An explosive start.

Today's Tids Issue 4,558

Too much too soon:

Yesterday, the Tids was all about gravy. Today it is about meat and potatoes. The Middle East has exploded. General Qassem Soleimani as you all probably know was killed by a US rocket attack. He was  the head of the off-shore Iran invasion forces and even more significant a close pal of the leader of leaders Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Some of the fiercest anti-Trump Dems agree that getting rid of the general is a great idea, though they would have preferred having congress in on the secret. So, that’s the domestic squabbling, and it should be minimal. That’s good, because we need all hands jointly on deck. Most important is what will be Iran’s retaliation against US interests and Israel. Their President Rouhani joined the Ayatollah in promising a retribution for this “Heinous crime”. Right now, the country is in a 3-day mourning period. So, what happens over the weekend will be the indicator of how far this fledgling Middle East war could go.

Is it me, or am I finding doctor relationships becoming more complex? I think it may have something to do with corporate takeover of a personal, I mean really personal product. Like they are creating new uses for technology which make the company more efficient, but the patient more distant.

“The Flat Earth Society has members all around the globe.”

All of these fitness products have become really nosy.

Fairgrounds are mediocre coffee.

The Question:

I59,000 Americans voiced their opinion in a ranking survey about who were “The Most Influential Politicians in History. Name the top ten.

The Headlines:

--Iran Jitters Knocks Down Market; Oil Prices Soar; Manufacturing Index Drops Significantly To 47.2, Well below 50 Benchmark; Market Fundamentals Remain Positive.

--US Citizens Urged To leave Australia Because Of Wild Fires; Us Citizens Urged To Leave Iraq Because of Wild Eyed Revenge.

--Biden Gets Key Iowa Endorsement From Rep --Former FBI Deputy Director McCabe Apologizes For Misleading Agency About Clinton-Probe Leak.

Navigation systems are pretty convenient. But they fail when a local person uses a colloquial expression to define a target destination.  

The Jeopardy prime time “Champions” battle scheduled to begin next Tuesday looks like a program I won’t be missing.

I know that Alex Trebek has serious cancer and is battling it very well. And, that he is considered a TV icon, and that many people think he is the greatest. But, I have never been a particularly big fan. I love the show, though.

If congress charges someone with obstruction of justice, doesn’t Congress have to prove it was doing something?

Don’t minimize that drop in the Manufacturing index.

I chuckled at this headline: “Blagojevich ‘pens’ letter from prison…” In case you are interested, it was bout his dismay at Dems for the way they went about impeachment. The word according to Blaggo!

I have this sense that climate change warriors will use the same tactics to rid the USA of carbon related business as was used to bring down cigarette companies – sue them into oblivion.

The Australia wildfires have killed over 500,000,000 animals. Roll that number around in your brain for a moment or two.

Midwifery is contemporary birthing?

Speaking of nostalgia resisted, I liked the Good-Bye beloved “Bug” commercial from Volkswagen. I remember the day I saw that first newscast announcement about the funny looking little car with giant ambition of taking America. And it did. That is probably the only German product ever known for being inexpensive!

And, where will China and Russia stand if the battle with Iran escalates? That is big question.

Reading Between the Lines Movie reviews:

(Not much going on in movieland this week)

--The Grudge must be awful. It’s about a woman who murders her family and the detective investigating discovers demons in her house and must fight to save himself and the woman.

--Actually, I was not going to review “Don’t be a dick about it” because it disparages my name. It is supposedly a vivid portrayal of Brotherly love, one brother addicted to TV”s Survivor and the other intensely afraid of dogs. Probably a critical fave, but I’m not enticed in the slightest.

The Answer:

The Top 3 were Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson.  After TJ we had Ben Franklin, Teddy Roosevelt, James Madison, JFK, FRD, Ronald Reagan and Alexander Hamilton (I wonder how he would have done before the musical). Going to 25 we have John Adams, James Monroe, Eleanor Roosevelt, RFK, Patrick Henry, John Hancock, Ike, Thomas Paine, HST, MLK, John Marshall, Andrew Jackson, John Jay, US Grant and George Marshall. JQ Adams was 26 and Henry Clay was 28. Obama and GHW Bush were 32 and 33. Newt Gingrich was 34 just ahead of Sam Houston and Daniel Webster. I could go on but I will end with 39-42: Condoleezza Rice, Rand Paul, Jefferson Davis and…are you ready, Rudy Giuliani! Oh, and the last two at 149 and 150 are Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi. BTW, the top three most Useless VP’s were Spiro Agnew, Dan Quayle and Aaron Burr.

Happy weekend, E-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y!!