There is nothing that can't be done.

Today's Tids Issue #2,4104
Opening Stuff:

I heard a story the other day about a women in North Providence, a seamstress, who decided to give sewing lessons to her grandchildren and a couple of kids in the neighborhood. Well, it turns out that she was so good that in a short period of time her classes grew to number 50. With people waiting in line. She turned the second floor of the tripledecker in which she lived into a classroom and sewing workshop. But her success didn't stop with financial success. She now holds a fashion show with all clothes made and modeled by students that brings in thousands of dollars, all of it going to support ALS charities. There are bright, good people throughout our fruited plains of whom you never known, but who continue to exhibit the qualities that made America great.

I see where Merkl and Sarkozy want Balanced Budget Laws for their AAA rated countries, Germany and France. Sound familiar? O...and By the way, didn't the 0-man always want European style of Government here?

The Question:
What were Wilma Flintstone and Betty Rubble's maiden names?

The Headlines:

--Wall Street Opens Sharply Lower On New Bank Worries.
--New Jobless Benefit Claims Move Back Over 400K To 408,000.
--Organized Assailants Attack Areas Of Normally Quiet Southern Israel; Groups May Be Former Egypt al-Qaida That Moved Into Vacuum Created By Removal Of Egypt Security.
--Morgan-Stanly Ready to Declare Global Economy Near Recession.
--SEC Employee Says Agency Destroyed 9,000 Documents Related to Investigation Of WS Major Bankjs and Hedge Funds; SEC Says destroying Docs Associated With "Matters Under Investigation" Was Routine Up To This year.
--US Expected To Call For Departure Of Assad.
--US Justices Department Investigating S&P Over Their Mortgage Bend Ratings.
--British Hacking Scandal Investigation Growing In Intensity.

Back to More Stuff:
Beneath the salacious headlines about college athletic programs going wrong and athletes themselves going to jail, there are thousands of student athletes who go to class every day, get good grades and contribute positively to the society around them.

Every President of the United States of America who toils in the White House amidst a constant barrage of poison darts deserves to have a vacation. Period.

You know you're having a better than average day when you have to fix a lot of ball marks on the green, near the pin.

Brain eating amoeba. God. Does that sound awful.

I used to think that writing about something that had never existed would be next to impossible. Now I look forward to it. .

America's Got Talent: The broadband cops said I was a couple of megs over my daily limit.* So I had to kick out my little piece about the Tuesday competition. Here it is from yesterday: I was entertained by Shevonne, The Fiddleheads, Charles Peachock. and The Kenetic King. I thought the Summerwind Skippers, Landon Swank and Yellow Designs Stunt Team were ok. I was disappointed in the West Springfielkd and hoped they didn't mess up their chances. I thought they were one of the best the week before. I'm picking Shevonne, Landon Swank, Kenetic King and Fiddleheads (Mainly because I love Bluegrass.) The big question is West Springfield. Did they blow their chance? How it turned out: The top five in no specific order were West Springfield, Kinetic King, Landon Swank, Summerwind Skippers and Fiddleheads, with Fiddleheads losing out in the Judges pick session. I was really surprised about Shevonne; Hope somebody important saw something great in her.

Any day you are feeling a bit bleak over the irrationality gripping the country, just remember that when you watch the President speak to Congress you don't see Nancy Pelosi sitting behind the podium any more.

If you don't have some kind of addiction, then you probably aren't alive.

I think Karl Rove sucks. Sometimes you just have to be direct. Maybe if changed the "K" to a "C". Nah, I'm not that shallow.

I'm thinking about climate change, and I'm wondering this. In the 70's, industry a started reducing the amount of so-called bad emissions into the atmosphere. Cars were being built better and regualrly tested for exhaust problems. In other words, if you were to draw a graph you would see the amount of bad stuff being released going down over time. Then you could draw another line on that graph which shows climate induced weather irregularities going up with modest surge during the past 3-4 years. So I guess my wondement is this: Wasn't the climate more stable when we had particles of industrial progress floating in air?

Why is it so hard for so many to understand the fairly simple economic principle that living beyond your means, spending more that you earn, over time is impossible.

By the way, the Government doesn't earn anything. It legally extorts. I just wanted to clear up the incongruities of a popular statement -- "Government spending more than it earns".

Almost Near: Chapter 35. --Audrey dropped off Tucker at the Airport. He gave her a quick kiss as he leapt out of the car for that anguishing dash through security to an almost closed boarding ramp door. She watched him for a long time wondering what the attraction was. Especially since he was on a mission to save his former love-of-his-life from herself. He was average looking and pretty insecure, but, but, he made her feel comfortable. She felt good when she was with him. And she felt that warmth she remembered caressing her body.
She shook her head quickly from side to side. "Enough". No time for sentimentality. I have my own mission. She looked to the rear, saw no traffic and eased into the line of cars, mostly dirven by the confused trying to navigate the cacophony of an un familiar airport departure zone. She saw an opening, and like a scatback accelerated through it, breaking free from the scrimmage.
It didn't take long to get back to the quiet neighborhood of neat but small homes. She found an open spot about a block and a half from her quarry. She turned off the motor, breathed in deeply and put on her investigative reporter's hat. Tucker was moved to the fringes of her mind.

I live in a small city near a parking lot. I have noticed that cars of young couple are more often than not driven by the women. Does that mean that all of the men have DUI convictions or just that the women have jobs.

I have never understood why some don't think that getting a college education worth upwards of $200,000 is enough payment for kicking around a football or dribbling a basketball.

The Answer:
How about Wilma Slaghoopal and Betty Jean McBricker. I bet you knew that.

Seriously, some people just have as knack of walking away from challenges. It's called the rationalization/procrastination combo, combined with a significant dose of fear of commitment. But, most challenges are not that difficult. It is almost always a matter of putting foot on front of another. Although at a higher level than walking. So...how come I'm not a scratch golfer? Huh? Huh?

*It's conceivable that it wasn't the Broadband Cops, but my sieve-like mind that omitted the AGT review yesterday.

Superbowl Sunday is a good day to travel.

Today's Tids Issue 2,290

Opening Stuff:

I suspect way more Mid Westerners enjoyed being snowbound yesterday than those few seen complaining in media highlights.

You have to love the new nickname for Mubarak: "King of Denial".

Our big Nanny in Washington advises that if traveling in icy or extreme snowy conditions you should bring a shovel, blankets and/or a sleeping bag, extra clothing including hat and gloves, 24 hours worth of food, de-icer, rock salt, flashlight with spare batteries, road flares or reflective triangles, full spare gas can, first aid kit and booster cables Of course you may look odd or be subject to arrest for bringing this stuff on a bus.

The Question:
Name the Top 15 American Idol performers in "Total Record Sales".

The Headlines:

--Egypt Tries To Halt Increasing Strife.
--New Unemployment Apps Tumble To 415K.
--Ex-Providence Mayor Cicilini, Now Congressperson Left Prov In Financial Mess Due To Overspending.
--Census Shows Big Gains For Minorities; 85% Of Decade's Gain Came From Minorities; Hispanics Biggest Segment of The Gain.
--America Digs Out.

Back to More Stuff:
First Blips on the Radar Department:
A pretty conservative Townhall Magazine runs through its website (Townhall.com) monthly polls with results from 30-40,000 on Republican Presidential candidates. Here are the results for January: Palin - 22.27%, Mitt - 14.48, Ron Paul, 11.57, Huck - 10.76, Newt - 10.03, Herman Cain - 7.14, Christie - 5,55, Pawlenty - 3.02, Jim Demint - 2.97, Mich Daniels - 2.9, John Bolton - 2.5, John Thune - 1.56 and Haley Barbour 1.03. Rick Sanatorium and Gary Johnson each received less than 1%. Undecided was 2.68%. Confused? Wait til Huntsmen enters the race. Looking at this list, the Repubs appear destined to death by obfuscation.

Climate Change BS Department:
The headline in the paper read, "La Nina Seen as in Return to Winters Past. Total nonsense. Since 1903, (the year record keeping began) every decade has had 4 or five years with 30 or more inches. In fact the cyclical patterns from 1903 to present look remarkably similar. The most snow laden 16 years was between 1956 and 1972. The current ten years is snowy, but looks a lot like 1903-13. And, this year that has everybody fashionably anxious is only the fifth highest snowfall since 2000. The highest snowfall ever was 1995.

Frankly the historic knowledge of snow storms among the general public is not unlike that of the average voter when going to the polls.

For instance, David Cicilini while Mayor spent Providence practically into oblivion, but all the voters knew was the freebies he gave them. Now he has his hands on the national treasury. God help us.

Almost near. Chapter five. --Samantha went back to the Inn and signed up for another two nights. Her spirits were enlivened by Tucker, and now even some of the towns people became a bit more friendly. Jimmy's Dad Zach turned out to be a very nice guy, just like the man she thought she loved as a teen. In fact, he even said that he remembered a young girl who used to play in his back yard. She thought that Zach, a widower, might ask her for dinner some night. But, she learned that he was very busy and often went down to Boston during the evenings. Probably just more of her childhood dreams.
Samantha wasn't surprised though, when Tucker suggested diner, on his boat. She replied that her Momma always said, "Never get your self stranded on a man's Boat." He laughed comfortably, and she joined in, just as she had been doing since they met.
"The dory leaves at 6:00 PM!" Sam leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. he blushed.

The "Poor Baby" crowd is trying to elicit sympathy for the 0-Man because of the almost impossible decision he had to make about discarding a loyal ally versus being on the side of the next generation there. Prime Time ran for President, got the presidency, reveled in the Presidency, and making tough decisions is just part of the job.

Many reports are now in line with the original Tids observations that warned of extreme groups, like Muslim Brotherhood, hijacking the populist movement. But as I look around the Middle East at these coincidental simultaneous uprising I'm thinking that it is quiet possible they all were organized by those extreme groups as part of a master plan to take over all of these unstable governments.

In editorial endorsements preceding the past November elections, the Providence Journal endorsed every possible union owned candidate. This morning they wrote this piece wondering where the public spirited politician with no ties to special interests had gone. ThePol who could step in and look the Union power brokers in the eye and start the process of cutting back the enormous costs.

Is this fascination with El Nino and La Nino just another element of this current fashionable allegiance to anything Hispanic like Jalapeno and Chipolte. Lets face it, if the Ninos are here now, than they were probably around 100 years ago. The names are just sexier now and we have a lot more weather people to talk about them.

Productivity is up which is great for competing on global basis but not so good for increased employment.

A new study supports the views of many who have said that college isn't for everybody. It has always been obvious that many people should have been directed to fulfill their avocations rather than being fashionably directed into college. I wrote a story about the European style education system that is centered around best capabilities. For instance, technically gifted craftsmen are elevated to the level of liberal arts University students in term so their contirbutions to society. Workers in a factory have the same respect as those who maybe criticizing a playwright. And the surprising thing is that I wrote this about an initiative supported by Rhode Island teachers groups.

Well, it's Thursday and that means pigskin pickin' time. After the Pats debacle I said I was with Green Bay all the way. Still am. There is something missing in Pitt team. They have offensive flaws that can crop up at any given moment and stifle progress, Couple that with GB defense that is among the very best, and you have a big advantage for the Pack. Rogers has proven himself to be a winner. So that his offense will be good enough to overcome the traditional Steeler defensive ferocity. The Steeler have an edge in experience. So, all in all it will be a close game. I'm thinking 24-21 Pack. Now if we can just keep Jerry Jones off the sidelines.

The Answer:
Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood is way ahead with 12, 191,000. Season 1 winner Kelly Clarkson isn't doing bad with 10.628 Mil. The we have Chris Daughtry (6M), Clay Aiken (4.95) and Fantasia Barrino (2.8) rounding out the top 5. the rest are Ruben Stoddard, David Cook, Kellie Pickler, Jordin Sparks, David Archuleta,
Jennifer Hudson, Adam Lambert, Josh Gracin, Taylor Hicks, Bo Rice and Elliot Yamin.

The End:
I have never really liked Superbowl parties. They always got in the way of the game. It was always more about dips than drives. So, while everybody is inside thinking they are having fun, I go on a trip. Unless, of course, the Pats are playing. Yes, I am an old curmudgeon.