Is anything left?

Today's Tids Issue 2,258
Opening Stuff

In about 7 hours or so it will be officially Winter. So what has the past several weeks been anyhow? Oh well, Happy Winter everybody. The good news is that days will be getting longer as the sun angles move back towards summer mode. Feeling Warmer yet?

It appears now as though the retention of the Bush tax cuts will just about cover the cost of rising gas prices!

A financial guy defines Apple as "always looking like a start-up". What a great philosophy for all businesses, many who often find the world passing them by as they stay too long with products that once made them great and profitable. Especially in today's global business world with wild eyed technological change.

Just for the record, I'm all for fifteen year old sailor Laura Dekker and her attempt to sail around the world single handed. The global nannies want to stop this talented expert sailor from doing what she is quite capable of doing very well. As an old football player and lover of every minute getting beat to a pulp, the gravitation to soccer bothers me. Not because it isn't a fine sport but because the main motivation appears to be seeking a safe harbor. Or maybe, for sop me globalists, a desire to look less like an American. What's next...taking sticks away from field hockey players? Let's get tough again. Let's stay proud.

Daily Question: Double fun day! 1. In the Tids continuing effort to remember past heroes and the famous of yore who may beccome lost in the morass that is today's proliferation of celebrities real and imagined, here's today's "Q" about WWII. Name the five top generals. 2. Which countries had the most soldiers and civilian deaths in that great war?

Today's Headlines:
--Year End Stock Rally Picks Up A Little Mo.
--Newport RI Now Atop List For next "America's Cup" Challenge.
--Fight Continues In Senate Over Start treaty.
--Iraqi Lawmakers Approve New Gov; Could be Unsettled As Second Place Vote Getter al-Maliki Heads Government Over Winner Sunni Allawi.
--TD Bank to Buy Chrysler Financial For 6.3Bil.
--Spain Raises $5.8 bil In Strong Debt Sale; Portugal Downgraded.

The Dems are still trying to tell people that the retention of Bush taxes is the government giving the folks money! Taxes are always the people giving the Government money. The government creates no money. It has no money unless it intimidates earners in to giving.

Rep Peter King, New Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee announced today that his group will get beyond political correctness and get to the bottom of this homegrown Muslim terrorist problem. Refreshing.

I was thinking yesterday that the "French Onion Soup" formular could be reapplied to other tasty combos. One I have in mind is rich chickeny soup with rice (or orzo) and escarole with a piece of thick toasted Italian bread and lots of Parmesan cheese on top. Broil it in a crock just like FOS. Then I'm thinking how my favorirte sandwich, French Dip, could be transformed into a Danish Dip with ham and melted Danish (Or Swiss) cheese and bowl of homemade chicken broth for dipping. Sounds real good to me.

I was talking to someone about cooking, and we agreed that if you load a skillet with flavors you like, it 's pretty tough to go wrong.

The more I read or hear the words of Chafee-Lite, the more I feel that Rhode Island is doomed.

Media Bias is Sneaky department:
The Providence Journal editorial writers never met a democrat they didn't like regardless of merit. But I saw a little item I thought went a little too far. It was a rather inoccuous story about Christmas shopping. It focused on traffic, and lots of people scurrying. How they acted and what they bought. In a bookstore, the "reporter" noted the most popular books, Steven King for fiction and the overwhelming non-fiction best seller, the Bush bio. But then, he had to add derogatorily "Even though it was panned by critics."

Leslie Vonn won female Athlete of the year, but the marvelous UConn Basketball player Maya Moore came in but third...losing out to a "Horse". How sanctimonious are these sports writers becoming? A horse. Give me a break.

Quiz Answer: The first names that come to mind are "Ike", General/President Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, George Patten, Omar Bradley and George Marshall. !'m sure many of you have your own favorites. 2. The US death total was relatively minute when compared to the millions lost in Russia and China. Indonesia was third and Poland was fourth.

This is one of those mornings when I read a headline and my generous Christmas spirit evaporated as I chuckled in glee at the anguish of PETA members after reading "State looks to hunters in their efforts to reduce bothersome expanding deer herds."