"Beastly Things" by Donna Leon

Fans of Donna Leon and her Venetian police detective, Commissario Guido Brunetti, will be pleased to get their hands on her latest,  Beastly Things.

In this case, Guido has little to go on other than the unidentifiable body that was found floating in one of the canals, but with the help of the beautiful and mysterious secretary,  Signorina Elletra , who has an uncanny ability to mine the digital world for all  sorts of information, he and Viannello begin to put the puzzle pieces in place.

In many of the previous novels, Guido in spite of all his best efforts in solving the crime, has to watch helplessly as the Venetian judicial system allows one or more of the "bad guys' to escape any  significant consequences. In this case, Guido manages to control the outcome satisfying his own sense of justice.

At one point in the story, Paola Brunetti recalls that during a financially rocky period, her mother refused to serve anything  but Parmigiano Reggiano, saying "Better nothing than something that isn't good." Although Donna Leon and her character, Guido, have been at this for a long time, the "good" parmigiano she produces just gets better.

The Three Faces of Mitt Romney

Mitt's Etch-a-Sketch
"I shake it and start over."

I had lunch today with my friend Stan, who unlike my other Republican friend, Buck, who has been disillusioned by Mitt Romney, has remained a stalwart GOP supporter. Although we have heated debates about politics, Stan is an old friend and we are able to maintain that friendship in spite of our differences.

Today, when I referred to "The Three Romneys," he didn't seem to know what I was talking about. Therefore, I had to explain to him that the "First Romney" who was running for the governorship of Massachusetts, proposed a liberal agenda to appeal to the voters of a liberal state. His campaign was successful and he implemented a liberal agenda including a health care program very similar to what he calls "Obamacare."

When he ran for the Republican nomination in 2008, he was considered too liberal for a Republican Party co-opted by the Fundamentalists and the Ultraconservatives.

Having learned his lesson, in the 2012 campaign, chameleon Mitt changed his positions to conform to win the support of the extremist right-wing of the party. This was Mitt #2! And viola, he received the nomination. Then he chose Paul Ryan, the disciple of Russian atheist,  Ayn Rand, and was now on the side of dismantling existing social safety networks.

But Mitt #2 could not win the general election with the baggage he had picked up in his quest for the GOP nomination. No problem. As one of his staff in a moment of honesty revealed, we have an Etch-a-Sketch. We shake it, wipe the slate clean and then we reinvent Mitt Romney #3 who can compete in the general  election. This is the Mitt Romney we are seeing now: the Mitt Romney who is protecting most of his tax returns from public scrutiny, agrees with President Obama's foreign policy, tries to deny he wanted the US auto industry to go bankrupt, promotes George W. Bush's domestic policies but doesn't want to be associated with him, and fears to speak out against the crazies in his own party who speak of "legitimate rape."

We know there are three different Mitt Romneys based on the expediency of getting elected. How many more Mitts are there waiting in the wings?

P.S. The problem with my friend, Stan, and perhaps many other voters is that they have conveniently forgotten the earlier Mitt Romneys and have to be reminded how often he has changed his position on major policy issues. I began listing the Romney flip-flops on a napkin, but Stan stopped me at 20 plus.
For some of the major Romney Reversals cf: http://ronstidbits.blogspot.com/2012/08/romney-reversals-cast-long-shadows.html

Whether it is "Romnesia," as President Obama kindly refers to it, or political expediency, the question becomes: Can we trust Mitt Romney?

Politicized Pulpits

A 1954 amendment to the tax code prohibits all tax exempt organizations,  including churches, from "directly or indirectly" endorsing candidates

The Law of the Land is simple: if any  religious organization, "directly or indirectly" endorses political candidates, they have forfeited their tax-exempt status.

If religious leaders, bishops, pastors, ministers rabbis, imams, or any others "directly or indirectly" attempt to influence their followers, they are breaking the law and should lose their tax-exempt status. It's time the IRS enforce the law. Some Catholic bishops and priests, and some Protestant bishops and ministers are blatantly violating the law. It is time for the IRS to begin legal proceedings against these  violators.

Granted, the clergy have the right to free speech as does everyone sitting in the congregation (1st Amendment) , but they do not have the right to use the pulpit for political propaganda. If they insist on using the pulpit as a means of promoting or opposing political candidates, they may do so; but they should be deprived of their tax-exempt status.

It is that very same 1st Amendment which our founding Fathers in their wisdom  chose to separate Church and State. Bottom line: do not mix religious beliefs and politics!

The separation of church and state is uniquely an American concept. Article VI of the Constitution states: "No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." Teddy Roosevelt, a Republican,  was adamant about this provision of the Constitution when he insisted,  in an era of anti-Catholicism, that a candidate's Catholicism was not an impediment to public office.

Ironically, today we have Catholic bishops and priests trying to breach the wall of separation of church and state.by claiming a "Catholic exemption" to health care rules based on their "belief" that contraception is immoral. Meanwhile some of these same Catholic clerics are breaking the law by using their tax-free pulpits to influence votes for or against a particular candidate.

In their role as citizens, clergy have the right, like the rest of us, to endorse or oppose any candidate, but the law prohibits them from using their tax-exempt religious organization to endorse or oppose. Those who continue to break the law should have their tax-exempt status revoked.

There of course is an alternative, The clergy who want to use their pulpit illegally to support candidates have the opportunity to practice civil disobedience in the tradition of Thoreau, Gandhi, Martin Luther King and the Berrigan brothers. They can break the law, and in their case, instead of going to prison,  return the money resulting from their tax-free status to the U.S. government.  Don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen.

Romney Haunted by George W. Bush

After three weeks (I had been on vacation), Buck and I resumed our weekly breakfast at Nick's Diner. I was sporting a sun tan and Buck was wearing a scowl. His greeting: " I hope you scored a shit-load of birdies down there while I had to play golf in in the wind, rain and cold up here in Toledo."

"Give me a break, Buck. You're confusing me with my brother, Jim, who considers pars normal and a birdie here and there as part of a normal round."

At this point, the hostess seated us at our favorite table, and Sara brought us our coffees. "I thought you guys deserted us for that franchise down the road."

"No way!" Buck interjected. "My friend, and I use that term loosely, decided to go to Hilton Head, and I was left to survive on my own."

"Oh you poor baby!" Sara said with mild sarcasm

"May I remind you, Sara, that I am a paying customer and your blatant ridicule could influence your tip.".

"I regret to say this, Buck, but your tips have not set any Guinness records"

Buck ignored that comment and suggested, " Perhaps you would be so kind as to take our orders?

After Buck ordered an "All American Omelette," and I my favorite "Boston Breakfast," I made the mistake of asking whether he had seen the second Obama-Romney debate. "Yes my man, It was the best presidential debate of all time. Two alpha males strutting around the stage and going at it nose to nose. The only thing missing were the boxing gloves."

"Granted the theatrics were mildly amusing, but what about the ideas?"

"What about Romney's refusal to answer a question? A lady asked Mitt to describe how he is similar to and different from George W. Bush, and he turned his back on her and talked about something else. Of course, he's the same guy who told us that he doesn't care about 47% of the country. Obviously this woman is someone he doesn't care about. Although  he is promoting the same failed policies of George W. Bush, his pollsters must have told him that he doesn't want to be associated with George W.In fact I think he must be afraid to look in the mirror in the morning because he might see George W. looking back.  And who can blame him? That has to be really scary, especially the first thing in the morning."

"Well," I said, " he tells us he can create 12 million new jobs and he has 'a binder of women' to appoint to high level jobs. What's wrong with that?"

"You have to be pulling my leg. This is the man who closed American plants and sent jobs over-seas in order to make money for Bain Capital. He even described in detail to his billionaire contributors the terrible working conditions of young Chinese women working in plants that Bain Capital was invested in. As for creating jobs, his party has almost unanimously voted against every job-creating bill in Congress. As they were wont to say, 'It's not about what is good for the country, it's about defeating President Obama.'"

"That's not what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they asked representatives  to swear to promote  'the General Welfare," I said.

"Probably not;  but they would never have envisioned a Supreme Court decision similar to Citizens United., allowing unlimited,  anonymous spending for a political candidate, even if the money is coming from foreign sources."

"It blows my mind that true conservatives would agree with something like that," I said.

"Expediency, my boy. The Republicans are cashing in  and that's all they care about. Barry Goldwater would be outraged, but this generation of conservative lacks his principles."

When Sara brought our food and asked whether we would like anything else, Buck asked, "Sara, do you believe women and men should be paid the same for doing the same job?"

"Absolutely!"

"Are you familiar with the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act?"

After a brief hesitation, Sara said, "Isn't that the law that allows women the right to file sit against employers who practice gender discrimination?"

"Exactly!  You are on top of things. Would you be surprised to know that Mitt Romney was opposed to that bill?"

"Of course not. He and his Mormon friends think women like me should stay in the house doing laundry and baking cookies."

Buck asked, "You have a problem with that?"

Her eyes riveted on Buck as she stepped closer. "The only reason I am not pouring this hot coffee on your crotch is your senility."