Overheard at the Counter: Maybe there's a reason why his name is Cain

Niall Carter says, "Just read a quote in Time magazine."


Lucky Moran says, "I'm obsessed by Time magazine/I read it every week in the downtown library."


John Steppenwolf, "Thank you, Allen Ginsberg."


Lucky, "That's his premier poem. So much better than Howl, don't you think?"


Niall Carter interjects, "But what I READ IN TIME MAGAZINE WAS . . ."


Steppenwolf, "Yes, yes, Niall, please tell us."


"It was a quote by Herman Cain . . . he was speaking out against the Occupiers, and he said 'Don't blame Wall Street. Don't blame big banks. If you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself.'"


Lucky said, "I heard that on my radio, just before I yanked it right out of my dashboard because hearing that pissed me off so much."


Steppenwolf, "I think the problem lies in that we as a culture have established this 'American Dream' that if you just work hard enough, you can be rich. It really should be called the 'American Fantasy' because it is a bald faced lie. No wealthy person EVER got wealthy JUST because they worked hard. It takes a huge combination of factors: timing, other people's support, the current economic conditions, the ability to get your message out, who else is or is not currently working in your particular field, and just plain dumb luck."

"That's so against what this country was built on," says Niall, "I'm wondering how you're able to sleep at night."

"Not well," says Steppenwolf. "I'm always afraid the CTP are gonna come crashing through my window and force feed me a solid non-stop diet of Michael Savage."

"CTP?" asks Lucky.

"Conservative Thought Police."

"Ah," says Lucky. "I always just called it the Heritage Foundation."