Love is blind.

Today's Tids Issue 3,707

For not seeing:

In the eyes I see the kindness of love. In the touch I feel the gentleness of the soul. In the hug I feel the warmth of giving. From my heart I see perfection. I only know one world and it is you.

I thought the US showed how powerful it can be when it wiped out three key Houthis installations with three shots. Of course, the three shots were Tomahawk missiles costing over $1 Million per. Some retired navy friends of mine wondered why with took four launches against our US ship before we retaliated. But, it is nice to know we still have the muscle, even as leadership decision making is suspect.

I’m so shy that I feel self-conscious asking one of these faceless computer voices for help.

The media and internal Hillary campaigners write it off with a smug chortle, but this idea of progressive politics bigotry against religion has legs. The Obama organization created something called “Catholic United”, in fact a bogus catholic organization that sent two operatives around the country rounding up Bishops against old time religion. Hillary’s Podesta is of the same ilk. Some of you may have seen in an email from JP in response to Sandy Newman, “We have created Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, for a moment like this. (“This” refers to Newman’s comments to JP, “There needs to be a Catholic Spring, in which Catholics themselves demand the end of a middle ages dictatorship.” Writes Newman president of Voices for Progress. He goes on to Podesta wondering how would one “Plant the seeds of revolution.” Can you say freedom of Religion?

Remember, when Clintons were only seen on TV going to church when Bill got into trouble. Use religion when you need it for votes is very Clintonian.

This just in from Tids roving  reporter: “CNN Says Hillary Clinton Winner of Next Debate.”

Smile -- Retail sales are up!

If you like JK Rowling you’ll be happy to hear that her new venture, “Fantastic Beasts and How To Find Them” will have five, count em’ five movies. When you got it, sell it.

Do you think I can make a movie series out of Tids?

The Question:

What is Zen? Bonus: Uber and Lyft have been working to penetrate the huge NYC market’s giant taxi business. What percentage of business do you think is now (April 2016 latest numbers) enjoyed by the two upstarts versus the traditional NYC taxi industry: 5% - 10%, 10 -  20%, 20 - 30%, 30 -  40%, 40%+?

The Headlines:

--Stocks Rebounding Nicely; Awaiting Consumer Sentiment Survey; -----Wells Fargo Continues To Take Hit: Credit Cards And New Accounts Down Whopping 30%.

--RCP Average Has Hill Up 6.7; New Rasmussen Tracking Poll Has Trump Up By Two Points, 43 – 41.

--Iran Sends Warships To Yemen After US Fires On Radar Installations.

--ISIS Kills 12 Egyptian soldiers IN Sinai In Military Attack.

--Dodger Win Over Nationals Earn Them Meeting With Cubs For NL Title.

--Google News Launches Fact Check Feature That Will be Displayed In Searches For News Stories.

--US Lifts Import Limits On Cuban Cigars And Rum.

Real Hillary supporters (As opposed to the many reluctant) are so madly in love with their candidate they cannot understand how polarizing her presidency will be. Over half the country is vehemently against her. And many voting for her wish they had a better choice. People like Anderson Cooper and a host of big media editorial writers will wonder now for four years why the nation is not behind their “Smartest woman in the world”.

Some people think I have been practicing Zen all my life…without a mat.

Have you noticed these days that somehow people who shout the loudest, go overboard in praise or denunciation, become the truthsayers in the eyes of far too many followers – that noise becomes dogma?

It is just about impossible now-a-days to fire a workplace all-around pain in the-ass because he or she probably belongs to some “victim” group. Hell, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if there soon will be an organization AFTBPITA – Americans for the Betterment of Pains-in-the-Asses.”

Seriously now, wasn’t Michelle Obama yesterday just a little bit over the top. Lie awake at night? Every fiber of her being? I always say, if you want to be believed make it sound believable.

The first Major League Baseball game I ever saw was the Cubs and the Dodgers playing in old Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. It was the first season for Jackie Robinson who was playing first base that year. The only players I remember from the Cubs were Peanuts Lowery and Swish Nicholson. Those are the kind of names a young boy tends to remember.

The latest Samsung fire hazard problem is reminding people of their problem with dishwashers in Australia – that kept on catching fire. This is not a good corporate trend.

I’ve never been a particularly great fan of Jerry Jones or the Cowboys (Except for Roger Staubach), but they have been smartly investing in the “O” line, which in reality is the essence what makes teams great. So a tip-o-the Tids Tam to the Dallas team.

Waste of Ink, Department:

Remember Lincoln Chafee? He was a Presidential candidate on the Dem ticket who ran on the Platform: “America should go metric”! On the front page of the Prov Journal, just hailed as best in New England, a headline said, “Chafee says, ‘Metric system plank was a mistake’.” Is it already April Fool’s day or something?

I was thinking that it would be nice if Trump started promoting the candidacy of the Repub congressional candidates. But, he has gone much too far beyond the point where it would be a credible addition to their efforts.

I have no trouble at all watching movies berated by critics. I just suspend reality and enjoy what I see. It must be a Zen thing.

Reading between the Lines Movie reviews:

--I have had The Accountant on my movie list, and it looks like it will be ok. Affleck plays a math savant on the Autism fringe with a dominant father and scary childhood. He looks like an ordinary accountant for a small business, but it is what he does on the side that makes the film interesting – freelance accountant for some of the world’s most dangerous criminal organizations. The Treasury department wants him and when closing in he takes on a legit Robotics company. He and a woman there find discrepancies but as they uncook books, body counts rise. Of course the critics don’t like it, but it plays well with audiences. I’m in

--Shin Godzilla is a pretty good film about the return to the monster’s roots. What appears to be a Volcano eruption outside Tokyo is in reality the re-emergence of you know who. You can imagine the rest of the story.

--The plot of Desierto is intriguing but the writing is too fragile to carry it off. Predictable with weak character development, this film is about a fight for survival as illegal immigrants approaching US border find there is nowhere to go as they are tracked and slaughtered by a wily serial killer.

Answer:

Zen is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese character “chan,” which is in turn the Chinese translation of the Indian Sanskrit term “Dhyana,” which means meditation. Basically, everybody looks for external happiness failing to understand the bounty of goodness and satisfaction within self. Bonus: In April of 2015, the taxis controlled 84% of the Biz 9Uber – 15%, Lyft 0.5 and Via 0.5) A year later in April The taxi’s had fallen to 65 %. So if you said 30-40% for the upstarts you’d be right. (Uber 27%, Lyft 4%, VIA 3% and Gett 1%. The taxi compnaie are seeing the value of their very expensive medalliaons dropping. Will te city begin requiring the newbies to put big bucks up front? (IN April of 2014 the right to operate a cab costs $1.3 Million. That now has fallen to $250K. Somebody is getting hurt big time.

There are a lot of battles to be won in this Uber, Lyft et. al changeover. A lot will involve unions who want to organize the divers. Drivers are considered Independent contractors as opposed to employees. However, recently two drivers have applied for unemployment benefits and the State of NY allowed it. This is a game changer and will over time probably alter the economic dynamics for these companies. I personally feel this Uber ting is a fascinating assault on the way things used to be. And obviously politician a will step in and muddy the waters. At times, at least in big cities, it doesn’t compute: My question is, why can’t big taxi company develop their own app? What percentage of contractors will want the bennies only available for legit employees? Something to think about while the Red Sox are out looking for a bullpen.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…I’m relaxed.

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