Obama in full campaign mode.

Today's Tids 2/2/10

Opening Stuff:

Ten Congressmen saw their shadow this morning meaning we’ll continue to have bad government for 6 months. After that, it will totally collapse as scared incumbents rush to get re-elected.

As we see “Prime Time” flitting from town to town watching basketball or making short speeches on just about anything, we know that the President is in full campaign mode. In fact he barely left campaign mode after inauguration. One problem…politicians never tell the truth during campaigns!

The Question:

Today, we have the birthdays of Tom Smothers (73) and Graham Nash (68). Name five of the top songs for each.

The Headlines:

--0-Man Blames Out Of Sight Budget On Bush.
--Exxon-Mobil Retains King Of Profits Title Even As Profits Dip 56%.
--New Research Shows That Abstinence Programs Work With Teens.
-- Haiti Food Convoy Attacked By Armed Gang.
--Illinois Dem Primary Today Could Be Another Test Of 0-Man Coattails; GOP Anxious To have Obama Protégé Win.
--Phil Says Winter To Stay.
-- New England Likes Sub Building Portion Of 0-Man Budget.

More Stuff:

New style thicker toilet paper makes a better Kleenex substitute.

0-Man has ridden acidic Bush Bashing to the top, and now wonders why there is so much negativity in politics.

One thing we can all be happy about is that the insurance companies are handling our medical programs and not Verizon.

If you ask me, the eBook business has a lot of sorting out to do before if becomes a stable industry. Amazon’s retreat to McMillian’s pressure is just the first sign of things to come. Apple looks confused as they try to figure out the market for the iPad. The book publishers still own the content, and with it all the power. Amazon and Apple for the present are just distribution channels. You have to think that Apple execs would cringe at the use of an adjective like “Just” as in “mere” in association with their brand. But frankly. All of the cool gadget makers rely on the creativity of others to make their products viable.

A good reader sends along a quiz that helps answer the Question: “Where are you politically.” I like it because it includes as one of three answers “Maybe”. That’s in addition to the usual “agree” and “disagree”. Try it http://www.theadvocates.org/quizp/index.html

This Oregon tax thing is bothersome. Basically it was a teacher push trying to find a back door route into the taxpayer’s pockets after they have maxed out the property tax system. There comes a time in life when you just can’t buy everything you want. It’s going to be a long time before people can adjust to the new world of reality; that we are now a nation without economic borders.

You may have noticed in the news that Rhode Island has reduced the age for blood bank donors to 16. It must be part of that “Twilight” trend so popular with teens.

If you need a blueprint for the new economy, take a look at the textile industry. This was the economic engine for the northeast for about a century or so. As unions got tougher there, they closed the plants and moved to the non-union south. Things went well for a while til the wages started spiraling upward ala old NE. Aha, lets go to third world countries. Damn good idea. The third world countries naturally grew economically and…you guessed it...wages went up! Now the search is on for an even poorer nation. And you know what will happen next. Meanwhile the US needs jobs and people will start working for lower pay, and maybe with the help of a growing immigrant population, textiles return to New England which has little economy left other than big government. This is not about whether unions are good, bad or indifferent. It’s just the way things work.

The odds against my retirement plan working just got longer as more states jumped on the Powerball-MegaMillions bandwagons.

Archie Manning was a much more exciting quarterback than either of his two sons. But then maybe it was because he had to scramble for his life playing on poor teams.

24-um:

I feel like a little kid on Christmas Eve each Monday waiting for the start of “24”. Last night I opened the package and got what I wanted. Annie Wershing as Renee Walker continues to give us award winning performances. She is lost, and it appears that next week she comes to Jack for help. I have had trouble figuring out the Dana-abuser boyfriend angle, but now I’m thinking there is something in that warehouse they are robbing other than money. Like uranium? Why do I have in the back of my mind that the new younger aide to the President has something evil on his mind? I left last night with just the right amount of tension in my aging body. Now I have to wait a whole week. KThunk. KThunk. KThunk.

The Novel:

Through the Same Eyes: Chapter 52 continues. –As I sat listening to the very logical mind of Mr. laid-back sheriff at work, I relaxed knowing that Henry had put it together. He was on his way to Isabelle, and of course I should not be there. But, I know somebody who should be on her way up to BiEmbryo with her team. Now Henry’s words became a distant sound as my whole body and mind focused on my Sarah/Maggie. I had to talk to her. I had to see her. I still heard now the drone of Henry as I stood. He stopped and looked up. “Henry, I think you have everything under control. Drop by my office after you see Isabelle.” He smiled. “Thanks Middleton. I see that you still know how not to waste time when the job appears over. But, I may need you join me with Isabelle after I and the state police layout our concept.” My mind was now in the hospital room with Sarah, but I managed to say “No Problem. Then I turned and left. One good thing about having a reputation as a bore is that nobody is concerned when you don’t appear overly friendly. I got in the car, pulled out my phone and dialed Sarah’s room. I heard a weak, raspy reply, “Hello”. Even in a weakened condition, her voice was powerful to me. “Hello my love, it is me.” “I’m happy”, she answered. “I’m coming to see you. But, you should know what is happening.

More Stuff:

This could be a good year for Sandra Bullock as she is a sentimental favorite for Best Actress. Or it could be bad. She is also leading for the Razzie for worst actress in All About Steve. It ios also the fave for worst movie. Personally, I think we need more of a spotlight on Razzies. They’re good for H-Wood humility. As you may know, they have named 10 movies this year for Best Picture. Avatar is a big favorite, but the little dreary piece Precious seems to be in the wheelhouse of Hollywood voters. The others are Blind Side, Up, Up In The Air, District Nine, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Basterds and A Serious Man. Actors are Bridges (Fave), Clooney, Firth and Freeman. Actresses are Bullock, Mirran, Mulligan, Sidibe and Streep.

This squabble among golfers over the new ban on square grooves is another mirror of our society. The real issue is legality versus intent. I agree with McCarron who argues, regardless of the legality of an agreement that allowed Pings before 1990, the intent of the new rule was to get rid of square grooves. The vast majority of golfers agreed. Maybe Michelson is planning on a run for congress next year. He is starting to sound like one of those rascals.

The Answer:

Graham Nash is best known for Chicago and Immigration Man. Others are Simple Man, We Can Change The World, Be Yourself and Better days. Tom Smothers was more of a comic, but he and his brother Dick sang many tunes very well: Tom Dooley, Chocolate, Crabs Walk Sideways, Michael Row the Boat Ashore, Mom Always Likes You Best and Talk to the Trees.

The End:

When 0-Man came down upon the Supreme Court, it sounded a lot to me like his comments calling out the “Stupidity” of the Cambridge Police Department. The Prez has a chance to raise the level of discourse back to statesman, but his emotions keep on belying his claimed intentions.