Unreality TV.

Today's Tids Issue 4,418

Moderation, please:

The questioners on the first night of the mega debates seemed to favor Elizabeth Warren, giving her more air time than warrented, and she screeched away until the wax fell out of my ears. Julian Castro may have made the most points, emerging as a distinct, real possibility. Tulsi Gabbard, Amy Klobuchar and Tim Ryan also stepped forward, sounding like the most sensible in the room. Beto bombed. DeBlasio was a rude boor, and should drink more mega sized sugary drinks to make him sweeter. But, I’m not a Dem so my opinions should be taken for what they are, a Repub talking. A lot of the post talk chatter was about a technical glitch that turned off mikes. A pleasant pause for many. One issue that stood out to me was the general agreement of the debaters for decriminalization of illegal entry. Borders without rules – good, if you like chaos.

But a Repub talking about Dems can also be the old forest for the tree’s thing. Insiders in business, government and politics are so ingrained in their organizations and institutions that they routinely fail to see their faults and miss opportunities. For instance, Biden is ahead because he connects with old fashioned, hardworking Democrats. Now, if I’m one of the 20, I’m thinking do I want to be another in the crowd of progressive Dems going after the coastal elites, or become a Democrat centrist and get me a big chunk of the largest reservoir of voters.

On Getting Internet news: If you read, you interpret freely. If you rely on spoken videos, your mind can be grabbed and blunted

The store clerk asked me, “Paper or Plastic”? I said it didn’t matter, I’m am Bisacksual.

The Question:

Name the ten best celebrity feuds of all time.

The Headlines:

--Reports Say Xi Is Prepared To Offer Trump Guidelines For Ending Stalemate; Xi Expected To Insist On Lifting Ban Against Huawei.

--Stocks Wandering As Xi And Trump Prepare To Meet; Q1 GDP Revised Upward To 3.1; Capital Equipment Sales Down.

--Dems Take The Stage And Move Even Further Left; Most Candidates Show Anti-Big Business Bias; Seek More Government Programs.

--Hezbollah Says US War With Iran Is Unlikely.

--Apple Buys Self Driving Car Startup Drive.ai.

--Ford To Layoff 12,000 European Workers; Markets Playing Waiting Game.

Some of those aggressive “new world” policies that took root in the 1980’s have grown like Kudzu, encroaching upon clear thinking in the 2010’a. For example, one of them that stabbed me to the core is “Manners is a device of White Supremacists.” Incredulous, but believed by many.

At the cafeteria in a famous NYC art museum, employees are trained in the Gugenheimelich maneuver.’’

I used to think that it was nice to see so many people meditating on the street, perhaps saying a little silent prayer. Then I saw their thumbs moving rapidly and realized they were scrolling thought their phones.

Potato salad varieties adorn the buffet tables of many a summer picnic. But, there are other educable ways to get your potato fix alongside a real meat, juicy burger. Here’s a couple of ideas you can do on the grill. Potatoes 1: Cut 2 lbs of “YG” potatoes into ¼ inch rounds. Preheat grill to 375. Cut 4 14” sheets of foil. In a bowl toss the pots with 1 tbs OO, 1 tbs minced Rosemary and pinches of salt and pepper. Spray foil with oil. Mound the Pot mixture on each sheet. Top each with a generous slice of prosciutto and top with an oz of goat cheese. Wrap foils securely into packages. Place on grill and cook for 35 Mins or so, truing every 10 mins. Potatoes 2: Spread 2 tbs of OO on cookie sheet. Lay in ¼” sliced s of potatoes. Sprinkle on 2 tsp oregano, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp parsley, ½ cp chopped basil and 1/8 cp grated Parmesan cheese. Bake pots 10-15 mins in 400 degree preheated oven. Turn oven to convection to brown pots. Sprinkle 1/8 cp parm on hot potatoes. Simple. But it’s not potato salad.

In Providence Rhode Island, a Johns Hopkins University team just issued a scathing report about the city schools, making them perhaps the worst in the nation. They mentioned bad teachers, bad admin, unruly and bullying kids, scared classmates, and scared teachers. But they didn’t mention the education union dominated state legislature that has stifled reform for decades, or the decline in moral standards, or in fact any high achieving standards at all. The Mayor said this morning that we can’t blame he students who have tough lives at home with only one parent, normally a mother. Now, there’s a start. Responsibility. Now with political promises of getting everything for free, there won’t be any incentives. Basically, the report laid out a problem but seemed not courageous enough to point to the real problems.

And that just isn’t happening here in the USSRI.

Disgruntled kids on sports teams or in class rooms (Or, the parents) are having their say, and ruining reputations at the same time. It’s the old accusation game, where a teacher or a coach or an administrator’s reputations is blackened, forever to be found on social media, before all of the evidence is in. It is a sad, sad result of mass digital communications. We are in an era of a revenge society with little regard given to the possibility of reasonable explanations from the other side. One kids greatest coach is another kids bully.

And, BTW, thanks for all of the readers who continually send in delightful and inspiring little ditties that stimulate this confounded mind.

Legacy Department:

Every time I type potatoes, I think of Dan Quayle

The Key to finding winners and losers in the debates is determining which candidates are answering with focus group approved responses, and which are talking from the heart.

I think we are in trouble when masses of protestors can tell  a company what it can and what it cannot sell.

Mice die in mouse traps because they don’t understand why the cheese is free.

The Answer:

“All Time” does not just mean today, and celebrity does not just mean Glitterville. First is Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. Next is Coca Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli, Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, Olivia De Haviland and Joan Fontaine, Debbie Reynolds and Elizabet Taylor, Mohammed Ali and Joe Frazier, Michael Jackson and Prince, Diana and Charles of Wales, Leno and Letterman, Axl Rose and Slash, Biggie Smalls and Tupac, Madonna and Courtney Love. Kobe and Shaque. Some others are JLO and Mariah Carey, Tom Cruise and Brook Shields, The Donald and  Rosie (Trump and anybody?), Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner, Gwyneth Paltrow and Martha Stewart and Taylor Swift and Katy Perry.q

Fortunately, I have plenty to do tonight, and will miss the socialist and the plagiarist. Speaking of feuds.