ONE MORE TIC SHOT

JUST A THING OR THREE:  I found a few things of interest in the news lately. For reasons I chose not to elaborate on, I have felt that I will post less about all the things political.  Then something happens and I just can't help myself.  I just feel to put my uneducated opinion in print.  So, Here goes.
1.  The TEA Party.  I have posted in the past that when the TEA party was first organized it was for any one to join and stood for Taxed Enough Already.  I admit I have not joined the party, although I do submit to the TEA mantra about taxes.  However, over time, the TEA party has somehow become a Republican thing.  Almost as a sub party with in the Republican party.  So, it was with some amount of humor that I read in the local paper recently that a Democrat had been elected as chairman of the local TEA Party chapter, or what ever it is they call a group.  Seems the mantra does cross party lines.  At least here.  And this is a Democratic County within a Democratic State.

2. A new news story I read this day went by the headline:  DEMOCRATS IN SENATE PRESSURE BARACK OBAMA AS ELECTION APPROACHES. I will not quote the article verbatim, ( that means word for word, I think ) but I will hit the highlights of the article.  In 2010 Indiana Democrat Joe Donnelly ran ads disassociating him self from President Obama, Senator Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.  he won the election. Now, Democrats that are running to be relected are again distancing them selves from the President.  Many are distancing them selves from the ever unpopular Obamacare.  others for his not approving the Keystone pipeline, others for his failure to end the war in Afghanistan or closing Guantanamo or to curb the NSA's collection of metadata that was exposed by Edward Snowden. Harry Reid has slammed the President for passing two trade deals. And on and on.Will be interesting to watch and see what comes of it all.

3. Since I mentioned the Keystone pipeline, I will comment on that briefly.  Much of what is needed is already in place. And it will provide several construction jobs and then a few permanent jobs after it is completed.  Environmentalists are opposing it. As a person who was around when the Alaska pipeline was built, I remember hearing the same arguments against it then. It was built any way, and so far all the environmental disasters have not come to pass. Nor has it interupted the life of the wildlife. So build Keystone and quit dragging your feet.

4. Well, the tics and Hollywood are tightly knit in a lot of ways. So I will make a short comment on the death of Phillip Hoffman.  Not being a fan of movies made in the past few years, OK decades, I am not aware of his work.  I just can't convince myself that he was as great as the news would have you believe.  Aside from that, there were many people who died that day who were just as important in their own sphere as was Mr. Hoffmas in his, and these other people are not mentioned at all.  Except in there local circle. Just can't feel all the love the news people have for all things Washington, D.C. and Hollywood.  Just can't.

5. And finally.  #  My wife recently posted on her facebook page a comment that she didn't understand the # thing.  This created a fierstorm of comments from friends and family.  Mostly family.  Some humorous and some serious.  But much was said.  I read the comments and even posted a couple of my own.  After all is said and written, we still don't understand the purpose of the #.  This used to stand for number and in some instances it stood for pound.  As in weight, not what a hammer does. Guess I am getting old. And turning into my father. I remember him feeling like this about some of the things I said or did when I was young.  #And that's the way it goes.
AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK