What flew over the cuckoo's nest?

Today's Tids Issue 2,250
Opening Stuff:

Happy Hanukkah everybody!

A WikiLeaks item reveals that Arab people felt better about America because of "Desperate Housewives" and David Letterman. I don't know about you but I feel worse for America becasue of David Letterman and Desperate. Let's hope they don't think Jersey Shore is America. I really hate being defined abroad by US Television.

You have to wonder about the sincerity of the newly empowered Republicans when they name "The Prince of Pork", Kentucky Rep Hal Rogers, as Chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. He says that the people voted and I hear them! Yeah, sure! Lets hope the tax payers aren't getting barbecued...again.

The Question: 
A new poll this week had GW Bush approval ratings up to 47%, far above his exit ratings. The poll also rated all modern day Presidents starting with Kennedy. How do you think they rate?

The Headlines:

--Market Looks Up After Better Jobless Report.
--Democrats Reluctantly slogging Towards Obama Compromise Tax Plan That Serve All Americans.
--New Jobless Claims Fall Again.
--WikiLeaks Payment Processor To Sue Credit Card Companies For Their refusal To Process Donations To Company.
--Chasen Murder Mystery Apparently Solved; Lone Man On Bicycle Who Later Took Own Life Named As Killer; Police Say Not A Murder for Hire Conspiracy But Robbery Gone bad.
--Morgan-Stanley will Pay 10-25% Less In Bonuses This Year Due To Volatile Market Conditions.
--FBI Stings Averts Bombing Disaster At Maryland Recruitment Center

Back to More Stuff:
Now Obama knows what every recent President has learned. Peace in the Middle East is a nice idea, but love isn't the answer. Yesterday the US esentially thorough up their hands and walked away.

I thought the NFL season ended Monday night after the Pats firmly beat the Jets! But there's a quarter of the season left and it is meaningful to more teams than ever. And this week's picks are as tough as they get, and what makes them tougher are that many of the slightly favored teams are visiting teams. Like the Pat's at Chi, Denver/Ariz, TB/Wash, Phil/Dallas and Balt/Houst. I think home teams Buffalo, Pitt, Jax, NO, SF, NYJets and San Diego (KC's Cassel had an appendectomy last night) will win. As will Visitors, Indy, Giants, Atlanta and Green Bay. So now the tougher ones: I got to go with my heart and pick the Pats over "da Bears". Then I go Arizona, Tampa Bay, Dallas and Baltimore. Last week's 10-6 brought us to 128-63 (67%). I hate to think what next week looks like.

Among the many records achieved during Monday night's Pats-Jets game was the most arrests ever of intoxicated Pats fans after the game. What do you expect in 20 degree weather? It was all medicinal.

An insightful reader with consistently keen observations on Tid's remarks, yesterday sends this reply to a piece about Tea Party power gains: "Or. this means that the insiders are setting them up to get crushed by the system so they will be gone in four years...". Yes, you never know what's really happening in Washington...especially when they say they are being open and honest with you!

There's talk going around that points out that the US didn't really get serious about Wiki until it was revealed that the next big leak was to be about big banking and financial institution operations. We know where the real power lies.

I debated yesterday on whether or not to add to the Elizabeth Edwards onslaught. I decided that this pleasant women with nice children and relatives who will miss her dearly had had enough, and I couldn't add to it. I received several notes thanking me for not adding to the pile-on. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that her sleazebag husband would announce for the President in 2012 "Because Elizabeth would want that way". He is that low.

I actually had another Q for today, but I'll just use it as an informational piece for all of us who get confused at Dog Shows. The AKC divides all breeds into 8 groups. For instance, the big show in RI this weekend expects 5,000 dogs including 160 breeds. You have your Sporting dogs (Setters, Retrieves, Spaniels). You got the Hounds, the Terriers, the Toys. Then there are the Working dogs (Boxers, Dobermans, Huskies) and the Herding Dogs (Collies et. al.). A big catch-all category, Non-Sporting Dogs, includes poodles (Originally a hunter), Alaskan Eskimo, Dalmatians and French Boxers. The eigth group is called "Miscellaneous" and includes breeds that nobody understands like the ever popular Xoloitzcuinili! These dogs can compete in that category but do earn any Championship points. It is expected that they will be included in the new "Dream Act working its way through Congress. So...feel smarter?

Vegetarians will probably be dismayed knowing that animal products are widely available and indeed critical to many products they all use regularly. 1. Plastic shopping bags and in the future disposable diapers and hispital gowns. 2.Animal stearic acid help bicycle and car tires hold shape under surface friction. 3. Wood glue in instruments like violins and furniture. 4. BioFuels. Yes veggie people, it's not just corn and sugar cane. There's Beef bio-diesel and chicken bio-dieesl Yum. 5. Fireworks! (No hot dogs or firecrackers on the 4th! Gadzooks. 6. Fabric Softener. 7. Shampoo and Conditioner. Manufacturers have removed the word "animal" from ingredients lists to fool the vegans. 8. Toothpaste. 9; White and brown sugar. Wouldn't life as a vegetarian be an awful thing...always doubting what you touch or wear or eat. God, life is tough enough.

At this reading only Buffalo, Denver, Cincinnati, Carolina, Detroit and Arizona are dead in the NFL Playoff picture. 4-8 Dallas is near death, yet 4-8 San Fran has a decent chance in the NFC West. That's why picking games has been so tough this year. Anybody can win and that includes Buffalo and Cleveland who actually look quite strong at times. Unless the bottom drops out for some current leaders, the final 12 looks like the Pats, Jets. Pitt, Balt, KC, Jax and Indy. The next best to make it in the AFC are SD and Oakland. In the NFC I'm seeing the Giants, Eagles, St. Louis, Bears, Packers, Saints and Atlanta. Tampa Bay and Seattle are hanging around and Seattle has a real chance to get in. In the meantime there are four games left and they will be wars throughout the leagues.

Has there been a more threatening lame duck session of Congress than this one? This so called dream act just incentivizes illegal behavior. It says, "hey common' over. You can't lose." On the other hand, it is refreshing to see that the Supreme Court seems to be leaning in favor of Arizona's Law that would require employers to check documentation. Let's face we already have plenty of immigration laws fair to people throughout the world. Frankly I'm tired of being called an immigrant hater because I believe in laws.

The Answer:
JFK actually had relative low approval ratings while in office but his dramatic martyrdom combined with pleasant positive memories make him the Prez with the highest approval rating at 85%. Ronald is second at 74% followed by Clinton (69 - Way up from "most dishonest" after Monica), GHW Bush (64- With Clinton, Johnson, up the most since 2006 poll), Ford, (61), Carter (51 - Most and only down since last poll), Johnson (49), "W" (47) and Milhouse (Still a lowly 29).

The End:
Has Congress ever been nuttier? The left is typically illogical, but they get irrational when they lose. It must be the old cornered animal thing. Kum bye ya.

Valor reflected in Dramatic Seas.

Today's Tids Issue 2,232
Opening Stuff:

The fall sky transformed the the wind driven seas of Narragansett Bay into a srtiking painting of shades of grays highlighted by glistening silver. It was a solemn, yet imposing body of water that gave welcome this day to bands of splashing seals down from Maine for winters feast. An imposing body of water that had a special look for the day. A look that seemed to honor heroes in a way that paid to tribute their selfless service to America. Nature came to celebrate the veterans of US Wars. It was the perfect backdrop for honor, accomplishment, giving of life. And often the soul. Let's pause for a minute.

How come when you play a hole on a windy day, the wind blows 25 knots when you going towards the hole but just about stops when going the other way?

The Question:
I thought that Jonathon Winters was one of the funniest comedians ever. Name three of his characters.

The Headlines:

--Americans Salute Brave Soldiers.
--Pessimism Dominates Opening Of G-20 Meetings; Intense Split Over Currency And Trade Policies; Many Irate Over Fed's Plan To Pump In $600 Billion Which Would Devalue The Dollar.
--Poor Cisco Performance has Markets On Tech Slide.
--Fixed Mortgage rates At New Lows.
--Foreclosures Down; Downturn Mainly the Result Of Paperwork Snafus.
--Powerful Bomb Rocks Central Karachi Pakistan

Back to More Stuff:
C-Span should be going to South Korea to cover the G-20. Now that will be entertainment. Of course one of the great confrontations may be Obama meeting with Chinese leaders after extolling the for three days the virtues of their chief competitor India, and then trying to explain why it is good for the Chinese to have there loans paid back in devalued dollars.

The world is getting so weird that it is making Jonathan Winters look sane!

Things are looking up for the beleaguered Tids sports department as they came through with another reasonable week. And it could have been better if Detroit Buffalo had held on for cool upsets. Last week's 10-3 brings us to 86-43 (67%). This week is loaded with tough picks including Balt-Atlanta (Tonight), Pitt-NE, Minn-Chi, Tenn-Miami, Buff-Det, Jets-Cleve, KC-Den, St. Louis-SF,and Phil-Wash. I'm going Pitt (And that hurts big time), Balt, Minn, Tenn, Buff, Cleveland, KC, SF and Philly. The rest of the winners will be the Giants, Jax, Indy,TB and Arizona. Help!

I see where Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, (D) Kent Conrad, is saying that "the nation faces the real possibility of becoming a second teir economic power if it fails to address the multi-trillion deficit." Where was he when the Dems were spending the money, pressuring banks to ease mortgage requirements, watching an economy where the only available new jobs were government jobs?

I don't mind the World Health Organization (WHO) working to bring nutrition to third world countries, but stop sending menu suggestions to my local paper. And meat producing countries like Brazil say that inducing people to eat fruit and nuts could be an economic disaster for their economy. Leave me alone!

There were only 41 Pilgrims on the Mayflower. It is hard to belive how many millions of Americans now say they are the progeny of that brave band of separatists. In case you are interested, Presidents John Admas, John Q. Adams, Zachery Taylor, U.S. Grant, James Garfield, FDR and GHW and GW Bush are all descendants of that Plymouth group. Also, Sarah Palin is a descendant. I wonder what that means?

Generations Department:
This morning on the radio I heard two men reminissing good naturedly about where they fell on the draft lottery. A third member of the team, a younger man, was in awe saying things like "You had to do that?". I, listening, was remembering the fear of being taken at any time because there was no lottery and everybody was eligible.

And, how about the states which are saying to the telephone companies, you are not obligated to mass print phone books any more? This ain's your grandpa's America.

The Answer: When he was in an asylum somewhere, Jonathan Winters was keeping everybody laughing. He could become any character at any time, but is best know for Maudie Frickert. Elwood P. Sluggins and Dr. Bellenhoffer, He was one of the all time great improvisational inspirations I would start laughing before he spoke.

The End:
Jonathan Winters once said, "If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it." I wonder how that wouold play in a socialist America?

Winter's must have slo time traveled into Today's world of reality TV when he said "Now the freaks are on television, the freaks are in the movies. And it's no longer a sideshow, it's the whole show.The colorful circus and the clowns and the elephants , for all intents and purposes, are gone. And, we are only dealing with the freaks.