In Text we Trust.

Today's Tids Issue 2,518

Opening Stuff:

The state legislature here wants to pass a bill banning texting in classrooms. I'm not sure that's the way to go. Kids should learn why it is not smart to text in classrooms and parents should be teaching them. The state ruling on private actions is never the best road to pursue.

But then, who is going to teach the parents who continually text in restaurants and entertainment venues interrupting the enjoyment of many of those around them. But that's the problem, isn't it. People these days think "freedom" is just another name for irresponsibility. Every time somebody doesn't use his or her mind, the Gov rushes in with more regulations.

You probably didn't know that Ed Freeman died last Wednesday -- Ed Freeman, Captain in The United States Air force. Maybe it was reported but got lost in the rush to report the Seal/Klum breakup or the latest about Kardasians. That's the way it is these days. The real heroes are lost in the cacophony of a throw-away culture. Remember Ed? He's best described by the words of a Viet Nam soldier lying in that God forsaken jungle wounded, his unit outnumbered 8-1; Intense enemy fire 100 yards away. The CO had ordered that MedEvac helicopters stop coming in. It's too dangerous. The soldier lies there knowing he's not getting out. The gun fire intensifies. His thoughts drift to a family 12,000 miles away he will never see again. Over the gunfire, faintly at first, he hears the thump, thump, thump of a Huey. It looms above, with no MedEvac markings. Is it the enemy, he wonders. But, it's Ed Freeman who is not a MedEvac pilot. Freeman a battle tested Huey pilot while on an incursion heard the radio call and on his own came over to the trapped unit. He came, into the midst of machine gun fire. He lands as deadly salvos envelop the space around his copter. 3 of the injured are loaded aboard. No time is wasted. He takes off, again through deadly fire. He returns 13 times. Returns to take every one of the wounded out. 29 guys. Buddies. Ed Freeman kept coming back even though he himself had been hit 4 times in the arms and legs. You may have heard of Captain Ed -- He won the Medal of Honor. But, you didn't see a report of this heroes death.

One of the Tids more brilliant readers suggests that the Republicans should be arrested for "Indecent Exposure"! Love it.

The Question:

Name five characters from the TV program "Chuck" which bites the dust Friday after doing a good job over the years of growing up from their inane beginnings to a watchable and sometimes moving program.

The Headlines:

--RI Mourns Popular Governor Of Late 70's, Early *0's Dies At 81; Ed garrahy Was A Nice Guy, Who Kept the State Working During 1978 Blizzard.
--Ahmadinejad Says Iran Ready For Nuclear War.
--New Home purchases Fall In December; 2011 Worst Ever Year For Home Sales.
--Unemployment Bennies Request Rise; Trend Still Positive.
Tears Over Giffords retirement Show Softer Side OF Congress.
--China Not In Favor Of EU Ban On Iran Oil.
--McElroy Leads Woods By 3 In Abu Dhabi Golf; Luke Donald 4 Back Of Leader; McElroy Tied With Gareth Maybin, Richard Finch and Jean-Baptiste Gonnet.
--NBC's Grandstanding Williams Disrespects Paul And Santorum At Latest GOP Debate.

Gina Raimondo has this advice for all who are fighting government expenditures for pensions and public employee benefit deficits: "Don't sugarcoat the problem for expediency's sake; Have your facts straight so when Union negotiating begins the numbers are indisputable." Sounds like good advice for anybody in any negotiation -- personal, public or otherwise.

Jack Bauer's new...oh wait a minute...Kiefer Sutherland's new show "Touch" will for some take time to get used to. There were times last night when I wasn't sure I was watching the show or a commercial for a movie about a comedian in Iraq. Actually I was confused most of the time. And then, there was that phone that worked its way around the world! Anyhow, it kind of came together in the end with some cool, heartwarming scenes and an understanding where it will be going in the future. I know one thing, you will need to use your imagination and suspend reality at times.

Newt is starting to sound like a Liberal slug. Now I don't know if he approved his latest commercial that said Romney hates Immmigrants, purposely leaving out the qualifyer "Illegal". This omission is a long time, well known trick of the agendized Left. Newt is just another divider, a political hack who is playing the class warfare card, who appears to be able to do anything to get elected. A genuine political insider plays in the arena of divisveness that today's voters are saying they hate. Hey, Newt can bring down the house with his one liners, and bombast. I like it too. But, on closer exmaination, can he bring the country together. Get things done.

On the other hand, Romney doesn't seem to be able to connect with the man on the street. Or at least that's the new tact that Government give-away artists are using against him today. And fellow Republicans too.

I guess the best way to pick the GOP nominee is to listen to the Dems and which candidate they are dissing most.

I don't know whether I"m more excited about the "Chuck" two hour finale this Friday, or the Pat's Super Bowl game. Life is tough.

In case you missed it, John Matson, the "Carpenter" from Hopkinton RI has announced that he will run against 2nd RI district Congressman Langivin. This time this candidate, I should say warrior, who is sick and tired of everything about government that everybody else is sick and tired of, and has the guts and is willing to do something about it, has put a lot of his own cash into the kitty and hired an experienced consultant. People in restaurants, on golf course, at work, in social gatherings complain, but it's guys like John who listen, and say why not? -- "I can do it. I can carry their message to DC. I can make the people heard." Send your donations to the John Matson for Congress campaign. He is the guy who can make your best investment pay off.

Almost Near: Chapter 58 continues. --Samantha felt like she had ben holding her breath for ten minutes. But, after a little over a minute of perfect silence, she let it go. She stood there silently. Breathing in. Trying to work the tension out of her body. To free up her mind so she couold think. Be alert. She took a couple of steps towards the door. And placed her hand on the knob. Slowly she turned the knob. He can't be there she thought. The door cracked open and she looked down the hall towards the elevatiors. It was empty. She pushed opened the door and as she looked behind it, the elevator bell rang. She froze. She tried to get her feet moving backward. they weren't working. The doors to the elevator opened. One leg, finally, moved back into the door frame. As she started to move the other leg, a figure appeared out side the elevator. It was Sparrow. She stared running towards him. And he towards her.
"Samantha. Samantha! Are you ok?" She didn't answer, but ran into his arms, stunning him, throwing her arms around his neck.

The Answer:

--First there Is Chuck Bartkowsy (Zachary Levi) and the fantastic Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski). The rest of the long timers are Mogan Girnes (Joshua Gomez), John Casey (Adam Baldwin), Ellie Bartkowski (Sarah Lancaster), Devon Woodcomb (Ryan McPartlin), Lester Patel (Vik Sahay), Jeff Barnes (Scott Krinsky) and Big Mike (Mark Christopher). In case you are interested, Sarah Walker, Chuck's wife, has been brain washed by evil villain and ordered to assassinate her husband. I guarantee you will enjoy the ending. It's simplistic, but I like it. Hmmm!

More people have to learn, understand and feel why things are, rather than being told by the government.

It’s in the music.

Today's Tids Issue 2,215
Opening Stuff:

Isn’t it great how God’s system uses Fall to reduce the average temperature by a few degrees each day so you can slowly adapt from the hot summer to the cold Winter! I love it when a good plan comes together.

I love music. But, then who doesn’t. Some are mesmerized by rhythmic beats. Others by emotion stirring, rhapsodic melodies. Me, I like discovery. In classical music there is always some thing new to discover even after listening to one piece it many times. I love inventiveness which can be found in Folk or heavy Rock or Jazz. I detest repetitive, pop trends; The sameness in over commercialized popular fads. And that goes for Mozart too…who I find as tedious as the monotony of the latest Disney wonder child. But, then why would anybody care what I thought. After all, music is personal.

You just have to love German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Her comment about the German experiment in multi-culturalism as having failed completely was in support of a Central Bank Director’s observation: “The country is being made more stupid by poorly educated and unproductive Muslim immigrants.” Why can’t we have politicians who are unafraid to tell the truth? She went on to say, “We feel tied to Christian values. Those who don’t accept them don’t have a place here.”

The ugliest bigots I have seen in a long time are those creating extreme prejudice against fat people. A steady stream of “Obese” stories has a tendency to characterize this group of probably honest, giving and loving human beings as lower that drug dealers and just above child molesters. Somebody has to step up and stop the profiling (Oops, bad choice of words) of these hardy and happy eaters. I think it has something to do with the super egos of skinny health nuts.

The Question:
After I finished that childish tirade about the unfair condemnation of the amply proportioned, all I could think of was the phrase, “I kick sand in your face”. To what does that refer?

The Headlines:

--Bar Too High For Apple; Investors Penalize Shares 6% Even After record Earnings Performance; 4.2 Million iPad Sales Beat Mac computer Sales, Failed To Reach Analysts Hope For 5 Mil.
--Bank Of America Posts $7.7 Billon Loss On Special Charge; Goldman Posts Good Gain But Warns Of Changing Operational Culture That could Affect Future; IBM Echoes Similar Concerns About Future Revenue Streams..
--French Retirement Protests Take More Violent Turn.
--California’s Crystal Cathedral Megachurch Enters Bankruptcy One Time TV Powerhouse Owes $43 Million.
--Saudi Arabia Warns Europe Of New Threats From Yemen al-Qaida.

Back to More Stuff:

The French protests about raising the retirement age by two years is a good warning of how economies can run amok under socialist systems. Where the growth industries are public employee jobs. Rhode Island has exactly the same problem.

Two of my all-time favorite short pieces are Prokofiev’s Symphony #1 (Classical) and Benjamin Brittain’s “Young person’s Guide to the Orchestra.”

One of Bill Keane’s kids wonders why if Oranges are called Oranges, lemons aren’t called “Yellows”.

A reader who with his wife produced a 300 recipe cookbook, sent me this recipe for Swedish meatballs – Which is one of the great receptors for perfect brown gravy. In a skillet sauté til golden 1/3 cp onions in 2 tbs butter. In bowl mix 1 egg, ½ cp bread crumbs and ½ cp milk. Let stand 5 mins. Now add 1 ½ tsp salt, 2 tbs sugar, 3/8 tsp Allspice, ¼ tsp Nutmeg, 1 lb ground chuck, ½ lb mild pork sausage and the buttery golden onions. Mix well. Heat 2 tb butter in same skillet. Mold meat mixture into ¾ “ diam balls. Brown well on all sides and place in casserole. Now the Grrrrr-avy! In fat left in skillet, stir in 3 tbs flour, 1 tsp sugar, 1 ¼ tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper. Slowly add 1 cp water and ¾ cp heavy cream and stir to thicken. Had meatballs and heat well. Ho9w great is that!

Yesterday’s Providence Journal ran large photos of the two guys battling for faire Patricks form congressional seat. The caption in large print under Dem Cicilini’s pic said “Roots run deep.” And, all I could think of was that his father was the chief lawyer for Raymond Patriarca (Ruthless boss of the New England Mafia) and that today his Brother is the mob lawyer.

Anchors Aweigh Department:
For years I have thought that East Greenwich Rhode Island was the birthplace of the US Navy. After all, in front of the Town Hall (One of the five Original Colonial RI State Houses) there is a hefty bronze plaque that says so. But lately the big discussion in the papers around here is a coming event where experts will actually declare which was first – Providence, Philadelphia, Whitehall NT, Machias ME and Beverly or Marblehead Mass. What! No EG. A travesty. But here’s the facts. To combat British raids at seas, the RI Assembly meeting in east Greenwich on June 12 1775 commissioned two ships, the Katy and the Washington. (Two ships by definition is a navy.) Stephen Hopkins brought the RI document to The Continental Congress who accepted it October 13 as official for launching the first U.S. Navy. Of interest, the Katy was renamed Providence which, as most of you should know, became the ship of John Paul Jones. So let’s hear it big for East Greenwich.

Scary Department:
A minister from a church in a more depressed part of Providence was speaking a week or so ago to another congregation in a church in the upscale East Side near Brown University. One of the topics was the increase in homelessness. Now…pay attention. The husband and wife minister team said that it was well known in their area that taxis from Connecticut arrived there on a regular basis depositing homeless in this neighborhood of Providence. Because the benefits were greater here in this near bankrupt state than they were in one of the richest sates in America. It’s like the underground railroad of your except very different. I remember when people used to migrate to find better jobs. Now they do it to find some ting for nothing. And the beat goes on.

The real question is: Who is paying for the taxies? It is accomplished if you noticed by putting an “I” in taxes!

Everybody wants the US to improve its trade deficit. Of course that means selling more goods and services overseas. To do that, US companies must be competitive. That is, get the costs out, which means lowering the wages of labor or automating to decrease the number of workers. So if you are wandering where the middle class went, you have to look no further than the expanding global economy.

When you think about all of the daily errors we encounter from people in the service industries, maybe it is a good thing that we don’t build cars any more.

In two consecutive nights on TV I saw Jerry Brown stumbling and bumbling his way through a public appearance followed by ex wrestler Governor Jessie Ventura in a megalomaniac “Duh” explanation of the country’s current state of affairs. And I looked them both and thought that “Yikes! – We are being taken over by has-been political hacks with pony tails!

The Answer:
Kicking sand in the face was the opening to the famous Charles Atlas comic strip ad for his muscle building business. It’s about an embarrassed skinny kid who gets his girl back after going to CA Muscle school and flattening the big bruiser. Today the skinny kids just write nasty things about large people. Less sweat.

The End:
So, if God has this plan to help people adjust to temperature, do you think that the promotion of Florida for the Winter is a Muslim anti Christian plot?

I love to blow my own horn. Many things I hear described as new on news talk shows have often been previously explained in The Tids. Pay attention.