Pourquoi Ukraine?

  

                               

 

The Russia/Ukraine war began when Russia wanted assurances that Ukraine would not allow NATO to build a military base in Ukraine, i.e. on the Russian border, and Ukraine refused. But was that a completely unreasonable request?

 

During World War !!, the Russians lost over 20,000,000 of their citizens. NATO was planned to be a nuclear facility and was built to combat Russia.  What would be so terrible for Ukraine to have said we're not joining, we don't want to kill you. Let's ear. (Remember the president of Ukraine is Jewish.)

 

And the ironic part if all this is that when the situation was reversed, i.e. when the United States was in a similar situation, we made the same request without a second thought. You don't think so? Well, think again.

 

Remember the Cuban missile crisis of 1962? The one that almost started WWIII? The Russians installed missiles in Cuba, which they were allowed to do. The Cubans accepted the Russian base, which they were allowed to do. And Kennedy threatened a naval blockade which could easily have become nuclear.. And we waited, and waited, and waited....

 

Russian missiles in Cuba. NATO missiles in Ukraine.You have a problem with all that? Me neither. Does it ever seem like the bottom line in all these fun times is really just whose samovar is being gored? Hmmm.

Here Today, Somewhere Else Tomorrow

                           

        "Mommy, what does 'transient' mean?"

        "What a big word, Johnny. Where did you learn a word like that?"

        "We were learning about money in school today and I said how angry Daddy gets because everything costs so much more than it used to. Teacher said it was because of Inflation and everything would go back to normal soon."

        "Is your teacher a Democrat?"

        "I think so."

        "Anyway, some people want to help poor people live better so they get the government to print up lots and lots of money and then they give it out to the poor people."

        "But mommy, if you print up lots of money and just give it out, won't that make the money worth less so everything costs more and daddy's everywhere get angry. Mommy's too."

        "How did you know that?"

        "Elementary my dear mother."

        "Not to everyone."

        "Anyway, what does that have to do with 'transient?"

        "Well, some people think that even if this causes inflation, it will only be temporary and will go away soon. That's what 'transient" means. Temporary. It's another word for 'magic.;"

        "Who would believe silly stuff like that?"

        "A lot of people who should know better."

Who Was That Binary I Saw You With Last Nite?

 

 

        When my grandparents came to America, they spoke only Yiddish. 

 

        "Hallo. Ich denkt os mir vilt hobben tzvey bageluch und a bisselah crim cheese." ["Hello. I think that I would like to have two bagels and a little cream cheese."]

        To which the response from the grocery clerk was generally, "Hey Grandpa. This is America. Speak English."

 

        Since Jews dislike going hungry only slightly less than they like changing flat tires, my grandparents, and everyone else's grandparents, eventually learnt English and got all the bagels and cream cheese they could eat, which is...quite a lot. Interestingly, no one ever suggested that the rest of America had an obligation to learn Yiddish.

        Of course, the times they are, as they say, a-changing. If my grandparents were around today, they might have to hold the cream cheese or, at least, skip the bagels.

 

        "Hello. I would like you to give me two bagels and a little cream cheese."

        "What?!"

        "What? What. You don't have cream cheese? The bagels are stale?"

        "You called me 'you.' My pronoun is 'they' or 'them' or 'zeit' or maybe 'zisssel.' But you didn't even care enough to ask. N-o-o-o-o, not you. Not Mr. Who Cares What's a Person's Pronoun. You're much too important for that.You, you, you....you racist you!"

        "Moma! Moma! Vos is doos? Vos is da mahr mit im?" [Moma! Moma! What is this? What is the matter with him?"]

 

        Now, if only the world would just learn to speak Yiddish. Life would be so much simpler....and probably funnier too.

Taxes Without a Taxpayer

                                   

        Sound ridiculous? A tax that no one has to pay? Well, don't laugh just yet. It's been proposed and is being seriously considered by people who should know better. 

        Apparently, the idea is that carbon taxes will be collected on everything made with carbon, which is pretty much everything, but everyone hates taxes and so these taxes will be refunded to taxpayers at the end of the year. In other words, we will have a carbon tax which will control climate change but it won't cost anything. 

        "Hi. I was interested in buying a car. Actually I had my eye on that red one over there but when I was in last month the price was only $15,000. I see that now you're asking $25,000. I don't think I can afford that. Looks like no new car for me."

        "Just a minute, sir. Not a problem. The extra $10,000 is the refundable carbon tax. You just have to lay out $15,000. We'll lend you the extra $10.000 with no interest. You get the money from the gov't at the end of the year and just give it to us. It's a loan guaranteed by the gov't so we're not worried and you get the car for what you wanted to pay in the first place. We do this for lots of our customers."

       "Okay, sounds good. I'll take it."

        Of course the refund is supposed to only go to the poorest taxpayers. The whole tax is paid by the rich who get back...nothing. Maybe keep in mind that the income tax was originally only supposed to apply to the top 2% of income earners. Hey, good news. You might be richer than you  thought.

        [Psst, want a good buy on a slightly used bridge or maybe a constitutional income tax amendment?]

"Well, But It Was Their Money"

        In 2015, President Obama and the other permanent members of the UN Security Council negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly known as the Iran nuclear agreement, which, in a "triumph of diplomacy", gave Iran approximately 150 billion dollars to spend as it wished.

        In return, Iran agreed to limitations on its nuclear facilities for 10 to 15 years after which time it would be free to conduct unrestricted nuclear research and development including manufacture of nuclear bombs.

         During the 15 years that the deal is in effect, Iran is still allowed to engage in missile research and development and continue terrorist activities as before. This is a nuclear  deal. It does not apply to non nuclear activities.

         The point has been raised that Iran is really just getting its own money back, that the funds in question consist of assets belonging to Iran but frozen in foreign banks as part of a program of economic sanctions to pressure Iran into giving up its nuclear ambitions.   

        Well, yes but suppose you had a neighbor who wanted to kill you and that he is always telling you that if he ever gets a gun, he is going to kill you. And suppose one day he gets a gun and suppose that somehow you get his gun. Maybe your wives are still friends and she brings it over to crack some walnuts and forgets to take it home. Or maybe his kid brings it over and leaves it in your back yard. Whatever. Anyway, do you give it back? It's his gun. He paid for it with his own money.

                                                                             ***

        "Oh, what lovely hors doevres. Death to the Jews! Kill all the Americans! I think I'll have one of those little ones with the avocado on top."

        In Iran, 'white noise' is planning for everyone you're going to kill. When that changes, we should think about giving them back their billions, and their guns and....their walnuts. Until then, maybe stick with, "No soup for you"...no matter who paid for what.

Stormy Weather

        Suppose the President of the United States was alleged to have slept with two ladies, neither being his wife, paid them for their silence and then lied about the whole thing, denying that it had ever taken place. Who's the bad guy (gal) here?

        Well, if you generally divide your day between watching CNN and MSNBC, the answer is obvious, i.e. ' President Trump, of course,' as it would be the answer to most any other question you might have, i.e.,  Who is responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs? Who caused the Ice Age? Who stole Captain Queeg's strawberries from the captain's locker on the USS Caine? etc.

        But even if the whole story is true, why is the President the fall guy here, the one who deserves to be condemned while the women have almost become folk heroes? After all, who went public with this whole story and caused Melania Trump such untold humiliation?

        Aren't women supposed to stick together and watch out for each other? Isn't that what all those women's marches and demonstrations right after Trump's election were supposed to be about? Well, what happened this time?

        Oh, right, they were just doing it for the good of the country, to save the Republic. This was just friendly fire, collateral damage. And that guy in the corner over there, 'Mr. Skin?' just call me 'Shark.' He's running for president in 2020 for the same reason. People are so good sometimes.   

       And let's not forget, there was another person involved here too, a smaller and somewhat younger person. You think he doesn't know what happened, thanks to these two folk heroes? And you think his friends, classmates and anyone who can recognize him isn't doing a number on his head? Kids, as anyone who has had or has ever encountered one will tell you, can be cruel, sometimes very cruel.

        But, oh well, if things don't work out, just to follow the advice or our millenial philosopher kings, "Not to worry."               

        Time to head for Central Park, light a few candles, do the wave, sing some songs about poverty and what have you and go get a graduate degree in bullying so you can go out and really, "Make a difference."

To Keep and Bear...What?

 

 

        The Second Amendment says that the people shall have the right to keep and bear arms. It doesn't say that the people can only keep and bear arms if they're in a militia.

        Nevertheless, there are those who make exactly this claim, i.e. that because we no longer need to raise a militia, the right to keep and bear arms is really outdated and should be abolished. How come nobody ever makes this sort of argument about all our other freedoms? [Not yet, anyway.]

        Freedom of the Press is guaranteed by the First Amendment. Clearly the reason for this amendment was the Founders' belief that a free and open press would be the best way to assure the existence of a well informed citizenry. But since the media is now overwhelmingly the captive of one  point of view,

        "I'd punch that guy right in his nose." Yeah, Yeah. "You know I'd like to go right out and burn the White House right down to the ground." Yeah. Yeah. "Don't let them have a moment's peace in the restaurants, in the stores, in their homes, when they go to buy gas." Yeah, yeah. and since the opposing views have almost no chance of any meaningful exposure anyway, what's the point?

        Might as well let the press and the rest of the media give up once and for all the pretense of educating the masses and go back to spending all of their time doing what they do best, selling advertising.

        Freedom of Speech? If you can say it, it's probably been said already and, if it hasn't, who really wants to hear it anyway?

        Freedom of Religion? The opiate of the masses. So...so...so...deplorable?

              Remember when freedom was a good thing just because it was...freedom? A  person could build a whole country on an idea like that.

                                          " Wasn't that a time, wasn't that a time? ' 

Give Me a 'C'

         "C"

         "Give me an 'I'."

         "I"

         "Give me an 'A'.."

         "A"

         "Now, what have you got?"

         "Eh, well, I'm not exactly sure. Hmm, a C and an I and an A. Sounds familiar... Wait a minute! I think I remember. That sounds like the group that told Kennedy that if he got a bunch of guys together and landed in Cuba, Bay of Porcupines, I think they called it..."

         "Bay of Pigs."

         "Right, Bay of Pigs. Anyway they told him if he landed a small army there, the whole population of the country would rise up and they'd be rid of Castro once and for all.

         "And weren't those the same guys who were always telling us how we had to stop the Commies in Vietnam or next thing they'd be landing in San Francisco?"

         "Who knew they'd be coming from Beverly Hills and Bel Air and Malibu and...?"

         "Hey, you get bored making 40 million bucks for six month's work. Got to think of something to do with your time."

         "And then they figured out that Sadam Hussein was making all those WMD's so we better get busy destroying all those power plants and water treatment plants and hospitals and..."

         "Well, now wait a minute. That's not fair. Everybody in the world thought he was making those things and that we better get busy wiping them, and him, out."

        "Now you wait a minute, wait a minute.It's their job to figure out all the things the rest of the world thinks is going on. Otherwise, what do we need those guys for?"

         "By the way, who are we talking about here anyway?"

         "I'll give you a hint, 'Too many cooks spoil the broth.'"

         "The Culinary Institute of America?"

*Note: A second opinion is pretty much always a good idea, whether it's from your chef or your doctor or even your intelligence service. Getting one doesn't make you a 'traitor.' Not ever.

Is Torture Unconstitutional?

  

        The only mention the Constitution actually makes of behavior resembling torture is found in the 8th Amendment  which prohibits "cruel and unusual punishment." That's it, cruel and unusual punishment. It's the only form of torture that the Constitution specifically prohibits.

        And 'punishment' has a specific meaning. It means retribution or penalty for some act that's already been committed,

        In other words, the Constitution prohibits torture when it's used as a form of punishment but, if you know where that bomb is hidden or where those kidnappers are hanging out, or we think you might know, trying to get some information from you is not 'punishment' and the Constitution is silent on what we can do to you.

        Severe pain, electric shocks, waterboarding, whatever. Think it's immoral or unethical to do that kind of stuff? Well, ok. Think what you like but the Constitution doesn't prohibit it no matter what you've been told. It's almost as though the Constitution was written by folks who were thinking about what they would do if their own kids were taken or there was evidence that a bomb was going to be planted in their behinds.

        And finally, while it is nevertheless true that virtually all international treaties continue to prohibit all forms of torture, it is also true that we can withdraw from these treaties a lot more easily than we can amend the Constitution. Maybe something to sit down...and think about some time..

A pirogi for me. A pirogi for you.

        From time to time or, occasionally, at random, someone, or some group of someones decides that it's time to find out if the Europeans really like us and so they do a survey. Maybe the new American president is a rocker, and the Europeans usually like that. Or maybe he's a 'blondes have more fun kind of a guy' and the Europeans, don't, well, seem to like that, not so much.

        Anyway, after the survey is finished, a lot of people get very happy or maybe very not so happy about the results, but why? Why should any American care whether Europeans like us or not?

                                                            ***

        "Vladimir, the Latvians are releasing the reindeer. We have to cancel the missiles we were going to drop on New York or we'll all be gored to death."

                                                              ***

        Makes sense, right? According to the NATO charter it's one for all and all for one. America gets attacked by the Russians and we'll be saved by the Latvians, the Lithuanians, the Slovenians, the...No, it doesn't make any sense, no sense at all. The only country that can provide an existential threat to America is Russia, although it makes no sense to think they would want to do such a thing, and all the rest of Europe combined can not counter a threat like that.

        Europe is of no real military value to the United States whether they like us or not. The only thing they can do if we're ever attacked is sew on one of those snappy NATO arm patches, slip into one of those super cool  NATO caps, grab a few escargots and ....run.

        The only country that can provide real military security to the United States is...the United States. No country in Europe, or anywhere else for that matter, can even come close to countering the Russian nuclear forces.

        And it's the same thing with 'economic security.'

        Any company in any country that can make a buck by selling or buying something here will keep doing it, whether they like us or our president or not. And if they can't, they won't. And if you don't believe that, well, you should.

        So, next time you read that only 28% of Germans or Frenchmen or women, or residents of the Duchy of Grand Fenwick or wherever still respect America or its president maybe keep in mind that it may not be 'fake news' but it's definitely inconsequential news. Doesn't affect us at all. Have another pirogi and Fuggedaboutit. 

You Can Have Your Medicare and Eat it Too

      "Doctor, I can't hear so good. Please send me for an MRI and a C-T scan."

      "Well, Mrs. Schwartz, why don't you let me clean the wax out of your ears first and see it that takes care of the problem."

      "Doctor, it could be a brain tumor. Don't worry 'The Medicare' will pay for everything. And also, maybe I should have a PSA just in case."

      "But you're a woman. You don't have a prostate. Why do you want a PSA test?"

      "You never know. And besides, 'The Medicare' will pay, right?"

                                                                       ***

      The bottom line is that there are only two ways to control medical costs. The first is to have a system with patients paying part of the costs so that they have an incentive to control them (called having 'skin in the game') and the second is the dreaded 'R' word, rationing. 

      Let doctors set their fees and let patients choose the ones they want to use. Then, some doctors will accept Medicare as payment in full. Some will charge a little more. Some will charge a lot more. And the system will not go bankrupt because government will pay whatever it will pay and then GET OUT OF THE WAY.

      No, doctors will not be able to charge anything they want. There are too many doctors around to choose from. It's called competition. If your doctor charges a ridiculous fee, you'll pick another. And you'll be able to buy whatever kind of supplemental insurance you want. Works the same way with food, clothing, housing...everything. 

                                                                 ***

       "Doctor, I can't hear so good. Please send me for an MRI and a C-T scan."

       "Ok, Mrs. Schwartz, if that's what you want. But it will probably cost you over $1,000."

       "Hmm, on second thought, doctor, maybe you could just clean out the wax and, if I still have the problem, I'll call your office tomorrow for a referral."

How The World Works

      The world is made up of two different kinds of countries, countries that are Great Powers and countries that are so-so powers. 

      If you live in a country that's a Great Power, you get up in the morning, shower, shave, get dressed, have breakfast, go to work, come home, read the paper, eat supper, put on your pajamas and maybe watch a little television.

      Sometimes, right in the middle of your favorite show, you might get a call from the  President telling you that a guy on the next block started a business in a foreign country somewhere, that somebody is trying to take it away from him, and that you have to go get it back for him. He explains about how Great Powers have 'interests'  and now you finally understand what 'having interests' really means.

       So you get dressed, get your gun from the closet, drive to the airport, fly to the country where the guy has his business, shoot whoever took if from him and, if you didn't also get shot, drive back to the airport, fly home, maybe catch the end of your favorite show, and, go to sleep.

      If you live in a country that's a so-so power, everything is pretty much the same, except that you get to watch all your favorite shows and you hardly ever have to shoot anybody unless they try to shoot you first.

      And that's how the world works.  Now you know too.                                                         

                                                                 THE END  

Hooray for Hollywood?

        Since 1996, film production days in Los Angeles are down by 50% and what's worse is that nobody in the whole state is blaming global warming,

        Anyway, the problem seems to be that states from Texas to New York are offering tax credits to the movie industry that are way more generous than those offered by the state of California and now the folks in the industry can't get to those states fast enough. And they're taking the work with them.

        But, wait a minute. Aren't these the same  warm, fuzzy wuzzy, 'socially conscious' A-listers, who are always going on about how unfair the tax system is and here they are, zipping all over the country as fast as their stretch Priuses will carry them, trying to save on their...taxes?

        How many kids could be put into decent schools and how many new hospitals and clinics could be built if they would just...stay put and pay up? 

                                                                     ***

        "Yea, hooray, yea." (clap, clap, clap) "That guy's heart sure is in the right place, isn't it?"

        "Sure is. Too bad his wallet is somewhere else."

The Deniers

      

       "Orville, Wilbur, what am I holding in my hand?"

       "A butter knife, Ma."

       "Right. Now, watch what happens when I drop it....Clang!...Did you see what happened when I dropped the butter knife, the heavier-than-air butter knife?

       Did it fly? Did it go flying around the room singing, 'Fly Me To The Moon?'

       No! It didn't fly because it's heavier than air. And if something is heavier than air it can't fly. Everybody knows that, everybody except you two. Couple of damn...deniers!"

                                                 ***

        And, before the Wright brothers, there was the 'denier' Copernicus who knew that it was the Earth that revolved around the sun.

        And Lister showed that the almost 50% surgical mortality of the day was due to preventable infections while the surgeons kept sharpening their scalpels on their boots because they weren't going to listen to that upstart 'denier,' Lister.

        And schizophrenia is caused by 'poor parenting.' (It isn't.)

        And stomach ulcers are caused by 'stress.' (Uh-uh, a bacteria, H. Pylori.)

        And, until 1973, homosexuality was a 'mental illness' caused by a domineering mother,

        "Oh, doctor, my poor little Ru Paul. And it's all my fault."

        "Yes it is, Mrs. Cohen. But cheer up. At least you'll have someone to give your old clothes to. You know what your husband's things look like by the time he's ready to get rid of them. Men!"

        And now it's climate change...or is that global warming or global cooling or global drying or global wetting? Whatever...It's bad and it's our fault. All the experts agree. So don't be a damn...'denier.' Please, just shut up!!!

        Well, science doesn't advance by getting the 'deniers' to 'just shut up'.  

Science advances by asking questions. Questions, questions, and more questions. And it's the 'deniers' who  are the ones asking the questions....and making the butter knives fly.

        "The case is never closed." - Albert Einstein

The Rich Won't Make You Poor...Really

       Why all the fuss about 'income inequality?' Is that really the 'biggest problem we're facing today?' Is it, in fact, really a 'problem' at all?

        Microsoft, Google, Facebook... Speaking of 'income inequality,' suppose they had never come along and created all their stuff, would one poor person be the slightest bit more prosperous and happy?

        Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, the Wright brothers....same thing. Would the 'poor'  have been better off without electric lights and cars and railroads and steel and airplanes? Pre-industrial America was rough. 

                                                                                                                                                             
         You can't raise the floor by lowering the ceiling. It's an illusion. The only thing you get that way is a country full of people who've forgotten how to stand up straight.

What Did He Say?!

"I have a dream that someday all men can live as brothers."

        "Yeah! G-d bless you, Dr. King."

        "Martin's the man!"

"And be judged by the content of their character, not by the color of their skin."

         "Yes, Reverend King. Say it like it is."

         "Beautiful! 'Content of their character.' Right on, brother!"

"And that someday all people can live together like neighbors, white and black, black and white. Right next door to each other."

        "Yeah, G-d bles...Huh? What did he say?"

        "I think he said we should all live together."

"I have a dream that someday little black boys and girls will sit in the same classrooms as little white boys and girls."

        "Wait a minute! How's that going to work out? My kid starts Poly in the fall. Isn't

        yours going to St. Ann's?"

        "Damn right she is."

"And that someday white folks will give up promotions on their jobs so that black folks can get those promotions to make up for past wrongs."

          "What? Did you hear that? This guy's nothing but a damn...Commie!"

          "Damn!"

"But, in the meantime, I have a dream that it's okay if white folk just wear Trayvon Martin souvenir tee shirts and hoodies and go to Central Park to do the wave and sing about social injustice and watch MSNBC."

           "Whew! That's more like it. Making me a little nervous there for a minute."

           "Yeah, me too." 

If A Philosopher Falls In The Forest...

       The humanities division at Harvard University is attracting fewer undergraduate students these days. The kids, it seems, have finally figured out that it's tough to get a job after graduation if pretty much all you've been preparing for is listening for the sound of a tree falling in the forest. ("If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?")
       That's okay if you've got a family business to go into but, if you don't...

       The University, for its part, has responded by preparing a report suggesting the humanities division aggressively market itself to freshmen and sophomores, convince them of how useful spending four years studying history and gender studies and philosophy can be ["Harriet, the toilet is overflowing. Quick, call an existentialist!"]

         
        In other words, they're trying to snooker your kids! Is it any wonder that the late William F. Buckley once said that he would rather be governed by the first 300 names in the Boston phone directory than by the faculty of Harvard University?

The Golden Years

     Getting old is rough. Or, rather, being old is rough. Getting old is easy. All you have to do to get old is be born and then stand in one spot for 75 years and you'll get old. Couldn't be easier. BEING old though, that's another story.

      Being old means you become invisible. People look right thru you, like a potted plant. Nobody notices you anymore. You just stand there waiting to be...watered. 

      Could anything be worse? Well, being old and needing long term care could be worse. Sneeze in front of the kids some time and it's,

       "You think he needs a nursing home?"

       "I don't know. He doesn't sound so good."

       And then it's off to the lawyer you go. That's right, the lawyer. There's a special branch of the law that handles the problem that you didn't know you had. It's called, Get-pop-on-Medicaid-before-he-has-to-go-to-a-nursing-home-and-pisses-away-our-whole-inheritance Law or simply, Elder Law. 

                                                             *** 

        Long term care is way too expensive. It eventually bankrupts most of the people who need it. Then they go on Medicaid which is bankrupting most of the states and the federal governmen. There's a better way,

        'He who forgets the repast...', Everyone in a facility should be assured nourishing meals, clean sheets, and the right to be treated with dignity and respect. That's it. Forget measuring the height of the soap dispensers, the size of the the sinks and the endless paperwork and 'staff training' that costs a fortune and accomplishes...nothing..

       And then provide a voucher for basic care to anyone who asks, regardless of ability to pay. Keep it simple and it'll cost less than the system we have now that costs millions to make sure that no one, anywhere, gets a free hamburger when they can really afford to pay for one.

       Want a more luxurious old age? Combine the voucher with personal savings. If you've lived an industrious and frugal life, you get to live a little better in your potted plant years, or maybe leave a few bucks to the kids.

       And, best of all, you'll never need a lawyer, even if you sneeze..

Where's the U.N.?

        The Yazidis are a centuries-old religious group living in Northern Iraq, They are presently being exterminated by the Islamic State or ISIS. Tens of thousands of Yazidis are trapped on Mount Sinjar without food or water. The women and young girls are being sold into sexual slavery, i.e. raped. Why is the U.N. not involved in their rescue?

        Isn't that what the U.N. is supposed to do? prevent genocide?

        And if the U.N. is not getting involved, why isn't it? No time? Too busy? Plenty of folks find the time to show up whenever they have one of their shindigs in New York,

                                                         ***

        "Ah, your majesty. What an honor."

        "Delighted to see you again, Mr. Prime Minister. You know you must try one of the chef's special hors d'oeuvres. He makes them with a little piece of lobster meat, a baby shrimp and a small scallop. Take it all in one bite. The taste is like nothing you've ever experienced before. 'Waiter. Waiter.' "

        Or when they have one of those conferences on the plight of women, except for the ones trapped on a mountaintop somewhere,

         Or one of those conferences on how it's not lukewarm all year round anymore so the rich countries have to compensate the poor ones for the lousy weather they're having. Yes, they have the hors d'oeuvres there too. But don't plan on getting a limo. They're usually  booked months in advance. 

                                                             ***

         Maybe the secret to getting the UN involved here is to have someone climb Mt. Sinjar and teach the Yazidis how to make hors d'oeuvres, especially the ones with a little piece of lobster meat, a baby shrimp, and a small scallop. If you take it all in one bite, the taste is supposed to be like nothing you've ever experienced before. Hmm.....'Waiter. Waiter.'

Austerity Yesterday, Austerity Tomorrow, but...

       Watching all those Greek students marching thru the streets of Athens, waving the Greek flag, wrapped in the Greek flag, laughing, singing, cheering...could remind a person of the French students in 'Les Mis' and the Paris uprising of 1832. Different flags but, students are students. Young is young.

        Live free or die. Live FOR free or die. What's the difference? It's only one word. Oh, those Greeks. 

         Death or food stamps. Don't take it all so seriously. Life is way too short. Don't be so...austere.

                                                              ***

Dear Greek Friends,

        Your political leaders want you to like them and will sometimes tell you what they know you want to hear.

        'Austerity' is not a choice. It's not jelly beans or soup or austerity or ice cream or...(pick one). You don't get to decide which one you want. 'Austerity' is paying back what you owe and then living within your means. That's the one you have to pick, sooner or later, or it will be picked for you and you'll never get any jelly beans or soup and definitely no ice cream...ever...no matter what anyone tells you.  

        And don't wait until the music stops or it could be too late. You may have forgotten how to dance.

        Good luck from your friends in Detroit and Chicago and Baltimore and....a few other places.
        "We could have danced all night. We could have danced all night. And still have asked for...oh, you know."