conservative women.

If the TV stations and social media went dead, we’d probably find that the majority of US citizens are just good people trying to earn a living, trying to take care of each other one way or another. It would probably reduce despair and depression.

Flute music sounds best when it is playing a mellow Irish tune. Kind of always tugs at the heart, doesn’t it?

The Answer:

Tom Brady of the NE Patriots was #1. Zowie. Next was Antonio Brown of the Steelers followed by Carson Wentz, the QB who didn’t win the SB for the Eagles. #4 is Julio Jones of the Falcons followed by Todd Gurley of The Rams, Drew Brees of the Saints, Von Miller of the Broncos and Aaron Rogers of the Pack. I’m sure all of you who are from towns not represented disagree!

Football is just around the corner again, but I still look forward to each game of baseball every summer day.

"Good grief!"

Today's Tids Issue 4,160

For easing back to rationality: 

Every day I read or hear of something that makes 100% no sense at all. Yet half of the people take one side and the other half take another. Weird, really weird.

I think it’s still possible to have pet peeves that aren’t about political differences.

You got to figure that the execs of CVS were not pleased to see archrival Walgreens elevated to the DOW 30 Industrials. I could hear the screams up in Woonsocket all the way down here.  But, I haven’t read about people jumping off rooves. Industrials?

Did you know that Panama hats come from Ecuador? I guess it is tough to understand each other when apparent truths are not true at all. Maybe Grant isn’t buried in Grant’s tomb after all.

I’m curious: Where did that egg come from that begot the first chicken? In the Big bang theory, did rocks turn into roosters and hens? Or, if the rocks became eggs, wouldn’t they smash into gooey yokes when landing?

Winston Churchill: “Diplomacy is the art of telling people to go to hell in such a way that they ask for directions.”

The World Cup Final 16 is shaping up as Russia, Uruguay, Spain, Portugal, France, Denmark, Croatia, Nigeria, Brazil, Switzerland, Mexico, Germany, England, Belgium, Japan and Senegal. The biggest surprise is the sorry performance of Argentina who just happens to have the world’s acknowledged #1 superstar Lionel Messi. Belgium appears to be a monster, and England has been amazingly dominant. Portugal’s Ronaldo has lived up to his #2 world superstar status. Soccer players do amazing things at a breakneck, nonstop pace. That’s what I know. Don’t ask me about yellow cards.

The Question:

Critics are wondering if the new “Roseanne” and “House of Cards” can survive after the dismissal of their superstars. Name four other shows that survived quite nicely despite the trauma of big stars stepping down. Bonus: Novak Djokovic just became the latest tennis pro to pass the 800-victory mark in the open tournament era, coming in at number 10 all time. Name the other nine ahead of him. Extra Bonus: A national contest just named the two best BBQ Food Trucks. Where do you think they came from?

The Headlines:

--Global Stocks Falling After New Tariff Threats.

--Erdogan Wins Turkey Election Which Also Adds To His Unquestioned Legal Powers; Democracy May Be Imperiled; World Leaders Look On With New Concern.

--Suiters Lining Up For Soup Maker Campbell’s.

--Maxine Waters Calls For De-Civilization And Attacks On Conservatives In Public Places As Wells As In Their Homes.

--7,700 Acre California Fire Expanding; Authorities Issuing Evacuation Orders.

--Trump Calls For Barring China Investment In US tech Companies.

--Today Marks Anniversary Of 1950 Start Of The Korean War When NK Invaded The South.

--US Sends 200 Caskets Into NK For Recovery Of Remains For Missing US Soldiers.

I’m thinking that the next protest group to mass assemble on the Washington Mall will be RAT’s, Retailers Against Tariffs. That’s Rat’s, as in Charlie Brown’s “Rats”, meaning -- why when things are just beginning to look good, does somebody take away the football. That Rats. This mano-a-mano tariff exercise is turning business plans to mush, macro-economic forecasts to fog. The Big-Box companies are as concerned about future growth and profitability as the Atlanta Fed is about secure economic forecasts. It’s unsettling. It’s a puzzlement.

My pet peeve of this morning is about a column from the Editor of the local Newport Daily News. It was an announcement that they are moving their printing from this city up to Providence which necessitates a news closing time of 7:30. No late sport results virtually wipes out the viability of that venerable retreat from cultural harassment, town and other key meeting resolutions and who get arrested for doing weird things while drunk the night before. Of course, like most of the corporate apologists this editor tells us with a straight face that this is good for me the consumer. In fact, he even goes onto embellish the big lie by saying they will be doing more in-depth analysis of what’s happening in our lives. That’s code for saying we will bring in more national syndicated articles by writers who have no clue about Newport. But basically, the business of publishing sucks these days. And I can tell you when sucking was just an inkling in the eyes of wall street scavengers, I was with a publishing company taken over by media conglomerates who always sent in “People Persons” as new management who told us it was good for us that we were losing our jobs or would be happier with fewer benefits. And far fewer resources to remain competitive.

I am always intrigued by classic Greek Revival Architecture. 

But, Greek revival economics is another of those great mysteries with barely a solution. The EU has just agreed to bail out the country again, with the hope that the banking community will help underwrite the flagging economy where the consumer debt is 179% of GDP.

App owners want to “alert/notify” the populations of the world into straightjackets.

Sanctuary city advocates basically are incentivizing child trafficking.

Early Beethoven symphonies are more like the remnants of old Mozart. Mundane.

On the other hand, there are many imbalances in the so-called theory of free trade. Where one country’s view of “free” is another’s definition of unfair advantage. This is why tariffs could be an unleashing of fairness instead of a block to prosperity.

Every day a lot of good and decent people create grief in the lives of other good and decent people without even knowing it.

I always thought that running a business not only meant making money for investors and the company’s operations, but also by doing it while creating a strong product for customers.

The ever-mystifying RI General Assembly just passed a mandatory “Sick and Safe” days law that requires all businesses to give paid time off for alleged problems. I always thought that when people are sick or have a major family problem, they go to the boss and say, “Hey Mr/Mrs. overseer, I need time off. And he or she says, sure, I hope everything is ok.”. Another of my Hall of Fame pet peeves is contracted for or mandatory sick days. It makes no sense to me.

“We agree that common sense is a virtue”, Department:

That quote follows a first quote from the representative of Vermont Maple Syrup producers, “We all agree that consumers have the right to know what is in their food.” Now this came about because the USA FDA wants Honey producers and Maple Syrup producers to add to their Label, “Contains Added Sugar”. But the fact which even the FDA agrees with is that these two food producers don’t add sugar at all to their naturally sweet and delicious products! And we wonder why we can’t come together.

Speaking of common sense lost, five teens who mocked, derided and laughed while videoing a disabled man who was drowning without moving one god damn inch to save him, were freed by a court because there is no law that says anybody has to save a downing man. Am I losing my mind? Lock em’ up!

I get emails from “Doctors without Borders” regularly, and the latest said doctors were rushing to US southern Border because of a Human Rights emergency. I’d say the human rights tragedy was in the seats of governments of Mexico, and Central America. Actually little makes sense when ideologies overwhelm brains.

The Answer:

#1 with 1,256 victories is Jimmy Conners. Next is Roger Federer (1156) Ivan Lendl ((1068), Guillermo Vilas 929) and finishing out the top five, Rafael Nadal (903). The rest of the top ten are John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, Illie Nastasi, Stefan Edberg and now, Djokovic at 800. Interestingly the dominant Bjorn Borg had but 609. Number 11 was Pete Sampras with 762. Brian Gottfried has 683 victories and is the only retired player with that many victories not in the Hall of Fame (In fact, 7 below him are in the hall). Bonus: They all thought NYPD was done when popular David Caruso up and left. A favorite Shelly Long left Cheers, but it went on for 6 more years. Steve Carell left The Office, but that show did quite well for two years. When William Peterson decided to move on from CSI, they thought it was over. It’s still is out there with no autopsy in sight.  Extra Bonus: Actually, this simply a self-serving question I snuck in. GottaQ BBQ of Rhode Island beat out Beach Bum BBQ of Indianapolis for the National title of Best Food Truck BBQ.

When William Peterson was asked what he is doing professionally he answered, “I think I have lost the ego you have to have for acting.” Hmm, maybe that’s why he was such an appealing actor -- his ego was minimal.

That makes sense.

I wish I couldn’t.

Today's Tids Issue 4,159

For tuning out, for turning off:

I just bumped into a neighbor and her husband on their way to a two-hour yoga class. She said, “I love it!” He nodded. She smiled, “I’m just there and I don’t think.” Not thinking. Now there’s an idea.

When I went out for a little morning stroll, I pondered why something so peaceful as a cool dawning could exist in such an antagonistic human environment. I hoped that when I got to the keyboard that I could be as fresh and clean and as soothing as a six thirty am breeze. But somewhere between puffy clouds and calm rolling seas to fingered keys, thunder clouds move in. Isn’t it too bad that anger in opposing groups can’t move as swiftly away as raging storms always seem to do.

The good news is that the large US banks passed their annual monetary health physical. I like positive news about a sound foundation in an economy which looks too hot on the surface

A hangman works under deadline.

And then there are people I know who flunked yoga, and the prospect of taking it again stresses them out.

The Question:

JD Powers just released their rankings best cars in “Initial Quality report” (That is based on number of problems encountered by buyers in first 90 days). Name the top five initial quality cars. Bonus: What do you think are the main initial quality problems reported by consumers?

The Headlines:

--US Stocks Expected To End Week On Strong Uptick; Oil Production Increases Provide Optimism; China Threatens To Target DOW Giants In Next Phase Of Tariff War; US Dairy Farmers Increasingly Concerned About Export Uncertainty.

--Trump To Revamp Postal Service.

--Supreme Court Rules That Sates Can Force Internet Companies To Collect Sales Taxes; Verdict Considered Win For Brick And Mortar Stores.

--Charles Krauthammer The Great Dies At Ae 66; Pulitzer Winner. Made Put Deranged Media Reporting Into Perspective.

--UPS, Teamsters Reach Handshake Deal On New Contract.

--Testimony Reveals That Obama’s NSA Susan Rice Told Cybersecurity Coordinator Michael Daniels To Stand Down On Efforts To Counter Russian Attacks During 2016 Election.

--Chinese Media Says US Is Delusional (With Respect To Tariffs).

--Deandre Ayton #1 NBA Draft Pick to Phoenix; Best Fallen Star Pickups – Michael Porter Jr. (Denver), Robert Williams (Boston).

BTW, 23,000 of the children locked in so-called cages (Not) were unaccompanied minors attempting to illegally enter the country.

I think that all members of the current administration, and perhaps conservatives in general (And even moderates who leftists paint as conservative), should wear Melania’s “I don’t care, do u”, jacket. No matter what the non-left does for good, and that could include even being seen sitting at the right hand of God, it will earn them outrageous contempt and rude, frightening verbal near physical assaults. It’s definitely turn-the-other-cheek, I don’t care time for anybody on the right who wants to maintain sanity in the face of the irrational marauding crowd.

After watching with contempt at all of the liberal hyperbole over the separation of children, I have decided that I could never buy anything called “Progressive” Insurance.

It seems to me that it would only take the addition of a simple software program to enable internet sales companies to collect sales taxes and remunerate back to states.

The Separation-of-California-Movement got on the ballot for November, but what we now see are three proposed California’s each being dominated by a liberal big city. The rural conservatives would still remain on the outside looking in. So now the separation movement has an internal separation! So basically, nothing would happen, except that there would be four more ultra-liberal senators in Congress.

It appears that while nobody was watching (Including our watchdog press) the SPLC (Southern Poverty Law Center) has become just one more extreme socialist group. That’s a problem with many justice groups trying to do honest work. They will eventually be targeted, infiltrated and finally taken over by heavy duty progressives intent on labeling anything that walks beyond their narrow vision as bigots, racist. You know the drill. The result is that SPLC loses its honored place among fair-minded people, and MLK rolls over in his grave.

I don’t think that the SC sales tax ruling should mean that shopping mall developers should go on a building rampage again

While Democrats apparently weren’t looking in 2014, “60,000 Central Americans showed up at the US border and President Obama had to grapple with the same court rulings that Trump is struggling with now.” I put that in quotes because it came from a typically left leaning local newspaper, not from a wide-eyed Internet rumor monger. The difference now is that this is an election year, and the DNC which is always very good at sending out talking points to create the proverbial mountains out of molehills, has pounced on this little tale and its friends in the media did the rest of the work. It is pretty easy to tell mass manipulation when you see the same stances and words coming from Dem affiliated TV hosts, Governors like our own Gina and various and sundry senators and congress people who could actually do something useful about the problem but, knowing that being helpful would go against getting elected and perhaps gaining a majority of the fall.

I just received the results of a brand-new survey about robots from a smart guy named Darrell West of the Brooking’s Institution. It said that 52% of Adult Internet users expect that Robots will be advanced enough in 30 years to perform most of the activities now done by humans. (45% said Robots would be quite common in 5 years) It also said that 88% (Only 5% very interested) would never want a robot taking care of their children or aging relatives. It didn’t ask opinions of these known internet users about whether or not they would like to see politicians replaced by robots. I think there would be a conflict of interest of big government regulating robots that take the place of politicians. But, we could try.

Hello, this is your adult care robot checking in: Your father talks too much. How do I shut hm off?

Henry Fonda was great actor who however raised spoiled brat children.

Don’t let your children grow up to be cowboys, department: No, build a hoop in the back yard. The top NBA draft choice gets a 17.5 Million 2-year contract. The 30^th player chosen gets a mere $3.5 mil, and many of the elite selectees are barely out of High School

The Answer:

Hyundai’s Luxury Brand Genesis was #1. #2 and 3 were siblings Kia and Hyundai. Four was Porsche and five was Ford. The rest of the ten were Chevy, Lincoln, Lexus, Ram and Nissan. In addition to Ford and Chevy, US brands Fiat-Chrysler-Jeep improved fastest than the broader industry. Bonus: The main early issues revolve around the new tech additions -- audio, communications, entertainment and navigation.

Actually, when we see the results of surveys like the above, what we don’t see is that the margin of difference between the top and the bottom as not being gaping at all. Technology is also the manufacturing equalizer.

I’m turning off my brain.

Happy First Weekend of Summer, E-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y!