by Matt Baume

Muni's latest 10% service cuts went into effect this weekend -- did you notice? The SF Transit Union certainly did. They sent out an email calling the cuts "draconian," and announcing a plan to conduct outreach on key bus lines. The goal: get constituents to pressure their supervisors to reject Muni's budget. Keep an eye out for SFTRU volunteers handing out flyers, starting this evening on the 37.

There's certainly no arguing that the cuts suck. But are they "draconian"?

Draco, from whom the word is derived, was the first legislator of Athens, in the 7th century BC, and was mean. He imposed the death penalty for basically every crime. (Also, he was always late, and even though Archimedes invented a machine to predict his arrivals it was never accurate.)

So! By the standards of Draco the Lawgiver, no, Muni does not quite meet the threshold of draconianity. But it might more closely resemble the scenario laid out in "Draconian Measures," a Wizards of the Coast novel (and sequel to "The Doom Bridgade") in which an army of hobgoblins attack Commander Kang's brigade of dragon engineers. Ah, yes, that sounds more like it.