HOUSTON NOTEBOOK : A Single Point of Protest

While the Republicans were saluting American veterans in several events at the convention, a few angry vets chose to stage their own observances outside the Astrodome. Among the participants was Vietnam combat veteran John Steer, recipient of one of the White House’s 1,000 “Point of Light” awards for work on behalf of needy veterans. Steer and other protesters cite allegations that the Bush Administration has failed to work aggressively to resolve the fates of MIAs.

A Big Hit With Bush

At first glance, Russ Gifford looks like just another sports memorabilia fanatic peddling musty old baseball cards. But look again. All those cards are alike, and that skinny player in his floppy uniform looks vaguely familiar. Sure enough, it’s the legendary first baseman of the Yale University team of 1947-48, George (Poppy) Bush. Gifford says Yale gave him the photo in exchange for 6% of any profits he earns on sales of the $10 items to convention-goers. Bush apparently was pleased when Gifford presented him with one recently in Dalton, Ga. “Well, let me give you something for it,” Gifford says the President told him. Bush took off his presidential tie clasp, handed it to Gifford, shook hands and walked off. Maybe Bush was pleased to review his record at Yale: a respectable .251 batting average, 23 RBIs, 2 home runs, 442 putouts and only 9 errors.

Single Mom Hails Quayle

Vice President Dan Quayle may have angered multitudes of single mothers with his attack on television’s “Murphy Brown” but his critique struck a chord with Donna Sims. A divorced mother of three boys, Sims sent a letter to the vice president endorsing his criticism of the fictional anchor woman’s decision to bear a child out of wedlock. Quayle responded by inviting Sims to deliver one of the seconding speeches for his nomination.