Current Events

Norway, the home of Trump's favorite immigrant, is knee deep in Olympic Gold right now so that they would have no interest in migrating to our shores.

The last Chinese year of the Snake was 2013 but here is Trump hissing his venom five years later. So yesterday! Its symbolism represents malevolence, cattiness and mystery. Spot on!

It appears that March may be coming in like a lion with heavy rains forecast plus a full moon accentuating high tides and some flooding. Be on alert.
tjs

The Oracle of Omaha

March is the month when the swallows come back to Capistrano but February is when the faithful flock to Omaha, Nebraska to sit at the knee of Warren Buffett for his words of wisdom on investing. Some of the things he imparted:
-The recent tax overhaul produced a $29.6 Billion gain presumably without lifting a finger.
-Berkshire Hathaway book value rose to $358 Billion for the benefit of you early investors.
-On the ups and downs of the markets he said ...your mind may well become rattled by scary headlines and breathless commentary. And an unsettled mind will not make good decisions."
tjs

Sleep Tight

Donald Trump is advocating guns in the classroom. Ivanka is in Korea doing soft diplomacy. Don Jr. is in India on business but plans to give a Foreign Policy speech. Eric has been quiet but may be pre-occupied planning his next safari. Melania hasn't been heard from but does anyone think that - absent the Secret Service - she would want gun toting teachers in her son's classroom? To paraphrase the Godfather "It's all about the family."
tjs

Quote of the Day

Three busloads of students traveled 450 miles to Tallahassee to interface with their elected representatives. One group told of visiting the office of one legislator and were told by a staffer that he was "not a morning person" and couldn't see them. One wonders what he was doing the night before. Perhaps he should indicate such conditional caveats on the ballot. I lived in Florida for twenty-two years - the land of the Hanging Chads - but this is a first in politico-speak.
tjs

Digital Theft

As a long suffering Philadelphia sports fan, I was

heartened by the recent Super Bowl victory. We had long been pilloried from the outside - insulted by Howard Cosell from the broadcast booth and criticized for throwing snowballs at Santa Claus. So just as we were basking in the sunlight we read in the NY Times of "a man wearing a Phillies cap broke off and stole the thumb of a statue at the Franklin Institute of a terra cotta warrior made in China 2000 years ago". This didn't read well in Beijing and bringing shame throughout the neighborhood enclaves of Philly. So let's extend a collective middle finger to the dumb crumb who stole the thumb.

tjs

Lighter Than Air.

Yesterday, being a holiday, proved to be a slow news day. So much so that several reputable outlets reported on a flight from Dubai to Amsterdam that had to be diverted to Vienna as an altercation broke out over a passenger who allegedly "refused to stop passing gas". But isn't this why planes carry gas masks? Vienna may not have been the best choice as the offender could recharge on those spicy Austrian sausages. The reporter closed by saying "this was one flight that would not run out of gas."
tjs

Royal Spat

Prince Henrik of Denmark died last week. He was a native Frenchman married to Queen Margrethe II. For years he lobbied for the title of King Consort but was denied by the Queen. He asked to be a 'majesty' but was refused. Unhappy with the title of Prince, he considered it a mark of "gender inequality" so last summer he announced that he did not want to be buried beside his wife - which was unprecedented in six centuries. Rather he will be cremated with his ashes spread on Danish water and gardens. Forget the glass sarcophagus held by silver elephants - the Queen will have to go it alone. And this after fifty years of marriage.
tjs

Quote of the Week

A Florida parent of a child exposed to recent carnage at the Parkland high school was being interviewed. When he learned that the President was coming down to offer comfort he replied -I hope he doesn't bring the rolls of paper like in Puerto Rico. I am paraphrasing but the comment is SPOT ON! Please no Bounty!

Runner up: Scott Pruitt is the EPA administrator - and not a popular fellow. He insists he has to fly First Class because his experience in Coach has been contentious vis-a-vis other passengers. He calls it "politically toxic". Perhaps he likes those warm moist face cloths.
tjs

Everyone's a Critic

Over the years many comic teams have made movies to box office success i.e. Abbott & Costello - Hope & Crosby - Laurel & Hardy. etc. But one team who crashed was Allen & Rossi who made their one and only film in 1966. The NY Times critic skewered them .."it was lacking in both wit & vitality."......and dismissed the film as a "vehicle made of plywood and cheesecloth". I'm sure it "frizzled" Marty Allen's frizzly hair. They did better on the Las Vegas circuit. His obit said he worked until age 94. His parting shot was "I work out every day. Just yesterday I was on the treadmill for an hour. Then some idiot turned it on." "Hello, dere!"
tjs

MD

MD? No, this not some Super Bowl designation of the future - and it is not a call for "a doctor in the house." It reflects the Googler reminding me that today is my Blog post No. 1500 - I always said that if I had nothing to say, I wouldn't say it. Jerry Seinfeld once wrote a TV show about "nothing" and it ran for nine seasons. I still have a long way to go. For nostalgic reasons I am repeating my first blog posting of October 29, 2010. Thanks for your loyal readership over the years.
tjs
 (You may have to read it on Fbook)

Primarily Political XXXIV

Until recently, the name Devin Nunes was just an R member of Congress - Fresno Ca. agricultural area. But he is now the controversial Chairman of the House Intel Committee - appointed by Paul Ryan. Early on he was part of Trump's transition team. He later was famous for his midnight ride to the White House to secure/procure documents - for which he was ridiculed. He then was behind the R memo attacking the FBI FISA methods. His latest caper is to build partitions in the staff room separating R from D staffers sharing their brown bag lunch lest they be tainted. Hardly bi-partisan!
If November flips the House to D those partitions will come tumbling down - echoing Reagan's "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."
tjs

I Love a Parade!

Donald Trump's yearning for a military parade conjures up the infamous photo of Michael Dukakis - helmeted in the turret of a Abrams tank.
It helped sink his candidacy along with Willie Horton.  Does POTUS want to ride in the lead tank or salute from the reviewing stand? Abrams tanks are said to weigh sixty tons and a few of them could rip up Pennsylvania Avenue. And he will never find enough horses to equal the French.
Ah, but the crowd size !!!
tjs

Hunting is Hazardous

Recent story which missed the 6PM news - a foursome of hunters in the wilds of Maryland aiming at a flock of Canadian geese. One member shot one and it fell out of the sky and hit his buddy on the head, rendering him unconscious. It said they can weigh 14/16 pounds + the buckshot. They had to medivac /airlift the wounded fellow out to a hospital. I wonder how the E.R. wrote this up and how his insurance handled it. There is an old saying "The goose hangs high" - but when it falls you had better be wearing a hard hat - and "duck". And to think it used to be all a hunter had to worry about was Dick Cheney.
tjs

Potpourri 18-1

Donald Trump promised to drain the swamp but he was a million years too late. In nearby Maryland they have discovered dinosaur tracks with smaller prints of the prey on a rock slab. As we used to say "A day late and a dollar short."

The 21 Club, a watering hole fancied by POTUS, is closed due to pipes bursting and expect reopening in the Spring. So he will have to wait a bit for that $36. hamburger. Meanwhile, the colorful jockeys stand sentry outside.

The World Cup (Soccer) is being held in Russia this summer. The Agriculture Ministry has warned that a plague of locusts could devour the grass at stadiums in southern cities. They are inventive - if it isn't doping it's a plague.

The stock market tanked last week so stay away from the window sills.
tjs

Super Weekend

The only reason to visit Minnesota in February is either for ice fishing or to watch the Philadelphia EAGLES win the Super Bowl. The weekend coincides with Groundhog Day. If you are partial to Bill Murray's Groundhog Day repeating and repeating you will probably root for the PATRIOTS i.e. Super Bowl repeaters. But if you embrace the authentic groundhog - Punxsutawney Phil from Pennsylvania, you must cheer for the EAGLES who, once again are the underdogs - and an underdog is a second cousin to a groundhog!
Hoping for a winner and catch a tailwind home.
tjs

Quote/Unquote

Quote of the week: On Donald J. Trump - "There's nothing there. No shame, no honor, no conscience, no knowledge, no curiosity, no decorum, no imagination, no wit, no grip and no nous." - Martin Amis, author and essayist. 1/30/18

Life - is like being in a restaurant on a first date with a woman you've long admired. But there is a waiting list and the names will be called in alphabetical order - and your name is Zarathustra.
- M. Frank (NYT)
tjs