Rancor sucks.

Today's Tids Issue 4,507

Slowing down:

A dusty corner on a busy street,

Like a green meadow in a country dell,

Blossoms. When the beauty of words

Is the focus; is the vision.

The shimmering sea comes alive,

When upon the shore

People interact.

When one listens to another.  

The eye of the artist

Sees the emotions in a lush valley.

The heart of a human,

Becomes the calming landscape.

It’s getting crisper outside. Time evaluate my fleece inventory.

An incredibly brave and gifted women gave up her life yesterday under Belgian euthanasia laws. Her name was Marieke Vervoort She was a Paralympic champion, how fought through intense pain to climb to the top of her athletic wheelchair world, At 14, she was diagnosed with degenerative disease. She endured pain throughout the simplest of life’s endeavors. She couldn’t sleep. People near would faint watching her fight her pain. Yet she smiled, She always smiled for those around her. And then there was her dog Zenn, her lab, who could sense oncoming attacks a half hour before they accrued, giving her time to prepare, call for assistance.  So, there she sat last night, a glass of good wine in her hand, Zenn by her side. She was looking for a calming, she said. She said she was scared. Yet she smiled, like she always smiled. For her family. For her friends. For, at last, relief.

Today it’s old people who help young people staring into phones across the street.

The Question:

Who is Saladin?

The Headlines:

--Durable Goods Orders Fall 1.1%; Maybe Due To Boeing 737 Stoppage And GM Strike. 3M Earnings Disappoint; ECB Confirms Resumption Of QE; Stocks Dip Despite Good Earnings From Microsoft And Tesla.

--3 Judge NY Appeals Court Likely To Vote Against Trump In Matter Of Opening His Tax Records; Tis Will Most Likely Go To Supreme Court.

--More Evacuations In Golden Sate As New Fires Erupt.

--Kremlin Tells Kurds They Were Betrayed By USA; They Should Get Out “Or Be Mauled”

--Europe Wants To Sanction Iran For Human Rights Violations.

--Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed Facing Riots, Losing Support, Two Weeks After Receiving Nobel Peace Prize.

--Judge Judy Says Dems Need Something Better Than Current Slate; Throws Name Of Michael Bloomberg Into Dem Hat.

--British Police Say 39 Bodies In Truck Are Chinese.

The Tids Sports Pickin’ Machine had a better than average week last week, bringing our totals to 63-40-1 (61 %). Surprisingly we are ahead of several national experts. It’s been that kind of tough pickin’ year. Well, tonight I cannot think of the faintest reason not to pick the Vikings over the Redskins. I think the tough games are Chargers-Bears, Eagles- Bills, Panthers-Niners, Raiders-Texans and perhaps Titans -Bucs. And, certainly The Pack versus the Mahommeless Chief’s attack. I’m going to take the Bears to stop the charging team, and the Texans to take out The Raiders. I like, sort of, Bucs’ Winston to wake up and beat the Titans. The Eagles have disappointed and I believe the stout Bills defense will rise up to stifle Wentz. The Niners are undefeated and are at home. They should beat tough Panther’s team. My split personality had a problem with that one. The Pack looks sharp as does Rogers. KC still has weapons, but Rogers could riddle their defensive ramparts.   

Of the rest, I like the Pats to keep it going against the Browns, the Rams to turn the Bengals into sweet melted butter, the Colts who look better every week to corral the Broncos. I’m loving Teddy Bridgewater, and NO has more than a QB or two. They will keep it going over the Cardinals. The Giants at Detroit could be considered a tough Pick, but I like the way the Lions have played. They should win. The Seahawks bounce back against the Falcons and Jags are too tough for the Jets. The Steelers have to beat Miami, right?

I hate people who take drugs. DEA is the worst.

It’s really tough to get a handle on the Dem race right now. Yesterday, a national poll (CNN/SSRS) had Biden (34) gaining significantly, and Warren (19) in decline. Today a new Post 10/15 Debate poll by Quinnipiac has Warren Jumping above Biden 28 to 21.  Bernie has 16 and Pete has 10, followed by Harris with 5, Amy with 3. However, in this poll, Biden is said to have the best chance of beating trump.  I think I’ll wait til April.

One of the greatest slave traders in history was named, ironically, Mohammed Ali. He was an Ottoman (Turkish) ruler in control of early developing, yet still confused Sudan. Note: Sudan since the days of Before Christ, had as one of its three principle sources of commerce revenue, selling citizens into slavery.

Did you hear about the shop owner who put an ad in the paper looking for a night watchman? He got robbed that night.

From a pure entertainment perceptive, I find the Trump hearings boring, This is opposed to the Nixon and Clinton reality mini-series which kept me glued to TV. Maybe this proceeding is boring because we aren’t seeing the hearings.

Sorry, yesterday was a mish-mash of bad Typos.

I was quite a bit angry yesterday upon learning that in a bipartisan vote Congress made animal cruelty a federal crime. What!  This looks like just one more example of Fed Creep. Another reason for The Man for DC to knock on your door. With the decline in US Mail, will letter carriers become pet wardens. Lord knows, they are used to barking dogs.

The Answer:

As a kid named Richard, King Richard the Lionhearted quickly became my true boyhood hero. Bigger than Pee Wee Reese. Or, Dickie McGuire. Saladin was the greatest of all Islamic conquerors. Saladin defeated the Crusade at Hattin in 1187. At that news, it is said that Pope Gregory VII died of a heart attack. It was a disaster, as church leaders saw it as the beginning of the end of Jerusalem and the path to the revered holy lands, the Sepulcher. A third Crusade was formed, to be led by 3 great generals -- Richard, Phillip II Augustus of France and Frederick Barbarossa, each with abut 15,000 men. As strong and brilliant as Saladin was, he knew he could not win against such a force. He called for a negotiation, and low and behold Richard found Saladin to be a better Christian than many professed Christians; he was truly chivalrous man. A man who cared well for all of the English prisoners taken at Hattin. A peace was formed, and Saladin opened the lands to the Holy Roman Empire, as long as they didn’t bring weapons.

Interesting. Sometimes you really don’t know enough about perceived enemies.