This is Easter

Today's Easter Tids Issue #2,573

My grandson is here with me this morn. That's always good for a few laughs, But this morning, this Good Friday, as usual I like to focus on that very important event, the one that too often these days gets lost in the fake green grass of Easter baskets.

Yet, my grandson' presence makes me wonder. "So Granddad, why is it called Good Friday when they killed a very nice man? Huh, Grandad. Huh?"
And then I think back to that day, when following days of torture and ridicule, the son of God as a human was made to carry that enormously heavy cross through the town, up that mountain road. I can only imagine the innocent eyes of children watching this inconceivable event. Hiding behind the skirts of their Mom's, they surely saw the love in the eyes of this man with the cross. Wondered as only kids can. Why can't the grown-ups see what I do. How happy these children must have felt when men and women stepped in to give aid as the man falls again, and again, and again. How confused these kids became when adults jeered at this tortured man, this beaten human who looked so kind even in the face of pain. You have to wonder what the children did that day, when Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross and left to die.

"Father forgive them for they know not what they do."
"Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
"Woman, behold your son: Behold Behold your mother."
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me."
"I thirst."
"It is finished."
"Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."

How many children three days later stood with their moms and dads outside the tomb of Joseph of Aramithea. How many saw the new light in the eyes of their parents. How many of those innocent hearts felt the goodness of that man in the crisp Easter day air around them.

Happy beautiful Easter and Wonderful Passover everybody.

Grab your plate.

Today's Tids Issue 2,568
Opening Stuff:

There are about six months, whose names tend to bring rays of sun into my black heart. April is one of them. Maybe it's the prospects to the Easter Bunny. Or when the rebirth from Winter really starts moving along. Or maybe it's just thinking about standing with others out side the tomb of Joseph of Aramithea, and feeling the comfort and warmth from this enormous light that freed the world and brightened it for ever. Yup, maybe that's it..

The White House is minimizing the open mike issue. Duh! There is no more telling statement about the trouble this President will wrought if reelected than the words "This is my last election". If I were the Repub candidate, my campaign slogan would be "Don't vote for a President who says he will only tell us the truth after he is elected". And, doesn't have to worry about reelection. Pretty scary, huh.

The two scariest words in the modern world -- "Data Breach".

Silly Me, Department:
I thought the headline, "Obama calls for the Buffet Rule meant that he was going transparent, stepping out from behind the anachronisms and thinly disguised organizational slogans, by saying to all what he has always meant for the country -- Step right up to the US of A Buffet table. Grab a plate and load up. No questions asked. Come back for seconds. Thirds. It's really scary when you consider that a plate is also called China.

In case you missed yesterday's April Fool edition, don't worry -- it was written in invisible ink. But, who knows there may be a few fooleries remaining.

Cody Ross has a Fenway swing. I think he may have just won the Lottery.

The Question:

1. Who were the co-equal partners of Steve Jobs in the founding of Apple? Bonus: Name the two all-time winningest college basketball programs.

The Headlines:

--Suu Kyi Party Wins Myanmar Election; Hopes For Brighter Economic Future Forced Military Junta To Soften..
--Admin Targeting Romney; Will Emphasize Lack International Experience.
--Santorum Says he ill Press On regardless Of Wisconsin Outcome.
--Afghan Soldiers Continue To Weapons On NATO Allies.
--Huge Obama Donor Abake Assongba Accused Of Defrauding Businesses.
--Tids Editorial Board To endorse President Obama In Re-election; Erudite Journalists Point To His Experience In Veiled Promised To Key World Players.
--Country Music Awards: Entertainer of year - Taylor Swift; Male - Blake Shelton; Female - Miranda Lambert; Group - Lady Antebellum; Duo- Thompson Square; Newcomer - Scotty MCreery.; Red Solo Cup Performance Highlighted Evening.

I miss a lot of TV dialogue when chewing crunchy Cheetos.

It's very hard not to believe that the RI Legislature is made up of thugs and bullies.

When an athlete's wife doesn't cooperate in a domestic violence investigation, it doesn't make the sports creep any less of a monster.

If you have any doubts that our culture is in steep decline, here's the first Internet headline I saw Sunday morning as I opened my home page: "Katy Perry wears 'slime' sports bra." Say what?

Self Defeating Helpful Hint Department:
On the front page of the paper Saturday, the editors provided helpful hints on when to go to the DMV to avoid long lines. Not any more!

The more and more I listen to the President and can only come away with 3 conclusions. 1. He hates America. 2. He has never lived in America. 3. He's a total fool. We know he isn't a total fool. So maybe he is just another politician willing to paint America black for a few votes. Oh, sorry about black. I should have said red.

Nothing says the essence of Easter like Mahler's great "Resurrection Symphony" -- Synphony #2.

I see where Al Gore fired Keith Obermann because he could live up to the standards of Al's TV network "Current". Al Gore has standards? Now, that's bigger news than Katy Perry's sports bra.

Diversity gone amok Department:
In Netherlands the Dutch Government is scrapping multiculturalism: They say it will abandon the long standing model of multiculturalism that has encouraged Muslim immigrants to create a parallel society. They go on to say they will shift priorities to the values of the dutch people. Immigrants will have to learn the Dutch language, and no subsidies will be offered to help them integrate. All immigrants must obey Dutch laws with no exceptions, including dress. In essence, the government says, we want our own citizens to "Feel at Home" in their own country.

Kieth Obermann is basically a spoiled child.

A clear example of the media not doing their job is that fourth estate's lemming like pursuit of the Pink Slime story. Not one jumped up to say "Hey wait a minute. Is this really bad for people or just Twitter world hysteria". All they achieved was putting good people out of work, increasing the cost of a solid protein food and killing more cattle. Pretty sad.

How smart are the owners of Current TV? To replace Obermann, they picked client 9 -- leather suited, whip lashing Eliot Spitzer, who was a total arrogant joke on CNN-HLN and produced no ratings.

Speaking of crash and burn, since when did some one think it was a good idea to celebrate sports wins by turning over cars and setting fires?

What if someone in an Islamic country started twittering misinformation to encourage the overthrow of America, and the kids who turn over cars after basketball games said "hey great Idea", and twittered to more un-knowledgeable masses, what would the Press do then.

Almost near: Chapter 65 continues --"Tucker, breathless ran down the hall to his suite. He pulled out his key card and inserted it in the slot. Red light. He took it out, rubbed it on his sweater. Again. Again. Again. Red Light. Red light. His eyes showed the terror of a man on a railroad track as a train bore down. "Rebecca, it's Tucker, Mommy's here with me, Open the door. We're a family Rebecca. You, me, Mom and Sheila. It was always meant to be this way. It's why I fixed everything for you."
He heard motion inside.
"Rebecca?" softly now, Tucker used his charm. Rebecca, Hi."
He heard a click and metal moving against metal. He turned the doorknob, a smile growing on his face. He shoved and shoved. Nothing happened. She had put in place the safety lock.
"Open the door you little bastard!"
He slid to the floor, suddenly sobbing, broken. All I wanted was a family.
Rough arms pulled him up. He saw the face of Detective Sparrow staring him down. It was obvious to Tucker that the Detective would like to kill him now.
"Don't do anything that would ruin your career, John. Tucker looked at him with soulless eyes.

The Answer:

1. Steve Wozniak and Robert Wayne were the other two in the threesome that got Apple moving. Wayne wasn't there long, but his 10% cut makes him worth about $35 billion today. 2. All you have to do is look at Monday's UKU game. Yup it's Kentucky and Kansas, and the are followed by North Carolina, Duke, Syracuse, Temple, Saint John's UCLA, Notre Dame and Pennsylvania.

One of the battles going on in congress now is the corporate tax rate, which is actually the highest in the world (But not necessarily the effective rate). The way I look at is this: Lower the taxes for those who because of free market forces must run sufficiently, or raise them to run inefficient government, citizen burdening operations. Where is money better spent.

A headline says 21 Million from 1941 census "Still" alive. Hey, I'm one of them. Scary. "Still"?

Civility starts at the Top.

Saturday Shorts!
The Stuff:

This is a catch-up Tids. I always try to respect Good Friday by at least keeping this piece of trash to a minimum. So today we will briefly catch up with yesterday. And of course right the wrongs of April Fools Tids including reminding The Novel followers that Thursday’s “Through the Same Eyes” was just an April first special. Monday resumes the real tract. But, who knows, maybe Paul should be looking over his shoulder.

One thing you realize when catching up with a day is that there really isn’t much going on each day unless it is written about. That most of what seems like events is the extrapolation of minor insignificant happenings for the purpose of filling space or air time. And most of what the free press does is make people mad or turn people against each other. They rarely fulfill the destiny of the Peter Zenger trial.

Speaking of keeping an eye on the evil doers – our politicians -- one particularly important politician – our own beloved Prime time, 0-Man, The Prez – is watch-dogging the press. He decries what he calls the vitriol of some of in the journalistic profession, namely Beck, Limbaugh and their wannebees. Of course he doesn’t seem to mind the poisonous Obermann or sacrilegious, sanctimonious, bitter Mahr.

I have a new nick name for the President – The great Mocker! Isn’t he sounding a bit juvenile these days as he ridicules the so-called opposition who just happen to be about 55-60% of loving Americans. It’s one thing to disagree, but to insult honest people when you are the leader and supposed unifier is unconscionable in a civilized country. It’s one thing to question. But it is unbecoming of a leader of free country to demean. Why would the nation want to come together under this man? Civility comes from the top.

BTW, the almost universally democrat Rhode Island is up in arms against the Great Mocker. As you may have read, many here have been devastated by flooding. The 0-Man was in Boston for a fundraiser Friday, a short 10-15 minute helicopter ride to step in and offer a bit of hope from the top. To drop into a place that overwhelmingly supported his presidency. A place where the local Patrick Kennedy and his father led a charge that radically changed to positive the direction of his campaign. I guess the teleprompter didn’t fit into the helicopter.

How about that Abby Sunderlund? The able 16 year old sailor turned the corner going around the treacherous Cape Horn on Thursday. If you like bravery and courage mixed with superior sailing skills you have to tune in to this drama. Follow her at http://www.abbysunderland.com/

Why do I feel these days that the US 0f A has become Of the Government, By the Government, For the Government.

Reading Between the Lines Movie Reviews:
--The Clash of the Titans director is hoping that the lavish special effects and 3D will mask the deficiencies in the plot. Is this what Avatar has wrought – The clash of the Geeks and the Writers. This is about Persius the half god son of Zeus. It follows the Greek Mythology pretty closely, but it doesn’t achieve the drama that is in those original tales. Maybe that myth is as weak as the Greek economy and so outrageous that it has lost any sense of credibility.
--We also have the mega tear jerker starring Miley Cyrus and her real life beau Liam Hemsworth as teen Summer lovers. Cyrus is a distant, rebellious young teen shipped off by divorced Mom Kelly Preston from NY to spend the summer with dad Greg Kinnear at a Georgia beach. Predictable. Most noticeable is Miley’s inability to act. And especially to act sullen.

Did you read where John McPherson suggests as a way to reduce over crowding in prisons, convict smaller criminals?

Have a beautiful Easter! Let the morning sun reinvigorate your heart.

One Relevant Day

Today's Tids Issue 2,101
A Relevant Thought:


This morning I can only think of a man, a young man nailed to a cross, blood streaming down from thorns pressed into a skull; anything else but remembering sacrifice for the good of all humans seems trivial. Every once in while we should just think of one event, an event so meaningful that it changed the course of God’s earth forever. We live it seems in a world of people seeking irrelevancy. Yet on a day like today majorities of people overlook true relevancy. A day so rich in meaning that it could change all lives.

Yesterday a woman I have come to know spoke through tears of the death of her husband. She spoke of looking down at the new roads she must now travel. New roads with cars streaming by. Nobody stopping to share her intense grief. Why should they she reasoned. The world continues to go on while I endure the weight of the single most traumatic event in my life, she thought. Yet all the world knows of that death in the year 33AD. A death which would beget intense love. A death that is the foundation of all hope. And yet, the cars stream by.

There is but one thought that is relevant today.

I would feel ashamed to write anything else.