Take My money and I own you.

Today's Tids Issue 3,070

Opening Stuff:

 

“Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. – 1 Corinthians 5:7  Happy Passover, everybody.

 

One week from today is the Patriot’s Day holiday up in Boston, but it has also always been a day off for me and many down here in RI and those in other NE states. It’s the day of the Boston marathon and a morning Red Sox game. More important, and sometimes lost in the visceral activities, It’s a day designed to appreciate Paul Revere and the midnight ride; One if by land, two if by sea; the alerted New England  farmers secure  behind stone walls fighting the rows of Red Coats. The shot heard round the world. It is a day that remembers the first steps by brave people on the way to finally establishing the greatest free society in history. Today, though it is something else. The boom … that brought in the heroes. In response to the inhuman act of terrorists that killed and maimed the innocent, men and women rose to the occasion amidst smoke and panic. Like valiant forefathers and mothers they raced into the unknown to aid strangers, fellow Americans. Today we honor the heroes of the past as always, and the valiant they spawned; all of those who today retain the spirit an valor of those who led the way that 18^th day in April 239 years ago. There will be tears in New England today. And, thanks, too.

 

A headline read: “Right Wing candidates step up assault on health care.” Oooooooo! “Right Wing”. What a scary term. They eat children. What ogres. What a crock, political labeling has become. I would rewrite the headline saying, “Sensible, responsible Americans running for office increase questioning about why the government should take over 1/6 of what used to be a free enterprise economy.”

 

As one spider said to another, “Time’s fun when you’re havin’ flies.”

 

The Question:

Last week Moody’s reduced the Bond rating of ADP Company down a notch from AAA. Now there are only three companies in America with that triple “A” rating. Name them.

 

The Headlines:

--Bubba Steadies Himself And Wins Second Masters In Three Years.

--Ukraine Tensions Could Slow Stocks At Weeks Opening; Wall Street Also Looking At new reports On retail Sales..

--Anti-Semitic Gunman Shoots and Kills Three At Kansas City Jewish Community Center.

--Violent Clashes In Ukraine Has UN Scrambling, Denouncing Russia; Putin Responds, “Who, Me?”.

--Microsoft To Squeeze Windows 8.1 Onto 16 Gig devices; Will Open Markets For OEM Tablets; Samsung Planning On Ending Association With Google Android..

--UTAH Woman Arrested After Authorities Find 7 Dead Babies In Home; Babies Resuolt of Births Over Past decade.

 

Remember Rawanda? Remember the horror of genocide that equaled the most horrendous acts in the history of mankind? I was thinking about the inaction of the rest of the world at that time as I pondered the concerns of politicians over the deaths of civilians in the Syrian civil war. I don’t believe I ever heard any outrage from the broader press, or the Clinton admin at the time. Nor did the sanctimonious UN… or several of the moral leadership countries like the UK and Belgium. Weren’t the lives of 500-000 to 1,000,000 (The estimates) Tutsi, or the countless thousands of others raped and maimed worth some action from the rest of the world? It bothered me then, and it still does. So when the outrage over places like Syria arises, I wonder who makes the choices of who lives and who dies. And why.

 

How come car makers don’t provide the option of “Control, Alt, Delete” for all of those times when dashboard warning lights come on?

 

In case you are interested, 44% of Twitter “Users” have never sent a tweet!

 

Why do people when trying to help the disadvantage seem to lower their standards in behavior, language and dress rather than raise the standards of those in need of a push upwards?

 

TV Front: --Mad Men is back and as good as ever. --Fargo, a new series based on the great movie, Takes Justified’s 10:00 slot on Fx Tomorrow night. Could be a winner. Great cast.

 

When I think of the word hopeless, I often think of people living under African dictators.

 

One of the little comforts in life is knowing that you have zippers in jackets that work smoothly all of the time.

 

I have noticed over the years that to some executives, “casual clothes day” means reducing starch in shirts by 80%. Or should I say, starch in shorts!

 

In case you don’t remember, the Tids Financial Editor predicted the current bumpy road in the markets. I’m beginning to moderately understand the irrational factors that drive a computer driven stock market. But, it doesn’t help.

 

The NHL Boston Bruins had the best record in Hockey, but they could lose out of the box to the Detroit Red Wings.

 

I put on the kitchen TV and walked away to fix a sandwich. In the background I heard some inane chatter, gratuitous guttural language from a female and thought, now that’s one of the reasons American is losing its way. I looked over and saw this woman on the screen and wondered, “Who is this person, and why is anybody watching?” Then as the program faded to a commercial, I saw the name “Kim Kardashian”. God help us.

 

Several Tids ago I listed the top and bottom supermarkets according to Consumer Reports. One of my favorites, “Shaws” was next to last. So, I went back to see what had changed. They still have the best bakery (And Biscuits), great meats, good low price deals, nice employees. It looked the same to me. So, I’ll keep going and enjoying it as usual. It just pays to be your own judge rather than get trapped by public opinion. Oh yeah, and this week they have 88 cents 64 oz Diet coke.

 

One of the qualifications that served as a negative in the CR rating of best supermarkets was “Crowding”. Now the way I see it, is if a supermarket is crowded than a lot of people must go there because they get what they want.

 

Thanks to Mike Peters, as usual.

 

Just thinkin’ – the Boston Celtics have a nice youth nucleus in Olynyk, Bradley and Sullinger.

 

The Answer:

The three companies in American with a Moody’s Triple A rating are Exxon-Mobil, Johnson & Johnson and Microsoft.