The Supreme Liar

U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas' autobiography goes on sale Monday morning October 1. Thomas, a staunch conservative, received a $1.5 million advance. Good for him.

Yet, word is that Ol' Clarence, the second black to serve on the High Court, is a very bitter associate justice and, it appears from the early reviews, a very bitter man.

National Public Radio's Nina Totenberg put it well on All Things Considered on Saturday. Nina had spoken with several people who helped him get confirmed 16 years ago,  "allies who simply don’t understand it because it reopens a wound that’s 16 years old, [a wound] that most people have moved on from, and it draws the Supreme Court into a place where it doesn’t want to be which is into politics.”

Totenberg described My Grandfather's Son as "intensely personal - far more personal that any memoir I have ever read. And it’s language is so vivid that it’s almost uncomfortable at moments to read."

Wrote Clarence:

"What gave these rich white men the right to question my commitment to racial justice? Was there no limit to their shamelessness?"

Which senators was he talking about?

Many, said Nina, among them Sen. Judiciary Committee Chairman at-the-time Joe Biden who he calls  "a hypocrite."

And Patrick Leahy of Vermont who dared questioned him on abortion rights and the law. "[Leahy's] bullying was something I just didn't give into," writes Justice Thomas.

Leahy's "bullying?"

St. Patrick's been called a whole of of names, but I wasn't aware "bully" was on the list.

Reached by NPR's Totenberg at his Middlesex, Vermont home on Saturday, Vermont's senior senator had this to say:

"Well, it’s an interesting reaction he had. I simply asked a routine question about whether he ever discussed Roe v. Wade.

"He surprised everybody, Republicans and Democrats on the committee by saying he had never discussed Roe v. Wade or the hearing, even though the decision came down while he was in law school.

"I don’t know any senator who believed that answer, either Republicans or Democrats. Most people were kind of scratching their heads wondering why he wouldn’t tell the truth about something like that."

Here's a taste of the Leahy-Thomas exchange during Thomas' confirmation hearing on September 11, 1991 - long time ago, eh?:

SENATOR LEAHY: You were in law school at the time Roe v. Wade was decided. Was it discussed while you were there?

THOMAS: The case that I remember being discussed most during law school was Griswold. But I did not spend a lot of time debating all the current cases.

LEAHY: I am sure you are not suggesting that there wasn’t any discussion at any time of Roe v. Wade?

THOMAS: Senator, I cannot remember personally engaging in those discussions.

LEAHY: Have you ever had discussion of Roe v. Wade in the 17 years it has been there?

THOMAS: Only in the most general sense that other individuals express concerns, and you listen and you try to be thoughtful. If you are asking me whether or not I have ever debated the contents of it, that answer to that is no, Senator.

LEAHY: Have you ever stated whether you felt that it was properly decided or not?

THOMAS: I don’t recollect commenting one way or the other. There were, again, debates about it in various places, but I generally did not participate.

Source: Senate Confirmation Hearings September 11, 1991

American Machine

Six characters on the third shift at a dilapidated car-parts plant in the rust belt are the fodder for Jim Lantz’s new play American Machine.

Ipsy, Teena, Lona, Buddy, Winkie and Lane.

Lane’s the 18-year-old son of the company owner, testing the summer-vacation waters on the family path to becoming the factory’s boss. Sweet, cute  guy. He ends up knocking-up Teena [well-acted by Bridget Butler, by the way], a single-mom with two kids home with her mom.

Lona’s the Latina single-mom with a dead-end life, who’s mostly on a cell phone fighting for custody of her kid. In the back of my mind, I wondered why she’d have any shot at custody if she was working the third shift?

Buddy, played by prolific local actor Dennis McSorely, has been there for 35 years and is mostly into porn movies.

Winkie’s a big, fat, dumb you-know-what.

Not a lot of laugh lines in this 90-minute one-act, but one is Winkie’s about them giving him a week to come up with the 500 bucks to pay to f*** the gorilla.

And Ipsy, the shift supervisor, has an accent, a limp and some kind of learning-disability.

You got it - a very depressing crew.

"Life Sucks and Then You Die" would be an apt alternate title.

What shone through to this blogger/reviewer was the effort Lantz the writer/director put into it. An admirable quest for some kind of meaning in meaningless times. 

“Once you got a mold,” says Ipsy, “you can make anything from plastic.”

American Machine will be at the Flynn Space though October 7.

Just can’t beat live theater.

Thank you, Mr. Lantz.

Roper Gets Nasty!

Vermont GOP Chairman Rob Roper certainly exudes that All-American-Boy look, very clean cut, straight-laced, but, boy-oh-boy Chairman Roper sure dug his teeth into Democratic House Speaker Gaye Symington with this Wednesday press release:

Symington’s company boasts green thumb
(but gives environment the finger)

For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, September 26, 2007

"The left in Vermont has repeatedly used our environment as tool for partisan politics. The negligence at Intervale illustrates that they are not only hypocrites, but unworthy of Vermonters’ trust as environmental stewards.” – Rob Roper

House Speaker Gaye Symington is the Development Coordinator for the Intervale Center. This organization has just been cited by the Agency of Natural Resources as having violated the Vermont Solid Waste Management Rules, the Vermont Indirect Discharge Rules, and the conditions under which the center was certified. As a result of Intervale’s danger to the environment the Center is facing the possibility of a forced shut down in July.

It is outrageous that a project enjoying the intimate involvement of the Speaker of the House and the Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, with a mission dedicated to "protecting natural resources," could be in such flagrant violation of Vermont environmental law.

Intervale is made up of a veritable who’s who of left wing politics in Vermont. The Speaker of the House is the Development Coordinator. Progressive Representative David Zuckerman farms a plot on Intervale. The treasurer for Democrat Scudder Parker’s gubernatorial campaign, Will Rapp, is the “honorary founding member.”

Check out the "Who We Are" section of Intervale's website here: http://www.intervale.org/who_we_are/index.shtml

Thursday afternoon, House Speaker Gaye Symington put this baby out:

For Immediate Release
September 27, 2007

Statement by Speaker Symington regarding The Intervale Center

I work for an organization that is founded on values of land preservation and environmentally sound practices.  The Intervale Center is taking the notice of alleged violations seriously and is committed to minimizing the environmental impacts of the facility. My job at the Intervale Center is to support our work and communicate the center's accomplishments: over 100 jobs in farming, healthy local food in schools, water and soil improvement, a conservation nursery, a youth farm, restoration of historical buildings, and the transformation of a former dumping ground into productive farms.

Sounds like Ol' Robbie struck a nerve, eh?

I called the Speaker's Office for comment. Had a couple questions. Was told she was "on the road" and not available.

An Orwellian Wednesday

Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff [speaking with DMV Commish Bonnie Rutledge and Gov. Jim Douglas in a pre-planned photo-op],  made an unheralded visit to Burlington Wednesday. Chertoff toured the Department of Motor Vehicle facility on North Ave and signed a memorandum of understanding with Gov. Scissorhands aimed at enhancing border crossing security. Said our Guv:

So, it’s a real honor and privilege to be one of the first three states in the country - Washington and Arizona being the other - that will be pilot projects for the Department of Homeland Security and we appreciate, Mr. Secretary, you’re not only entering into this memorandum of agreement with the state of Vermont, but for coming here today to share in this announcement.

Under the voluntary program, Vermonters will shortly be able to apply for enhanced drivers licenses. They’ll cost $15-20 more and contain a computer ID chip. Eventually the Bush administration hopes to require all American citizens to carry passports when returning to the US from Canada.

An overreaction to 9/11?

Implementation of the passport requirement, however, is currently on hold.

And Vermont Transportation Sec, Neale Lunderville [above with the two big guys], and DMV Commissioner Rutledge acknowledged afterward there is at present no guarantee that it will be implemented anytime soon given the upcoming presidential election in November 2008.

In the brief Q & A with reporters, yours truly asked Sec. Chertoff for his reaction to Vermonters' concern that the proposed new computer-chip enhanced drivers licence represents a dangerous step toward Big Brother-style surveillance. Replied Sec. Chertoff:

We are not going to take over or own the database or the information. This is a state drivers license. I mean I guess there may be people who think that having a driver’s license is Big Brother, and that’s between them and the state troopers, but, ah, I think from our standpoint we are keeping this in the state. What we are doing is giving the state the capability to issue an enhanced driver’s license that we will accept when people want to cross the border into Canada or coming back from Canada.

I think everybody recognizes when you cross an international boundary, you are required  to show some kind of identification. So I don’t think this order in any way, shape or form looks like a Big-Brother type of operation.

So. there!

Everybody feel better?

Vacation Wednesday

Yes, "officially" I'm on vacation. No "Inside Track" column in today's Seven Days. I think they got some distinguished legal beagle to fill in for me. 

Of course, there's no place I actually want to go for vacation. Everywhere I've wanted to go, I've already been. Besides, the vacationers come here. Church Street has often felt like Montreal South this summer.

Hey, dig the last of the flowers out front here in Burlap's south end. We all have a part to play, eh?

"Freyne Land," however, is another story.  Plus, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff's surprise and almost secret visit to Burlington today gives this blogger and WDEV radio reporter plenty to focus on.

His presser with Gov. Jim Douglas is at 2:20 this afternoon.

If you had one question to ask Mike Chertoff, what would it be?

Chertoff Visit Update*

Very interesting.

Citing "a reliable source," yours truly posted the item below about a Vermont visit on Wednesday by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff shortly after 8 a.m. this morning. We also emailed and called Gov. Jim Douglas' Press Secretary Jason Gibbs.

No response from Jason.

Still.

Then just before noon, the Vermont Democratic Party Executive Director Jill Krowinski put out this:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Douglas must ask Chertoff serious questions Wednesday

Montpelier, Vt- Today Vermonters learned that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff will be meeting with Governor Douglas in Williston tomorrow.  This gives the Governor an opportunity to ask important questions on behalf of Vermonters, such as:

1.  There are no federal funds to pay for the enhanced driver's license program.  How much will this program cost the State of Vermont?  Will thef ederal government provide funds? Implementation of the enhanced driver's license program is scheduled for November 2008, but Secretary Chertoff has
insisted on use of passports for crossing the U.S.-Canada border by June 2008.  Since Secretary Chertoff is insisting on passports by June 2008, how will an enhanced driver's license benefit Vermonters 5 months later?

Four more of Krowinsky the Director's questions right here. 

# # #

Then we heard the location of Chertoff's 2 p.m. presser with GOP Gov. Scissorhands had been changed - from Williston to Burlington. And The Associated Press Montpeculiar bureau put out this story:

Homeland Security chief in Vermont Wednesday

MONTPELIER, Vt. --Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff will be in Burlington Wednesday to sign a memorandum of understanding with the state for the creation of enhanced drivers' licenses that could be used as identification to cross the Canadian border.

Prior to the public event, Chertoff will meet privately with Gov. Jim Douglas and the two will discuss border security issues important to Vermonters.

The public meeting will be at the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicle office in Burlington's North Avenue.

Many Vermonters are concerned that stricter border requirements could hurt businesses that rely on Canadians.

Vermont is working on a license that will include radio frequency ID chips and other features that can be scanned at the border. The license will cost more than a standard driver's license, but will be less expensive than a passport...

Can't wait for the Presidential visit, can you?

Didn't hear a peep about tomorrow's visit by Secretary Chertoff from Marselis Parsons or Kristin Kelly on the WCAX-TV News at Six.

The top story on WGOP, "Vermont's Own" "award-winning" TV news was a moose getting shot by wildlife officers in Burlington.

I'm not making this up....

**************************************************

IT'S OFFICIAL. This went out from Gov. Douglas' office at 7:47 p.m.:

Burlington, Vt. – Governor Jim Douglas and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff tomorrow will participate in a joint signing of a Memorandum of Agreement on Enhanced Drivers Licenses.

WHEN:  Wednesday, September 26, 2007 – 2:20 p.m.

WHERE: Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles, Burlington Office 193 North Avenue

INFO:   Media setup begins at 1:45 p.m.

            Signing of the MOA will occur promptly at 2:20 pm.  It is recommended that journalists be on sight and set up by 2:00 p.m.

            Journalists may be asked to present media credentials or valid government-issued photo ID like a driver’s license or passport.

Ledbetter Responds

Just got off the phone with “Vermont This Week” host Stewart Ledbetter.

He said he did not care to respond directly to Progressive State Rep. David Zuckerman’s charge that he had engaged in “irresponsible journalism” on Friday evening’s Vermont Public Television program. [See "Irresponsible Journalism" post two down.]

Ledbetter suggested Zuckerman hadn’t told the truth in “Inside Track” last week when he said Democratic Senate Boss Peter Shumlin had on two ocassions suggested Democrats and Progressives have mended fences and Progressive Anthony Pollina might be a candidate the Ds could back in a race against incumbent Republican Gov. Jim Douglas in 2008.

“[Zuckerman] can say what he wants to say,” said Ledbetter.

Though Shumlin still hasn’t returned our calls, Stew said he spoke with him around lunchtime on Friday via phone, and "because of that conversation," Ledbetter told us, he said what he said on the Vermont Public Television airwaves about someone “not telling the truth.”

“Shumlin said he was trying to be diplomatic about how the Democrats and Progressives could work together,” said Ledbetter.  Shummy told him, he said, that he had been “very clear and careful” in talking to Zuckerman that he was not backing Anthony.

Shumlin did have nice things to say about Pollina, said Ledbetter,  including “that he was articulate and a good speaker.”

Ledbetter said Shumlin also made other “off-the-record comments” to him which he did not share with yours truly.

“I wasn’t there in Montpelier,” said Stew. “It’s a ‘He said-He said.’”

Here comes Chertoff?

According to a reliable source, Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff is coming to Vermont on Wednesday for a quickie visit to the law enforcement support center in Williston.

The topic, we're told, is a proposed "enhanced driver's license" that will allow travel back-and-forth to Canada without requiring a passport.

Gov. Jim Douglas will be his host.

We noticed that the Guv's public schedule for Wednesday was blank. Perfectly understandable that the Fifth Floor would not want to publicize the Secretary of Homeland Security's visit.

Hey, it's not George "WMD" Bush himself, but....close, eh?

***UPDATE***:
11:45 a.m.

Sources tells us Sec. Chertoff's official Vermont visit is scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon at the Law Enforcement Support Center on Harvest Lane in Williston. That's about a mile west of Tafts Corners. Speculation is all the hush-hush [still no response from Douglas Press Secretary Jason Gibbs to our phone and email inquiries], is to keep the anti-Bush protester-turnout to a minimum.

"Irresponsible Journalism"

That's what House Agriculture Committee Chairman David Zuckerman [P-Burlington], called on-air remarks by "Vermont This Week" Host Stewart Ledbetter on Friday's broadcast, remarks suggesting he had not been telling the truth in comments published in last Wednesday's "Inside Track" in Seven Days.

Ledbetter [left] is a veteran reporter on WPTZ-TV, the Plattsburgh, NY-based Hearst-Argyle affiliate with a Vermont bureau in Colchester. He replaced Chris Graff this year as the host of the weekly news discussion program on Vermont Public Television that airs Friday night and is repeated Sunday morning.

One of this week's headlines was: Election '08: Is Anthony Pollina The Democrats’ Best Hope?

And what Ledbetter the Host said to the statewide audience was:

"As we look ahead in the off-year to Campaign ‘08, we saw a couple of dueling blogs this week, which certainly caught our attention for their implications and what they say, sort-of, about the back-story negotiations between the Progressives and the Democrats. And the issue was whether or not the top Democrat in the state senate, Peter Shumlin,  was sort of acknowledging in private conversation that maybe Progressive Anthony Pollina might be an acceptable consensus candidate between the Progressives and the Democrats to run against Jim Douglas, who Peter Shumlin would like very much to see replaced."

Then the panel batted it around for a couple minutes and Ledbetter dropped this stink bomb:

"Or maybe the story that Shumlin was pushing Anthony Pollina is simply not true."

Hello?

Maybe the Moon is made of green cheese?

First of all, I missed the "dueling blogs" that Stew's referring to, just comments by "odum" in the Green Mountain Daily blog last Thursday [link in column right].

The story of Sen. Shumlin suggesting Democrats consider backing Pollina in a race against Gov. Scissorhands of the GOP broke in last Wednesday's Seven Days. That's a Vermont-owned weekly newspaper and last week's was a healthy 128-pager. And the source for the story, pictured here with his wife and wee daughter at Saturday's Farmers Market, was clearly identified and on-the-record:

Progressive State Rep. David Zuckerman of Burlington told yours truly that Shumlin first broached the subject of a Pollina nomination last April.

“He came up to me at an event in Montpelier,” said Zuckerman, “and said we’ve really got to talk about how we’re going to get rid of Jim Douglas, and I think Anthony Pollina should really consider running.”

Dave the Prog, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said Shummy told him he would “be willing to talk to other Democrats about getting behind Anthony if we don’t have someone else.”

More here in "The Pollina Possibility?"

Informed in the park on Saturday of Mr. Ledbetter's on-air comments on "Vermont This Week,"  Rep. Zuckerman, at first, appeared a bit shocked. Ledbetter had not spoken to him about it.

"I respect Stewart Ledbetter," said Chairman Dave, "but that's irresponsible journalism."

Does he stand by what he said in "Inside Track?'

"Absolutely, 100 percent!" Zuckerman replied. "I will stand behind that for eternity."

Trust me. He meant it.

Meanwhile, I still haven't had the voice messages left on Sen. Shumlin's cell-phone last Tuesday returned. If it wasn't true, don't you think Shummy would have called by now?

And VTW Host Ledbetter has not, as yet, responded to my Sunday e-mail seeking comment.

Stay tuned.

Where's Bernie?

Would you believe Costa Rica?

That's right, amigos - Costa Rica! And rather hush-hush on the publicity-side, too.
 

We heard it from a reliable source on Thursday that Independent Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders [right], would be visiting Costa Rica this weekend to express his strong opposition to CAFTA - the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

Costa Ricans are holding a national referendum on CAFTA on October 7. Our source said Sanders had been invited by Luis Guillermo Solis, a political science professor at the University of Costa Rica, who is a leader of the "No" side.

Costa Rican President Oscar Arias is a leader of the "Yes" side.

Costa Rica, a nation twice the land size of Vermont with 4 million citizens, has Central America's strongest economy. Besides bananas, tourism and retirement enclaves for North Americans, there's offshore gambling, Costa Rica's #1 industry!  The country has been described as an Internet Las Vegas! The legal gambling outfits do not have to pay tax on profits earned outside of Costa Rica.

Nice.

Thought we'd hear from Sanders' U.S. Senate office but finally gave up and contacted them on Friday.  Press Secretary Michael Briggs confirmed it. Said he thought the Economic Policy Institute - a left-wing D.C. think tank that's involved with the trip - would have sent us this release.

Economic Policy Institute

EPI NewsAlert: Congressional Trip To Highlight CAFTA Concerns

On October 7, Costa Rican citizens will decide whether or not to approve the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), in an unprecedented referendum that could have serious economic and social consequences for Costa Rica, the United States and other countries.  This weekend, two U.S. lawmakers – Sen. Bernie Sanders (Ind-Vt.) and Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine) – will travel to Costa Rica to meet with governmental, business, labor, farm, and student leaders to discuss issues related to unfettered free trade.

On Sunday, they will appear at an EPI press conference to explain why they voted against CAFTA and that many in the U.S. Congress share their opposition to unfettered “free trade”.

Didn't see Sanders visit to Costa Rica [accompanied by two of his advisors including Huck Gutman], mentioned anywhere in the Vermont press, or any press, did you?

Not a peep.

Interesting, since Ol' Bernardo, as you know, has been an outspoken opponent of NAFTA and CAFTA. His tune has been a consistent one. In 2005, as a member of the House, he voted against CAFTA, but it passed anyway on a squeaker 217-215.

Water, Water Everywhere...

So I stroll down to Speeder & Earl's about 11:45 Thursday morning for the usual caffeine and New York Times and see how the world has changed!

The water main beneath the old brick building that's worldwide H.Q. for Speeder & Earl's cracked in three or four places around 5:20 a.m., flooded the joint, and the House of the Coffee Bean was closed. Ch. 5 and the Freeps were on the story.

John Briggs has an interesting piece in this morning's local daily which has Public Works Director Steve Goodkind all but admitting the city screwed up when they turned on a new pump at the main plant around 4 a.m.:

Goodkind said that when that particular pump is turned on, protocol calls for shutting down a valve by 80 percent to avoid a water surge known as a "water hammer."

"We're looking into it," he said.

Yes, indeed.

But pour moi, there was an upside. Not only did Marie Claire slip me a free New York Times from the unopened bundle on the front steps, but I head down two doors to Fresh Market and who I do I run into but this rather interesting crew. Recognize any of them?

That's State Sen. Hinda Miller, co-founder of Jogbra on the right; former Middlebury College President John McCardell, now a champion of lowering the drinking age, on the left, and Grace Kronenberg, McCardell's assistant at "Choose Responsibility" in the middle.

They were heading up to a 12:30 UVM panel discussion on the issue of lowering the drinking age.

I politely declined their kind invitation to attend, but they had a couple minutes and I had my tape recorder. Except for Grace, we were all the same age. McCardell's 58. Sen.Hinda and I are 57. The Sixties Generation are we: Vietnam, Woodstock, bellbottoms, grass and much more, eh?

Time was short, so I got right to the point:

Freyne: Is this really going to go anywhere, John?  Or is it Just something to help you “feel good” in your retirement?

John McCardell: No. I wouldn’t take this on just if it were to “feel good.” There’s lots of other ways I could feel good without going through this effort.

Hinda Miller: This is a very important issue in regards to our young people.

Freyne: Because?

Miller: Because at 18, we send them to war to die, but they can’t have a drink?

And the government has the audacity to connect it to transportation dollars, so our hands are tied because we need those dollars.

And it has to do with how we treat and look at our young people. And I have a 19 year old and I see how much energy is put in the disrespect and harshness of what goes on in this town around kids drinking. It is, I think, way out of bounds.

McCardell: It’s led to binge drinking, too. It’s forced it underground and behind closed doors.

Freyne: But how can you seriously be doing this and ignore crime statistics that indicate more marijuana arrests than other hard drugs. They’re still chasing pot?

McCardell: That’s a fair question and one about which I think there needs to be public debate. We are separating ourselves from that for a very simple reason, at least at this point. [Pot] is a substance that’s prohibited to everyone and there’s not an element of age-discrimination in that law, whereas with the drinking age, there is clearly an aspect of age-discrimination. But you’re an adult at age 18.

Freyne: You’re drawing the line on that - the age-discrimination factor?

McCardell: I think that’s what differentiates the two.

Freyne: But would you support decriminalizing marijuana?

McCardell: I think there are many of the same issues involved in both questions, having to do with the cost to society. I can’t speak even as an individual citizen without being associated with my organization so we have no position on that.

Freyne: Senator, should pot be decriminalized?

Miller: I’m interested in the tax dollars that are leaving our system and that’s one of them.

Freyne: Was that a “yes?”

Miller: I can’t say "yes" to you, Peter.

Time was up. They had to split.

And so it goes.....

Who are these guys?

Stopped by Contois Auditorium at Burlington’s City Hall Wednesday evening to catch the “Burlington City Democrats Biennial Caucus.” Caught a little taste of past, present and future in the process.

And finding a parking space wasn’t easy. The restaurants and watering holes were jumping. Aren’t those outdoor cafes something?

The town sure has gotten citified since the days I first started dropping into Contois circa 1979-80. It was a Democratic town back then with former bread-truck driver Gordie Paquette in the mayor’s seat - the pre-Bernie Sanders Era.

Then came the miracle - March 3, 1981. Ol’ Bernardo pulled the upset of the century, holding on to defeat Gordie by 10 votes on the recount with 40.1 percent of the popular vote! Burlington hasn’t been the same since, and for those of us “middle-aged baby-boomers” who were around back then, the transformation, the rebirth... has been remarkable to say the least.

In the photo, lower right corner, you see seated State Rep. Bill Aswad from the New North End. Bill, an engineer, was chairman of the city’s Planning Commission in 1981. He later served on the city council. A true diplomat is he.

To Bill's right in the white shirt with his hands in his pockets is Maurice Mahoney, a teacher and "alderman," as they were called in the old 1980s-days of Mayor Bernie and the Sanderista Revolution. Their clashes still ring in my ears!

That’s Rep. Rachel Weston from the Old North End in the white blouse - the future, eh? Even has her own website.

Behind Weston stands State Sen. Ed Flanagan, a bit of a legend himself, eh?  “Fast Eddie” we used to call him. An inspiration to many as the very first openly-gay statewide elected official in the United States in 1993 - auditor of accounts. And back in 2000, Ed was the first openly-gay major party candidate for the United States Senate.

On the far left, though not necessarily politically, is rookie Chittenden County States Attorney Thomas “T. J.” Donovan. Politics is in his blood. His mom is State Rep. Joey Leddy Donovan, and his grandpa, Bernard Leddy, almost got himself elected governor in 1958. He lost on a recount to Republican Bob Stafford 62,222-61,503.

In terms of “action” Wednesday evening, the 40 Ds in attendance elected a successor to Chair Mary Sullivan, a former state rep, who’d been in the post for five years.

The nod went unanimously to the vice-chair, Jacob “Jake” Perkinson [left]. He’s an attorney and partner of a rather interesting South Burlington firm that works in the area of securities, antitrust and consumer class action.

The new vice-chair, Elisa Nelson [to Jake's right], works at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. She told us she had been recruited for the post at the door. It came a little late, she said, but Elisa, a city resident for 15 years, seemed enthused  to be “jumping into the fire.”

Media Notes

Started the "Media Notes" item in the Ol' Inside Track column way back in the 1980s. The local daily pretty much ignored the existence of the local TV news operations and their staff - they could buy ad space if they wanted to - but that was about it.

But there's no business like show business, folks,  and TV News is definitely show business, eh?

Haven't been doing a good job keeping up with the turnover, so let's catch up in Freyne Land, eh?

Bianca Slota is a new reporter over at WCAX-TV, our local CBS affiliate.

Bianca, a Maryland native, arrives after a couple years breaking into the TV-News biz in Anchorage, Alaska. She studied journalism at the University of Maryland.

That's former Ch. 3 videographer Kika Bronger (a St. Mike's grad), now with New England Cable News, behind Bianca, giving her the "V" sign.

Welcome to Vermont, Bianca!

And someone who needs no welcome to Vermont is Reporter Rachael Morrow.

That's Rachael with the microphone in St. Patrick's gob at a recent presser regarding AG Alberto Gonzales' resignation. She's got a few months in already at WGOP, er. sorry, at WCAX-TV News. Been mostly on the early-morning news shift.

Rachael studied journalism at Lyndon State College and worked at the Caledonian Record in St. Johnsbury.

Also we hear there's another new reporter at WCAX this week, but we haven't crossed paths yet.

Stay tuned.

AG Battle Kicks Off

 Sen. Patrick Leahy made it perfectly clear on Monday (at least I thought so), that Michael Mukasey's chances of replacing Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General of the United States would improve significantly if the Bush White House stopped withholding subpoenaed documents related to its illegal domestic surveillance program, as well as to its removal of nine federal prosecutors for apparently political reasons.

On Tuesday, just before dinner, Rob Roper, chairman of the Vermont Republican Party, issued the following statement:

Judge Mukasey deserves a swift and fair confirmation process. It is unfortunate that Senator Leahy intends, for purely political purposes, to stall confirmation of a gentleman Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) has called a ‘consensus candidate.’

Leahy’s partisan reaction to a consensus nominee flies in the face of his recent boast, “I've been aggressive in making sure that we [the Judiciary Committee] operate in a bipartisan way.” (Leahy Brings the Law, Burlington Free Press, 9/16/07)

On August 1, Senator Leahy was extremely critical of outgoing Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez for making “law enforcement appear political.” Because when that happens, “the whole system breaks down.” (Leahy attacks Bush, Roberts, by Roger Simon, Aug 1, 2007).  By this logic, confirmation of the United States’ top law enforcement office should not appear political either, yet Leahy is making it so.

And finally, this is simply unfair. Leahy’s demands have nothing to do with Michael Mukasey or his abilities to be a successful Attorney General, a position critical to our national security as we fight the War on Terror.

Patrick Leahy should put politics aside and give our country and Judge Mukasey a fair and speedy confirmation process.

Sen. Leahy's Chief of Staff Ed Pagano sent us this response:

"Too bad the Republican Party chairman once again doesn't know what he's talking about, just what his masters at party headquarters in Washington have told him to say.

Meanwhile Senator Leahy and White House Counsel Fred Fielding both say they are having promising discussions about access to documents that until now have been locked behind the stonewalling.  Mr. Roper won't succeed in undermining that progress.

The President hasn't even sent this nomination to the Senate yet, and the confirmation  process will proceed in due course once he does."

Bernie and the Vets

Vermont leaders of several veterans organizations, Monday, praised Congress in general and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders in particular for recently approving "the greatest increase in veterans health care in history."

The Veterans Affairs committee is one of four, sorry, five committees Sanders sits on and on Monday, representatiuves of the  American Legion, the VFW and Disabled American Veterans joined Ol' Bernardo at his Burlington office to thank him and thank Congress for approving the largest increase in veterans benefits in the VA’s 77 year history. That's the VFW's Ed Laviletta of Highgate in the photo with Bernie.

On September 6 the U.S. Senate passed an $87.5 billion funding package, similar to one already passed by the House - that’s $3.6 billion higher than what President Bush requested.

"Congress can be criticized for a lot of good reasons," said Sanders, "but when Congress does do the right thing," he said, their action should be highlighted.

As for the current quagmire in Iraq and the upcoming congressional debate this month over continued funding for the Iraq War, Sanders told reporters he preferred to focus on veterans issues and did not want to discuss the Iraq War other than to promise that in the next couple weeks there will be "a whole lot of discussion" on Capitol Hill about continued funding for the war and the Vermont senator promised he will be active in the debate.

Ed Laviletta said the veterans groups were "not talking about our current war per se. We're talking about the wounded and the people that need it and the people from previous wars that need to be taken care of. This is what we're praising Bernie for. Nothing else.

"Our delegation from Vermont is top drawer when it comes to these issues," said Laviletta the national legislative officer for the VFW in Vermont. "We don't look to the right or the left of it. We're looking right down the center to veterans issues and nothing else.

As for his opinion of Bush’s nomination of former federal judge Michael Mukasey to be Alberto Gonzales’ replacement as Attorney General,  Sanders said he didn’t have an opinion. In fact, Vermont's junior senator said he knew virtually nothing about Mukasey other than what he’s read in the newspapers.

Time Flies!

Was yesterday gorgeous or what?

Followed an impulse and jumped in the jalopy bright and early for a drive out of town. Out to Hinesburg and all the way to Bristol. Back in the early 1980s, when gasoline was "cheap," that was my getaway. It was also my route for distributing that "alternative" weekly: the Vermont Vanguard.

Burlington was but a dusty, crumbling old "city," and it took just a minute or two to get out in the "country." All those upscale housing developments along Spear and Dorset Streets had not yet been built.

Half the shops in Bristol were empty back then. It had a definitive "tiny town that time forgot" feel to it.

Not anymore. Like Burlap, Bristol's all spruced up - no empty storefronts - and there's even a fine coffee shop - the Bristol Bakery & Cafe - that gives Burlington's gourmet coffee shops a run for the caffeine and pastry.

Was on a window stool in the sunlight  when when the bikers showed up shortly after 9 o'clock.  A couple dozen or more had pedaled out from South Burlington - about 34 miles [State Rep. Michele Kupersmith and Deputy State Auditor George Thabault among them]. 

And they were pedaling back, too!

Baffled & Outraged!

The Saturday "hottie" is by Paul H. Heintz in the Brattleboro Reformer.

Shumlin outraged by energy meetings

BRATTLEBORO -- The Department of Public Service plans to hold five public workshops throughout the state next month to discuss Vermont's energy future. But not one of them will take place in Windham County -- home of the state's single largest energy producer, Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.

That has Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin, D-Windham, baffled and outraged. {That's Shummy in a Statehouse Freyne Photo from April. He's the one who's not on the wall.]

"There are an awful lot of folks up there who just want us to accept the waste, accept the aging plant and shut up. How better to accomplish that goal than to not hold a public forum down here," he said.

"This is a calculated effort to mute the voices of the citizens in this state who have hosted the plant for 35 years."

In a letter he sent Friday to Commissioner of Public Service David O'Brien, Shumlin requested that the department schedule another conference in Windham County.

"It is only reasonable to expect the Department of Public Service would want to listen to Vermonters who live with a nuclear power plant in their back yard," Shumlin wrote.

But according to O'Brien, the situation is a "misunderstanding."

...O'Brien said he had not heard from Shumlin before receiving the letter late Friday and said a simple phone call and conversation could have resolved the matter.

More here.

Also, may I share this lovely little fairytale a friend sent:

Once upon a time
in a land far away,

a beautiful, independent,
self-assured princess
happened upon a frog as she sat
contemplating ecological issues
on the shores of an unpolluted pond
in a verdant meadow near her castle.

The frog hopped into the princess' lap
and said: " Elegant Lady,
I was once a handsome prince,
until an evil witch cast a spell upon me.

One kiss from you, however,
and I will turn back
into the dapper, young prince that I am
and then, my sweet, we can marry
and set up housekeeping in your castle
with my mother,

where you can prepare my meals,
clean my clothes, bear my children,
and forever feel
grateful and happy doing so."

That night,
as the princess dined sumptuously
on lightly sautied frog legs
seasoned in a white wine
and onion cream sauce,
she chuckled and thought to herself:

“I don't fuckin think so.”

We don't want to be strangers...

Listening to the Radio Rangers on WDEV, live from the Tunbridge World’s Fair on "The Mark Johnson Show." Listening on the Internet. Modern world, eh?

And as the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus reports this morning:

He's been known as Buster the Wonder Dog's companion, the guy who hosts "Music to go to the dump by," a radio-station owner (WDEV in Waterbury) and personality, a longtime auto racing broadcaster and Thunder Road part-owner.

Now Ken Squier can add a new title to his highly varied resume: 2007 Vermont Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year.

The Vermont Chamber of Commerce picked Squier, of Stowe, to honor his extensive service for the communities within Vermont.

Bravo! There’s only one Ken Squier.

Full disclosure: Yours truly’s been a news stringer with ‘DEV, The Friendly Pioneer at 550 AM & 96.1 FM since....1981.

Bernie Sanders winning the mayor’s race by 10 votes is what triggered it.  All of a sudden, Burlington, Vermont had something, and someone, that demanded news coverage, and boots on the ground in the Queen City.

Still have the same microphone.

Hey, it works.

Mud-Slinging, Dirty Politics?

Big day for Ian Carleton, the chairman of the Vermont Democratic Party, and a man who would be king one day, eh?

First he was in The Burlington Free Press, by virtue of the fact that in his day-job, Attorney Carleton represents a Mary Fanny orthopedic surgeon charged with sexual assault.

Then bright and early at 8:15 a.m. [he had a client-mediation session at 9 a.m.], Democrat Chairman Carleton kicked off his presser at Democracy for America headquarters [the old Dean for America HQ in South Burlington] where he questioned the "ethics" of three-term Republican Gov. Jim Douglas. Gentleman Jim?

Why?

Because Gov. Scissorhands' Administration has awarded a $70,000, six-month Washington lobbying contract to a mostly GOP-connected Washington lobbying firm - Dutko Worldwide. I know, it sounds like a furniture-moving company, doesn't it?

Head-scratcher Ross Sneyd from VPR, Nancy Remsen from the Freeps and Kristin Carlson from Ch. 3 also showed up.

Had this nice little back-and-forth with the Democrat Party Chairman, who among many things, called the Dutko contract "an inappropriate, hasty, no-bid decision by the Governor."

However, there's been no complaint whatsoever from our congressional delegation over it.

CARLETON: The lobbyists that Gov. Douglas has chosen through a no-bid process do not appear to represent the kind of politics that Vermonters want to practice.

FREYNE. You’re insinuating over and over that this is "dirty politics," but you won’t say it. But your insinuating it a half-dozen different ways. Right?

CARLETON: What I’ve said is what I’ve said.

FREYNE. I know what you’ve said is what you’ve said, but if I were to report that the chairman of the Democratic Party accused the Douglas Administration of using “dirty politics” would I be correct or would I be incorrect?

CARLETON: I think that that’s a strong statement.

FREYNE. But would I be correct or not?

CARLETON:  No. I think that would be an exaggeration of my statement right now. I’m not outright accusing...let’s put it this way.

Gov. Douglas has made a political career out of convincing people that he is a moderate, common-sense, reasonable guy. This contract does not manifest those characteristics. This is a different kind of Jim Douglas. This is somebody who without consulting Vermonters, without offering an open process, is directing money toward people who were part of the vast conservative right-wing agenda that has brought so much destruction on our country for the last five or six years.

I’m not accusing Jim Douglas himself of being part of that overall demise. What I’m saying is he is directing Vermonters’ taxpayer dollars towards people who apparently were.

The Guv's spokesman, Jason Gibbs {below right] responded to the Democrat Party Chairman's press-conference attack via an e-mail. Here's an excerpt:

"The Attorney General (a Democrat) approved the contract early this week and it has been signed.

"Our focus is navigating the tangled morass of Washington and its incessant partisan sniping and having someone there to help us do that is the right thing to do.  Up to $70,000 seems like a reasonable investment of resources in order to fight for more than $30 million in health care resources, including more than $21 million for children with special needs. 

"Compare this investment to the $1.4 million the democrats just blew on defending an unconstitutional law and their effort to pass another one just like it in the last session.  Or, compare this investment to the $26,000 the Speaker paid to former Democrat Representative Paul Cillo to produce, according to the Speaker herself, absolutely no formal work product—nothing, nada, zip[1].

"Or, you could compare this investment to the more than tens of thousands of dollars the Legislature has spent in the last few years on over-priced consultants to duplicate the work that the state’s more than 9,000 employees are more than capable of doing.  Or compare it to the tens of thousands of dollars the Speaker wasted to have the entire House in session while Cindy Sheehan occupied their chamber for a day."

Hey, why can't we all just get along, eh?

On a lighter note....Thanks, John Gregg.

Obama-wama Night

"He’s the candidate who has spoken consistently and clearly against the war in Iraq," said former Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle, speaking to an enthusiastic and hopeful crowd of over 100, upstairs at Nectar's in downtown Burlap Wednesday evening.

"He is the candidate who can unify this country," said the former Mayor Moonie, "to make America the great place that it can be."

A upbeat crowd of over 100 gathered for a Barack Obama for President fundraiser upstairs at Nectar's on Main Street. Good vibes. Nothing fancy. Folks are more and more starting to see the ol' light at the end of the tunnel return.

Democratic Attorney General Bill Sorrell [right] read off a list of "10 Reasons Why" Barack Obama should be the next president of the United States. They included:

"He's a very smart guy

"You don’t become president of the law review at Harvard," said Sorrell, "unless you’re really smart. And you don't teach consitutional law at University of Chicago Law School unless you're really smart. And it strikes me, we should have a smart president, shouldn’t we?"

Excuse me, was our distinguished Attorney General insinuating something about the intelligence of our current president?

"An EPA under Barack Obama," said Gen. Billy, "will be a leader in improving our environment in dealing with global warming and it wouldn’t take the states to grab the feds, kicking and screaming.

"Barack Obama inspires me. I think he inspires a lot of people. And can you imagine having a leader in the White House who inspires us as a nation?"

Also a fiery speech from State Treasurer Jeb Spaulding.

"Barack Obama is a candidate who knew in the first place that we should have never gone to Iraq," said Spaulding,  "just like our entire Vermont congressional delegation.

"I got to tell you the truth," said Jeb [ a man they say is himself waiting to be governor in 2010, eh?].  Though Obama took flack from the right for it, Spaulding was "quite impressed,"  he told a cheering crowd, when he "saw a man stand up and say, 'Yeah I would be willing to meet with the presidents of Syria, North Korea and Iran and look at them in the eye.'"

Time for "fresh thinking in this country, not the same old thing," said Treasurer Jeb.

Really?

The "New" Brand

The Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, said Tim Shea [left], its vice-president, represents almost 3000 business from dozens of towns and communities in the greater Burlington, Vermont area - the booming and bustling Burlington area, I must say.

And on Wednesday chamber leaders unveiled the results of a two-year  project to get “on-message,” i.e. zero in on a common theme or a single brand to use to market our little world to outsiders. [The Burlington "Branding Tool Kit" is available on the LCRCC website.]

The LCRCC spent $35,000 on a consultant who tested focus groups in the Montreal and Boston markets to find out their view of "The Peoples Republic of Burlington," as some of us call it on occasion, and surrounding communities - the lively growing suburbs.

Shea said the focus groups found:
• Montrealers think Burlington is “a whole other world.”
• Bostonians need “a real good reason” to visit Burlington.
• Visitors seek “escape” here, but not “retreat.”
• Tourists also want discovery, serendipity, and adventure — the “found experience.”

What they came up with is a new logo and a new brandname. That's Nancy Wood, executive director of the Burlington Business Association doing the honors. Henceforth, we shall be known as "The West Coast of New England."

"The Burlington brand," said Shea, "conveys what Burlington is: quirky, hip, a wonderful place to live, visit and do business.”

So, how does it feel to live in a place the outside world thinks of as “quirky” and “hip?”

And, yes, I asked, and “progressive” did not make the list. We apparently think of ourselves as more “political” than outsiders do, said chamber officials.

“Politics didn’t come through in the focus groups,” said one.

Bernie on BBC

 

From the BBC World Service:

Katty Kay: Let's get a response to the testimony and what we've been hearing from Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent senator and thank you very much for joining us.

Q: We said that there will be 30,000 troops coming home. We should make it clear that this takes the number of troops back to pre-surge levels.

SANDERS: Exactly, not lower than that.

Q: Are you satisfied with what President Bush is going to announce?

SANDERS: No, of course I'm not satisfied.  This war has been a disaster from day one. It is a disaster today.  The United States has got to bring our troops home as soon as possible. We need a whole new approach to combating international terrorism. While we are bogged down in Iraq spending billions and billions of dollars, Osama bin Laden remains free. Al Qaeda is growing in strength. The Afghanistan situation is deteriorating.  Pakistan is deteriorating.  Al-Qaeda is growing all over the world. It was al-Qaeda that attacked the United States of America. We have got to address that and get out of Iraq as soon as possible.

Q: Given what you've just said.  Given how unpopular this war is in the American opinion polls, why haven't the Democrats managed to come up with a coherent counter strategy to the present strategy?

SANDERS: That's a good question and a fair question, but I would also remind you and the viewers that in the Senate it takes 60 votes to kill a filibuster, and on any substantive issue the Republicans certainly will filibuster. We don't have the 60 votes to stop them. But I do think we need a strategy that can capture the imagination of the American people who want this war to end.  When Petraeus was asked today, ‘General when is this war going to end? One year? Two years? Five years?’ he had nothing to say. So we're looking right now at a war that has gone on longer than the war against Hitler and it may go on even longer and I think the American people are saying enough is enough.

Q: Senator John McCain, a Republican, said that General Petraeus was great for his message, that he was ‘straight out of central casting’ was how he put it. Do you think General Petraeus will have changed any minds in America?

SANDERS: Well, McCain is right.  General Petraeus is intelligent, he's handsome, he’s good on TV. He is out of central casting.  But I think most Americans understand that this is Bush's war, and the work Petraeus is doing is representing the very failed policies of President Bush.  And the American people want fundamental changes in those policies.

Q: If the next president of the United States is a Democrat, will we see American troops come home sooner?

SANDERS: Well, if I have anything to say about it the answer is yes, and I certainly hope so.  I mean even when you talk about the quote-unquote successes of the surge, the BBC and ABC, as you may know, just did a poll yesterday  They asked the Iraqi people, has the surge made your country safer?  Most Iraqis say no, the situation is deteriorating.

Q: Senator Bernie Sanders, Thank you very much for joining us.

Vermont Voices

Many I've run into of the last few days have acknowledged the depression. You're not alone.

Honest.

Especially those following George "WMD" Bush's apparent winning drive to keep our troops in Iraq, the blood flowing and the cash registers ringing for Haliburton and the rest of 'em, while everything else is falling apart!

The Democrats may have a majority in House and Senate, but they do not have enough votes to win. Perhaps one can take brief comfort in the voices of Vermont's Capitol Hill threesome: Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and Congressman Peter Welch.

**********************************************
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)
On The Testimony Of General Petraeus And Ambassador Crocker
On The Continued Deployment Of U.S. Troops In Iraq
September 10, 2007

The Bush Administration misled the nation into one of the costliest blunders in our history, wrongly connecting Iraq to the attacks of September 11.  Ever since then they have attacked anyone who has dared to question their poor judgment, their lack of a coherent strategy and their incompetence.

Six years ago our troops had cornered Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.  Then the Bush Administration diverted our military resources to Iraq, and he slipped away.  He remains on the loose today, and terrorism has increased worldwide.  Meanwhile, the war in Iraq has lasted longer than World War II, squandering hundreds of billions of U.S. tax dollars.  The President wants to keep the pedal to the floor in this war, dumping the Iraq mess onto the next President’s doorstep.

The inescapable reality remains that the Iraqis are no closer today to any kind of political settlement to end this conflict.  No surge of additional military force will change the situation when the Iraqis themselves are not willing to make these hard choices.  In the meantime, our presence discourages the Iraqis from taking responsibility for their own future.

With no light at the end of the tunnel after more than five years of war, the answer is not to keep lengthening the tunnel.  The answer is to begin bringing our troops home from the middle of Iraq’s civil war.

*********************************************** 
Senator Bernie Sanders issued the following statement on the war in Iraq:

“In 2003 President Bush misled us into an unnecessary war with Iraq and today, four and a half years later, he is still misleading us.

“The goal of the ‘surge,’ as stated by Mr. Bush on December 9, 2006 as he announced the troop expansion was ‘an Iraq that can govern itself, sustain itself and defend itself.’   It was to give the Iraqi government the time and space it needed to bring about political reconciliation and long-term stability.   Yet according to such nonpartisan observers as the Government Accountability Office, that has not happened.  Despite the extraordinary efforts and sacrifice of American soldiers, the Iraqi government remains divided and dysfunctional.  Of the 18 benchmarks that they were supposed to have achieved by now, only three have been met, four have been partially met and 11 have been outright failures.

“The Iraqis themselves know the ‘surge’ has not worked.  According to a recent ABC/BBC poll, more Iraqis say security in their local area has gotten worse since the ‘surge’ has begun, than say it has gotten better.  Most dishearteningly, a majority of Iraqis now believe that it is acceptable for attacks to take place against American troops—with 57 percent now holding that view, which bodes badly for American forces stationed in Iraq.

“After the deaths of more than 3,700 American soldiers, the wounding of over 27,000 more, and the expenditure of over $500 billion, it is not acceptable that the Bush administration still has no exit strategy.  We are caught in a morass:  General Petraeus has said the Iraqi situation would not be resolved "in a year or even two years," and this summer referenced the “at least nine or 10 years” it took Britain to resolve the violence in Northern Ireland.   This sort of long-term occupation is totally unacceptable.

“The United States needs to move in a new direction in Iraq.  It must also find a new direction for fighting the growth of international terrorism.

“I will continue to demand a timetable for the withdrawal of our troops, a withdrawal which should be completed within the next year.  Although we must continue to support the Iraqi government and their military so that they can defend themselves, the time to begin bringing home our American troops is now.”

************************************

Congressman Peter Welch
United States House of Representatives

“Iraq is in the middle of a civil war that cannot be resolved by the United States military.  The uneven progress reported by General Petraeus is tactical progress in service of what is the President’s failed military policy.  While our soldiers have bravely and characteristically done the job they have been asked to do, they cannot continue to referee a civil war or bring about the political and economic reforms necessary for stability in Iraq.

“Just last week the nonpartisan GAO reported that the Iraqi government has failed to deliver on nearly every benchmark of success put forth by President Bush.  The Iraqi Parliament has not passed needed legislation to promote Sunni-Shiite reconciliation, Iraqi security forces remain dominated by sectarian militias, and reconstruction funds are still sitting idle in Iraqi bank accounts.  Only in the Bush administration can a failing grade be considered a success.

“It is long past time to end this war and bring our troops home.  Regrettably, the President continues to cling stubbornly to his failed policy and appears intent on running out the clock on his presidency rather than admitting the need for a change in course.  Congress must use the power of the purse to force a change of policy and end this war.”

Comments?

Everyone's got to eat...

Ran into these two dudes grocery-shopping at the Price Chopper on Shelburne Road late Sunday afternoon.

That's Burlington City Treasurer Jonathan Leopold, on the left, and Ward Six City Councilor, and unsuccessful Democratic mayoral candidate, Andy Montroll on the right.

Everybody's got to eat, including yours truly.

Nice to see the city-hall types in a completely different mode, eh?

A cloudy dark start this Monday morning in Burlap to what looks like a cloudy dark week in Washington. The spotlight will be on Capitol Hill where, at the moment,  George "WMD" Bush looks likely to get enough Democrats to cave-in and keep the money flowing to continue funding his "Big Lie" in Iraq.

It's a bloody Vietnam flashback.

Deja-vu all over again, eh?

Before heading back to Washington, our junior senator, Independent Bernie Sanders, said it's time for the Democratic leadership to draw the line. Time to use the filibuster and keep the debate on war-funding going all day and all night.

No signs of that happening, eh?

These guys and the cities and towns they work for and represent could sure use those billions of dollars the Bush-Cheney team has poured down the sewer in Iraq, and wants to continue pouring down the sewer in Iraq....maybe add in some more for Iran, too?

Good for business. Well, some businesses, anyway. 

Surprise!

Don't think I can take the talk shows this Sunday morning. Watching John McCain or the ex-generals or the same old talking-head bs'ers coming up with some more twisted reasons to continue our Iraq War is simply too depressing.

And, may I say, my Sunday online edition of The Burlington Free Press is the perfect antidote.

Seriously, folks.

It's been my local daily newspaper since Jimmy Carter was president. And yes, indeed, there's been plenty to criticize over the years at the Gannett-chain's Vermont outlet...plenty.

But this dark and damp Sunday morning in beautiful Burlap, the local daily's packing four or five good long Vermont news stories. The special effort is both noticed and appreciated. After all, I've been newspaper junkie since Dwight D. Eisenhower was president.

Freeps Courthouse Reporter Adam Silverman's front-pager on the young Iraq War veteran back home in Winooski and in trouble with the law is top shelf. It's a side of Bush-Cheney Iraq War the Administration, no doubt, would prefer we did not see.

Another beauty is veteran writer Candy Page's feature on how Gov. Jim Douglas is NOT measuring up to his 2003 goal of cleaning-up Lake Champlain's toxic algae blooms.

Oopsie!

And that older guy with the white hair who covers Burlington City Hall has a tasty, long tale that ought to satisfy the appetites of those wondering where the big zoning-reform struggle lies.  Many a good line in John Briggs' piece, such as:

Several councilors faulted Progressive Mayor Bob Kiss for his silence on the rewrite, with one observing that Kiss told the council at its last meeting about the hurricane damage to Burlington's Nicaraguan sister city, Puerto Cabezas, but said nothing about the rewrite.

"A weather report," said Keogh. "Why he's not there (on the rewrite), I don't know. If (former Mayor Peter) Clavelle were in there, he'd be leading the charge. The council's well ahead of Kiss on this. I think he's still catching up on his job description. I don't think he's exercised much leadership on this whole thing."

"He needs to communicate with councilors at the meeting," Gutchell said. "And he doesn't come across forcefully enough in saying we as a council aren't doing our job."

"I think there's a role for the mayor in making his vision known," said Montroll, adding he didn't understand Kiss' vision "completely, at this point."

Who does, eh?

Enjoy.

An "Amen" to art...

So I dropped into Speeder & Earl’s down on Pine Street around 4 O’Clock Thursday afternoon. The coffee and the NY Times-in-hand ritual. Better late than never.

A gentleman was hanging his new art show. They change monthly. Plus this is the big South End Art Hop Weekend.

The brick walls at Speeder’s are huge and usually the monthly art show comes off as tiny...lost in space. This stuff was different. Oil paintings. Big ones for a change. And these paintings were an eyeful - double-take material. Heck, triple-take and more!

Definitely an eye-catching and thought-provoking collection of a dozen or so warmly-textured, intensely-colored oils that subject-wise spanned a range from Vincent Van Gogh, to George Bush & 9/11, the Buddha and much more.

As he hung his works, Philip Hagopian, 48, of Montpelier, explained one as being “about living on a planet where we’re held hostage where we’re all enslaved by the cost of living, meanwhile I’m trying to make a living doing artwork and so the golden calf is false religion. This gold Buddha symbolizes wealth.”

Wealth?

“Oftentimes people trade happiness for wealth,” he explained, “but for me it would be just having enough so I don’t have to stress out making a living and doing what I love to do.”