Buck's List of Wackos

Rich Lott In Nazi Uniform

My weekly breakfast with Buck was not about the up-coming college football season as I had expected. He began talking about politics before Sara was able to seat us. Although I tried to steer the conversation to gun control, he once again shrugged the topic aside. "  Will you give up on gun control. It's a a dead issue, no pun intended.  The NRA has frightened  the politicians away. Neither party has the guts to to point out that the only purpose for an assault rifles with huge magazines is to kill human beings, and I mean kill as many humans as possible and  as quickly as possible."

After we had placed our orders, Buck continued, "You just don't get it do you? Politicians are no longer leaders with visions for the future, Those days are history. Today most politicians fall into two camps, they are either grovelers who are in the pocket of Big Money or they are wackos."

"Okay," I said. " I'm glad you didn't say 'all politicians,' but I agree, especially after the Citizens United  decision,  many politicians  are for sale to the highest bidder. But what's with 'wackos'? What's that all about?"

"Oh, my God! Sometimes I wonder why we're friends. You're telling me you don't know the wackos? You must have been living under Rick Perry's "niggerhead" rock in Texas. And while we're on the topic, he is a wacko. He's the guy who thinks you have to be 21 years old to vote, and he thinks it might be a good idea for Texas to secede from the Union. Now, he's a wacko!"

"I'm not going to argue that one," I answered. "but that's Texas' problem. And after all, he was George W. Bush's protege, what else do you expect?"

"Since you and I belong to the Beer Party, you probably haven't noticed that the Republican Party has been taken over by the Tea Party, but you must have noticed that Mitt Romney has had to change his position on 25 to 30 major issues in order to get the Republican nomination. All because the GOP sold out to the Tea Party."

"So, you're telling me the Tea Party is the source of the 'wackos'?" I asked.

"You, betcha, as Sarah Palin would say. In fact," Buck took a a napkin and began writing, "I'll make you a list of the Tea Bag Wackos and you'll see my point."

I signaled to Sara that we needed more coffee, This was going to take some time.

Buck began writing and talking;

1. Todd Akin, running for the US Senate. You know, the guy who believes in "legitimate rape." He thinks a woman's egg will not bond with a rapist's sperm. The GOP appointed him to the Science Committee in the House of Representatives. So much for science.

2. "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacker, made famous by John McCain, is running for Congress. His solution to the immigration problem is to build a wall between the US and Mexico and "start shooting."  That's sad. He gives real plumbers a bad rap.

3. Christine O'Donnell, She was a Tea Party candidate for the Senate in Delaware and lost. She was the one who "dabbled in witchcraft" and thought that school shootings were a result of the ban on school prayer. Not to mention that she was dedicated to the elimination of masturbation.

4. Michele Bachmann. She was actually elected to the US House. A philosophical descendant of Joe McCarthy, she suspects that Muslim Americans are naturally a threat to the security of the United States. But that's not surprising. She's the historian who informed us that the Founding Fathers abolished slavery.

5. John Kasich, the esteemed Governor of Ohio. Ignoring the fact that he delivered the worst "State of the State" speech in the history of  Ohio, he has informed us: "I don't read newspapers in the state of Ohio. Very rarely do I read a newspaper." We could have guessed that, John.

6. Rich Iott. Fortunately this Tea Party darling was not elected. His claim to fame is that he liked to pose for pictures in a Nazi uniform. It's still not clear whether he understood the voters' problem with that.

7. Congressman, Kevin Yoder, a Republican from Kansas.  While on a junket to Isreal with 21 Republican congressmen, he sheds his clothes and goes skinny-dipping in the Sea of Galilee. Although in the past he was stopped for speeding and refused a breath test, he assures us alcohol was not a factor. On the other hand, his companions jumped in with their clothes on. Not sure that they're the sharpest knives in the drawer.

8. Josh Mandel, a superpac-financed Republican candidate running against Senator Sherrod Brown He traveled with Romney to southeastern Ohio and insulted coal miners by giving a speech in a fake southern accent. Although he didn't  fool the coal miners, he did fool Mitt Romney who didn't realize Josh was from the Cleveland area. But that's not the first time Mitt's been confused. He thought he saw his father, George, march with Martin Luther King.

9 Herman Cain, pizza CEO, who ran for president in the 2012 Republican primaries. Among his insane quotes was my favorite: " I am the Koch brothers' brother from another mother."

10. And we can't forget Rick Santorum, a Pennsylvania Senator who also sought the Republican presidential nomination. Ricky, obsessed with other people's sex lives, wants to make the use of contraception a crime.  He then tried to convince us: "There are no Palestinians." He also agrued that the Crusades  and "the fight against Islam" was not aggression on the part of Christians. But suffice it to say, Santorum  revealed his lack of contact with reality when he said: "Bush policies worked." In what alternative dimension? I ask.

At this point I beckoned Sara to bring us more napkins so Buck could finish his list.

Buck waved her off ."No, no. we don't need anymore. If I continued this list we'd be here all day. My friend gets the point, even though I haven't mentioned Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Rick Scott, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Sharon Angle, Joe Wilson, and the list could go on and on."

Sara and I breathed a sigh of relief.


Other "Breakfast with Buck" episodes:
Buck Explains Chick-fil-A Effect
Mitt Frightens Buck

Or check out Andy Borowitz:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2012/08/an-apology-from-todd-akin.html

Or NYT blogl:

The Crackpot Caucus

GOP: Ayn Rand Trumps Presidents

Cartoon by Steve Pitt, Nation of Change, 8/19/2012

The Koch Brothers' puppets, Romney and Ryan, probably never read  what some of our most respected presidents have said about the threats of unbridled capitalism.

Thomas Jefferson in 1802 wrote: "I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake up homeless in the continent their fathers conquered."


Republican president Dwight d. Eisenhower warned us in 1961 of a specific corporate threat. "In the 
councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or
unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists
and will persist." 

"The growing wealth aquired by them [corporations] never fails to be a source of abuses."

--President James Madison

Another Republican Teddy Roosevelt was also concerned about unfettered capitalism and unregulated corporations: “Our aim is not to do away with corporations; on the contrary, these big aggregations are an inevitable development of modern industrialism, and the effort to destroy them would be futile unless accomplished in ways that would work the utmost mischief to the entire body politic. We can do nothing of good in the way of regulating and supervising these corporations until we fix clearly in our minds that we are not attacking the corporations, but endeavoring to do away with any evil in them. We are not hostile to them; we are merely determined that they shall be so handled as to subserve the public good. We draw the line against misconduct, not against wealth.”  (Underling is mine.)  

A strange evolution has brought us to the point that today's Republicans consider talk of "the public good" to be blasphemous.

Then, contrary to what the Roberts' Court thinks, George Washington warned us of the corrupting power of money: "Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder."

On the other hand, Paul Ryan, the apparent Republican vice Presidential candidate, has informed us that he is a big fan and follower of Ayn Rand, the Russian-born atheist philosopher and novelist. He apparently has read and accepted her crass individualism  as exemplified in the following:

"Money is the barometer of a society's virtue." (Ayn Rand)

"If any civilization is to survive, it is the morality of altruism that men have to reject." Ayn Rand (So much for the Christian message of  social justice found in the New Testament.) 


"To illustrate this on the altruists' favorite example: the issue of saving a drowning person. If the person to be saved is a stranger, it is morally proper to save him only when the danger to one's own life is minimal; when the danger is great, it would be immoral to attempt it: only a lack of self-esteem could permit one to value one's life no higher than that of any random stranger." (Ayn Rand, 'The Virtue of Selfishness,' p. 52). (No wonder greedy corporate capitalists like her.)

More recently, Paul Ryan has tried to back away from his worship of Ayn Rand (differing on atheism and abortion), but one has only to examine the budget he pushed through the House to realize that he is still an ardent believer in the "virtue of selfishness."

Unfortunately, it appear Romney and Ryan would prefer the advice of Ayn Rand and the Koch brothers to that of  Washington Jefferson, Madison, Teddy Roosevelt or Dwight Eisenhower.

Check out Andy B. on Paul Ryan

Putin, Russian Orthodox Church & Pussy Riot

fOR THOSE of you who like me were wondering why the female musical group, pussy Riot, chose a russian orthodox church for their protest, I share the following perspective  blog (by Crystal):

SATURDAY, AUGUST 18, 2012

Putin, the ROC, and Pussy Riot

A post at dotCommonweal about Pussy Riot asks why the group would protest against Putin in Christ the Savior Church. I had a past post about that church here, and also a past post about the Russian Orthodox Church and its relationship with women here. Here's a bit from that last post that may help explain why Pussy Riot would choose that church for its protest against Putin ...

Putin's Reunited Russian Church
(TIME, 2007)

The Russian Orthodox Church was torn in two by revolution and regicide, by the enmity between communism and capitalism, nearly a century of fulmination and hatred. That all formally ended on Thursday in Moscow. Thousands of the Russian Orthodox faithful — including several hundred who flew in from New York — lined up under heavy rain to get into the Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior. There, they witnessed the restoration of the "Canonical Communion and Reunification" of the Moscow-based Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) .... While the sumptuous ritual was clearly an emotional and pious event, the reunification has political resonance as well because the Russian Orthodox Church is increasingly a symbol and projection of Russian nationalism.

Indeed, rather than first give thanks to God in his speech, the head of the ROC, Patriarch Alexy, paid homage to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Patriarch emphasized that the reunification could happen only because the ROCOR saw in Putin "a genuine Russian Orthodox human being." Putin responded in his speech that the reunification was a major event for the entire nation.

Nationalism, based on the Orthodox faith, has been emerging as the Putin regime's major ideological resource. Thursday's rite sealed the four-year long effort by Putin, beginning in September 2003, to have the Moscow Patriarchate take over its rival American-based cousin and launch a new globalized Church as his state's main ideological arm and a vital foreign policy instrument. In February press conference, Putin equated Russia's "traditional confessions" to its nuclear shield, both, he said, being "components that strengthen Russian statehood and create necessary preconditions for internal and external security of the country." Professor Sergei Filatov, a top authority on Russian religious affairs notes that "traditional confessions" is the state's shorthand for the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Church's assertiveness and presence is growing — with little separation from the State. The Moscow City Court and the Prosecutor General's Office maintain Orthodox chapels on their premises. Only the Orthodox clergy are entitled to give ecclesiastic guidance to the military. Some provinces have included Russian Orthodox Culture classes in school curricula with students doing church chores. When Orthodox fundamentalists vandalized an art exhibition at the Moscow Andrei Sakharov Center as "an insult to the main religion of our country," the Moscow Court found the Center managers guilty of insulting the faith, and fined them $3,500 each. The ROC had an opera, based on a famous fairy tale by the poet Alexander Pushkin, censored to the point of cutting out the priest, who is the tale's main protagonist. "Of course, we have a separation of State and Church," Putin said during a visit to a Russian Orthodox monastery in January 2004. "But in the people's soul they're together." The resurgence of a Church in open disdain of the secular Constitution is only likely to exacerbate divisions in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious Russia. ....

And more recently, and with Kirill I chosen Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2009 (an ex-KGB agent - can this be true?), things don't seem to be getting any better .... Art under arrest: A blasphemy trial shows the limit of Russia’s cultural freedom 

Romney: "Trust me."

Unlike other presidential candidates, Mitt Romney refuses to reveal his federal tax returns, but tells us: "Trust me. I paid at least 13% federal taxes."  Although his father, George Romney, had warned us that a politician who refuses to release his tax returns is hiding something, Mitt asks us to trust him, and perhaps we should trust that he paid at least 13%.  The problem is there seems to be something else in those returns that he doesn't want the public to see.

Being the trusting soul that I am, I will trust him. In fact, since he has asked, I will trust him when he makes the following statements..

 Trust me:
1. Women do not have the right to choose.
2. I like to fire people.
3. My dog, Seamus, enjoys being strapped to the top of the car.
4. No matter what I said in the past, I will abolish Planned Parenthood.
5. I will send immigrant children back to Mexico.
6. The money of the super-rich will trickle down to the rest of you losers.
7. I really need that car elevator. Everyone should have one. Oops, sorry. I forgot some of you lazy folks don't have cars.
8. I made a mistake with that RomneyCare thing in Massachusetts. Too bad it worked out so well for them.
9. Tax shelters in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands are good things.
10. Paul Ryan was joking about his budget, you know the one the US Catholic bishops called "immoral."

Trust me:
11. Secrecy has worked well for the Mormons, and it will work well for the Romneys.
12. I am a man of principles; it's just that I have had to change my principles to get the nomination.
13. I had a friend who is Palestinian. Not sure why we parted ways.
14. I actually believed Josh Mandel always spoke with a southern accent. Surprised to learn he is from the Cleveland area.
15. My wife's dancing horse, Rafalca, receives better health care than you whining middle class humans.
16.The records I shredded as Governor of Massachusetts contained nothing incriminating.
17.You are not going to goad me into saying "Pussy Riot."
18. Paul Ryan and I support mine workers and we will do whatever is possible to prevent any new mine safety regulations.
19. Paul Ryan's family does not need ObamaCare. They, like the families of other legislators, have a much better plan paid for by the taxpayers.
20. In our religion, we know how to take care of our women. We keep them in the other room and make decisions for them.

Trust me:
21. We have to cut Medicare in order to grow our military and defense budgets.
22. Paul Ryan just overlooked the fact that he requested $20 million of stimulus money at the same time he was opposing the stimulus program. Cut him a break. It was only $20 million for heaven's sake.
23. One-celled zygotes and huge multi-national corporations are people and need to be protected.
24. The more difficult it is to vote, the better it is for us.
25. I am not a wimp. I had to grovel and pander in order to get the nomination.
26. I am sorry I bullied that creepy gay guy in high school.
27. I am not concerned about the very poor.
28. I am not a preppy robot. I'm the guy next door; I'd be happy to sit down and sip some tea with you.
29  I love Michigan. The trees are the right height.
30. How dare the silly English call me a Twit. The only social media I use is Facebook.

Romney Reversals Cast Long Shadows

One would think that in 2012 an American citizen would know exactly what she/he is getting when voting for a presidential candidate. An informed electorate is the basis of a sound democracy and with a plethora of modern information technologies, one expects today's voters to be informed and confident of their decision. This year those expectations have to be placed on hold because #1) there is so much misinformation being circulated and #2) Mitt Romney has recently switched his position on most of the major issues of the day, leaving the voters uncertain as to which position he really believes.


In addition,  Romney is the candidate who ordered his staff to destroy Massachusetts' state records before he left the Governor's office. He obviously wanted to keep the public from knowing what occurred during his years as governor. In addition, unlike all other recent presidential candidates, he refuses to release his federal income tax returns. Voters have to wonder what they would learn if they ever had the chance to see his returns in light of the fact that the 2010 return (the one he apparently judged to be the least damning) revealed that Mitt had millions in tax havens in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands.

He appears to be a man intent on keeping the voters in the dark and confused as to his real position  on the issues. He has changed his position on almost all major issues of the day. These are just some of the issues he once supported and now rejects: Roe vs. Wade, stem cell research, raising the minimum wage, assault weapons ban, LGBT equality, belief in global warming, campaign finance reform, Bush tax cuts,
don't-ask-don't-tell policy, the individual health care mandate, and capital gains tax.  This is just a partial list and most readers will recall other Romney Reversals.

If candidate Romney specializes in reversals and secrecy, one would assume that a president Romney will continue down the same slippery slope. A Romney cabinet will need to be expanded to include: a Secretary of Revision whose full-time job would be to explain the ongoing Romney Reversals, and a Secretary of Concealment who would be in charge of shredding government documents.

Romney's Reverse Pandering

After the 1964 Civil Rights Act became law, the Republican party almost immediately became the majority party in the South. All of a sudden the party of Lincoln became acceptable and preferred in the South. Republican party candidates soon learned the so-called "Southern Strategy" -- a strategy to appeal to racist instincts by using code words to assure the racists that the candidate was on their side. Few candidates were so blatant as to make a direct appeal to the fear of all racists share, but they were experts as trying to vilify  Democratic candidates by associating them with feared blacks. Refer back to the Willy Horton ads Bush Senior used against Michael Dukakis. Even Republicans admitted that ad was a direct appeal to racial fears.


Then in the 2004 presidential campaign, all of the Republican sponsored questions about President Obama's background and religious faith were substitutes for good old-fashioned bigotry. They were blowing on the smoldering embers of racial hatred. However, in that case and to his credit, John McCain, unlike other Republican contenders, would have no part of it and dismissed it for what it was.


In 2012, that same Republican dynamic is at work in the Romney campaign, but with a subtle twist. Many have questioned why Romney would go to the NCAAP convention and provoke the audience to boo him by attacking the Affordable Health Care Act. Mitt did not go to garner black supporters, he went so that all the news coverage would be of a black audience booing him. That was the message he wanted the racists in his base to see.

In fact, the same reverse pandering occurred when Romney visited Israel. Some thought his remarks about Palestinian inferiority were a serious gaffe. Many, on the other hand, saw it for what it was,  a blatant attempt to pander to Jewish voters back in the United States. It was a Rovian version of the successful "Southern Strategy." It stood in contrast to Romney's direct approach in Poland where he pandered the old-fashioned way. In an attempt to attract Catholic voters, he mentioned Pope John Paul II so many times many thought he had converted from Mormonism to Catholicism.

But, usually, Romney's efforts at direct pandering end up demonstrating how out of touch he is with the average voter. Talking to auto workers he tried to ingratiate himself by pointing out that his wife owns two Cadillac SUVs.  Attending a NASCAR race (an audience the GOP claims as theirs) Romney admitted he didn't know much about racing, but pointed out  he has several friends who are NASCAR owners.

Mitt, it seems, is much better at reverse pandering. Most Americans laughed at the absurdity of Romney suggesting that 'Self Deportation" is a solution to the country's immigration problem. Perhaps we should re-evaluate Romney's true intention. Perhaps he too understood the stupidity of self-deportation, but was in fact reminding his  fearful anti-immigration base that he too was on their side. He apparently is content to write off the Latino vote hoping that the GOP efforts at voter suppression will keep them away from the voting booths.

One has to give him credit, Romney has taken the art of pandering to a new level.

Buck Explains "Chick-fil-A Effect"

I was wrong in thinking that Buck and I would be discussing the 2012 Olympics at our weekly breakfast at Nick's. I'm loving the Olympics. Although I spend most of my Olympic television time watching tennis, I am fascinated by almost everything, particularly water polo, archery, rowing, and of course women's beach volley ball. In addition, married to an ex-swimming coach, I spend an  inordinate amount of time watching swimming events.

With several badminton teams being disqualified  for "throwing" matches and the questions surrounding a teenage Chinese girl swimming laps faster than some of the top men, I was confident that I could get a "rant and rave" from Buck. Not to happen. Buck's concern with the Olympics was with the "weird"  opening ceremonies. "You know you're in trouble," he said, "when you are producing a visual spectacle, and you need commentators to explain why these children in their pajamas are jumping around on illuminated hospital beds. The visuals should speak for themselves without the assistance of commentators.  Not to mention a fake queen parachuting into the stadium. Only in England would people think that was cool."

"Well, I thought that was good British humor," I said. "But what about this 16 year-old Chinese girl, Ye Shiwen? "

"An old story. The Olympic establishment supports her now, but down the road they will find out how she cheated.  Remember the the East German women swimmers; remember the girl from Ireland? Eventually, years later, they discover the truth -- they cheated.."

Our waitress brought us our coffees and wanted to take our orders. I ordered my usual Boston Breakfast realizing that I would need to starve for two days to counteract the effects. Buck, on the other hand, told Sara to bring him anything that did not have chicken in it. "What about a cheese and ham omelet?" she suggested.

"Excellent," Buck said. "Just no damn chicken!"

"Wow. that was a little over the top," I said.

"Over the top, you say? I'll tell you what's over the top! The CEO of Chick-fil-A, Dan Cathy,  spending millions of dollars of his profits to attack the marriage of people who love each other. He's obviously made a fortune selling his stupid chicken, but that does not give him the right to tell other free American citizens who they can marry. These guys are hypocrites. They spend hours talking about freedom, but they want to dictate the parameters of that freedom for the rest of us. Thank God, our founding fathers were not anal types like these guys."

"Well, it's his money. I guess He can spend it as he chooses. The Robert's Supreme Court in Citizens United  pretty much said anyone can anonymously spend whatever they want to influence public opinion,."

"If you want to discuss Citizens United,  we'll be here for 78 hours, so I will spare you the explanation of why that was the most undemocratic decision of American history. In fact, John McCain would probably agree with me on that one.What I am trying to impress on you is that, although HATE speech is protected in this country, it requires non-haters to speak up in defense of the minorities. The Klu Klux Klan is permitted to espouse their racial hate, but that doesn't mean the rest of us should refrain from pointing out the idiocy of their position."

Sara served our breakfast plates and assured Buck there was no chicken in his omelet. As we we attacked our food, I pointed out to Buck, "Well there multitudes who disagree with you on this Chick-fil-A thing.  Former Republican presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee, declared August 1st to be 'Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day,' and crowds across the country lined up at branches to demonstrate their support for Dan Cathy's anti-gay stance."

"Oh without a doubt. There are many frightened bigots and hate-mongers out there, and they can be mobilized almost instantly when the right code words are used. They were out in force Wednesday with the Palins and the Santorums wallowing in their fear and hate, but will they be flocking to Chick-fil-A branches two months from now, after the spotlights have been turned off? Of course not. In fact, sociologists should refer to this phenomenon as the "Chick-fil-A Effect." defined as an irrational outpouring of support for institutions who are in denial of the the evil they tolerate or encourage." Buck was beckoning Sara back to our table. ''Sara, I want you to witness the fact that I at this very hour on this very day was the first to identify and define 'The Chick-fil-A Effect.' You can tell your grandchildren that you were here on this momentous occasion."

"I guess," a bewildered Sara said, "I should be honored. But I don't know what you're talking about. And furthermore I would never go to a Chick-fil-A. We sell real, farm-raised, organic chicken here. I have no interest in your processed chicken."

"Good girl!" Buck said as he tried to pat her behind, but Sara knew her clientele and deftly stepped back and out of Buck's reach.

" So, Buck," I asked. "You think this is a sociological principle?

"Absolutely. It applies to all aspects of society -- politics, religion, business, sports, international affairs, you name it."

"Sports? I think you're pushing it."

"Two words --  Penn State. Need I say more?"

"Yes you do need to say more. Explain it to the idiot who agrees to meet you for breakfast once a week."

"Do I have to?  Well, here it is. Jerry Sandusky, a successful assistant coach and friend of head coach, Joe Paterno, gets caught abusing young boys in the football facility. According to the Freeh Report, Paterno and the University cover it up to protect 'the program.' When these findings are revealed, students and fans go to the streets in support of the number one Nittany Lion, Joe Paterno. But we will see the real "Chick-fil-A Effect" this fall. Although the football program has been sanctioned by the NCAA and the Big Ten, the fans will turn out in force for home games. Tickets will be in demand and hotel rooms and dinner reservations will be hard to come by. Win or lose, the fans will make a statement of their support and sports commentators will be gushing about the loyalty. But then, see what happens the following years when the team struggles with limited recruiting opportunities?  Then we will see the corolloray of the "Chick-fil-A Effect"-- the initial enthusiasm dissipates as reality sets in. Ticket prices will fall and hotel rooms will be plentiful."

"That may be," I agreed, " but we will have to wait and see."

Mitt Frightens Buck

New at Nick's Diner:

Today, when I met my friend, Buck, for our weekly breakfast at Nick's Diner, I realized that he was fired up and that I was going to be doing a lot of listening.

Sara, working her way through college as a waitress, came to take our orders. I ordered my usual "Boston Breakfast," the size of which requires a special permit in most civilized societies, while Buck ordered the "Whack-a-doodle Special" (previously  known as a "California Omelet" until Governor Kasich reminded Ohioans that Californians were all "Wack-a-doodles.) As Sara turned to place our orders, Buck tapped her on her forearm. Turning back, she asked, "Is there something else I can get you?"


"Yes," Buck said. "I have a question for you. Do you know where that attractive tee-shirt was manufactured?" Buck was pointing to her powder blue shirt emblazoned with yellow letters proclaiming "Nick's Diner."


Somewhat confused, Sara replied, "No Sir, I do not."


Standing up, Buck asked, "Do you mind if I look?' He was already reaching for the tag on the collar of her shirt.


"I guess not,"  a blushing Sara whispered.


"Aha, just as I thought. Made in China!" Buck announces, while Sara scrambles to put a considerable distance between herself  and our table.


"You embarrassed her," I chided

"I'm just making a point. We're buying everything from China. I suppose you know that the US Olympic team is wearing uniforms made in China."

"They probably cost less," I suggested.

"Maybe, but only in the short term. In the long term, we are losing good American jobs and our economy will suffer." Sara was refilling our coffee cups before making a hasty retreat. "And now we learn that when Mitt Romney was in charge of the Olympics in 2002, the US uniforms were manufactured in Burma -- a military dictatorship. Can you believe that? But wait, it gets worse. Some genius on Romney's staff tried to explain it by saying it was not Burma, it was Myanmar. These guys want to run our country and don't realize that Burma is Myanmar!"

"Shades of Sarah Palin," I said as Sara served our plates, all the time keeping a wary eye on Buck. The Wack-a-doodle Special must have been quite good; Buck chose to eat rather than  lecture me  about outsourcing American jobs.

As we were finishing off the last morsels on our plates, Buck said: "Speaking of predator capitalists,..."

"What predator capitalists? I guess I wasn't following the conversation," I interrupted.

"Mitt Romney and his buddies, of course.You know, the guys who use other people's money to make money for themselves. They're not like George Romney whose company actually manufactured something useful and employed people who could then afford to buy an American Motors car."

"I wonder what George would think of Bain Capital and the modern hedge funds?" I asked.

"I guess we 'll never know, but I suspect he would question Mitt's need for off-shore bank accounts in the Cayman Islands and Switzerland. This is the guy," Buck continued, "who destroyed public records when he left office as governor of Massachusetts. The same guy who refuses make public more than one year's  tax returns. Gotta wonder what he is hiding."


"More interesting than that," I interjected, "is that he can't decide when he retired from Bain Capital. What kind of job is it that one can't remember retiring. Most of us who had real jobs know exactly when we retired. We no longer receive a pay check, but apparently the paychecks just keep coming for people like Mitt."


"Better yet, his staff tried to explain away the problem by saying he 'retired retroactively.' I presume the gal or guy who said that is the same person who thought Burma and Myanmar were two separate countries."


Adding kindling to the fire, I pointed out that Ann Romney's answer to the request for tax returns was: "We've given all you people need to know."

"Typical elitist response," Buck said. "They think they are the 'deciders,'  as George W. Bush was wont to say. And what's this with 'you people'? That used to be plantation language, but I doubt she meant it that way, I think she meant "you people" to mean the other 99% of Americans who are not part of the elite. I find it interesting that the arrogant don't recognize their own arrogance."


When Sara presented us with our checks, Buck said: "I am sorry I embarrassed you earlier. It's just that I go crazy thinking that Mitt Romney could possibly be the President of the United State."


"That was a little embarrassing, but I understand where you're coming from. And by the way, I think you will be interested in a new item Nick is putting on next week's menu. Instead of flapjacks, we will be serving Mitt's Flip Flops, 25 varieties and counting."


 Buck and I now have another reason to load up on calories at Nick's.

Palin Better Than Romney according to McCain?

Since Mitt Romney is refusing to release the majority of his tax returns, some have hypothesized that John McCain chose Sarah Palin rather than Mitt Romney as his running mate in 2008 after examining  Romney's tax returns.. In an attempt to contradict that speculation, John McCain said: " I did not pick Romney  because Sarah Palin was the better candidate." 

Very interesting.

Did McCain think that Palin was more qualified to assume the role of President of the United States than Mitt Romney? Presumably that should be a candidate's primary concern when choosing a running mate.If that indeed was McCain's thinking, what does this say about Mitt Romney? In the course of the campaign, it became abundantly clear that Sarah Palin was not qualified to be the President. Again, what damning praise that is for Mitt Romney!


Of course, there is another possibility - a more cynical interpretation of what McCain was suggesting. Since he said, "Sarah Palin was the better candidate," perhaps he was implying that Sarah Palin was better for his lackluster campaign, qualifications be damned.  She was an attractive female with very little experience and presumably very little political baggage. She was a darling of that group of Republicans known as the Tea Party. If this was the case, McCain is admitting he didn't care about having a qualified running mate, his main interest was to do what is best for John McCain, not what was best for the country.

And then there is the issue of money. Perhaps this was John McCain's main interest. In 2008, the day after he announced Sarah Palin as his VP running mate, his campaign raked in $7 million in one day, Was Sarah Palin "the better candidate" because she fired up the conservative base to open their wallets?

Whatever John McCain meant with this statement, it does not speak well of his 2008 campaign or the 2012 Republican Presidential candidate.

GOP VP Sweepstakes: New Candidates

In an earlier blog, I offered Primary Mitt some suggestions for possible running mates (Rubio, Portman etc.), but now that he has used his Etch-a-Sketch and has become General Election Mitt, I am offering a new list of possibilities. Back then, I suggested Mitt had to avoid anyone with too much personality in order to avoid revealing his lack thereof, but these are desperate times for Mitt. He has to think outside the box and take some chances. Therfore, I humbly offer the following candidates for Mitt's consideration:


Antonin Scalia : This politician should never have been appointed to the Supreme Court. He is a politician; not a justice. He has been using the Supreme Court to espouse his Republican agenda, all of which would be appropriate if he were Mitt's choice for his vice presidential running mate. And then, of course,  President Obama could then appoint a real justice to the Supreme Court. As for his health care insurance, Mr. Scalia could take his present government-paid program with him. He enjoys that insurance; it's just that he doesn't want the rest of us to have it.

Donald Trump: Together, Mitt and Donald would be the ideal vanity ticket. Mitt's judicious use of Grecian Formula on his hair makes the statement, but Donald outdoes him with the died , combed-over look. Other than his vanity and his hair-do, it is doubtful that Donald would bring anything else to the ticket. The Republicans don't need another arrogant, out-of-touch billionaire.

Tim Tebow: What an opportunity for Mitt to attract those Christian Fundamentalists who have failed to warm up to him. Who can resist a photo of Tim in uniform kneeling on the field and praying that God will help him vanquish  his opponents. In addition,  he claims to be a virgin. That's a great talking point. He could possibly  be the first virginal VP candidate. There are also rumors that he is gay -- an appeal to the LGBT voters. In addition, if he and Mitt were the only two people in the room, Mitt could justifiably claim to be the smartest man in the room. But, you say, Tim is not qualified to be the President of the United States. I submit to you that Republicans have not worried about that in the past. Consider George W. Bush and Sarah Palin. The only problem I see with Tim is that he "dissed" Notre Dame Football. That may cost him two or three votes, but the bishops will campaign for anyone as long as it's not President Obama.

Marty Golden: Since the Republicans really need to do something about their "woman problem," Mitt may need a running-mate to mitigate the GOP's blatant attacks on women's rights and health care issues. Perhaps, Republican New York State Senator, Marty Golden is the man  for the job. He wants to hold a taxpayer-funded event for his female constituents called "Posture, Deportment and Feminine Presence." He promises to teach women "the art of feminine presence," which includes tips on how to "sit, stand and walk like a model." and "walk up and down a stair elegantly." Rather than pass the Fair Pay Act to assist women in the workplace, the GOP wants to teach women a course in 1950's etiquette with emphasis on walking like a model. What a great idea. I wonder why no one has done this before.

Dr. Ruth Westheimer: I personally think this could be Mitt's out-of-the-park home run. The GOP is anti-woman, anti-science, anti-sex. In one bold stroke, the New Mitt could turn that around. Dr. Ruth Westheimer, a Sorbonne-trained psychologist and sexologist and host of several radio and TV sex advice shows, could change the GOP image overnight. In addition to being attractive to Jewish voters, she would probably be appealing to the core of the Republican Party which is obsessed with sex and what people do in the privacy of their bedrooms. The Wall Street Journal once described Dr. Ruth as a "cross between Henry Kissinger and Minnie Mouse." Can't beat that. An intelligent, highly educated woman with instant name recognition who would be quite capable of serving as President! Perhaps the Romney camp could use a tag line she used to sign off her sex show, "Get some."

I realize the gun-toting Tea Party fanatics would like to nominate Ted Nugent; but, although Mitt likes Ted's support and money, he can't put such a nut case on the GOP ticket. Such a move would be worse than McCain's disastrous choice of Sarah Palin.