Man, if Hutcheson Medical Center in North Georgia had a soundtrack, it would have to be the theme to "The Benny Hill Show."
Someone send in the clowns to that circus. Or better yet, send them out.
A facility that has been on financial life support for a while, Hutcheson was hit this week with fraud accusations of more than $1 million.
Hutcheson is accused of not paying its employees' insurance premiums. Of all the industries out there that would appreciate the value of paying its insurance tab, hospitals would have to be at the top of the list.
Jay GreesonThis is either total incompetence or an accounting shell-game to make the ends meet. There seems to be very little middle ground.
Sadly for those who count on Hutcheson for life and their living, either option is believable.
Ride the lightning
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was sentenced to death on Friday.
To that I say, good. And goodbye to the man convicted of the Boston Marathon bombings.
Plain and simple, you attack America and her citizens, then saddle up and pay the consequences.
We know a lot of rational and measured people who are against the death penalty, and we are comfortable with each of them having his or her opinion.
A big part of the discussion at times can turn constitutional, and it raises the question of cruel and unusual punishment.
Well, let's explore that and weigh the pros and cons of each side.
Side A: Filling a terrorist with an arm full of poison and hopefully showing the rest of the world how we will treat assassins on our own soil.
Side B: Sending said terrorist to a Colorado prison that isolates the inmate for 23.5 hours per day and has been described as a fate worse than death.
At that point, which is more humane? Never mind the fact of which is more affordable to the American taxpayer?
Somewhere, retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf is smiling at this verdict.
You will remember Schwarzkopf was asked about forgiving our terrorist enemies in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
"I believe that forgiving them is God's function," Stormin' Norman said. "Our job is simply to arrange the meeting."
Amen.
Where's your schoolmates
We learned in today's Times Free Press that we are sonically keeping tabs on tons of fish throughout our area, but apparently are unable to keep up with more than a dozen teenage hooligans wreaking havoc downtown.
Yes, it makes everyone all warm and fuzzy to make sure we know where all of the sturgeon are swimming up and down the Tennessee River.
Well, some of the parents of the 17 juveniles who have been arrested downtown the last couple of weeks need some sonic motivation, too.
Wide definitions
The Dalton Police Department has announced a "safe zone" for those who roll the dice and use Craigslist in which people "won't get killed," according to a headline.
Man, that's the widest gray line in history of the world -- if the definition of "safe zone" is the difference between life and death.
Good move by the DPD, opening up their parking lots for safer e-commerce. We know of another "safe zone" to buy and sell stuff, too. Hamilton Place. Or Amazon.
Out of order
OK, news from Chicago has a Taco Bell restaurant in that area being very close to selling beer.
Management for the new fast-food Mexican joint has applied for a liquor license.
Aren't a large majority of Taco Bell's fan base of the drive-through variety? Sure, it would seem like a big money-maker to offer drive-through Dos Equis, but this idea is bad on so many levels.
Hey, lots of folks enjoy a cold one with their chips and salsa, but why is Taco Bell messing with the order of things? For most of America, Taco Bell is the place to go after drinking too much rather than the place to drink too much.
Jay Greeson's column appears on Page A2 on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. His sports columns are scheduled for Tuesdays and Fridays. You can read his online column the "5-at-10" Monday through Friday at times freepress.com after 10 a.m. Contact him at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter at @ jgreesontfp.