It's the patriotic hats that tick me off.

I spoke at a union meeting in Vermont about buying American. What I suggested is that we start off with trying to convince Americans to buy American made things that signify America, like the flag.

If we buy American flags made in China, WTF, how can we even try to persuade people on items like autos and computers and cell phones.

Let's start with the easy stuff to convince, like patriotic hats, tee-shirts and the flag itself. If we can't convince Americans on that type of merchandise, we have no chance with shoes and socks.