Sideswipe

Spotted outside Countdown supermarket, Mt Wellington.

Real bloke rescues Brash: A reader writes: "It was a dark and stormy night as the polls closed for the 1984 snap election. The Labour candidate for East Coast Bays was heading back to HQ having driven a door-knocker through a final sweep of the electorate.

"Rounding a corner, they came upon a tall, balding man paralysed with perplexity as he stood in the persistent precipitation contemplating deflation - he had a flat tyre and no idea how to fix it. Being of a helpful, caring, socially aware disposition, the Labour stalwarts stopped to assist the citizen in need.

"Their drive to do a good deed remained undaunted when they recognised the stranded motorist as one Donald Brash, twice failed East Coast Bays National candidate, now tyrelessly supporting his successor Murray McCully.

"History records that this wheel was not the only thing that the Labour Party changed that night. What can be learned from this experience?

a) Even the loftiest among us can be stopped by a little prick.

b) When the wheels fall off, and it all grinds to a halt, it is the Labour Party which gets the show on the road again.

This story is true, brothers and sisters. I know. I was that Labour candidate. Michael Smythe."

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A reader writes: "Is it significant that if you go to cast a special vote in the CBD you find yourself on the second floor of the Salvation Army building between a church and a brothel (the White House)? Is that where politics stands these days.

I might add that they don't make it very easy for a working person to cast a special vote. The offices in my electorate are only open weekdays 10-4 so I can never get there. The one in the CBD has the same hours and is a good hike up Queens St from where people work."

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Dianne Erdmann rescued a duckling after it was attacked by a crow. She nursed it back to health, fed it, bought it custom-made diapers and watched as it took its first flight.

She even took it to work, and that's where she was when officers from the Washington Fish and Wildlife Service came for the duck. It seems possessing a duck is illegal in the state unless, of course, it's dead.

Her boss sent word that unless the officers had a warrant, they weren't going to turn over the duck. It didn't matter. The officers grabbed the duck, allegedly striking Erdmann in the chest.

The duck is now in a state rehabilitation centre, and Erdmann is trying to convince local prosecutors to indict the officer who she says struck her. (Source: Reason.com)