Jul 6, 2015

The Art of the Lede

While not totally reflective of the story, this AP lede is the best I've seen in several days of media Odes on the Grecian Burn.


FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- Greece is at the last chance saloon, thirsty and out of credit. Next stop could be the badlands of euro exit.

Well done, David McHugh.

Jul 1, 2015

Silver Sex in a Greek Cave

(Inspired by a morning AP headline saying Greek politicians  are about to "cave in" to the people who loaned them money and now want it back. {This headline does not necessarily represent reality}.)

(And also inspired by memories of Melina as Ilya, who, as previously reported in these pages, is the last known Greek person to work cheerfully and diligently through a six-day week.)




















An independent dispenser of an honest product at at honest price, the hallmark of free market economics; rare enough to justify at least one repost of our heroine.

I liked Ilya and even Melina who became a nagging left-wing political bore, much like our own Susan Sarandon. For reasons which may suggest themselves, I have forgiven them both. Those reasons have nothing to do with their value as conversational partners.




All this leaves only the obscure title reference to "silver" to be explained. Easy.

Wouldn't it be nice today if we were in Pireus  with a bulging sack of pre-1964 U.S. silver coins? Or even some of those wonderful silver Drachmas which circulated in Athens up until the time when Greek politicians, like their American counterparts,  in cahoots with amoral bankers, found out that the drooling masses could be hoodwinked into accepting pieces of paper and clunky zinc medals in place of actual money.

We can think that over for a while and commiserate with the poor Greek worker (forgive the oxymoron) standing forlornly outside the barricaded bank where his "money" is, fidgeting with hands in his pocket, where it is not.

Then we can forget it because we live in America, a place ruled by Golden men and women who would not for a moment consider issuing and using value-free scrip and and pot metal discs, backed by nothing more than their fingers-crossed promises.









Jun 12, 2015

What gun for face-eating monkeys?

This fellow Jeff has a point. We slip well away from the rule of law when a  bureaucrat can administratively void a state statute, in this case Missouri's open carry law. Whether his attention-seeking demonstration is useful way of making our  point is open to debate.

He plans to carry a gun, probably a sidearm, openly into the no-guns-allowed St. Louis zoo, just to see what happens other than his new 15 minutes.

Regardless of your conclusion about Jeff's tactical stunt, I think you might agree that the leading local cop is guilty of a notable non-sequitur.

St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson disagrees and said, “More guns are never the answer. I think we need to have stronger gun laws and make sure that they are used in appropriate ways.”

Sam, no one with the brains of  a three-toed sloth gives a damn about your elevated insights on citizen control. You are a hired hand, paid to enforce  laws written above your pay grade. If you hate the idea of everyone except you and your employees being stripped bare of self-defense means, write your legislator.




May 27, 2015

Eviction

Provincial luddite life is delightful.  Occasionally,  though,  our  solar dryers challenge us. This one was courtesy of pretty brown wren who would not sit for a portrait.






























Where he will henceforth  live isn't my problem. That's my country seat. He can go find his own.