Not quite War.

Today's Tids Issue # 2.329

Opening Stuff:

A brilliant Ivy League bound student, Rachel Hachero, pistol whipped her mom and dragged her to a Nissan car dealer to co-sign for a car she couldn't afford. She should do well on Wall Street after graduation.

NBC's "The Event" is beginning to live up to some of the promises.

How long before John Calipari leaves Kentucky just ahead of the NCAA sheriff?

Daily Question:
Knowing that Book Clubbers can be embarrassed or praised based on their reccomendation for the monthly book, NPR has come up with a list of five winners. What do you think they are?

The Headlines:

--Consumer Confidence Index Falls On Anxiety Over Increasing Gas Prices.
--Libyan Rebels Pushed Back from Daffy Home Town.
--Japan On Maximum Nuke Alert.
--Israel Would Annex West Bank If Palestinians Request State Recognition; Move Would Effectively End Peace Prospects.
--Court Hearing Today Will Decide Elements Of Wisconsin Union Bill.

Back to More Stuff:
I thought the Prez speech was well delivered and certainly innocuous enough not to hurt him in the polls. In fact, it may give him a boost. It was just 2 to 3 times longer than needed to say what he said.

Oh yeah, and "...Turning it over to NATO" doesn't mean US troops won't be involved.

We could call this the "Innuendo" War. Decisions seem to be based on little definitions designed to escape the inevitable and the reality of the conflict. Like for instance, when does a citizen in danger become a rebel member of an attacking force?

But let's face it, the reason many of these uprisings are working is because Bush stirred up and gave courage to the Middle East populace by bringing down in a humiliating manner a dictator and tyrant in Iraq.

The computer expert with the difficult commute had a hard drive.

I see that HBO is doing a movie on Sarah Palin and McCain. We know it will probably be a major hatchet job, but what I can't understand is Julianne Moore playing Sarah. The redhead with the soft, almost regal features does appear to have the earthy dynamics of Palin.

A lot of coroprate eyes will be riveted to the Supreme Court case involving a potentially huge class action sexual harrassment suit against Wal-Mart. A decision in favor of the plaintiff could begin a class action move of up to 1.5 Million plaintiffs and the continuation of suits already brought against Goldman and Bayer. And of course many more to come. US companies may move all corporate headquarters to Iceland.

Every day you can find an article or hear a news cast with hints on how to live longer. I think not listening to political discussions would be a good one.

When you tune into the new Dana Delany TV show "Body of Proof" set in Philadelphia, you'll be looking at Providence RI. Yup, the show was shot in Prov, but I guess they thought Philly had a better image for the show. Go figure.

The Answer:
NPR commentator Lynn Neary has been embarrassed herself, so she put together this list of good discussion books that are enjoyable to read: Parrot and Oliver in America - Peter Cary; Wench - Dolan Perkins Valdez; Faithful Place - Tanya French; The Imperfectionists - Tom Rachman; Sunset Park - Paul Auster.

Good New Finish Department:

South Carolina Legislators are about to pass the "Incandescent Bulb Freedom Act". This in response to anger against the feds telling them how to light their closets and reading lamps. Good for them!

"Almost Near" will return in all of its glory tomorrow.

And…voters know what?

Today's Tids Issue 2,215)
Opening Stuff:

As the voting season heats up, I’m reminded of a John Wayne quote: “Life is tough. It is especially tough when you’re stupid.”

Let’s have a big hand for the valiant comeback try by the Americans in the Ryder Cup. And polite applause for the gutsy work of Graham McDowell who was admittedly nervous beyond comprehension.

While searching for the meaning of life, I came across an equally perplexing conundrum. What would happen if Pat Sajek’s final spin landed on “bankrupt”?

If you have been reading the Tids for a while you probably have noticed that litterers are among the lowest form of human being in my mind. Irresponsible, uncaring, uncivilized are adjectives that quickly come to mind. So, how surprised was I to learn that litterers held their own convention in Washington DC this past weekend. Now I don’t like to draw any conclusions, but the rally of unions and just about every liberal organization in Washington at the behest of the always angry and often illogical CNN commentator Ed Schultz left an awful lot of crap behind in the Nations mall! And this was a crowd that came to support the current travesty in Washington, appeared to be less than a quarter of the recent Tea Party “Restoring America” event – when a huge group came, listened, went home…and left no trash…at all. (See reports of amazed journalists who searched high and low for just one piece of paper.) Do we really want a country run by litterers?

The Question:
Q1; There was a lot of press yesterday and this morning about the new Supreme Court and it’s three women. But another milestone occurred with the opening of the session. What was it? Q2: Name the five most eligible females according to a CBS 60Mins/Vanity fair Poll.

The Headlines:

--Wall Street Opens Higher After Positive Stimulus Moves By Japan Bank.
--French Trader Jerome Kerviel Of Societe’ Genrale Convicted Of Fraud; Must Repay $6.8 Billion After Jail Time; SG Spokes Person Gratified That Well Regarded Bank Will Get It’s Positive Image Back.
--Russian Scientists Win Physics Nobel For Technology That Will Speed Up Computing And Enhance Touch Screens.
--Raids Kill Five German Islamists Training In Pakistan.
--France Rounds Up 12 Islamic Extremists In Southern Part of Country.
--Moody’s Warns Of Ireland Debt Downgrade; Irish Officials Retreat To McCarthy’s Pub For Additional Stimulus..

Back to More Stuff:
Did you see where two of the top ten pop music songs are by the Cast of Glee?

Those who were patient were rewarded. Rubicon is coming together, and cool and lethargic appearing Will Travers is in deep, deep danger, and still doesn’t know who all of his enemies are. Only two more episodes left and I’m hooked.

And I have to say that “The Event” has a unique ability to suck you in too. Even when key pasts of the plot are way out there and apparently not part of our world.

How come at the end of commercials for medicines that treat all sorts of female annoyances, the woman in the message always winds up with a new hair-do? Powerful medicine indeed!

Through the Same Eyes: Chapter 96 continues. –I pressed my body, my being, against his back. I felt his moistness, his warm seeping blood oozing through my blouse; on my chest. His life draining out upon me. I held him tightly as his weight started pulling me down. I strained to maintain comfort for him. I lowered my self to one knee still holding him hard and near.
“Call somebody…9111…I shouted!” but every body I now saw gaping were just too stunned. Paralyzed. “Wake up!” I shouted again. “This man needs help”. My lovely Kent is dying. Help me I said to myself.
He turned towards me. His eyes caressed my heart. My eyes started to drain. My chest heave. I lowered my mouth to his lips. And kissed him ever so tenderly, so gently. Drawing out all of the good I have known in him. Filling my body with a love I could never deny. That I know now will never leave.
He moved his head aside so his lips were at my ear.
“My beautiful Sarah/Maggie.” He whispered ardently, not as a man dying but as a man who has loved his love of me. “This is as it should be. I asked for more than you could give…”
“No, No Kent, you didn’t. I looked for every moment with you.” I whispered back. Almost violently. Don’t you understand? Don’t you understand? I thought. If he was to die, I wanted him have all of my love in his heart.
“I would never want to take you away from your family. That’s how much I loved you.” I could say nothing through the increasing beat of my sobs. “That I die, means you will always have my love as part of your life. You taught me how to have emotional meaning in my life that was always too pragmatic. Too logical. I have never had so much life in my being than I have had during these few months. And I am so content at this moment because you live. And, because all of my love that is in you will never falter after I’m gone. You will keep me alive as you love others.”
He started breathing rapidly.

Rahm Emanuel is behaving a lot like an Illegal Alien. He running for Mayor of Chicago Illegally, in that he has not satisfied residency requirement clearly defined in Chicago law. But like the border crossers, he is assuming the same “not for me” attitude as our southern border criminals. That legal exception that some say laws aren’t meant for the downtrodden. Wait a minute Emanuel isn’t downtrodden (He made $16.2 Million in his 2 year post Clinton banking stint.). I guess it’s the legal loophole that says, “not for the downtrodden and the privileged”.

I love the title of political satirist PJ O’Rourke’s new book: “Don’t Vote. It Just Encourages the Bastards.”

And whatever happened to PJ anyhow.

Let’s see…Paris Hilton (who should be sitting I jail like many would be without her financial resources) is about to start her new reality TV show. And this morning we hear that the lowly Eliot Spitzer is getting his own new TV show. This will certainly raise the intellectual standard for voters. Break the Law. Get famous. Make money. Nobody cares.

At the current rate, I expect that pretty soon there will be more physical therapists per person than Lawyers.

I see where bedbugs are starting to invade government offices in Washington. Maybe all of the workers there will quit.

How ironic is it that Public Employees Union superior health care packages will keep them living longer to collect superior pensions fund payments.

The Answer:
Q1: I thought it quite interesting that the supreme Court of a country founded by Protestants and ushered through its formative moments by Protestants was now comprised of 6 Catholics and 3 Jews. And no Protestants at all. And just think, as little as 50 years ago, many thought the JFK could never be elected. Do you think this is reflective of the decline of the famed “Protestant Work Ethic” in America? Q2: New SC Justice Elena Kagan (4%) is sixth on the most eligible women list. The list is topped by Jennifer Anniston (29%) and is followed by Haile Berry (21%), Elin Nordegrin (15%) Betty White (11%) and Lady Gaga (5%). Gentlemen…Start your engines.

The End:
How many times have I heard some one say that the future of American is dimmed because the majority of voters don’t know what they are voting for? That something that makes infinite sense doesn’t count because to many people won’t take the time or make the effort to understand what is really happening. “Just gimme what I want and leave me alone and I’ll be happily sitting around waiting for your next promise”.

The New England Patriots looked very exciting last n ight.

I’ll have another slice of pork please.

Today's Tids Issue 2,204
Opening Stuff:

When you observe the going’s on in government, you realize that these are meaty (Or juicy for vegans) times for satirists!

In a last minute effort to derail the TP’s “Unseat-the-incumbent’s-express”, 0-Man is going to ex-Pres Clinton for lessons on how to properly say “I feel your pain.”

Politics is tricky these days. You have the Democrats who do things in Congress that defy logic as well as the will of the people. You have the Republicans who talk about what to do and do nothing except trying to slip under the sheets with Dem leaders. And you have the Tea Party which the aforementioned two parties try to dismiss by saying the group stands for nothing…except getting rid of the fat and bloated existing parties.

The more I see various kinds of power brokers trying the undermine the Tea Party, the more I think the Tea Party must be doing something really well.

Brookins and Cassatt tell us they ‘hope that “Fun Guys” don’t die of anything serious’.

The Question:
Aside for the “Test Pattern” name five top rated TV programs for 1948…the year when the boob tube really started to infect people’s minds.

The Headlines:

--Strong New Housing Data Has Market Moving Froward.
--Economic Commission Reveals That Recession Was Over in June 2009.
--New ABC/Yahoo News Poll Says That Only 11% Former 0-Man Supporting Independents Think Dems Can Turn-around Economy.
--China Tells US To Butt Out Of South China Sea Disputes.
--Herriman Utah Neighborhood Blackened By Furious Fires Started By National Guard Firing Range Bullets.
--Aretha Franklyn’s Son Severely beaten At Detroit Gas Station.
--Ireland Now Carries Biggest Debt Burden In Europe; Selling $2Billion In Bonds To Test Confidence.

Back to More Stuff:
One of the major components of the recent very positive up tick in August retail sales was gasoline. In fact gasoline was the top gainer in retail sales. While the retail sales number was hailed as positive step forward towards recovery, the high incidence of gas sales actually meant that people couldn’t afford longer vacations that required air travel or overnight stays, so they were driving short a distances in the vicinity of their homes a lot of times.

Ben Stein Says: “Fathom the odd hypocrisy that Obama wants every citizen to prove they are insured, but people don’t have to prove they are citizens.”

How come a door that is typically hard to slam shut, closes easily when you forget your keys?

Nowhere has the phrase “Firing range” been more apt that in Herriman Utah.

RI weather analysts just reported that this just past summer was probably the warmest on record. This is sure to get the GW’ers a ranting. Just as last year’s near record coldest summer got the anti-GW’ers gloating. I’m thinking that maybe it’s just weather.

How about that Clueless Lane? Yesterday’s nice run-up was attributed to by many as the result of news that the recession ended in June 2009! Say what? How come the billionaire geniuses on WS didn’t know it then? Or, maybe they did and were just foolin’ us.

A lot of graphic artists want to redesign the US money. To make it more superficially competitive with the Euro, they rationalize. Many of the more opinionated so-called visual experts are not from the US! If we can’t keep US people working designing our own money, how can we ever expect to bring jobs back to the heartland. Some of the ideas are discouraging especially one set that featured the pics of 0-Man and Sacagawia as symbolic of the fabric of America. How about a gaggle of illegal aliens too? Let’s stick with the founders for pics hoping that maybe some people will reawaken to what made America great!

Great Moments in International Diplomacy Department:
All USSR Premier Khrushchev wanted to do when he visited LA in September of 1959 was to visit Disneyland. He was denied by the US because of security. He was irate! Wondering aloud in a short speech if the amusement park was “infected with cholera…or overrun with gangsters”. In a separate instance it was reported that the Khrushchev’s were sitting at a LA dinner with Bob Hope, David Nivin and Frank Sinatra. Mrs. Khrushchev was complaining about being barred from the Park. Sinatra leaned over to Nivin and said, “Tell the old broad that you and I will take em’ this afternoon!” There is no truth to the rumor that the shoe Nakita was banging on the desk at UN was Mickey Mouse’s.

Through the Same Eyes: Chapter 94 continues. I held my breath and was totally silent, listening for the merest scrape of a pebble beneath a shoe. A piece of sand moving unexpectedly. I leaned to the right and bent my head enough so I could look under the car. I saw feet walking away from me towards the spot where I parked. Is this a piece of luck or a trap? I had no choice. I slipped off my shoes. I may have up to ten seconds. Hunched over, I ran silently between the parked cars and the guard rail, often scraping my legs as spaces diminished. Now about fifteen feet ahead I saw the opening for the down ramp. I would have to reveal myself for a couple of seconds. I took the time to bend down again. The only visible legs were standing behind my car and appeared to be facing the other way. I crept a few more yards to the point where I would have to rise briefly and scamper the ramp. I paused. Sucked in my breath, and ran, shoes in hand, pebbles cutting my feet. I squeezed my eyes as little pain tears formed at the corners and ran down my cheeks.
Now I heard foot steps running. Running fast. As I ducked once again out of sight down into the ramp area. I was now breathing hard, and I feared that my ability to appear silent would be gone even if I found a place to hide. The footsteps seemed softer, but that may have been because I was now floor lower. It was dark. I heard voices. Then scuffling. It sounded like Billy and “Footsteps two”. I froze again. Which way? Which way? I heard the noise of skin hitting skin. Loud vicious smacks. Then a thud, as if it was a body hitting the cement floor. Who was it? I started to move back into a dark cavern in the parking area. Now the foot steps from about were louder. He’s on the ramp. I stopped, but my breathing sounded like a steam locomotive screaming through a tunnel. The footsteps neared.

I’m hoping that the Pat’s first game wasn’t an anomaly, and the Jets game isn’t the norm. But I’m not very confident.

The NBC show, “The Event” was tense and kept your mind moving. I thought some of the characters were a little too plastic, especially when compared to those on “24”. I like the format that makes you pay attention. I suspect some will find the time shifts confusing. I hope there is some sense of reality to the explosion that now appears a little like science fiction. And let’s hope President Martinez didn’t begin life as an anchor baby. I’ll keep watching, but I think it would have been scarier if the plane had hit its target.

In my constant quest for a “24” conspiracy replacement I am also following Rubicon and of course the lovable Chuck. Rubicon is coming together very nicely with some pretty sophisticated villains lurking beyond the sight of the chaser. Last night’s Chuck revealed the “talent” of his extra cool, long absent Mom. It brought back memories of Emma Peel.

The Answer:
The road to boob-tubery started with the Milton Berle show in September of 1948. The Texaco Star Theater also shared first with the Philadelphia Political Convention and the first News show with Douglas Edwards on CBS. The Ed Sullivan Show (”Toast of the Town”) started in 48, but none were bigger then that Howdy Doody and Kukla Fran and Ollie (Adults watched them because they were more lively than test patterns). Others of note were Candid Camera, Kraft Theater, Arthur Godfrey talent Scouts, Break the Bank, The Philco Television Playhouse and the Ford Playhouse. Gamester Mark Goodson’s first show “Winner Take All” debuted that year too.

The End:
Based on some of the stuff I see on TV these days, I want my test screen back. In other words, Mindlessness comes in many forms for many genrations.  But if it is ther humans will find it.t