Perdicaris alive or--oh, never mind!

As our Mislaid American Situation went into its second day, our fierce secretary of state gave the media a history lesson: 'One of the very first actions that was undertaken by our country, in its very beginning, was to go after pirates along the Barbary Coast', while the New York Times tut-tutted about 'the limits of the world’s most powerful military'. Thanks to both of you for being so very helpful. Will we be hearing from the president any time soon?

What a distance we've come since Teddy Roosevelt could shake the African coast by calling for "Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead." (Though come to find out, that incident too was more, um, nuanced than Professor Long told me in History of American Diplomacy.) Blue skies! -- Dan Ford