Quiet before the storm?

The parking-ban lights were blinking this morning down here in the South End of the Queen City. I trust Ol' John King is giving 'em a tester. King John's a former Burlington Police officer/sergeant/commander who's now in charge of all things related to parking enforcement and the winter parking ban.

Then this press release arrives from John "Be Prepared" via email. Hey, remember fax machines? Don't them seem ancient? The picture's from last winter. Wasn't that long ago, was it?

With the possibility of a snow storm Sunday night, it’s time to think about winter parking.

When conditions require the City of Burlington to plow city streets, or in anticipation of a snow storm the City can declare a parking ban.  Parking bans start at 10:00 P.M. and last until 7:00 A.M. during which time vehicles are not allowed to park on any city street or city owned parking lots.

When a storm has been declared the yellow snow lights must be turned on prior to 3:00 P.M.  When the lights are on, the ban is in effect for all city streets, not just the street the lights are located on.

Vehicles on city streets or parking lots during a ban will receive a $95.00 parking ticket and are towed to another street.  To prevent your vehicle from being towed, it is suggested you make arrangements now where you will park your vehicle during a storm.

You are allowed to park in any City owned parking garage from 10:00 P.M. to 7:00 A.M. with no charge.  Please do not park on the top (roof) of any garage.

Remember to avoid a tow call 658-SNOW for updated information. 

Cheer up!

Sure Ol' Dubya got his guy Mukasey into Alberto's attorney-general seat despite Senate Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy of Vermont's opposition, but....life goes on.

It ain't over t'il it's over.

This from "Leahy Central" this morning:

Chairman Rules That Executive Privilege And Immunity Claims Are Not Legally Valid

WASHINGTON (Thursday, Nov. 29) – Taking the next step to enforce subpoenas that the White House has refused to heed, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Thursday ruled that White House claims of executive privilege and immunity in the Senate’s investigation of the mass firings of U.S. Attorneys are overbroad, unsubstantiated, and not legally valid to block current and former White House officials from fulfilling Judiciary Committee subpoenas.  Leahy directed them to comply immediately with the subpoenas that were issued by the Committee earlier this year.

Yes, indeed, Ol' Karl Rove the spinmeister may have landed the big TV network commentator gig for 2008, but his life may be anything but worry free.

Leahy’s ruling on the White House’s claims of executive privilege is the next step in enforcing the Committee-issued subpoenas to Bolten, Taylor, Rove and Jennings.  Failure to comply with the directive may lead the Committee, and the full Senate, to consider holding the White House in contempt.

read more here under What's New?

AND here's the full six-page ruling by St. Patrick.

A taste: "...without support is the White House claim that Mr. Rove is immune from the obligation to appear in response to a Senate subpoena. There is no proper basis for Mr. Rove's refusal to appear, and it flies in the face of legal and historical precedent. Since World War II, 74 presidential advisors, in positions of proximity to the President similar to Mr. Rove, have testified before Congress, many of those compelled by subpoena. Even the President has not been immune from compliance with subpoenas."

On Vacation Freyne

An honor to be replaced in the print edition this vacation week by the one and only David Sirota. First met David when he was a [young] press secretary for a certain Vermont congressman with a Brooklyn accent. Thanks, David.

And here's something a little different. Marie Claire, pictured with her dad Tim Whiteford, a St. Mike's prof, manages Speeder & Earl's on Pine Street to pay her bills. But at the moment, she's on one of those month-long other-side-of-the-world vacation trips to visit a friend in India, not Indiana the state,  but India the country -  you know, where Gandhi preached a gospel of nonviolence.

We knew Marie Claire inherited some of her Scottish father's musical talent - Tim's the organizer of Richmond, Vermont's Celtic New Year - but the young lady picked up some writing talent somewhere as well, as evidenced by her entertaining online reports from India posted on her MySpace.com blog.

Here's a taste:

... you find your breaking point and pass it.

... when the taxi driver is trying to rip you off and tells you no he can't put the meter on because it's broken and you've heard that line a hundred times you look at him and yell "THAT'S A LIE!" and you can tell he knows it by the succeeding gleeful peals of laughter.

... your snot is black.  one day in Delhi and your snot - is - black.  we won't even discuss the q-tips in the garbage can.

... your rickshaw driver lets you off a block early because the street is heavily congested with traffic.  due to a wedding.  complete with groom-on-horse, marching band, hand-held lamps powered by a generator on a wagon, dancing indian men a la Elaine from Seinfeld.

... fifteen minutes after noting (out loud) the bad teeth and annoying indoor smoking habits of the large and curiously well-groomed party of Brits seated next to you at dinner, the restaurant manager stands up and announces to the dining room at large that it is their distinct pleasure this evening to welcome the mayor of London and his entourage.  whoops.

... oh well, as you sit and enjoy the evening's "entertainment" hired in his honor, you become certain that the belly dancer who is now gyrating around him while he tries to enjoy his meal is making him much more uncomfortable than your verbal faux-pas, which he probably didn't hear anyway.

... i hope.

... you really want to go to the beach.  good thing you're heading there tomorrow!

Deja-vu all over again...

Wednesday morning on your Champlain Valley FM radio dial: Louie Manno & Jim Condon, the star radio duo who took the town by storm in 1986 on Q-99 will be together again - though only for a day.

Manno's recently slid in behind the mike at 102.3 FM "Best Country" WLFE as the replacement for the late, great G.G. Griggs, killed in an untimely single-vehicle accident in Swanton a couple weeks ago. His pickup slammed into a tree. No seat belt, said the police.

Manno & Condon hit The People's Republic of Burlington during Bernie Sanders' third term as mayor in 1986. The boys were the hot morning duo on Burlington's radio dial well into the 1990s. They finished up on the AM dial at1390 WKDR with former Burlington Free Press city hall scribe and talk-show man Mark Johnson in 2001.

Jim and Louie next started up and operated the Radio Deli on Pearl Street in Burlington for a few years. They sold the deli.  Condon [whose almost 20-year-old intro still prefaces Mark's morning talker on WDEV, 550 AM and 96.1 FM] has found a second life in politics - he's a successful Democratic state representative from Colchester!

Wednesday morning it'll be Louie & Jim - together again on WLFE/St. Albans, Vermont...

Use it, or lose it...

Funny how this works.

Scary, actually.

Do you think if The New York Times and the Washington Post and CBS and CNN and the rest of the nation's corporate-owned-and-operated news crowd had actually done their journalism jobs right, we'd be in such a mess?

A senseless military bloodbath in Iraq. Environmental crises locally and globally. A crumbling dollar. And the crooks and liars still in command.

First Amendment?

Use it or lose it, eh?

Vermont's one-of-a-kind Independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders was recently the keynote speaker in Atlanta, Georgia at the annual convention of The Democratic Socialists of America annual convention.

Did the American corporate media notice?

Are you serious?

The only press coverage we could find was on the website of the Atlanta Progressive News:

"We’re not radical. You know who’s radical? George W. Bush," Sanders said in his remarks. "Bush says we can’t afford money for food stamps... but we can afford $10 billion a month in Iraq, we can afford to repeal the estate tax. If anybody tells you we can’t afford health care for all or getting all children out of poverty... you look them in the eye and say Bernie Sanders is on the Budget Committee and it just ain’t so."

More here.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
— The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Ever wonder why they made it the very "First," eh?

Good point, eh?

Made on the Vermont radio airwaves Monday morning by John Nichols [right], distinguished progressive writer for The Nation and a telephone guest on today's Mark Johnson Show on WDEV AM-FM:

"Impeachment is not an option but a necessary response to a presidency that so dramatically mismanaged and misguided this nation. If we can’t impeach now, then we can never impeach because I guarantee to you that every president will always tell you that the times are too extraordinary to allow that president to be held to account.

"On this one I’ve got to go with Jefferson and say that the times are never too extraordinary to uphold the Constitution."

Nichols was on the panel at this evening's "Impeachment Teach-In" at Dartmouth. More on John Nichols here.

Duck Wisdom

Location: The harbor in Burlington, Vermont near the U.S. Coast Guard station. The boatless boat-access ramp.

A bit of a chill. Windy, too.

Yours truly was the only homo sapiens. Haven’t been down there all year. These guys had been sitting and floating along the shoreline having a little chat when I pulled up.

I popped out of my freshly inspected 2000 edition motor vehicle {McCaffrey’s Sunoco at North & North] and they came right over.

“Where you been,” asked the babe on the left?

“Slight life-style change,” said I. “2007’s been my year off the bike. It wasn’t just the cancer, it was time for a change of the routine. People still tell me they saw me on the bike the other day somewhere. I’ve stopped telling them I’ve been out of the bike saddle since December. People, after all, will see what they want to see.”

“You don’t have to remind us of that,” quacked the dude on the right.

“Sorry,” said I. “No bread. I just came down here on an impulse.”

“We’ll survive,” he replied. “After all, we ducks do not live by bread alone.”

Right.

“Just explain to us,” asked the female on the left, “why George W. Bush and Dick Cheney are still in charge, quack, quack?  In our little world, one-legged liars just don’t cut it, know what I mean?”

I told her I did. I also told here that “Justice in the human world often doesn’t get delivered as quickly as in the duck world. Especially in a ‘democracy’ which has rules and regulations and procedures and timelines and elections!"

“You people are so pathetic,” said one of the guys on the right.  “They stole the 2000 election. Your Supreme Court stopped the Florida vote recount that would have put Al Gore in the White House. An inconvenient truth, eh?

“Then the Bush-Cheney ruling team makes up bold lies to con your Congress and your 'media' and your crazy population into believing wild lies about Iraq so they can justify an invasion in 2003. And the bloodbath continues. For what?”

"Good question," I replied.  "Look, I’ve always wished human brains were as smart as duck brains. C’est la vie. You play the cards and the species you’re dealt, right?”

“I hear ya,” quacked one of the dames on the left.

"But,” says I, “it’s not like all human brains are dysfunctional. You guys probably aren’t going to fly cross-state, but Monday at 7 p.m. there’s going to be a big Impeachment Teach-In at Dartmouth’s Moore Hall.

“Among the participants in this human reality-check are Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Nation magazine writer John Nichols and Newfane Selectman Dan DeWalt who started the impeachment ball rolling a couple years back with a Vermont Town Meeting Day resolution.

“Hey, guys, we’re only human,” I told them.

Quack, quack, quack...

Behind the glass

All year long, I've been caffeinating, chit-chatting and reading the daily newspapers in print, down at Speeder & Earl's on beautiful Pine Street. And all year long, I've been sitting under the beautiful stained-glass creations in the window, not knowing who was behind them.

Would you believe an ex-lawyer?

No shit!

Finally met the face behind the glass on Wednesday. Chris Jeffrey told us he's a graduate of Northeastern Law School and spent 17 years practicing law, primarily as an advocate over at Vermont Tenants. But life has its different chapters, doesn't it?

"I decided being a lawyer kind of sucks," he said.

In 2000, Chris rented a little studio in Barre, Vermont and followed his passion and his talent - creating custom stained glass.

The rest is Mr. Jeffrey's evolving story - check him out here.

Message Control

Yours truly was working on the Ol' "Inside Track" column yesterday, so I had an excuse to miss Gov. Jim Douglas' UVM presser at which he attempted to embellish and defend his environmentally-friendly image.

Here's the official spin from the Fifth Floor:

A new partnership between state government and the University of Vermont will look to develop a strategy that leverages the state’s green reputation into a leadership role in the emerging carbon credit market, while pursuing biomass research and enhancing environmental education in public schools, Governor Jim Douglas announced today.

Gov. Douglas was joined by UVM President Daniel Mark Fogel, Commission Chairman Ernie Pomerleau and cabinet secretaries at a press conference today to discuss the findings and recommendations of the Governor’s Commission on Climate Change.

Douglas applauded the efforts of the Commission and Plenary Group. “Their reports speak for themselves. Vermonters care about protecting our quality of life and that connection with our open spaces will help in fighting global warming while bringing a new green economy within our reach.”

Nice, huh?

Unfortunately for Jimbo, we live in a country with a free press that allows those who don't see things the Guv's way a chance to express themselves.

John Curran, Montpeculiar bureau chief of The Associated Press also noted in his report:

Neither Douglas nor Agency of Natural Resources Secretary George Crombie could give specifics of the carbon-trading standard plan or set a timetable for it, saying instead the announcement signified a road map for Vermont's energy future.

The Commission on Climate Change urged Douglas to expand the state's energy efficiency programs for electricity and gas to heating oil and other fuels, but his announcement Tuesday contained no proposal for that.

Instead, he said, he planned to work with the Legislature in its upcoming session in hopes of reaching consensus on an all-fuels utility...

"The Vermont Green Standard will be synonymous with a guarantee of rigorous expectations of reducing carbon emissions and helping to promote the goal of reversing global warming. The Vermont Green Standard will tell buyers and sellers of green credits that they are making an investment in verifiable efforts to reduce carbon emissions."

But he couldn't explain how the efforts would reduce the state's carbon footprint, a key element in the mission of the Commission on Climate Change when it was established nearly two years ago.

When asked who would set the criteria for what qualifies for the "Vermont Green Standard," he said: "This is a new concept I'm presenting you today, so it's got to be developed."

Critics also got their say in the reports in the Freeps and the Rutland Herald.

Nice try, Jim.

Another Tracky Tuesday...

Yep.

Up an at 'em on this icy, damp, snowy morning in the Queen City of Burlington, Vermont. An "Inside Track" column to pump out, as they say. [Those watchful eyes are around the corner on Pine Street.]

And this blogger didn't learn until yesterday afternoon that "Freyne Land" had been quoted in the editorial in the distinguished Rutland Herald last Wednesday. It was a Rep. Peter Welch quote taken from our blog coverage of Welchie's meeting with anti-Iraq War folks in the Barre library. Yours truly was cited and identified as "columnist and blogger" [though Seven Days wasn't mentioned].

I confess that now, in the Internet Age, when the Rutland Herald "hard copy" is no longer delivered to Big Bad Burlington, I don't read it as thoroughly as in the olden days when I held it in my two hands.

Then, yesterday, in a Louis Porter story in the Rutland Herald and Times Argus on continuing reaction to Gov. Jim Douglas' intervention in Windsor County marijuana prosecutions, "Freyne Land" got quoted again. Apparently the Guv was not available, so Louis used a quote from Gov. Scissorhands that we got last Wednesday out at the Williston rest area. Mr. Porter gave me credit as "columnist," but, unfortunately, did not mention the existence of the bloody blog!

Hey, c'mon Louis, it's the 21st Century. The brave new world of high-tech.

Got to go with the flow.

The General and the Senator...

According to VT National Guard Chaplain Jim MacIntyre, 2662 Vermonters serving in the National Guard and Reserves have been deployed to the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones. And on Monday he joined  Adjutant Gen. Michael Dubie and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who announced he’d secured a $3 million grant to expand the outreach program for returning Vermont war veterans and their families. Said Ol' Bernardo:

This funding will enable us to do everything we can to help National Guard and Reserve members and their families receive the help they need as they readjust and transition back to life here at home. At a time when returning soldiers across the country are suffering from extremely high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, these funds should play a vitally needed role.

Sanders also noted a CBS News Investigation released last week found Iraq war veterans more than twice as likely to commit suicide as non-vets. And the Dept. of Defense’s Task Force on Mental Health reported 49 percent of returning National Guard troops reported psychological concerns like PTSD and TBI.

General Dubie said that across the board, returning Vermont Guard troops are happy that someone is actually asking how they’re doing:

We had a soldier who got off the plane down at Camp Shelby. He came back from Iraq, from Ramadi, Iraq. And I said to him, “We’re going to be here for you.”

And he said, “Sir, are you going to be here two years from now? Are you going to be here 10 years from now?”

And I told him we would.

Currently, said Gen. Dubie, there are about 80 Vermont Guard troops in the Iraq war zone, That’s the smallest deployment, he said, in five years.

The Vermont Guard is comprised of 3700 troops: 1000 in the Air Guard and 2700 in the Army Guard.

St. Patrick at the airport...

Three local journalist types made it to the Burlington Airport Sunday afternoon to catch U.S. Sen. Patrick J. Leahy and his better half (wife Marcelle Leahy) coming home from Washington. That's Matt Gerien from Ch. 5 looking skeptical and Andy Potter, in the middle,  from Ch. 3 [would you believe me and Andy were the "news team" at "Country Giant" 1390 WDOT in the mid-1980s?).

Can't cross the path of one of those Washingtonians and not ask 'em about the war crime that will forever be known as the Bush-Cheney invasion, overthrow and attempted occupation in Iraq.

LEAHY: I was one of those who voted against the war in Iraq. I  thought it was a terrible mistake then. I think it’s a terrible mistake now. But unless we start putting some conditions on, we’re going to be there forever.

The President has made it very clear he does not want to do the difficult decisions in Iraq. He wants to pass it on to whoever the next president is. I think that’s a prescription for real problems and I think we should start figuring out how to get out of there now. Otherwise the Iraqi government is going to sit there and twiddle their thumbs. They’re never going to make the hard decisions that have to be made to bring Sunni and Shiites together and the rest of the area.

Press:  Anything new on the passport issue?

LEAHY: I got a very good suggestion at the hearing I had in Newport, Vermont and that was maybe we should be talking not just to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, but how about the Secretary of Commerce because of the hundreds of billions of dollars worth of jobs that are going to be lost if this cockamamie idea goes through.  And I’ve begun those discussions. I think it’s a very good idea.

Look at the business cost, especially since the American dollar has slipped so badly that this is a great place for Canadians to come and spend money. It just makes no sense to be sending them away.

If you’re a terrorist and you want to get through, no matter how many passport controls you put on the border, there’s plenty of places to get through.

And remember, the 9/11 Hijackers were here legally. In fact, the Administration had such poor controls that a least a couple of them, months after they died in 9/11, the Administration was sending them notices to renew their visas.

Press: Anything you’d point out to the people of Vermont we should be thankful for on Capitol Hill?

LEAHY: I’m thankful to be home. I was thinking Marcelle and one grandchild came home yesterday, and I’m thankful we have a brand new grandchild in the last couple days. And I’m thankful to live in a state where people actually care about things, actually care about the quality of life and our environment. I’m thankful I can go back home to the old farmhouse that’s been home for 50 years.

Happy Birthday!

Older and wiser are they on this sunny November 17.

What a Scorpio Vermont threesome:

Sue Allen - editor of the Barre-Montpeculiar Times-Argus

Chris Graff - former  fixture at The Associated Press helm in Montpeculiar; now at National Life.

Howard Dean - Who?  You know, right?

Happy birthday, mes amis.

Today's birthday (Nov. 17): You make new rules for yourself this year -- an endeavor you're likely to take in a high-minded direction, deciding to be kinder than is necessary, more tolerant than the crowd and generally open-minded. The result: Your luck, talent and income all expand. You share a special connection with Gemini and Cancer. Your lucky numbers are: 8, 20, 11, 39 and 17.

Also born on November 17:

Lauren Hutton, born November 17, 1943 Actress, supermodel.

Martin Scorsese, born November 17, 1942 Film director.

Danny DeVito, born November 17, 1944 Actor, director, producer.

Gordon Lightfoot, born November 17, 1938 Singer, songwriter.

Rock Hudson, born November 17, 1925 Actor.

Radioactive Thursday?

A dark and rainy day in the Queen City as the anti-nuke set set their sights on Entergy and their nuclear power station in Vernon, Vermont.

That's Chris Wiliams [left] and Bob Stannard [center] from the Citizens Action Network and Jim Moore from VPIRG. Held a presser in that new joint on the Burlington Waterfront.

Stannard, a former state rep from Manchester and an accomplished blues-harp player had the best line:

"I learned the other day," said Roberto, "that if the Romans had nuclear technology, we’d still be in the initial stages of guarding their waste."

The troika released a document union workers at Entergy's Pilgrim Nuke in Massachusetts filed with the NRC two months ago. The union had copied Vermont Public Service Commish Dave O'Brien, though we hadn't heard a peep about it from the ol' Vermont PSD in the last two months. Said VPIRG's Moore in a "Freyne Land" interview afterward:

MOORE: The point here is that Vermont Yankee has a serious safety issue that’s been raised by workers within the industry at the Pilgrim Plant in Plymouth, Mass. and VT Yankee should not be allowed to continue to operate if there are serious safety issues now at that facility.

FREYNE: It’s no surprise. VPIRG’s wanted Vermont Yankee to shut down as long as I’ve been alive. What’s new today?

MOORE: There’s a pattern of failure at that facility and what’s new today is that workers within the industry are saying we don’t want to be associated with Vermont Yankee in any way because there are such serious safety concerns and that’s being brought up by workers within the industry who know what safety means and who are very supportive of nuclear power in general. It’s the union at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Massachusetts which is owned by Entergy, the same corporate ownership as the Vermont Yankee facility.

FREYNE: What’s the safety problem?  What’s new today?

MOORE: Well, there always have been safety problems at Vermont Yankee. What’s new today is that either the recent problems that have happened at Vermont Yankee,  the recent accidents, these are not isolated incidents. It’s a systemic problem at that facility, OR there are safety concerns that these workers have that have not been brought to the light of day yet. The NRC should absolutely be investigating what are the safety concerns.

FREYNE: Well, Gov. Douglas seems to be on board now, eh?

MOORE: It’s terrific that Gov. Douglas is now supporting an independent safety review, but he’s asking the wrong question. He’s asking is it safe to run for an additional 20 years beyond its license. He should be asking “Is it safe to run today?”

That’s the red flag that these workers in the nuclear industry have raised.

Entergy Spokesman Larry Smith told The Associated Press he suspected the Pilgrim workers, who he said are coming up for contract negotiations, were "posturing."

As the AP reports: Entergy is seeking to create a new company that would own six power stations, including Vermont Yankee and Pilgrim. At the same time, Entergy is seeking to extend Vermont Yankee's operating license for 20 years beyond its current 2012 expiration.

Vermont's congressional delegation is calling for the safety assessment before any extension is granted. And now, Gov. Jim Douglas is joining the call as well.

Public Service Commissioner David O'Brien said the August collapse of a cooling tower at Vermont Yankee played a role in the decision to support the safety assessment.

"It's safe to say the public's confidence level in the plant has been shaken," said O'Brien.

The Governor fires back...

The commissioners and state officials and worker-bees vastly outnumbered the press at Gov. Jim Douglas' noon event at the southbound Williston rest area on I-89.  Gov. Scissorhands [seen arriving followed by his trooper], was there in good spirits to officially launch free Wi-Fi for the laptop crowd at 7-8 Vermont interstate welcome centers.

Just me and a Ch. 5 crew: Reporter Mia Moran and new videographer Ama Asmah, fresh from Denver. I filed a story with WDEV's Rich Haskell regarding the free Wi-Fi. But got there early to "ambush" Jimbo regarding the letter to the Attorney General from the Windsor 13 [see item below], urging AG Bill Sorrell to ignore the Guv's dictum that henceforth, Sorrell prosecute first-time drug possession cases in Windsor County instead of letting Windsor County State's Attorney Bobby Sand handle them.

"Several thoughts,” said the Guv to Freyne Land.

"I don’t understand the separation-of-powers argument since law-enforcement agencies and the governor are both in the Executive Branch, so there’s no separation-of-powers question.

"Electoral process?" he asked rhetorically.

"I was elected, too. I took an oath of office and I have a responsibility to faithfully execute that office and adhere to the Constitution and follow all the laws that are enacted by the General Assembly of our state.

"I believe in and respect prosecutorial discretion. It’s an important part of our criminal justice process. But this is an extraordinary situation where that discretion has been abused.  And I think it’s important for me as the executive authority with law-enforcement agencies reporting to me to ensure that the laws of Vermont are carried out fairly.

"It’s simply unfair for someone in one county to be treated vastly different from someone somewhere else. There’s a perception of a double standard when a well-connected attorney and acting-judge is treated generously in a situation like this.  I believe I’m doing the right thing."

FREYNE:  And they also noted somewhat sarcastically that in "the worst week of violent crime in our history," the governor’s focusing on marijuana?

DOUGLAS: "We can have a legitimate discussion about the penalties for simple possession, as some legislators have suggested doing, but it’s the Legislature that makes the decision about what the appropriate penalties are, and if Mr. Sand, or anybody else, wants to propose some changes, he should take his case there."

He's good, isn't he?

Stirring the "Pot"?

The decision by Windsor County State's Attorney Bobby Sand (at left) to drop Attorney Martha Davis' two marijuana possession felonies down to a court-diversion deal since it's her first offense drew Re-Elect Governor Jim Douglas, himself,  into the fray.

Whooppie!

As has been widely reported, Douglas publicly announced Vermont State Troopers and Game Wardens should bring future Windsor County pot busts to the office of Attorney General Bill Sorrell [who is already kinda busy right now with murders and such, isn't he?]

That drew a rather pointed letter Tuesday from the "Windsor 13" - two state senators and 11 state representatives, led by Senate Majority Leader John Campbell and State Sen. and folk singer Dick McCormack.

Here's a taste:

Dear Attorney General Sorrell,

   We urge you to exercise your office’s discretion to ignore Governor Douglas’ directive instructing law enforcement officials to bypass the Windsor County State’s Attorney, and to bring Windsor County drug cases to your office.  Should such cases indeed be forwarded to your office, we urge you to redirect them to their proper venue.  We suggest this out of concern for electoral integrity, separation of powers, prosecutorial discretion, the nonpolitical integrity of our judicial system, and the value of the Court Diversion program. Please note that our concern has nothing to do with approval or disproval of our present drug laws.  By bringing charges and directing the defendant to Court Diversion in the case that precipitated the Governor’s directive, Mr. Sand is enforcing the existing law.

   The people of Windsor County have repeatedly and overwhelmingly elected Robert Sand as our States Attorney. In doing so we have chosen him to prosecute criminal cases in our county.  Mr. Sand derives his just powers in this matter from the consent of the governed. The Governor does not. By directing cases away from Mr. Sand’s legitimate authority the Governor has thwarted the electoral will.  By refusing to cooperate with the Governor, you would re-establish the electoral authority of the people of our county.

    Clearly the Governor is not alone in disagreeing with Mr. Sand’s judgment in regards to the case of Martha Davis.  But nowhere does the Vermont Constitution require gubernatorial approval of State’s Attorneys’ decisions.  Whether or not one agrees with his decision, Mr. Sand was well within his prosecutorial discretion...

    Governor Douglas has intemperately and inaccurately described the Court Diversion program as merely “a get out of jail free card.”  We’re sure you know that Court Diversion holds offenders feet to the fire...it also saves a great deal of money in court costs and corrections expenses. The many Vermont volunteers who work in this fine program deserve better than the Governor’s dismissive insults.  By refusing to cooperate you would lend the prestige of your office to undoing the damage the Governor has caused in this regard.

The letter wraps up by noting “the Governor’s apparent lack of a sense of proportion.”

As everybody knows, we just experienced the “worst week of violent crime in our history...Our correctional facilities are overcrowded and understaffed. It is preposterous that the Governor would choose to focus, not on these problems, but on the routine decision to send a nonviolent first-time offender to Court Diversion.  We urge you to distance yourself from so irresponsible and distorted a position."

This one has legs, eh?

Maybe a ripe issue that a long-haired Progressive/Democrat with statewide campaign experience could use to help pull the biggest gubernatorial upset since Phil Hoff surprised Republican Incumbent Gov. F. Ray Keyser Jr. in 1962?

Tracky Tuesday

A gloomy, damp, cold morning in Burlington, Vermont. Perfect "Inside Track" writing weather, eh?

Lots on the political plate.

And the Christmas holidays are rolling in.

Rolling in against the backdrop of the ongoing crime in Iraq.

Please. Let's be honest. It's not a "war." Iraq did not attack us, nor was Iraq a threat to the United States of America. The U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq is a crime. Let's call it what it is.

And as with any crime, mes amis, it's not going to be okay until it's stopped and the perps - George W. Bush and Dick Cheney - are brought to justice.

How long before 9-10 GOP senators realize their loyalty to the Bush team is going to cost them their seats?

The clock ticks.

Politics is a painful process, but it still beats the alternatives.

Veterans Day 2007

Ol' Bernardo, excuse me, United States Sen. Bernard Sanders, usually does a presser on Mondays at his home base in Burlington and this Monday, a federal holiday for Veterans Day [no mail], was no different.

In this case, however, Sen. Sanders stuck to the theme and offered up a perfect made-for-TV news story about getting an 84-year-old World War II veteran from Barre his medals, including a Bronze Star.

Stanley Sabens was 19 when he signed up and he was a member of the precursor of the Green Berets who won fame during the Vietnam War. Sabens outfit was called the First Special Service Force, also known as "The Black Devils." And it was, uniquely, a half-American/half-Canadian outfit.

"What was so unique about Stanley’s experience," said Bernie,  "is that he fought with our Canadian allies. They fought equally and they served heroically. On behalf of a very grateful nation, we thank you very much."

Stanley will also go into the Vermont history books, we were told, for opening the state's very first motel - The Knoll Motel in Barre. Opened in 1950.

As for recollections from the battlefields where he fought and his comrades died, Sabens told reporters it was "hard to think back."

"I think of the good times," he said, "but the rest of it, I can't do anything about."

Welchie in the Lions' Den

Rather it was the packed, standing-room-only basement of the public library in the heart of downtown Barre, Vermont. Democratic Congressman Peter Welch faced down the Vermont lions of the anti-Iraq War left and walked away unscathed.

Oh, sure, he had to take getting yelled at by a few baby boomers who needed to get it off their chests or wherever, but he in no way, shape, or form gave an inch to their macho-bullying tactics.

Under the original format - unrevealed to Welchie - he was going to have had to keep his mouth basically shut - just answer "yes" or "no" to the 15 questions they had prepared for him.

Unusual to see a United States Congressman have to fight for and win his 1st Amendment rights at a public meeting, but he did!

The meeting between the congressman and 100 of his constituents lasted from 1:30 pm until 4 pm.

Afterward, Vermont's only member of the U.S. House told Freyne Land:

It’s my job. These are good Vermont folks who care passionately about the Constitution and the War in Iraq. And I feel it was important that I listen to them.  I was glad to participate and listen to the conviction, the passion, the sense of urgency that they have.

My goal was to convey that I’m doing everything that I can to bring this war to an end.

Patrick Leahy, Bernie Sanders and I all have an extraordinary record. That’s why Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), singled me out me for providing leadership to end the war.  And I’m doing absolutely everything that I can to take practical steps to end this as soon as it possibly can be ended.

The Right Stuff?

"So I do want you to know," said Progressive Party activist Anthony Pollina to 80 Progs attending the annual state convention at Vermont Law School in South Royalton on Saturday, "that I do very much expect and I do very much intend to be a candidate for governor next year.”

The joint went nuts!  People jumped out of their seats to cheer.

"But!" shouted Anthony. "But...I started to say 'But," and you got all noisy."

They slowly simmered down, and returned to their seats and Tony the Prog got right to the point:

"There’s a lot of work that we need to do if we’re going to make that happen.

One is, as Progressives, we have to do the work to build an active, inspired political base that will actually bring us a successful campaign...

"We have to reach out and talk to friends who probably don’t know they are Progressives just yet.

"And it also means that we have to work very seriously with our friends in the Democratic Party to especially make sure that they understand the need to build a successful campaign. To understand that this particular race is going to take one candidate people can get behind that can make sure that we replace Jim Douglas with a governor that brings us in a different direction...

"And I think we really need to be clear with these folks that we know that we need each other’s support. That we know that. And that we, in fact, are going to do our best, as we have been doing over the last couple months, to seek and accept the support of our Democratic friends because this election is too important to do otherwise. And that we will use that support from Democrats as well as others to build a campaign that’s strong enough to win but also to build a coalition that’s strong enough to last and to take Vermont in a different direction."

State Rep. Chris Pearson of Burlap, former Prog Party director, experienced on the campaign frontlines in races for Bernie Sanders in 1998 and Anthony in 2000 and 2002, was even more direct:

"Money is king in this game," Chris told them. "You can wish it’s not true, but it is.  In the major leagues, it’s perhaps the biggest indicator of running a serious race."

Recalling the 2000 gubernatorial race, said Pearson, "We were delighted to have $300,000 to spend. This one is going to require $1 million."

"If we’re going to do this," Pearson [at left] told the party faithful, "we have to demonstrate, and demonstrate quickly, that we’re not goofing around. To me, that means raising $100,000 by January 15."

Whatdafuck?

"If we do that," he said,  "the media will notice."

And not just the "media" predicted Pearson.

"Any Democrat in the race will take notice," said the former UVM student and Vermont Pub & Brewery employee. "We have an emergency. If we’re going to turn the tide on any of the issues we care about, we really have no choice. Our candidate leads the pack with name recognition, credibility and campaign know-how," said Pearson. "We have to move quickly, though, to demonstrate fundraising power."

Yes, indeed, time to put their money where their mouth is, eh?

Plus, said Rep. Pearson to the Progressive Party faithful, "If we’re serious about winning, we have to consider options like adding an additional party label. Some of you may find that despicable," he said, "and I’m sorry. We’re not going to have that debate. We don’t have the time."

Kinda get the feeling, they have until January 15, don't you?

That's the date when the  Pollina players need to have 100 grand in the campaign kitty, or else - fuggedaboutit!

Gubernatorial Material?

Long time no see for these two guys!

Both are mentioned in the Vermont media as potential gubernatorial challengers to King James, a.k.a. GOP Gov. Jim Douglas.

Anthony Pollina [left] and distinguished ambassador and foreign-policy author Peter Galbraith got together in Burlington late Wednesday afternoon for some java at Uncommon Grounds on the Marketplace and some catching up. It's been 30 years since these two baby-boomers sat down together for a chat!

That was back in the late 1970s. Pollina had just graduated Johnson State College and went to work for the Vermont Alliance. Galbraith was the executive director of the Vermont Democratic Party. They were working out of the same building in beautiful downtown Montpeculiar.

Galbraith, now living in Windsor County, served as President Bill Cinton's first ambassador to Croatia. He was en route to give a talk in Middlebury about his latest book The End of Iraq. The son of diplomat John Kenneth Galbraith has seen a lot of the world and its turmoil since those Montpelier days of the 1970s.

The former ambassador was not particularly chatty about his gubernatorial prospects. His name has been floated last month by Democratic Senate Prez Peter Shumlin whose party is not exactly inundated with eager candidates fired up to take down Vermont's Republican anti-wind power, pro-nuclear power chief executive.

Tony the Prog told yours truly they had a good half-hour chat.

So what's the current status of Anthony's potential gubernatorial bid in 2008?

"As of now," said Pollina, "it looks more likely everyday."

CLF's New Image?

The Conservation Law Foundation has a well-earned reputation for being the toughest, most litigious, nose-to-the-grindstone environmental non-profit in play in Vermont and across New England.  "Being liked" has never been CLF's goal. Rather, winning environmental battles in the courtroom is.

And they're good at it.

CLF's also undergoing a little style-change. Warmer. Fuzzier. Friendlier. And reaching out in a planned and deliberate way to the financially well-endowed among us for support.

Pony-tailed Attorney Chris Killian has been CLF's top dog at its Montpelier, Vermont outpost since 1999. Wednesday evening, CLF held a get-together at Burlington's Waterfront Theater on Lake Street. Yours truly had a chat with him before the show got rolling.

FREYNE: What's this all about?

KILLIAN: This is about people who want to see Lake Champlain cleaned up. We have a very mixed group ranging from philanthropists and donors to our organization, to local activists and people that do water-quality monitoring. We put the word out hoping for 30-35 people and we ended up with 80. We’re very pleased.

FREYNE: Is this something new for CLF?  Haven’t caught a similar CLF love-in and the hors d'oeuvres are great!

KILLIAN: This is a new direction for us in terms of holding events in various areas of the state. We’re hoping to do three this year. Our organization recently hired a special-events coordinator so we now have some staff capacity to do these kinds of things.
    Like I said we didn’t know what to expect, but we were overwhelmed with the level of interest and  turnout.

FREYNE: CLF used to be considered "the radicals," the toughest fighters, but time goes on, we get older, and what once seemed out on the fringe, now is mainstream.

KILLIAN: The Conservation Law Foundation isn’t afraid to file lawsuits and we’re proud of that. That’s what we do. And sometimes that’s looked at like a radical gesture. But from our perspective it’s turning to the place where we can get justice on the causes that we fight for.
    We win cases and unfortunately  - very rarely - lose some cases. We’re willing to do that and we know that that’s often-times a lightning rod.

FREYNE: CLF’s big wins in Vermont are?

KILLIAN: Well, I would say that recently we helped out extensively on the clean-cars case that [U.S. Disctrict Court] Judge William Sessions just decided. We’ve filed a lawsuit that has an injunction on the Chittenden County Circumferential Highway because of concerns we have over the sprawl effects of that highway.
    We forced the settlement that created Efficiency Vermont, and we’ve recently won a case that doubled the budget of Efficiency Vermont, so we’re doing a lot of work in the state.
    CLF is in Vermont to represent all of our interests in a clean, healthy environment through the courts, through the legislative process and in the halls of bureaucracy. We’re trying to bring the kind of resources and effective advocacy to bear to actually get Lake Champlain cleaned up.

FREYNE: And hopefully raise a little money for the organization?

KILLIAN: That’s always part of it. We’re a charitable organization. I hope people visit our website.

Among the pols in attendance, like State Sens. Ginny Lyons and Jim Condos, was former Gov. Phil Hoff [1963-1969]. Yes, indeed, the one and only.

Ol' Philsie [at right] told the gathering that CLF was his favorite environmental activist organization for a couple reasons, "like the fact it has tried to enforce the existing laws. I swear," said Gov, Hoff, "if our society would just actually implement the laws that exist, most of our problems would be resolved." That has been "the objective" of the Conservation Law Foundation, said Phil.

"The second thing," said Hoff, 83, "is the fact CLF is willing and able to take on the tough cases, and quite often very unpopular causes. I think that’s essential. You cannot be all things to all people. You cannot just sit back and worry about whether you’re popular or not.

"I suppose I can say that because my political days are gone."

Hey, it ain't over t'il it's over.

VT Dems Losing Lofy

The top political strategist advising Vermont Democrats at the Statehouse - Bill Lofy of Jericho - has been signed up as a top strategist for the "Stop Sununu Campaign" in New Hampshire. Check it out here.

Let's face folks. It's the end of the Age of Bush and incumbent GOP Sen. John Sununu, a Bush lap dog, has a tough reelection race ahead against former Democrat Gov. Jeanne Shaheen.

Lofy, 35, is a former staffer for the late, great U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minnesota. He's also written a brilliant biography of Wellstone, the professor-turned-politician who was killed in a Minnesota small plane crash in 2002.

Lofy and wife Jamie moved to Vermont in 2005. They have a four-month old - Ben.

Mr. Lofy's the reason House Speaker Gaye Symington and Senate Prez Peter Shumlin formed a political action committee - so they could raise the bucks to hire him as their political "consultant."

Nice.

But let's face it, folks. The 2008 race in Vermont for state offices like governor isn't looking real exciting at the moment is it?

The latest buzz has Windor County State Senator, and former Florida cop, John Campbell looking like the most likely Democrat who'll stand up to three-term Republican incumbent Jim Douglas.

John who?

Anway Freyne Land has also learned that Lofy the Writer has another book coming out in March on campaign management. It's called Winning Your Election the Wellstone Way and will be published by the University of Minnesota Press.

Trust me, the U. of Minn Press is a lot better than the Gophers' football team [1-9 this season].

Musharraf's Vermont Problem

St. Patrick of Middlesex was “live” on CNN International Wednesday. Sen. Leahy of Vermont chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee that handles money for our “ally” Pakistan. Ah, yes - Pakistan! That's where President Pervez Musharraf has put the uniform back on and is playing Ol’ Gen. Musharraf, suspended the judiciary and declared a “state of emergency.”

But he's got a little problem named "Patrick J. Leahy."

Leahy: I still think we should move to cut off the aid unless they restore democracy. When you remove the courts - by definition - you do not have a democracy.  Unless you have a free judiciary, you don’t have a democracy. I’ve talked to a lot of senators, both Republicans and Democrats who are just outraged with what their seeing on television - lawyers being arrested, members of the judiciary being set aside. The reaction against Ge. Musharraf is very, very strong here.

CNN: What are you going to do about it?  Are you going to cut off aid? Can you force anything to happen?

Leahy: I think there’s going to be a very strong effort in Congress to cut off aid unless there are changes and I’ve talked to the State Department and told them that message has to go out, otherwise I will be one to make efforts to cut off that aid.

Local Matters

Baghdad's mayhem and murder is on the airwaves non-stop, but Burlington, Vermont is a very different place, isn't it?

Here in Freyne Land, on the South-side of Big Bad Burlap [that's a shot taken on Maple Street the other day with those Adirondacks in the distance], one is not concerned about driving over an IED and getting blown to kingdom come.

Rather, we have other concerns regarding safety. As veteran baseball umpire, City Councilor and State Rep. Bill Keogh articulates it in the latest online edition of the "Five Sisters Neighborhood Forum":

The perception of some folks is that many cars are speeding in our neighborhoods, thus potentially endangering pedestrians and children using our streets.

If you have a neighborhood area in which you think cars are speeding, work with me to make that determination.

Lt. Scott Davidson of the Burlington Police Dept. has given me an orientation and loaned me a radar speed gun to determine the speed of vehicles.  I’d be happy to work with someone who can check the speed of cars in their neighborhood.

For those folks who want to help in this effort, determine a time of day, the day of the week and the location.  You and I can sit in the car and clock traffic as it passes.  No, we don’t stop cars and we don’t write down license plate numbers. All we do is write down whether this car is above or below the speed limit (usually 30 mph unless posted otherwise).

I’ve done it twice, once on Pine St. the other on Home Ave.

What a guy!

Plus, Ol' Bill often gets taken for me when he's out on his bike.

It's the white hair and the Irish genes, sure it t'is.

Big News on College Street

Everything changes.

Sooner or later, eh?

The Gannett chain's top man in Vermont, Burlington Free Press Publisher Jim Carey, a hometown boy and the man in charge on College Street since 1991, is being replaced.

Today's edition breaks the news:

Bradley I. Robertson, formerly vice president/advertising at The Des Moines (Iowa) Register, has been named president and publisher of The Burlington Free Press. He replaces James Carey, who will become chairman of the Free Press.

Robertson began his Gannett career in 1994 as a circulation analyst for The News Journal at Wilmington, Del. He moved to the Fort Collins (Colo.), Coloradoan as a manager of circulation sales, then became manager of sales and marketing at the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader.

In 1999, Robertson became director of circulation sales for the Detroit Newspaper Agency. He was named director of business development at Des Moines in 2003 and vice president of business development there in 2004. He was named vice president of advertising for Des Moines a few months later. Robertson is a graduate of Northern Illinois University with a bachelor's degree in communication.

"Tough and gruff" would be the way to describe Carey. Hasn't spoken to yours truly since he hung up the car phone on me 10 years ago right after he made the mistake of answering it. [His secretary had "mistakenly" given me the number.]

Carey was an ad sales guy. He also was a social conservative who'd been known to drive a car [his wife's?] that bore a "Jesus" bumper sticker.

But Jim Carey will be remembered most as the publisher who forbade his editorial page from taking a stand or even commenting on the great Vermont battle over same-sex marriage during the 2000 Legislative Session that passed the landmark civil-unions law.

Meanwhile, down Route 7, the editorial page writer at the Rutland Herald, David Moats [caught here on the Church Street Marketplace a few weeks ago], won a Pulitzer Prize for his editorials on the gay marriage debate, an issue Vermont, and the Rutland Herald, led the nation on.

Unfortunately, Burlington's local daily - the state's largest -  was silent.

Welcome to Vermont, Brad.

And best wishes, Jimbo!

Really.

None of us are getting any younger, but there's always room for "wiser," eh?

Strange Bedfellows?

Yes, that is Lake Champlain Chamber Prez  "Tommy Guns"  Tom Torti on the far left; Ol' Bernardo, a.k.a Bernie Sanders, the only socialist senator America's got; former U.S. Navy submarine captain and Democratic State Rep. Al Perry from Richford; and "Save the Environment" Paul Burns, VPIRG's "Top Gun."

All on the same side on this one!

They want the Bush Administration to force Verizon Wireless to, among other things, provide 100-percent geographic cell phone coverage in Vermont when their purchase of Unicel inevitably goes down. (Most likely next month.)

What have they been smoking?

Hey, if no one could require the Bush Administration to come up with real, actual evidence to justify invading Iraq, to start an endless war, or come up with a nominee for Attorney General who actually opposes torturing prisoners, what makes 'em think they can make the Bush Administration require a corporate giant do something current law does not require them to do?

"What we're asking is kind of unique," acknowledged Sen. Sanders with a twinkle in his eye, "but I think we are right on the issues. We are going to look at all of the opportunities that we have in the Senate to make Verizon an offer they can't refuse."

What does that mean, Don Corleone?

"That means they have got to know that if they don't treat Vermont fairly, we will do everything we can to try to stop this merger.

"That's what it means."

P.S. It's Tom Torti's birthday (53rd).

Happy birthday!

Downtown Bristol

Now we know....

Caught in the act: Burlington Free Press political reporter Sam Hemingway and his, until now, unidentified source.

Captured on film Saturday afternoon in Burlington's Battery Park.

Sam's the one on the left.

More in the Sunday Freeps....

Leahy vs. Mukasey

Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced his decision on whether he will support President Bush’s nomination of Michael Mukasey to be Attorney General at his Burlington office on Wednesday afternoon.

Mukasey, a former federal judge in New York, had been considered a shoe-in when he was nominated to fill the vacancy of Bush’s political ally, A.G. Alberto Gonzales, who resigned under a dark cloud of bipartisan criticism.

But the tide turned on Mukasey’s second day before Leahy’s Judiciary Committee when the Bush nominee declined to declare that the form of torture known as "waterboarding" was, in fact, illegal and a violation of US Law. In fact, he said he didn't know if waterboarding was "torture." Said St. Patrick:

When it comes to our core values, the things that make our country great, that define America’s place in the world, these values do not waiver or change from president to president. They are America’s values. They are not values that are owned by any president, or any administration or any Congress or any attorney general. They are the values of a great and good country.

America should continue to stand against torture.

Leahy told reporters in response to a question that he has asked Mukasey both publicly and privately to reconsider and take a public position on "waterboarding," but Mukasey, he said , has firmly declined.

I wish I could support his nomination, but I cannot. America needs to be  certain and confidant of the bedrock principle deeply embedded in our laws and our values that no, no one in our country  is above the law.

So when the Judiciary Committee meets on Tuesday morning, I will vote “no” on the nomination of Judge Michael Mukasey to be Attorney General of the United States.

Asked to respond to President George W. Bush’s criticism made  before the right-wing Heritage Foundation Thursday that the nation is at war and in desperate need of having an attorney general in office, Leahy told reporters “In some ways the nation has been without an attorney general since Alberto Gonzales was installed.”

Ouch!

It was the big political story of Friday afternoon as Democrats divulged how they'd vote. A freelance TV crew was there to feed CNN. Dave Gram was in from Montpeculiar's Associated Press Bureau - here he is letting the world know on the sidewalk outside. And a crew from the new local Fox News operation, too. They're expected to hit the local airwaves shortly.

Can't wait.

Welch vs. "Enron Loophole"

With one year to go before the votes are counted, would it be impolite of me to declare rookie Democratic U.S. Congressman Peter Welch the winner of the 2008 Vermont U.S. House race?

At the moment, Welchie's only political critics in the Green Mountains are folks on the antiwar left who are upset that Ol' Pedro has not supported the impeachment of the Liar in the Oval Office or voted "no" on any and all Iraq War money.

No Republican in Vermont is showing any interest in what would surely be a political suicide mission.

Congressman Peter Welch and New Jersey Democrat Rob Andrews, a 10-term veteran considered a "centrist" Democrat, told reporters on a telephone press conference from Capitol Hill Thursday they have introduced a bill to repeal legislation passed by the Republican Congress in 2000 that deregulated energy markets.

Dubbed the "Enron Loophole" - the legislation removed any government oversight of natural gas and heating oil markets that the congressmen say resulted in windfall profits for speculators while consumers bills have soared.

Q. How come the "Enron Loophole" hasn’t been closed up to this point?

ANDREWS: Because Peter wasn’t here to do it. Truthfully, I don't mean to be terribly partisan about this. You know, this is a David vs. Goliath issue. David is the thousands of families out there struggling to pay their heating bills, and Goliath is the financial industry. And the hard reality around here is Goliath had a lot more friends in the prior [Republican] majority than he has now.

I do think there is a different orientation in the new majority - that we’re looking to protect consumers.

I’ll give you another example. There’s a fight over the regulation of the safety of imported toys and Speaker Pelosi talked the other day about our efforts in the Congress to protect American families against toys that have lead in them or are in other ways harmful.
What was the Bush Administration’s reaction?

Please don’t give us the authority because there’s really not a problem here we need to solve.

That’s an astonishing, just an astonishing revelation into their mentality. Well, that mentality is what prevailed in the Congress until January 2007. The loophole sat there, frankly, because the prior majority supported it.

Press: But this was signed into law by President Clinton.

ANDREWS: Yeah, but it was exploited during those years and I think it’s fair to say that no one knew what the loophole would mean in 2000 when it was signed into law. It should have been fixed. It’s one of those unintended consequences of what appears to be a benign change in the law.

Democratic Sen. Carl Levin has similar legislation in play in the Senate.

Peter Welch may be a freshman congressman, but he's no dummy. And he's very experienced in the art of legislating. His appointment by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the powerful House Rules Committee in his rookie season is one indication he hit the ground running on Capitol Hill.

WELCH: If you have every family in Vermont paying $800-$1000 more