What If Mitt Romney Were President Now?

Attorney General Eric Holder

Attorney General Eric Holder's recent announcement that he intends to resign reminds me that he remains the AG until his replacement receives Senate confirmation. Had Mitt Romney won the 2012 presidential election, such a thought would not have corresponded with reality. Then again, little about Romney's failed candidacy resonated with reality. A Romney presidency would have wrought a domestic disaster. 45 (in keeping with Romney's stature in the historical sequence of presidents) would have invited anti-abortion legislation that effectively would have turned every child-bearing woman into a potential felon. Voter rights, eroded by bogus "voter fraud" claims and very real anti-minority voter ID laws, would have returned the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave to the bad old days of Jim Crow. Given that Mitt won the majority of white male votes in the 2012 election, the Man from Bain would have been pleased with voting rights evisceration. Romney would have eliminated even the pretense of tax fairness, and through that action told those who are less than prosperous to go fuck themselves. Federal enforcement of securities law would have been reduced to a sham, and blatant financial corruption would have received the "wink and nod" legal treatment that has defined America's new millenium.

Romney would have confused military muscle with diplomatic wisdom. He would have rehabilitated the careers and reputations of intellectual gangsters such as Iraq War architects John Bolton and Paul Wolfowitz. Romney would have lionized extreme right-wing Israelis and empty suits such as Bibi Netanyahu. The idea that Mitt would have a clue about international economics would have been quickly dispelled, as his concept of "free enterprise" consists of the legalized looting of "assets" while adding to unemployment for the 99 percent.

There are plenty of reasons to dislike and mistrust Barack Obama's policy directions. However, he has tried to preserve a nation that was nearly ruined by financial fecklessness, ideologically-driven war, and religiously-inspired social repression. Those three pillars of Republican Party policy have been entirely discredited; we should be appreciative of Eric Holder's work as Obama's right-hand man in that accomplishment.

A Back-to-School Message With a Twist

I work in educational publishing sales. I'm accustomed to receiving e-mail promoting products. These messages arrive at my work e-mail address. As far as I'm concerned, these promotional e-mail missives come with the territory, so I don't mind.

However, this morning I received in a personal e-mail account a back-to-school message. We don't have kids, so how I was chosen for this digital dart eludes me. The sender -- a major pharmaceutical firm -- was not expected. The e-mail's subject line -- Prepare For Back-to-School Season! -- didn't prepare for what would follow.

"The Migraine Minute" shouted the headline. Written into a quaint lead pencil graphic was the encouraging line "Prepare for back-to-school season with migraine relief for adults". Well, I suppose that's more to the point than pitching martial arts lessons, introductory code writing sessions for pre-K students, or career guidance for fourth graders.

"The Migraine Minute" was subsequently positioned as an advertorial: "your source for migraine tools, news, and resources." Now if this major league pharma firm had included the migraine medication in kids' backpacks, that would have been interesting. All an adult reader received from this wacky e-mail was a headache from reading it.

Germany Signals Caution Over Radioactive Meat

Wild Boar
(Image: Wikipedia)

Germans craving wild boar sausage may need to exhibit care before dining. According to a story originally appearing in the UK newspaper The Telegraph and summarized in theverge.com, a study cited by the German government raised the yellow flag on wild boar consumption. The report noted that one of three hunted wild boars in Germany's eastern province of Saxony exhibited radiation levels unsafe for human consumption. The unhealthy source was most likely from the wild boars' food supply, notably mushrooms, that continue to harbor radiation from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. In case you're keeping score at home, the distance from Chernobyl to Saxony is roughly equivalent to the distance between New York and Chicago.