Pay no attention to the grouch at the keyboard.

Today's Tids Issue 4,175

For Optimism:

I think the dog days of August are starting early

Or perhaps its my age that makes me surly.

But, I’m tired of too much sun, too much heat,

And the rumble of tourists out on my street.

But I should get over it, push negativity away.

I have no right to entirely ruin your day.

Frankly, after all of the marches, the tweets, the controversies and the national shouting matches, the only news I am really interested in is the health of the financial markets. It’s called survival.

Some of the real heroes of our times are those who have the guts to stand up to political correctness.

I often look at pictures in obits with dismay wondering if that is the best picture of a person ever taken? And, perhaps they should have just let the words do the talking.

40% of babies born in America are to single mothers. Talk about the fraying fabric of America.

There were a lot of positive lessons that could be learned from that Thai cave caper.

The Question:

Who was Leslie Lynch King Jr.?

The Headlines:

--Bull Market Still Snorting Despite Obstacles; Week Opens On Up Note; Analysts Will Weigh Impact Of Trump Putin Meeting; BoA Profits Up; June Retail Sales Increase Solid.

--Trump Begins Meet With Putin With Lowered Expectations; Dem’s Schiff Calls Putin An Unindicted Co-conspirator; UK’s Teresa May Says Trump Advised Her To Sue The EU; Putin/Trump Meeting Goes Longer Than Expected.

--California Dems Nix Feinstein I favor Of Progressive Candidate Kevin DeLeon.

--Repub Trey Gowdy Rules Out Rosenstein Impeachment.

--Florida Closes Fernandina Beach After Two Shark Attacks.

--Speaking Of Shark Attacks, Hillary Seems To Be Running Again For 2020.

--11 Million Ton Iceberg Has Small Greenland Village Looking Out To Sea In Fear Of Being Squashed.

Everybody, it seems, has their own idea about what an Adirondack chair should look like. And many of them, don’t look that good at all, to me. But, like everything else that’s arguable, it’s a matter of taste.

How extreme would Barry Goldwater be today?

Are Microsoft, Amazon, Apple and Alphabet the new portfolio basics?

Nobody knew I had a dental implant until it came out in conversation.

I really did not recognize many on the recent Emmy Award nomination’s list. Or if I did, I didn’t watch or avoided watching many of them. I just don’t have HBO, so the out and out super show, Thrones, was not available. I opted to pay for Showtime to get Billions and Homeland, which I enjoy thoroughly, but were not nominated. A couple that were nominated that I have on my “A” list were The Crown And The Americans. Go Keri and Matthew; Go Clair Foy. I also liked Ozark and was happy to see Jason Bateman on the Best Actor Drama series list. By the way, consistent Emmy winner Clare Danes in Homeland may have been at her greatest this past year. But, it was her pal Mandy Patinkin who got a supporting nomination, while she was nixed at the Best Actress level. I thought that Hollywood folks might have appreciated the work of Asia Kate in Billions. None of the great actors in that production got a mention. By the way, I’m voting against Samantha Bee of Full Frontal, nominated for Best condescending Comedic slanderer. (She’ll probably get the final nod from gushing celebs.) Tracy Ulman still has a show?

As one observer opined, “Where are the awards for the writers and directors, you know, the people who actually make the actors nominable.”

Alphabet has a long list of internal “X Project” companies they don’t even consider companies yet. It’s all about getting it right first before tooting horns. They have announced big players: Waymo in AI Driving; Nest is a Home Functioning company featuring security and smart thermostats with more to come. Two just named companies ready to go are Wing and Loon. Another called Calico has as its mission, “Cure Death”. Jigsaw focuses on geo-political problems. Deep Mind is their AI company. Oh yeah, Loon (Formerly called “Moonshot”) is a business focused on bringing web access to the entire world using internet streaming Hot Air Balloons. Wing, is a fully tested commercial drone delivery service. Watch out!

On Saturday, golfer Ricky Fowler playing in Scotland hit a 458-yard drive. For all of you non-golfers, that is significantly long.

You may own the greatest sound reproduction system ever invented, but nothing compares to watching a classical concert pianist live playing in a small venue.

Is the Takata Air Bag Company still in business? How?

I’m not buying the defense that pit bulls are basically nice.

I am so not interested in the Woods-Mickelson money grab.

I’m thinking that much of the power production from the new alternative energy solutions comes from the static electricity created by the orgasmic hug-aramas of progressives when they first see windmills whooping and solar panels sucking in sun.

R-K’s Sheherazade always makes me feel good.

There was always something very special about the great St. Louis Cardinal Stan Musial. While a guy with a great smile, he was very scary when your team was in the same ballpark with him. But even as a foe I never faltered appreciating his enormous talent. What a swing that old lefty had. Somehow, he isn’t mentioned as much as others when baseball arguments begin. And he could play a mean “Take me out to the Ballgame” on his harmonica.

One of the reasons Goldwater was considered Mr. Conservative was because of his fierce States Rights stance. To the libs he sounded seriously anti on social issues because he disavowed their drives for Federal takeover of their pet issues. But he only wanted all of these so-called hot issues of the day to be resolved at the state level, which frankly, is what I still believe today. Most issues of the day are not federal issues, but the anger is centered around attaining that singular national status. For the record, Goldwater supported equal/civil rights, Pro-choice, Gay rights, Gun control and native Americans.  “Extremism in the pursuit of liberty, is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice, is no virtue”.

The Answer:

President Gerald R. Ford was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr. His father was LLK Sr. aa man who along with Ford’s grandfather became wealthy establishing large businesses in the early developing areas around Omaha Nebraska. Senior’s sister attending Wellesley College brought home a school chum, Dorothy Ayer Gardiner, who Brother LLK Sr. married. But King Sr. was a violent, abusive alcoholic. So, 16 days after LLK Jr. was born his mom left home with little LLK. LLK Jr’s mom whisked him away to Michigan and sued for divorce. LLK Sr had lost much of his money and he was eventually fired buy his own tyrannical father, Charles King. But Charles King, Ford’s true grandfather agreed to pay child support for life if Mom Dorothy would drop charges against LLKSr. Dorothy married Grand Rapids businessman Gerald Rudollf Ford. While not adopted, LLK Jr. took his beloved step father’s name, though modernizing the spelling. Ford learned of his biological dad at 15 and met him shortly thereafter in a Detroit restaurant for a superficial conversation. King Sr. gave young King $25. That is all he ever received form his dad.

Actually, I’m praying for a good heavy rain,

But not so as to interrupt my next golf game.

Dismiss curmudgeons from your mind and have a great week.