Just the Beginning.

Today's Tids Issue 4,465

Labor of Love:

Well, here we are, It’s Labor Day already, the day That traditionally has ended summer for many like kids who go back to school, and those who live their lives by calendars and official dates. But basically it’s is still pretty nice outside, and actually will get better for a month or so as heat dissipates and cooling winds blow. Yes, this is the weekend when I traditionally run out of gas in the midst of grilling for the big family cookout, and have to surreptitiously seek out a kindly neighbor to help finish the burgers and dogs. Yup, the hectic days of summer a dwindling. You know summer, when people take vacations only to become overwrought trying to fit too much into every day. Give me the days with nothing to plan and little to do, and days with far fewer potato and macaroni salads. Happy Labor Day everybody.

As I look around, I’m thinking that the general reaction lately

to news, local and national, is, “What now?”

Yikes!

I still remember the first time I enjoyed poached salmon with hollandaise sauce. What a delicious surprise that was! It is still one of the best entrees around. If you can find it.

The next two days should be fun for football fans as the teams make big cuts I rosters, this year from about 90 players to 53, in one swell swoop. Tis new one big axe day seems a little crazy to me. But as one knowledgeable exec/coach said, there will be about 1,300-1,500 players out there all of a sudden and their will definitely be some hidden gems with talent that could be quite useful at some time in the future. In the meantime, you got to feel for all those strapping young lads who laid it all out there on the field and in the classrooms, only now abruptly, looking for a job.

The Question:

33 Thousand Americans were asked what social issues they cared about most. What do you think they are? Bonus: For golfers and all who have depth and breadth of knowledge – What is the difference between a chip and a pitch?

The Headlines:

--Dorian Could Hit Florida As Monster Cat 4.

--Markets Look to Have Good Ending To Confusing Week; Dow Up Triple Digits In Mid-Morning Trading. Yuan Expected To Have Worst Month Since 1994.

--FDA Issues Warning On Marijuana; HHS Says Potent Drug Much Stronger, Affecting Teen Brian Development And Fetus In Pregnant Women.

--Trump Uses DoJ Report To Go After Comey; Report Says Comey Violated FBI Polices, Set A Dangerous Precedent; Repubs Say IG Report Tip Of The Iceberg.

--Israel Said To Be Escalating “Shadow” War With Iran.

--Biden Snagged In Another Verbal Snafu About Military Heroism; Beto Has Plan To End China Trade War.

--DNA Study On 500K UK and US Adults Says, “…Nearly Impossible To Predict Individual’s Sexual Behavior From Genome.”; Much More To be Explored, Say Researchers.

Unpredictable comic strip kid Wallace the Brave muses, “If we have to make up school for snow days, why not make up summer days when it rains.”

The Rhode Island Department of Education empire is taking taxpayers for a RIDE.

I think I should start writing more about culture, arts and stuff. While I greatly appreciate the unique talents of artists at all levels, I have lots of opinions on how they use it.

A lot of scientists have and are looking at the sun for answers to climate cycles. Yes, historic cycles that go from noticeable warming periods to cooling periods. We are currently in the “Modern Warm Period” which followed a cold period preceded by the “Medieval Warm Period”, preceded by “The Dark Ages” cold period preceded by the Roman Empire warm period and before that a coupe of Egyptian warm periods intermingled with cold periods in the bronze and iron ages. What could be interesting is that the peaks of each succeeding warm period were lower than the one preceding, surfeiting a very slow cooling of the sun. There have been bout 15 heating/cooling cycles since the long infamous glacial period. Sometimes it’s good to widen the lens.

That said, it is possible that the peak of the current short warm period might have been raised a bit higher by planetary activities. But, according to many scientists, the sun controls everything.

Beto says he will end China trade war on day one. But, he won’t tell you his plan unless you elect him president.

Cadbury Chocolate is facing, what else, a Twitter controversy after introducing a diversity chocolate bar featuring Dark, Blended, Milk and White Chocolate. It was a special for India Independence Day. Companies should just get past bowing to twitter complaints.

While people go after guns, it appears around here in our general vicinity we are experience an epidemic of stabbing deaths. If people want to kill each other, they are going to find away to kill each other.

If stock market computer algorithms could figure out how to exclude political misinformation and overreach, the stock market might be in for a cozy ride for a couple of more years.

The Answer:

People cared most about – Ineffective Government. Next was Poverty. Th rest of the top ten were Education, Pollution, Civil Rights, Homelessness, Immigration, Affordable Housing, Police Brutality, Terrorism, Moral Decline, Student Loan Debt, Health Care Reform, Green Energy and at #15, Corporate Influence. The next five are Racism, Climate Change, Unemployment, Bullying and Abortion. Ok, let’s go to #25 – Income inequality, Animal Rights, Gun Control, Vaccines and Defense Spending. The Deficit is #32 and equal pay for women is 42. The last on this list of 45 is Drones. Bonus: A chip rolls more than it flies and a pitch flies more than it rolls. It’s not about distance from the hole or what club you use.

I don’t know what all of the excitement is about three-day weekends. I already enjoy a seven-day weekends.

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

Blue Birds Sing

Today's Tids Issue 4,464

I feel like dancin':

So, who says August isn’t a month for romance? So, June rhymes with swoon, spoon and silvery moon. And poor August only has bust, crust, lust and dust. And Feb, old Feb has retailer and candy makers intimidating young lovers into spending. But, what does all that matter, anyhow. A couple joined in matrimony feels their hearts swelling for each other; blood pumping the pulse of love. Regardless of songs and flowers and times of year, people still see pools of love in sparkling eyes that reveal the depth of souls. Hands join hands in August. Love is where you find it and it isn’t a tune or rhyme or boxes of chocolate. It is in the heart. Always in the heart.

The half man, half horse was enjoying being the centaur of attention.

Globalization can mean two different things, vastly different concepts for the future of a planet joined ever more closely together through instant communication. On one side we have globalists who see a world subject to a panel of leaders from selected countries with local sovereignty being the victim of a borderless world. On anther side we see h9nest competition to become centers for the utilization of talent; materials and production capabilities. With countries still as they were, bound by historic cultural patterns and singular principles.

College Football will be in full Swing Ts Weekend.  #1 Clemson Opens Against Georgia Tech tonight. How slick will that machine be again this season. Is Alabama really number two? Will Michigan finally beat the Buckeyes? Will Nebraska finally find their way back to respectability? Will anybody step up to stop the ludicrous matchups between super program teams and small colleges out for a buck?

The Question:

For what movie (s) did Ingrid Bergman win an Oscar (s)? Bonus: Joseph Smith was the founder and first president of the Church of of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Who was the second president?

The Headlines:

--Dorian Misses PR; Has Florida And US east Coast In Its Sights; Expected To Be Small But Powerful Cat 3; Unanswered Question: Will It Turn North To Hit Eastern Cities, Or Pass Over Into Gulf and Hit South And/Or Texas?

--Markets Look To Have Good Day.

--Dem List Narrows; Gillibrand Leaves; Monmouth Research Says It Was Probably Wrong With Outlier Poll That Saw Biden Dropping Like Rock; New Polls: USAToday/Suffolk -- Biden 32%, Warren 14%, Sanders 12% and Buttigieg/Harris 6; Quinnipiac – Biden 32, Warren 19, Sanders 15, Harris 7, Butt 5. .

--China Says It Won’t React To Trump’s New Tariffs; Country Playing Long Game, Hedging Against Effects of Tariffs.

--Trump Ends Some Aspects Of Automatic Citizenship for Military Children Born Abroad.

--China Continues Routine Military Pressure On Hong Kong Border.

--Former Trump Official Mattis Explains His Admin Frustrations In New Book.

--Google Popular (100 Million Downloads) Android App “CamScannerPDF Creator Begins Delivering Malware; Giggle Removes It From Play Store.

--India Waving Some Investment Rules To Attract More Foreign Business.

Beware! We are about enter Pumpkin Overload season where manufactures and sellers of various food products from coffee to cake oft Ice cream will be touting the Gourdian flavor. Do people really like the flavor of Pumpkin or are they just drinking or eating it to go along with the rest?

Congress will be getting to stopping all of those scam robocalls just as soon as their election campaigns are over in late 2020. Talk about scam calling.

How does microplastic get into lakes rivers and mighty seas.? People throw it there. That’s how.

Oprah is out their touting her new prepared foods. She tells us that her alfredo sauce will be adjusted away from heavy cream to lessens the danger of overly fatty foods, She will replace that with Pureed Cauliflower. As I remember, cauliflower has distinctive odor.

I remember reading a very good novel in 1980 called “The Spike”. It was written by a Newsweek conservative editor (Yes, I used Newsweek and conservative in the same sentence), Amaud de Borchgrave, and Robert Moss. A radical 60’s journalist stumbles on a Soviet Plot to gain global supremacy. His liberal biased editor hamstrings the efforts of the journalist to track down more of the story. The novel is about KGB’s intent to use media against itself by planting a story that would become the truth through editorial bias. I was thinking of this when I watched Lawrence O’Donnell stumble through his false scoop last night.

(BTW, The Spike made an impression on key DC media powerhouses like the NY Times and Post.) (de Borchgrave and his wife had to go into hiding after threats against him for writing a Newsweek story unmasking terrorists at the Munich Olympic games.) (The authors second book, Monimbo, centered on Miami race riots as pawns of Nicaraguan and Cuban communists.)

I was watching the path of Dorian yesterday, and if like by magic, it made a sharp right turn North just before reaching that beleaguered island of Puerto Rico. It was if all of the people there were on their knees praying like hell and God looked down, and said, “Yes , You’ve had enough.”

I say again – Why exactly are celebrity tweets news?

Some political observers are saying that when the dust settles, that Kamala cold merge again as a factor.

Kristin Gellibrand was one of the more annoying candidates of recent years. Bye, bye.

The Answer:

Ingrid was nominated for Best Actress or Best Supporting in Murder on the Orient Express, Anastasia, Gaslight, Autumn Sonata, Joan of Arc, The Bells of Saint Mary’s and For Whom the Bell Tolls. Ironically, she is probably best best remembered as Isla Lund in Casablanca and as Alicia Huberman in Notorious. She won Best actress for Gaslight and for Anastasia; and for Best supporting in Murder on the Orient Express. As a kid I remember thinking she was pretty darn pretty in Bells of Saint Mary’s. Bonus: This could have been an easy question. Most everybody knows that the first president and founder was Joseph Smith. And, I suspect that most could know that Brigham Young was the second President.

Romance of is a wonderful thing. So even on those days when we feel there is nothing to do, open your eyes to love sweet love. It’s always there, somewhere.

.

Always sun above the clouds.

Today's Tids Issue 4,463

Just Rosy:

I was quite pleased to hear yesterday that doctors said that optimistic people live longer. It’s great to feel good about yourself, and even better transmitting that feeling to everyone around you. Without being an overbearing boor, of course.

There’s a fine line between kindness and enabling destructive behavior.

You would never believe how much I learn after being called out about unsubstantiated claims. You know, Tidisificated whims. Sometimes my inner feelings turn out right and sometimes they are dreadfully wrong, but it gets me into studying up on more issues.

From what I have been told by knowledgeable sources, the Taliban wants ISIS Out of Afghanistan as much as we do. So, today we are allies.

The Question:

Who is David Soul? Bonus: Who is Emma Samms?

The Headlines:

--Queen Says Yes To UK PM Johnson Request To Suspend Parliament Over No Deal Brexit; Pound Drops Significantly; Battles Rage In House of People.

--Brexit, China, Falling 30 Yr Treasury Yield Had Stocks Opening Lower; Dow and S&P Turn Upward Midmorning; Nasdaq Languishes.

--Dorian Upped To Cat 2, with PR IN Its Sights; Florida Also In Target Path.

--Facebook Tightens Political Ad Rules.

--Perdue Pharma Suggesting Settlement in 2,000 Cases In $10-12 Billions Range; Sackler Family Would Step Down From Ownership.

--Deutsche Bank Said To Be Readying Release Of Trump Tax Returns Depending On Legal Opinion; House Ways and Means Committee Fighting For Release; DB Leading Lender For Trump Companies; Legal Observers Saying Trump Looks Nervous.

--Fox News Leads Cable Ratings For 38th Consecutive Month; Hannity, Carlson, Ingraham, The Five Top Four Shows, Maddow Falls To #5. Top CNN Show, Cuomo, Is At #23. Fox And Friends Beat Out Morning Joe for AM Title. CNN Falls Further Behind; HG TV Top Non-News Cable Network; (Note: BBC Considered Top news Outlet In World. Fox, CNN and Sky News Follow.)

--Tensions Rising Again Against India In Pakistan Held Kashmir.

I had just finished reading a book by Gresham called An Innocent Man, which is all about very bad, corrupt police work and a driven, nearly criminal, biased Oklahoma prosecutor. With a few inept judges thrown in. And then yesterday I read about the Oklahoma decision against Johnson and Johnson. And I immediately thought, “But, it’s Oklahoma”. Yes, there must be something wrong.

What’s the old saying – “When you’re right, nobody remembers. When you’re wrong, nobody forgets.”

Lots of states like Rhode Island here have lived happily from the funds produced from the big Cigarette settlement. But RI seems all to happy to allow up to 90% of gaming space in local casinos to be smoker friendly. I guess their anger at the big bad cancer producing cigarette companies stops at the casino door, the latest source of bail-out revenue for a state that really needs money.

The big guessing game in Washington today is, what exactly is in those Trump Tax Returns Held by Deutsche Bank?

Strangest Presidential Statement of the Week: No, it’s not you-know-who. President Bolsonaro of Brazil made an out of the blue ugly comment about French President Macron’s wife. Macron retaliated somewhat humorously. Macron led the charge to get G7 countries to give Brazil $20 Million to fight fires. Bolsonaro said, I will not acceot your free money until you apologize for your Insult. I think the world is in trouble.

J&J only accounted for less than 1% of the market, so you have to believe that the big opioid sellers are going to receive significantly higher fines than J&J’s $500 plus million. But, Perdue and Teva settled together for half what Johnson will pay. This case is all about the marketing of the drugs regardless of pretty clear labeling approved by the FDA. But I have read a lot about this (And received some wise opinions) and there were apparently assurances by drug makers that the drugs were “Non-addictive”. That’s serious stuff. And people are dying at an extraordinary rate. And that’s more serious. But to label J&J with a less than 1% markets share as “Kingpin of The Opioid Epidemic”, as Oklahoma prosecutors did, sounds bit hyperbolic to me. Except…the story continues.

Methinks that Prince Andrew Is in trouble. It’s the olde “Doth protest too much” thing.

“God created the world. Everything else is made in China.”

You have to think there could be a connection between Taliban ownership of poppy fields and the US opioid epidemic. Just kidding Bad kidding, I guess. J&J grows their own laboratory designed poppies in Tasmania and they are the prime supplier of narcotics to major opioid producers. And, the web grows.

I will never again look at a Band-Aid the same way.

Who ever thought that writing an entire Tids mainly about opioids could be a downer? Especially with such an optimistic start.

When she went into labor her husband began having a midwife crisis.

San Fran re-definitions: Criminal – “Justice Inveigled Person; Addict – “Medical Involved Person; Rats on Street -- Refuse Involved Pets; Homeless Tents -- Fabric Involved Housing; Excrement on Streets -- Sidewalk Involved Fertilizer.

Seriously, San Fran is in the process of rebranding, trying to eliminate words like convict and felon and replace them with phrases like “Returning Residents” or the Above “Justice Involved Person.” Some others in the works -- “Person Under Supervision” for “Parolee, and for Juvenile Delinquents --- “Young Person Impacted by the Justice System.” What ever happened to recidivist thug?

I’m thinking that the Dems’ hoped-for magic bullet that would stop a Trump repeat will be found in his elusive tax returns.

In case you are interested, the grandson of Bobby Kennedy, Joe Kennedy III, now congressman from Mass Counties in Providence metro market is thinking seriously of taking on Senator Ed “Just Two Terms and I’m Out” Markey. The kid looks good and seems pretty well balanced. But the liberal Markey machine may be to strong.

There’s a new Book out: “JFK, Conservative” by Ira Stoll. Most interesting may be how the definitions of what constitutes Conservative and liberal have changed over the years.

The Answer:

I’m thinking you all knew that David Soul was “Hutch” of Stansky and Hutch. How easy was that? (Honestly, I thought I knew the era and genre but couldn’t pin down the show.) Bonus: Emma found steady employment in Soapy ventures. She was well known in General Hospital, Dynasty and The Colby’s. She was engaged to Marvin Hamlisch, but he didn’t finish that tune. Emma was good actress recognized by her own country, Britain where she was appointed to become a “Member of the Order of the British Empire”. I wonder if she knows Prince Andrew.

“I don’t suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it.”

Especially when sharing it all with you.

I try to find things that aren’t there.

I look over God knows where.

It’s good to be a little crazy

Over being mentally lazy.

If I only wrote what’s done before,

Your Tids would be more of a bore.