This English guy walks under a conker tree. A nut falls and conks his head.
Being English, he seeks the assistance of the Authorities. Being English Authorities, they leap into action.
The notice put on the tree in the Abbey Gardens in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, reads: "Beware. Falling Conkers. Please proceed with care."
One resident -- a 77-year-old woman who presumably remembers Britain as a nation rather than a theme park -- ridiculed the Elected Few. The council huffed back that it was simply responding to the legitimate complaint of a concerned conked citizen.
The final paragraph of another report says of the village:"Tourism is also a major part of the economy, plus local government."
No doubt.
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Conker? That's English for the perilous horse chestnut.
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Nov 4, 2010
Raise a glass to Roberta X this morning for, among other things, her reminder that we still live with Kelo. You'll recall that SCOTUS decision allowing governments to snatch your home or other property for a "public purpose."
The "public purpose" as defined by the the court includes the desire of a city council to confiscate your home and give it to someone else, like Pfizer.
(Meanwhile, in New London, the Fort Trumbull project has been a dismal failure. After spending close to 80 million in taxpayer money, there has been no new construction whatsoever and the neighborhood is now a barren field. In 2009, Pfizer, the lynchpin of the disastrous economic development plan, announced that it was leaving New London for good, just as its tax breaks are set to expire.)
The European Socialists love that sort thing. It is why their brie and haggis are so tear-stained since Tuesday night, and Ms. X nicely skewers their sky-is-falling caterwauls at our rejection of His Obamaness as their untouchable "President of the World."
The "public purpose" as defined by the the court includes the desire of a city council to confiscate your home and give it to someone else, like Pfizer.
(Meanwhile, in New London, the Fort Trumbull project has been a dismal failure. After spending close to 80 million in taxpayer money, there has been no new construction whatsoever and the neighborhood is now a barren field. In 2009, Pfizer, the lynchpin of the disastrous economic development plan, announced that it was leaving New London for good, just as its tax breaks are set to expire.)
The European Socialists love that sort thing. It is why their brie and haggis are so tear-stained since Tuesday night, and Ms. X nicely skewers their sky-is-falling caterwauls at our rejection of His Obamaness as their untouchable "President of the World."
Adventures in Investing
I try to protect myself against Washington, especially Ben's toy printing kit, with little forays into the stock market. Over the years, cautious day trading has financed a gun or two and kept me independent of the Food Stamp program. Some times the results are braggable, some times the opposite. Some times you kiss your sister.
Last week my razor-sharp financial acumen said Lee Enterprises was a buy at $1.89 for a two-day recovery to $2.10. I popped for a thousand and immediately, I mean right now, watched it sink to $1.70. Oh Hell. I just lost a Ruger 10-22 and a brick of .22s.
Monday the world decided something nice was happening to Lee (LEE, NYSE). It recovered. No fool, I got out at $1.91 for a whopping total net profit of $1.96.
What color cars do you girls want?
Last week my razor-sharp financial acumen said Lee Enterprises was a buy at $1.89 for a two-day recovery to $2.10. I popped for a thousand and immediately, I mean right now, watched it sink to $1.70. Oh Hell. I just lost a Ruger 10-22 and a brick of .22s.
Monday the world decided something nice was happening to Lee (LEE, NYSE). It recovered. No fool, I got out at $1.91 for a whopping total net profit of $1.96.
What color cars do you girls want?
Nov 3, 2010
Goodthinkful Iowa
Real life is making some immediate demands on me this morning, so I'll let part of a letter to a buddy stand for my first reaction to yesterday's events.
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...All three Iowa Supreme Court justices subject to retention votes this year were tossed out. (Due the court's unanimous decision that gay marriage is a constitutionally protected right.) I feel personally bad about it because I routinely vote "no"on all retentions -- magistrates through the high court. Since, up until the homo crisis, they were routinely approved by lopsided margins, I felt it was important to let them know someone was watching, to keep them humble as befits anyone slurping at the public trough. If I had thought it through I would have voted to retain the Supreme Court justices, not because I particularly like the idea of state regulation of marriage, straight or gay, but because (a) their decision was in accord with the Iowa Constitution and (b) it's quite dangerous to over-politicize the courts. That's just what we have done.
One result will be a tendentious and ultimately trivial (in purpose) waste of legislative time in examining the moral bent of every justice nominated. It will draw attention from our fiscal problems and refocus it on the vast potential for sin in Iowa's one million bedrooms.
The guy mostly responsible is a creep named Bob Vander Platts who has lost two or three bids for the governor's office on a platform of holiness. He's crowing about his victory this morning, and he's young enough to be a pain in the ass around here for a very long time. For that matter, he may give you some trouble, too. He had a lot of non-Iowa religious money to spend, and the nutty wing ... intends to take his business plan national.
It's relevant that the GOP recaptured the Iowa House and closed the Senate gap to a few votes. This is likely to lead to another emotion-fest about amending the state Constitution to forbid gay marriage. While they're at it the may also draft an official bedtime prayer and require its utterance once in each 24 hours.
The nation? Well, at least we've slowed the Obama statists of the left a little. I am not one of the Tea Party worshippers, suspecting that they harbor a full share of statists of the right. Most of what I have to say about it on the blog:
Oh Hell yes, I overstate the case. The devil makes me do it. ...
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