SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:54 P.M. ET:

MARKETS WOBBLY – From CNBC: U.S. stocks plunged nearly 2 percent or more on Monday with the Dow and S&P 500 wiping out gains for the year on escalating tensions between Greece and its creditors.
"I think the uncertainty around Greece is just making people skittish and we haven't had a meaningful pullback for some time," said Ben Pace, chief investment officer at HPM Partners. "It's hard for anybody to fight this uncertainty."  Greece has gotten too little attention in the United States.  The country, economically, is collapsing, with a possible ripple effect throughout the West.  Happy days aren't here again.

IMPORTANT TRAVEL NEWS – From London's Daily Mail:   Michelle Obama says she'll do more foreign travel to promote education for girls in developing countries.  The first lady announced a new program earlier this year to help adolescent girls improve their lives by attending and staying in school called, 'Let Girls Learn.'  She since has traveled to Japan, Cambodia and London to promote the initiative and even stopped to have tea with Prince Harry.  She'd do a lot more good by staying home and donating the vast savings on her trips to a respected scholarship fund for girls.

CHICAGO CULTURE – From Breitbart:   Chicago’s 47th annual gay pride parade was disrupted several times by the usual city disruptions — gang activity, gunshots, and drunks — but the event was also disrupted by a car driving into a group of bystanders. Then there was an even larger interruption by “black lives matter” protesters.  Just about every Chicago parade these days features gunfire in the perimeters as gangs clash with police and drunks have probably been a parade disruption since forever. But this year a man tried to drive into the parade route, ramming his car into some bystanders — but not hurting anyone seriously.  Police swarmed the vehicle, smashed in the rear window and yanked out the driver, a middle-aged white man, and arrested him. Chicago police have released no details on the man’s identity nor his motivations for ramming the barricades for the parade.  But by far the biggest disruption was from a large group of “black lives matter” protesters. The group was joined by members of the black queer community of Chicago who announced the disruption on their website.  The respect among oppressed groups truly shows the unity that Barack Obama (come to save us) has brought to the United States.  Four more years!

June 29,  2015