Survival 101.

Today's Tids Issue 2,647 Opening Stuff Jeez, does time fly. August is one third gone already. It's going so fast that I missed yesterday. Rats!! I just spent a couple of days up in Vermont with an old pal from the old neighborhood. I knew I was in trouble when I walked into his home and saw he was watching the Al Sharpton Show on MSNBC. Then he told me he was an avowed liberal. So I figured that the reason he called me Richard for two days was because of political correctness. You have to wonder that if the US Army tells it's men and women not to hang around with Afghanistan looking people in Police Uniforms, that ACLU will come after them for racial profiling. The Question: Name the Top Ten Saddest all time movies. I'm going with Bambi. The Headlines: --Romney Selects Paul Ryan. --Afghan Police Continue To Kill Unaware, Trusting US Soldiers. --Obama Pledges All-Out Response To Drought; He Is Expected To Meet With Rain Clouds On Tuesday. --Undecided Voter Numbers Growing Fast. --Syria, Jordan Forces Clash at Border; International Observers Worry About Expanded Regional War. --McGill U. Report: Ground Water Being Depleted Faster Than Replenished. --Howard Traded To LA In 4 team Megadeal. One thing you can always count on is that if you see a mountain you can expect to see a valley...or be in one. Sounds like good advice for stock purchasers. A day at the race track is a series of long waits between brief heart palpitations. My old socialist friend, a former economist with the Dept of Labor, actually believes in his heart that the US Federal bureaucracy should take over the running of the US and that includes running States and Towns. You have to wonder how many other happily retired Bureaucrats believe likewise. This is the real reason why the USA is in trouble. The millions upon millions of active and retired "Crats" will always be among the highest percentage of voting citizens and they will always vote in the vast majority to keep the monster well fed. Anybody who says that any negotiations with the Taliban are going well, is a fool. There's been an enormous amount of fortunes made by by people willing to do work that nobody else wanted to do. All of those little, made in Vermont products with hand written labels designed to appear as thougth there's a little old gray haired lady sitting in her kitchen table next to a wood fired stove cooking a magic "natural" sauce and filling jars, are really the product of a well conceived, well financed corporation probably run by a retired CEO and his kids. But, I did have a great home roasted pork sandwich made by a little grey haired older woman in a country store on a back road in the Green Mountain State tinged with red. This just adds to my belief that some of the best food is often found in a small out of the way town rather than in some over priced, trendy urban/suburban restaurant. I guess it just depends upon where you are on the Gourmet scale. Paul Ryan is a great choice. Moderate Democrats, a large voting block that could go either way, may argue that Ryan is too much of a lightening rod. I see him as an honest guy who sees the enormity of the problem and has the guts to stand tall and offer real solutions. A lot of the highly visible conservative talkers are ranting about the lack of visceral response from Romney against the continued Obama team misguided, misinformed attacks. As an old marketing guy, I believe it is too early to expose your most aggressive plans to a sleazy, say anything, do anything adversary. Let them come. Let them feel confident. Let them walk into a dead end canyon. And then, close the off the entrance and pounce. Personally, I think that is what Romney is doing. Timing is everything. And Ryan is just the first step in the beginning of the real post convention campaign. I still believe as I go through old cities that were once vibrant with broad manufacturing based economies, that Urban renewal of the 60's was the worst thing that ever happened to the beauty of America. It is a classic example of the Federal folks dumping huge piles of money around the landscapes of the purple mounted majesties, and local pols giving to anybody with a cement mixer. You can see the cities that are reviving t day around great old buildings versus the cities marred by a concrete block representing nothing dominating a downtown that probably had been a beautiful place. A reader writes this morning to suggest the Republican slogan: "Romney & Ryan; R&R -- Renewal & Recovery". He asked that we pass it around. It could also represent what it has always meant and be accurate -- R&R, rest and recuperation, after the wearing Obama years. The Answer: OK, Bambi isn't there, so you know how inaccurate this list is. #1 is Titanic. Next are The Green Mile, The Notebook, Schindlers List, Grave of the Fireflies, A Walk to Remember, Marley and Me, the Bridge to Terabithia, Hachi: A Dog's Tale and Pursuit of Happiness. Bambi is 39 and among other films I know, or that people have told me are sad we have Ghost at 48, Terms of Endearment - 36 and one of my personal favorites, Pay it Forward - 32. And Love Story which is about as sad as it gets is 91! See the entire list of 100: http://www.the-top-tens.com/lists/top-ten-saddest-movies.asp How can you believe that a Democrat/Liberal really has love in their hearts when over the years they say so often, "I hate". Actually my old friend the liberal is still a good old friend. Because what you did together as kids growing up never changes. One thing you can count on in the coming weeks is that our fourth estate, taken a bit by surprise with the Ryan selection, will use every waking minute digging up and presenting anything negative they can find about Ryan. And if they can't find it, they'll make it up. Why is it again that we protect the freedom of the press? Is it September yet?