Get warm and be tough.

Today's Tids Issue 2,274
Opening Stuff:

Before we get into Tids blather on this blizzardy day, let's get warm. And what better way than traditional beef barley soup. Cut a half pound of trimmed round steak into 1/2 inch pieces. Place in large saucepan and add 1/2 cup pearl barley, 5 cups water and bring to boil (Skim off foam with slotted spoon). To that add 1 onion chopped, 2 carrots diced, 2 celery stalks diced, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes or longer. If you want to ruin a perfectly good soup, after 30 minutes of simmering add 1 cup frozen lima beans thawed and 2 cups sliced crimini mushrooms.

Ok, now to the nonsense. There is word on the street that there's a movement afoot to establish anti-social networking for the growing populations of outcasts and sociopaths. It will be called FacelessBook.

I see where the FDA is secretly helping several states acquire a safe lethal injection drug. Say what?

Which reminds me of the news note I saw earlier saying that Illinois has banned the death penalty. It appears just in time for the coming elections and pending trials of other fallen public servants.

The Question: 
The US stock market is far from being the only market in the world. Last year the US market went up 13% which was good enough for 9th place among various World Markets. What countries were best?

Today's Headlines:
--Banks Lead Stock Surge After Eco Concerns In Europe Ease.
--71% Of Americans Overwhelmingly Oppose Raising National Debt Ceiling.
--Outrageous Flooding Continues To Swamp Australia.
--New Polls: Americans Give Higher Marks To Congressional Repubs and 0-Man After Lame Canada Geese Session.
--Fifties "Ozzie & Harriet" Sibling Favorite Dead At 74; David, Last Of The Nelsons Who Made Americans Laugh On Radio And TV Died From Complications With Colon Cancer.
--Mass, Nnational Observances Pay Tribute To All Victims Of Tucson Massacre.
--Geithner Warns China Over Currency Suppression Actions.
--MySpace Lays Off !/2 Of Workforce.

Back to More Stuff:
Spring Training starts in 34 days.

Hoarding the Hardware Department:
Yesterday at a funeral mass for a dear friend at a little church in Berwyn Pa -- St. Monicas -- I was impressed, I mean really impressed, with the singer, Catherine Capelletti. It turns out that there are three Heisman Award Winners in her family! Her father was Alan Ameche the great Hall-of-Famer who scored the touchdown that gave the Unitas led Colts an overtime win over the Giants in "The Game" that made the NFL what it is today. Her brother-in-law is Penn State great John Capelletti. And, after Alan Ameche died at a too young age, her mother married Glenn Davis, half of Army's dynamic duo, Blanchard and Davis. I thought it was a pretty cool story.

Frankly, being an old fan of Navy, I personally hated Blanchard and Davis. But Sarah Palin wasn't around, so I didn't take a gun and go after them.

Do you think that government employees really consider themselves "Public Servants"?

Odd couple Department:
Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh were both born today. And Limbaugh Kristie Alley and are twins, Both 60 today. I wonder if Jan 12 has anything to do with eating.

This blame game thing as a new tradition in the aftermath of terrible tragedies must have something to do with grading students on a curve. Nobody is responsible for his or her actions, so somebody else must be behind it. Is that about it? The United Enablers of America!

Now in another Washington DC mystery, a lobbyist has been found dead in her burned out BMW. 37 year old Ashley Turton, Wife of Senior White House Aide Dan Turton, was found dead in her car after neighbors spotted a burning garage. Is it a freak accident, or is it a massive conspiracy. I'm hoping for a massive conspiracy.

The biggest ongoing national myth is this whole thing about Separation of Church and State. It is in fact just an opinion of some misguided soul years ago that has morphed into a justification of everything anti-religious. The phrase is nowhere to be seen in the Constitution. The Freedom of Religion lines are only meant to protect the citizens form being subject to a government imposed religion and to allow people the freedom to practice the religion of their choice. How hard is that to understand media persons?

I think atheists are basically afraid of the truth.

Have you ever noticed in politics how strange bedfellows deliver the same bunk?

The Answer:
Surprise, Argentina's markets went up 70%. Zowie! Next was Peru (49%), Chile (31%), Mexico (19%), Russia (18%), South Africa (17%), India (15% and then Germany tied with the US. You have probably figured out from this list the magic Elisha for stock market growth -- Natural Resources.

The End:
The first important stand for the new congress should be not raising the debt ceiling.

Sorry Novel lovers. I missed it today. The snow made me do it. Hey! You have to blame something. It couldn't be that I'm lazy, irresponsible, creatively inept or something innate like that. Think of my self esteem. Snow is always one of the better scape goats.

Hey! For all of the time it took me to write that, I could have written today's installment.