Just because you like it.

 

Today's Tids Issue 4,849

No Ulterior Motives:

 

“A bird doesn’t sing because he has an answer. He sings because he has a song. –Joan Walsh Anglund

 

It might have been a bit of surprise for many to learn of our attack on Iran installations in Syria. It was a surprise for those who rely on national media for info, since I had not seen word one on the network’s media the tr here rocket attached in less than a week on USA installations around Baghdad. But the Tids eagle eye reporters scanning the globe for possible disturbances that might affect our national stability reported the attacks at the beginning of the week and wondered what ramifications could be expect. Actually, it was nice to see that we still have an ability to be tough.

 

I’m taking a long weekend off away from the stock markets.

 

The Question:

What are Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Great movies, that is if you think he made anything great?

 

The Headlines:

--Nasdaq Begins To Claw Back; Dow Bludgeoned; Side Line Money Seems Ready To Move Ito Equities As Normalcy Begins To Appear On Horizon.

--US Air Strikes Attack Iranian Backed Militia In Syria; Second Target In Mission Aborted When Drone Reports Too Many Civilians..

--US House Expected To Get The Stimulus Package Rolling Today; Consumer Spending Now Stroger Than Expected; Could Get New Kick Up With Stimulus.

--CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) Gets Rolling; Trump And Conservative Bigs Expected To Be Featured Speakers.

--Retail Traders Seem Likely To Be A Factor Going Forward; AirBnB Reports Strong Quarter; Newly Listed DoorDash Disappoints On Projection For Achieving Profitability.

--US House Passes LGBTQ Rights Bill.

 

The quote that opens today’s Tids as been quoted by 20-30 different poets and writers and thinkers from Tennyson to Angelou, and in Chinese proverbs in many ways. It has been most attributed to Maya Angelou, and it is on her Forever stamp. She used it to open her book, “I know why a caged bird Sings.”  The quote I wrote above has generally been attributed to Joan Walsh Anglund by all of the best know “Quote Sleuths”. The genesis of the quote maybe from the words of English literary and art critic William Hazlett in 1818: “The thrush that awakes at day-break with its song, does not sing because it is paid to sing, or to please others, or to be admired or criticized. It sings because it is happy; it pours the thrilling sounds from its throat, to relieve the overflowings of its own heart—the liquid notes come from, and go to the heart, dropping balm into it, as the gushing spring revives the traveller’s parched and fainting lips.” So there you go.

 

I think it sounds like a nice way to start a day I the Tids.

 

It’s nice to see “Tom & Jerry” coming back to the big screen. I wonder how long it will be until some culture warrior sues to get them banned.

 

Last night I watched an NBC news story on the shooting of Gaga’s Dogwalker. But as it turned out it wasn’t about the poor guy who got shot and is in serious condition but the $500K reward to for two missing dogs and how happy she was that one dog escaped and was found. What ever happened to humans? It was nice to learn that the Gaga dogs have their “own verified Instagram page!”

 

Here’s to all dogwalkers how get shot and nobody cares.

 

Except these humans:

“Carl Truman, 19, of Los Angeles, California won $74,000 plus medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps.”

 

Before passing a new stimulus bill, maybe our concerned representatives would seek to find out what hasn’t been spent yet from the previous bill. That sounds like the intelligent thing to do.

 

In 2017 Biden Pres secretary Psacki indicated in Tweets that she was horrified at the idea of Trump attacking Iran positions in Syria. Politics is BS.

 

The Answer:

I enjoyed several of Arnold’s movies. Here is his Top Ten List: #1 is Terminator 2: Judgment day. It is followed by The Terminator, Predator, Total Recall, True Lies, The Running Man, Commando, Conan the Barbarian, Kindergarten Cop and #10, Twins (With Danny DeVito.)

 

True Friendship: Walking into a person’s house and your wifi connects automatically.

 

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

Up in the air.

Today's Tids Issue 4,848

Hedging Everything:

 

How do you invite a dinosaur to lunch? Tea, Rex?

 

From this Political perch it seems to me that the only salvation for the Repubs in 2024 is a self-destruction by the Dems. Of course, a the moment I am more worried about 2022. Regardless of how a appealing a “center-right” Repub party may look now to a lot of Repubs, it would only serve to fracture the vote and hand elections to Dems and their growing left wings. GOP would become, Good-Bye Old Party. Unless of course, moderate to right leaning Dems would join “CRP”, Center-Right Party. Yay!

 

Is the renewed overbuying of speculative stocks lie GameStop and AMC supporting growing concerns of some that we are in a “bubble” economy? Yet talk of a bubble does not seem to extend to FANG. But, many are taking a closer look at the EV businesses and there sense of the new gold rush. So, it seems everybody is looking at a market that is trying find out what it is. One seeking maturity in cyclicals, another trying to spew cash from a distasteful overvalued market sell-off. And then there is the VIX (Market Volatility Index), which people play and is considered a market of opportunity, But not for your average retiree wondering what ever happened to GE.

 

A phobia of over-engineered buildings is a complex, complex, complex.

 

The Question:

Who Attended the first Cabinet Meeting Of new President George Washington?

 

The Headlines:

--Tech Stocks Under Pressure Again Powell Tries To Calm Inflation Nerves; Jan Pending House Sales Surprisingly Fall.

--Trump Tax Records Turned Over To New York Investigation Authorities; NYDA Office Receives Over One Million Documents Covering Jan 2011 to Aug 2019.

–Repubs Push Back On Pelosi “Bizarre” Plan For Capital Attack Investigation.

--China’s Xi Jinping Says His Country Has Achieved “The Miracle of Eradicating Extreme Poverty.”

--Reddit Traded Speculative Shares Have Strong Morning. GameStop Doubles.

--Leading Liberal Women Refuse To Comet On New Allegations Of Sexual Harassment Charges Against Gov Cuomo.

 

I, X, L, and V left the alphabet for a stroll one day. They became known as the roamin’ numerals.

 

8 States -- Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Delaware, Rhode Island and Montana -- have total population of 6,682,000. The 8 largest cities in the US have a total population of about 22,500,000. Isn’t great that the USA have systems in place that help to temper the potential domination of a nation by urban centers.

 

Now that China has essentially neutered Hong Kong, you have to wonder how long it will be util they make the big move on Taiwan. And how it could suck in The USA.

 

If you are calling Mr. Potatohead these days, he won’t be coming anymore. Yes, he has now been gender neutralized. He is now just Potatohead. Is Mother Goose still a mother?

 

I’m super friendly with 25 letters of the alphabet. I just don’t know why.

 

Normally notable Dems don’t feel the heat of accusations because media typically goes laissez faire on us. So, there must be something real about these Cuomo misdoings now that we see reporting on them across the ideological spectrum.  

 

The Answer:

The first cabinet meeting was held at Mount Vernon February 25, 1793, and in attendance were George, Thomas Jefferson (Secy of State), Alexander Hamilton (Secy Of Treasury), Henry Knox (Secy of War) and Edmond Randolph (Attorney General)

 

As I look around what’s happening on the major fronts, I think we in a state of indecision all over the place. Nobody being really sure of what will happen next, from the financial markets to the Government to Repubs to Kids in school, to variants on the horizon to my beloved Red Sox… a mystery team for sure. Yes, my beloveds. Who knows?

 

What did the Buffalo say to his son we he left for college? Bison.

 

 

 

 

 

No more heroes.

 

Today's Tids Issue 4,847

Bring Back People:

 

I miss loyalty of fans to teams and teams to fans. The inner enjoyment of rooting for your heroes who, before the emergence of the Curt Flood era, would stay with their teams, becoming like members of the community. And we would with our hearts through thick and thin. Teams run by mathematicians just don’t have the same heart. Yet today, many fans like the idea of trading and deals. Maybe sports fanaticism has passed me by.

 

Whoever invented knock, knock jokes should get a no bell prize

 

I immediately thought of Ben Hogan when I heard of Tiger Woods’ accident yesterday. Ben after a terrible accident in the late 1940’s that should have killed him, went on to become of the icons of golf lore after painful courageous rehabilitation. But he was younger than Tiger. You have to wonder how Tiger’s legs will stand up to the rigors of professional championship golf. It will be a challenge for the great one to come all the way back, but old Woods has beaten big physical challenges before.

 

What would be the result of a massive all Cyber WWIII? It seems we could get there quite easily.  The possible ramifications are endless, and could be devastating to societies. Maybe more than any bomb.

 

The Question:

Here is a Question that will certainly generate arguments. Who are considered the Top Ten All Time Best Golfers?

 

The Headlines:

--Tech Stocks Under Pressure Early As Investors Look To Value Stocks, Stocks Left Behind During Growth Stock Runup;  Dow Bounces Back Well After Weak, Negative Opening; Nasdaq Comes back after Morning Dip.

--Biden OMB Director Nominee Neera Tanden In Trouble; Controversial Nominee Insults Everybody; Losing Support Of Dems And Repubs

--Biden Signs Exec Order To Have US Officials Look At US Key Industry Dependence On Foreign Suppliers; China Targeted As Supplier Of Material For EV Batteries, Consumer Computer Chips, Pharmaceuticals and Minerals for Electronics. 

--Hong Kong Freedoms Disappearing As Last Remnants of Political Opposition Have Been Removed.

EU Hitting Russia With More Sanctions Over Navalny.

--Putin Orders His Top Counterintelligence People To Aggressively Address Western cyber Attempts To Destabilize The Country.

 

Mitt Romney said yesterday that if Trump plans to run in 2024 he will win Repub nomination in a landslide. Hmmm. For what remains of republicans.

 

Five of six scientists say Russian Roulette is safe.

 

The new Biden Press secretary, Jen Psaki, just looks condescending.

The last thing any sensible country should want is having its citizens getting used to Government hand out checks.

 

A Spanish magician has a grand magical show and at the end he says he will disappear after counting to three. He starts to count, "Un, dos..." Kazaam! He vanished without a tres.

 

Ken Jennings turned out to be a very good replacement for the departed Jeopardy host Alex Trebek. But I tis selection process of trying to find AT’s replacement we now have as the temp host a the Jeopardy Executive Producer named Mike Richards. He doesn’t compare to Jennings. To me he comes across as too much a corporate mechanic. There will be many more hosts tested including Katie Couric, Aaron Rogers, Bill Whitaker and Mayim Bialik.

 

I worked at a pretty good publishing company that was swallowed by a big fish that was swallowed by a whale. Every new CEO who came in was basically an accountant whose words were always, “I am a people person”. They obviously had no concept of the intelligence of the people to whom they were talking.

 

Nobody has ever complained about their parachute not opening.

 

I always felt that quarterly profit reporting killed American industry.

 

“Not one politician has died from the virus, lost their job, had their business or home looted, missed a haircut, worried about where their next paycheck was coming from, or wears a mask (unless on camera.) I don’t know, but it sure feels like we are being played.” –Rip McIntosh

 

The Answer:

Number Ten on this list is Byron Nelson. #9 Is Tom Watson followed by #8 Bobby Jones, #7 Sam Snead, #6 Gary Player, #5 ben Hogan, #4 Arnold Palma er, #3 Walter Hagan, #2 Tiger Woods. And of course, tat must mean that Jack Nicklaus. Another list has the same Ten, but lists Hogan as #3. Another list replaces tom Watson with Phil Michelson. And yet another list dropped Hagan and Player for Lee Trevino and Michelson, But Hagan and Player are numbers 11 and 12. This last list also goes to 100. Here’s the rest of the top 25. After Player we have Gene Sarazen, Fred Couples, Nick Faldo, Dustin Johnson, Harry Vardon, Young Tom Maoris, Old Tom Morris, Raymond Floyd, Bernhard Langer, Seve Ballesteros, Johnny Miller, Nick Price and at #25 -- Hale Irwin.

 

When the world is all awhirl. holding a loving hand will bring the calm.

 

And the Lord said unto John, "Come forth and receive eternal life."

But John came fifth and won a toaster.