Stunned.

 

Today's Tids Issue 5,333 

Take the year off: 

 

 

Halleluiah! Grid lock is back. Seriously, do we really need any more Federal laws for anything. I believe the burgeoning and cumbersome mountain of laws is now 98% about interpreting and executing laws we already have, from immigration to criminal activity. Not adding. And most laws should be with the states, anyhow. 

 

There are just Ten simple commandments, and they work pretty well.  

 

But, the Repubs have their own little gridlock operation in progress... getting themselves together. It could be several takes to find a speaker to lead the country back into meaningful gridlock. That battle all starts at noon, and it is felt McCarthy won’t get enough votes on the first ballots. So, there will be another and perhaps another, and then maybe a new name like Scalise will emerge. It could be a confusing day. But then, confusion in DC seems like the new Normal. 

 

God! Last night’s NFL game was eerie, as man lay basically dead on the field, his heart stopped. Only to be brought back after ten minutes of CPR. You saw in those dreadful moments a bit of the real essence of life, of living with others. The gamut of what life is all about; the emotions seen, the fact that when the game is over it is still men being friends with men, loving them as brothers, family; big burly aggressive men crying. Staring into nothingness, disbelief. Human beings with hearts and emotions. It was a moving tableau of real-life last night. And I think a lot of people felt it. 

 

The Question: 

Name the five largest airlines in the world by passenger traffic. In the USA? 

 

The Headlines: 

--Markets Begin First 2023 Trading Week Opening Higher Following Worst Year Since 2008; Investors Like Signs of China Recovery But Warn of Continuing Headwinds. 

--Intel Introduces the World Fastest Mobile Processor. 

--US Consumers Have Spent More Than a Trillion from Their Pandemic Savings Stockpile.  

--Russia, Shaken by Ukraine Attack, Expected to Increase Drone Attacks.  

--Pope, Pele, and Barbara Laid to Rest. 

 

Now Tesla will be a factor amidst a lot of worthy competitors with deep pockets. The wild, wild west of EV didn’t last that long.  

 

One of the Fed laws that now won’t get passed is the one Dems want for a higher fed minimum wage. Just think about that for a minute. We all are in a death battle to slow inflation and Dems want to raise a major contributor to the cost of products? Defeating inflation will raise real wages without any more laws. Politicians can be quite insane, or is that inane, at times.  

 

I used to jump on planes quite a bit traveling to various parts of the country for biz. I always found Southwest a total pleasure and of course I learned all the intricacies of their system to make my life more efficient. But last week’s fiasco shined the light on a house of cards built by “Professional” management to serve Wall Street. MBA’s running a company to meet the demands of a dissertation. The airline was founded by a hands-on guy, Herb Kelleher, and the airline flourished because he knew what made customers happy and not so happy, and he doubled down to assure that, even while running it like a good business, customer satisfaction would be number one, providing continuity for growth and revenue, and profit. The oddity here is that if you run a business to satisfy customers, and by the way, contented employees, revenues and efficiencies will more often than not occur naturally, and Wall Street will always be happy.  

 

Lots of things will occur naturally if humans don’t jump in and muck it up. 

 

Regardless of the big money aspects of college sports. Sports is still an avenue out of circumstances for millions even if they are not being paid for Name, Image and Likeness. In fact, sports afford opportunities for kids in high school to break away from dangerous paths. For every QB Millionaire there are a thousand other kids who found a positive way to a better future. That is, if they keep their eyes open. 

 

Though, NIL still has its good points. That is that kids coming out of public schools may learn to understand that Big Business is not the dastardly evil doers as the liberal messages describe. Players will soon realize that the healthier and less encumbered businesses will produce more money for alums to spread around.  

 

BTW, our laws say that Gridlock can’t begin until a speaker is seated. Until then it is just a bunch of guys and gals sitting at desks in a cavernous hall.  

 

BTW, George Santos is sitting at one of those desks. What a country! 

 

A former Governor of RI, Lincoln Almond died this morning, I liked Linc, as we called him. I can remember seeing him and his wife sitting in their regular old Chevy in the parking lot nest to “Salty Brine” Beach watching the fishing boats and Block Island Ferry come and go through the Galilee breachway. Just like me and my wife, and others in their cars. Just enjoying the simplicity of the beauty of this state. He was that kind of Governor who tried to make us all believe that at the core there was a lot of good here in tis quirky at times state.  

 

It will be interesting to see how the NFL decides to continue playing the postponed game. The game itself has some playoff ramification, but so does the next game for both Cincy and Buffalo.  

 

The Answer: 

Worldwide China Southern is the biggest, but not far ahead of American Airlines, the two most dominant. Next is China Eastern followed by Air China, United Continental, Delta, Southwest, Ryanair, Easy Jet and Asiana Airways. The biggest US airlines are American, Delta, United, Southwest, (Air Canada), Alaska, Jet Blue, Spirit, WestJet and Volaris.  

 

So, let’s pause a bit for the Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin.