Thoughtful issues; Powerful music.

Today's Tids Issue 3,411

Opening Stuff:

A couple of Tids ago I mentioned the great 23,500 pipe organ at the West Point Cadet chapel. A friend of mine, a good laughing person, sent me a pic and a link to the Flight of the Bumble Bee YouTube performance on that amazing organ by Carol Williams. I looked beyond and found this wonderful Flag waving start to the Tids: https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-006&ei=utf-8&fr=ytff1-yff16&p=you%20tube%20west%20point%20organ%20concerts&type=

This is in fact sort of a Holiday around here as it is the beginning of that week when the tourists start to go home. Hey, even without a real holiday, it’s never a bad time to get the patriotic juices flowing.

A tip of my ole’ Red Sox cap for the boys of Lewisburg Pensylvania for winning the USA Little League Championship (Even though they lost to Japan for the World’s). How great must it be for the folks around Williamsport and that PA/NY border line to see the local heroes win it all.

I’ve condemned Wall Street as just another member of the growing USA gimmie crowd, liking the free money from the No-Interest-Rate Fed. Every time we hear “Might not raise the rates”, the market soars. But, of course the real problem, the really, really bad situation, is the $18 Trillion in US Debt and the fact that because taxes are inadequate, the Government must borrow money to pay interest. On the other side of the same coin, retirees would like a safer, higher interest rate paying instruments. So let’s put a smile on the faces of seniors and raise the interest rate to 5%. With that, the US Gov interest payments against the debt would soar to $900 Bil/year adding up to an additional $67 Trillion in debt in 20 years, to $85 Tril. Double Yikes, We’re sunk. We’re dead. We’re owned by China and Saudi Arabia. So you see, not raising interest rates is much bigger than corporate profits and WS bonuses. It is about salvation, saving us from an inconceivably destructive dollar crisis, which could sink everything. Sleep tight.

The Question:

Triple Header Day!! Yikes 1. In what town was Michael Jackson born? 2. What well known, beautiful foreign born actress was born and died on the same day 67 years apart? 3. Who is Mary Ann Nicchols?

The Headlines:

--Dow Opens Down 130; Oil Lower Again; Dollar Value Falls.

--New Bloomberg Iowa Caucus Poll Has Trump 1^st at 23% And Carson 2^nd at 18%; If You Only Count The Number One And Two Place Votes, Then It Is A Tie; Bernie Catching Up To The Hill In Iowa.

--Dems End Thir Meting With No Agreement On Iran Deal.

--Fierce Fighting  Erupts In Ukraine.

--“Nightmare”, “Scream”, “Elm Street” Director Wes Craven Dead At 76.

--U Of Texas Succumbs To PC Overreaction Removing Jeff Davis Statue from Campuus.

0-Man is going to change the name of mount McKinley to Denali. Is nothing in the USA sacred under this man with nothing to o for a year? Maybe The Northface jacket company paid him for a product mention.

I really have trouble with the word “Reform” as it is currently used in conjunction with immigration. We have a well defined immigration program which allows for people to come to the country legally in a regulated basis. The idea behind having real numbers is simple, it permits the debt laden country to control costs of new immigrants and to integrate them sensibly. Currently each year, we have 140,000 spots for high level contributors – Professionals, Skilled workers, Entrepreneurs or exceptional talents in the arts, athletics and science. There are 70,000 openings for refugees. There are no limits for relatives of citizens (Of course this includes the conspiratal fraud inherent in the Anchor Baby scam). The family based immigrants may not be lower than 226,000/year, and seems to be averaging about 480,000 per year. So basically, “Reform” seems to be making excuses for unlawful entrants.

Did you hear about the Mexican train killer? He had locomotives.

Why was six afraid of seven, Department:

Because seven was a well known six offender. Which, brings me to my next subject – “Sex Offenders for life”. I’m thinking of that 19 yo kid at St. Pauls prep school who has been branded for life for something he may not be at all. I’m not making light of the pain exhibited by the young girl he seemed to have molested. I felt it when I watched her interview. What I’m concerned with is a penalty for life for a one time peer driven deed that may not be inherent at all in this boys character. The CDC says that 43 % of 15 -19 year olds have sex with each other. Are they all sex offenders for life?

Is patriotic flag waving a racist act?

Coming off a longish trip, I must say I spent a lot of time looking at car grills trying to come up with a list of most recognizable. I think the two that define the car fastest are the Jeep and BMW (Although I notice that the retired Pontiac and the current Lincoln have tried morph their grill into a BMW Look.) After those I have to go with Audi as being pretty distinctive. Mercedes used be an easy pick, but not so any more as several wannabees like the Hundai have moderated their grills to look like Benz. Volvo still stands out, mainly because of the diagonal bar. The Subaru has a Volvo look minus the bar. And then there is new Ford large grimacing grill, which looks pretty distinctive. So, that’s about it, the end of mindless activity for the day.

“Fighting Sioux” seems like a fine nickname for the Notrth Dakota U. teams.

The Parking Lot: Chapter 11 continues…

   While talking to Beth, Nancy heard the rumble of a slow moving outboard motor. This is ot unusual on a large lake like hers, but everything was making her nervous lately. Or at least putting her on high alert.

   She stood up from her soft cushioned winged back chair, still listening to Beth trying to sell her on getting closer to Jared, while her eyes started scanning the waters beyond the shoreline growth She knew that her island looked deserted and unapproachable. But the odd couple looked tenacious, and were probably good at their trade. She had thought about what they might be, do for a living, and she didn’t like the results of her musing.

   “Beth, I have to go. If you see that old guy again…”

   “It’s Jared. His name is Jared,” said her friend.

   “If you see Jared, tell him I’d like to arrange a meeting.” The hung up without waiting for a response. She moved quickly and quietly to a large antique chest, opened a small drawer at the top, and pulled out a small 22 revolver. She tucked into the back waistband of her jeans. And slipped out of the back door with so much as disturbing a blade of grass. Nancy was good too.

The Answer:

 I. Michael Jackson was born in Gary Indiana. 2. The most intriguing actress of our times may have been Ingrid Bergman, who was born and died on August29 3. This is national victims week – M.A. Nichols was Jack the Ripper’s first victim.

I think the foot work of these organists is quite amazing. Here’s another great West Point organ performance. It’s long, but Bach is always great on a great organ .

https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-006&ei=utf-8&fr=ytff1-yff16&p=you%20tube%20west%20point%20organ%20concerts&type=

I shouldn’t be using the word organ so much as the NSA listeners may have me recommended as a sex offender.

New corduroy pillows are making headlines everywhere.

Today's Tids Issue 3,410

Opening Stuff:

Allowing grocery stores or vegetable farm stands to shuck corn is just flat out un-America. Period. We are in danger of producing a generation who have never held an ear of luscious sweet corn and felt the thrill of ripping back a husk. Often, in the clean cool air of a summer evening, when the sun begins sinking and the shadows stretch to six, seven times the image. If you let the art of shucking corn to slip away, what’s next. The shuckless generation.

Much too much of this new computerized stuff replaces simple procedures that worked just fine. We live in an ever growing technology for technology sake world, where the only thing that is assured is that a computer in some simple appliance like a refrigerator will err and it will be more expensive to fix. We have figured out how to do amazing things that are really simply not necessary.

It’s hard to explain puns to kleptomaniacs because they always take things literally.

The Question:

What are the ten Most expensive USA Cities in which to raise a family?

The Headlines;

--US Stocks Climbing Back After Opening Lower; China Stocks Soar; Record $29.5 Billion Yanked From Stock Funds In One Week.

--Tropical Storm Erika Intensifies As It Bears Down On South Florida; Governor Issues Warnings.

--Activists Urging USA To Do More For Christians Fleeing ISIS.

--Federal Judge In North Dakota Halts New Obama Admin Water Control Rule; Says EPA Overstepping.

--0-Man Visits Katrina Land.

I’ve been a little tough on what I had considered an underwhelming performance by the new Apple watch. But, first I was castigated by my favorite technocrat reader who peeled back the “All Other” category on the quarterly earnings report to prove me wrong. Now a new report says my tea leaves were a little too wet for accuracy. I was going by the company earning report which was less than optimistic on the surface. But IDC did the same as my friend and showed that in the second quarter, Apple shipped 3.6 million watches, just 800,000 fewer than “Wearables” industry leader Fitbit. In fact Apple’s share of the Wearables market rose to 20% while Fitbit shrank form 30% to 24%. My expectation now is that Apple will be targeting Fitbit with some kind of promotion that might say, “Fitness, and much more”.

I was reminded the other day by a woman who once made great money working on an assembly line at a giant car factory that the middle class will never be what it was the when the USA made value added products sold around the world. Politicians can promise, but they will never recreate the same panacea.

So, did you hear about the blind man who walked into a bar? And, a table. And a chair…

I prefer places that have never been “discovered”.

Spelling is everything; There is a significant difference between “China Stocks Soar” and China Stocks Sore.”

Cockamamie Political Correctness Of the Week:

The University of Tennessee is declaring the words His and her offensive and has created an entire gender neutral lexicon that includes words like ze, zir, xe, hir and xyr which they say are pronounced zhee, zhere, zhee, here and zhere. Are they on mars? Have they been kidnapped by space aliens?

And then there is Miley Cyrus who is an avowed “Pansexual” which she seems to define as being open to anything sexual that is legal and consenting, which seems to include husbands or wives of friends. – which necessarily excludes animal and underage relationships. She is a moral paragon!

A farmer in the field with his cows counted 196 of them, but when he rounded them up he had 200.

The Tids Book Exchange is alive and well with seconding nominations for “Boys in the Boat” and “The Nightingale”. The Tids librarian will be accumulating and saving all recommendations. So any time you need a list, email and we will send what Tids readers like. Of course you can still go to the NY Times if you feel it makes the books better.

Why don’t you ever see hippopotamus hiding in trees? Because they’re really good at it.

The Parking Lot: Chapter 11 continues…

   Nancy listened to her friend, and became even more concerned that she would not be able tell anybody anything. She completely understood Beth’s anxiousness, but that also meant that no secret would be safe with her. “Tell me more about the old guy?”.

   “Well, first he made feel better after the two monsters left. He has a nice way. But, he is much more concerned about you than me, or anybody.” Why would he be concerned about me, Nancy thought. I’m just a total stranger who bumped into him under strange circumstances. Is he art of them she wondered. Is he their good cop. If he is, then he took quite a whack to get close to me.

   Nancy heard Beth talking again, “Well, I told him where you lived too. I thought you might need help.” Nancy was now sure it was smart to leave her home. “But, I don’t think he went there.”

   “Well Beth, if you see him again, tell him that I’ve left town. I can’t see anybody right now…unless I choose to see them.” Nancy paused a second. “Have you heard anything new about the development, or what Josh Howland on the town council is doing?”

   “Nope, just what the people talk about when they sit here in the morning. Most of the stuff is about the same as we’ve heard for a while. I have to say, that a lot of people seem a bit intimidated by these folks from the developer, you know Mable Luke and Josh mainly.” Nancy could understand that. It made her feel uncomfortable.

   “I gotta go, Beth. Call me if that old guy comes back in?”

   “Hi name isn’t old guy, Nancy, it’s Jared.” Nancy smiled to herself. She knew that.

Reading Between the Lines Movie Reviews:

--“Z” Is Fir Zachariah looks like the best flick pick of the week. It’s about a young woman surviving on her own in the wake of a nuclear war, yet fearing that she may be the last personon earth. Alas a scientist with a healthy dose of radiation arrives on the scene and the two develop a strong trust. All is well until a stranger arrives. Uh-oh.

--War Room with plenty of promotion doesn’t make it. It’s about a dissolving marriage, and how a woman with a War Room treis to mend it all.

The Answer:

The most expensive place to raise a family is the land where all of our taxes go – Washington DC. The rest in order are Nassau/Suffolk Counties NY, Westchester County NY, New York City, Stamford/Norwalk Ct, Honolulu, Middletown/ Newburgh/Poughkeepsie NY, Ithaca NY, San Fran and #10 Danbury Ct. Sounds odd to me. Ithaca?

There was a prison break and I saw a midget climb up the fence. As he jumped down he sneered at me and I thought, well that’s a little condescending.

Have a great weekend...E-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y!

Eat bacon, but check your harmones.

Today's Tids Issue 3.409

Opening Stuff:

Aha! So it’s the ole addiction problem all over again, after all. Yes the word snaked out that perhaps the Fed won’t raise rates in the Fall, and the Wall Street welfare community drove the market upward based on the continuance of free, cheap money. But we still don’t know whether or not stocks are over sold, overvalued or over the hill. Is the global financial world crumbling beneath the weight of china? Or, is it just once again, traders with computers playing games.

Oops! The US economic numbers are just in and it appears that the economy has expanded in the third quarter much faster than expected. There goes the rate postponement. There goes the stock market.

(The Tids mail boy lost Today’s Tids Issue on the way to the mailroom, so it was mailed late. This was written earlier, and the market behaved nicely. Maybe good economic still works after all. Thank you fro your patience – The Management)

I know I’ve written about this before, but I like to regenerate understanding in my mind – knowing that often beyond the smiles there is pain endured by courageous people. It’s good to always have your heart on alert.

As far as I can determine, the Roosevelt’s appear to have been the first of the true USA dysfunctional families. If there was reality TV in then thirties, they would have been the Duggins.

The Question:

Double Q day! 1. What was the name of the island volcano that exploded in cataclysmic proportions 132 years ago, sending killer tidal waves throughout Indonesia and Java? 2. Lady Bird Johnson took a recipe from Eleanor Roosevelt’s cook and made it her own before the world. What was it for? Bonus: What was the Kellogg-Briand Pact 0f 1928 all about?

The Headlines:

--Europe, London Stocks Rise; US Dow Opens Over 200; Finish Day at 309!; US Economy expanded faster than expected in Q2; New Jobless Benefits Down..

--TV News People Morning the Loss Of Two of Their Own; Young Rising Stars Well respected.

--US Drone Supposedly Kills Top ISIS Hacker/Recruiter.

--Tropical Storm Erika Gaining Strength; PR Closes Schools, Issues Warnings.

--ISIS Bombing Kills Two Iraq Generals And Others.

The Tids Book Exchange

A redoubtable woman of great courage and resolve has saved the non-male gender from enduring Tids shame, coming across with a fine list of books: Every Fifteen Minutes -- Lisa Scottoline; The Nightingale – Kristin Hannah; All the Light We Cannot See – Anthony Doerr; (Blind French Girl, German boy paths collide in occupied France; both try to survive the devastation of WWII.); The Liar – Nora Roberts. On another Tids Book Exchange note, a woman reader is running out to pick up a copy of the recommended Neptune’s Inferno (She holds dear her father’s Guadalcanal Diaries). Must be sacred.

A new study (Probably by somebody trying to sell an alternative) says that there are three things you should not do to reverse “The Aging Process” – Cardio exercises, Fat free diets and Yoga. The writer recommends “Metobolic Training – Triggering the right hormones in your body. I think I’m beyond all this. I just like to write about healthy, physically fit people who say Fat free dieting is not good for you.

This Jose Ramos (Former “Time Most Influential List” person) is just your basic agitator using the 1^st amendment as cover. He will be perceived as a martyr by those who propagate his dis ingenuousness, and the media will give him a pass. That’s why the USA is having more trouble getting out of its way. We should never acquiesce to agenda driven activists even if they represent the cuddly minority of the day.

And, that killer of the news people n Virginia is was apparently of the same ilk. He was said to have continually provoked people into anti black or anti gay comments (Or he made them up and attributed them to others) so he could make issues out of it. A lot of what are cause célèbre are just personal agenda looking for masses of potential protestors with free time their hands.

Red Sox should be willing to give away Henry Ramirez, cheap. The emergence of Killer B’s plus Rusney Castillo and Blake Swihart has fans looking towards brighter future. This enthusiasm was dimmed for me with the axe job on TV announcer Don Orsillo, a nice guy, the calming voice of the Red Sox for 15 years.

The Answer:

1. The big volcano with the biggest bang in 1883 was Krakatoa. 2. Yes, Lady Bird flew the Roosevelt coop with Eleanor’s Cooks recipe (Very reluctantly given away, BTW) for Chili. Creep. Not only was this a rather lowlife trick, but it seemed to hail the beginning of the broader acceptance bad food in America.  Bonus: Kellogg-Briand pact outlawed War! The original Treaty was signed by The USA, France and Germany. How’s that working out for ya.

Not too much here today. Will be back with full Bodied Tids tomorrow. Take two aspirins and you’ll get over it.

Helmets on.

Today's Tids Issue 3,40

Opening Stuff:

Yesterday I walked in the footsteps of marching men. I felt the presence of Washington, Kosciusko, Patton, Eisenhower, Bradley, MacArthur. And more. All of the great leaders who honed their values on these fields, who traveled across seas, who drove the battles against great foes; against brothers and classmates in the Civil War. Yesterday, I stood on the mountains that framed the Hudson River before the fortress that is West Point. I sensed the power and the resolve; the dedication. Nothing can stop America, but Americans giving in to a lesser America.

People search the world for beauty, and it is often best in their own back yard.

The Question:

The pipe organ at the West Point Chapel is one of the largest in the world, perhaps the largest. How many Pipes do you think it has? Bonus: In one graduating class at The Point one renown graduate was in the bottom fifth of the class while another who achieved similar status in their careers was #1. Who are they? What distinguishes the pair from all but three other West Point Graduates?

The Headlines:

--Dow Futures Up 280 At 8:20 AM; China Market Falls 1.3%; EuroStocks Lower.

--The Stock Market Giveth And Then Taketh Away; Experts Say Not To Worry; Ride Will Be Bumpy.

--Breaking News: Shooter In Monita Va Mall Hits Three Members Of TV Crew During Live Broadcast.

--Kurt Shilling Kicked Off ESPN Little League Broadcast For Pointing Out Relevant facts About Muslims In Tweet.

--Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and Lois Lerner Also used Private Email Accounts In Gov Biz.

--Defense Department Intelligence Operatives Puffing Up Reports About Action Against ISIS To Provide More Optimistic Views To Prez.

--Trump Attacking Everything And Anybody.

Tids Book Exchange:

Here’re this morning’s new entries (Note Ladies: Still nothing from the non-male gender. Think of all of the Book Club friends you could be helping.) Today’s Kudos go for Invisible Wall by Bernstein -; 4 Star recommendation: Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman; Neptunes Inferno: US Navy at Guadalcanal by J.B. Hornfischer. Latest contributor says don’t bother with “Orient” by Bollen.

There’s a great chapel (cathedral is more like it) on the campus of the US Military, but mandatory attendence to it was declared unconstitutional by Congress back in those not so distant times when what was always good became bad. It sounded kind of weird to hear that.

I’m having more and more trouble listening to the sacrosanct ESPN.

I’m starting to get the feeling from the lack of response by Women to the Tids Book exchange that perhaps women are out there doing something while men are sitting around reading. ESPN would probably fire me for that… Oh, wait a minute, I was insulting old white men. That’s ok.

NYC Myopia, Department

In a classic case of “If it ain’t New York City, it’s nothing,” Howard Sterne and several other AGT judges had trouble understanding why an outstanding performance last night by the Blue Grass family singing group “Mountain Faith band” had the audience screaming in the aisles. It was quite hilarious to me as the foursome stumbled around trying to get beyond their limited view of the world. That was maybe the best entertainment of the night.

The Rest Of America’s Got Talent:

The Mountain Faith Band will do just fine anywhere even without the the NYC Imprimatur. I thought the big dance group Chapkis Dance Family. was quite amazing, fun to watch (Howard didn ‘t get that either). I could watch Illusionist Oz again, easily. I liked the singer Daniella Mass, a lot. Loved the song. (Howard S didn’t which makes me feel like I’m right on). Daniella will have stiff completion in singing as Alicia Michilli can flat out sing. Period. I could also vote for the imaginative dancers Freelusion – great effects, heart stimulating emotion. Also raising me up was the Gospel singing group Selcted of God. Benjamin is a lot more than just a sympathetiv figure, he is a blind man dancing like hell, and beautifully. I’m really  not interested in The Professional Regurgitater, even though he seems to be getting through to the judges. I didn’t yuck it up a lot last night with comic Gary Vider, but he he is engaging and I will watch again if he makes it. The motor cycle acrobats were thrilling and well executed, but I would get tired f seeing the same old thing. Daditude was rightfully buzzed off the stage.

ESPN would fire Trump in a heartbeat.

Reading Between the lines Movie Reviews (Midweek verison):

No escape opens today and it looks like a winner, to me. Tye critic I read couldn get beyond some politically correct thing about the dismissal of more information about the Asian country in which it takes place he probably feels for ISIS but that’s what this is about. Muslim types hacking groups of Americans with Machetes and Owen Wilson trying to get his family out safe with the help of Pierce Brisnin. Full of tension and excitement  and good for all except one misguided critic. Kurt Shilling will like it.

I’m suspending publication of the Parking Lot for the next todays.

The Answer:

There are 23,500 pipes in every corner of the mammoth chapel. I’d like to go there someday to hear it. Bonus. Omar Bradley was #1 and Ike Eisenhower barely made it out. In fact Ike made “Yardbird” status which means he had an enormous amount of disciplinary actions against him forcing him to march it off in full equipment mode. Omar and Ike were the only two Five Star generals form WP. The other 3 five stars are George Marshall, Douglas MacArthur, and Henry Arnold. Note, two have rans above Five Star – George Washington and John Pershing.

See you all tomorrow!