Ron Paul's a racist, homophobic nutjob who has no realistic chance of winning the GOP nomination, let alone the Presidency, but he's probably the candidate that infuriates and scares me more than any other, even historian/paleontologist Newt Gingrich. I think it mostly comes from his Blind Squirrel capacity, finding a nut every once in a while (war is bad, war on drugs is bad, Federal government can overreach), and the fact that otherwise smart people even on the left side of the 1D political spectrum fall for his so-called constitutionalism and consistency (I'm looking at you, Greenwald and Sirota).
This space (and my portion thereof) is usually given over to snark, sarcasm, and criticism, in various combinations. But there've been a few good-news stories lately, and I'd like to take the time on this newest, freshest day of the year to offer some thanks and gratitude. (Possibly seasoned by just a pinch of snark. Gotta be me.)
-- Hooray for the opening of the new Champlain bridge! It took just a bit more than two years, and came in just a bit over budget. All in all, a pretty darn remarkable accomplishment. Y'know, when government works, it can do some really nice things.
Snark: Hopefully, New York will be a little more diligent about inspection and upkeep this time.
-- Three cheers for the beefing-up of the LIHEAP funds for this winter. (It's gonna get cold sooner or later, right?) Our Congressional delegation, and the Shumlin Administration, did some good work in pumping more money into this crucial program.
Snark: Congrats to Jeb Spaulding for doing his part in this, despite the perfidious attempt by VSEA to distract his attention.
-- Finally, good-on-ya to the DOT and all the hard-working road crews for reopening Route 107, the last highway shut down by Tropical Storm Irene. It's quite an accomplishment, getting all that done under very urgent circumstances, in what would usually be the tail end of the road-construction season. (And an assist to global warming for the late onset of winter that helped make it possible.)
Snark: We'll see how the rivers and streams deal with the consequences of various unpermitted construction activities. Still, IMO, while I'm sure some unfortunate things were done, it was a rare situation when some shortcutting was called for.
I'm not jumping up and down to celebrate New Year's Eve this time around. In fact, I'll be lucky if I make it to watch the ball drop on teevee at midnight.
It's not that I'm not happy about the coming of 2012. Quite the contrary. Partly it's just that I'm old and boring now. I'm trying to grow some facial hair to make myself less boring, but that's not going so well. Mainly I just look like I need to wash my face.
But the main reason I'm not in happy-happy-noisemaker mode is that I'm tired. 2011 absolutely kicked my ass.
And it's not just me. Really, get Julie, kestrel or Maggie talking about their years. Seems like most people I know had a tough year. Weird how so often good and bad years seem to be so shared.
But health, injuries, up-and-down employment, couple of casualties - all that stuff was there, but it kinda sucked beyond the personal, too. There was Irene and Fukushima. There's another winter that's way too warm and wet, suggesting climate change is on the fastest possible track anybody could've imagined. The Iraq War is sorta-kinda-mostly over, and that's a great thing - but in other policy spheres, the Tea Party has managed to grind government to an absolute standstill.
But 2012 is an election year, and election years are different. The sense of flux that surrounds elections seems to trickle down into the rest of society. Cynicism ticks up, sure - but also the sense that anything is possible (and I suppose those two things are the flip sides of each other). Things happen on election years.
So with all the oomph I can muster, I sez "bring it on, 2012!"
So I just looked out in my mailbox, and saw a letter.
You've got mail!
Opened it up, and was pleased to read:
Happy Birthday!
Here's your FREE dinner valued up to $18.99!
With Absolutely No Strings Attached!
Neato! Tuesday IS, in fact, my birthday. And so I read on. Some quotes from past customers appeared in the letter:
"Staff Members were very professional, attentive, and friendly. The food was tasty, well-presented, and served exactly as ordered. We enjoyed the festive decor!" - Richard, Lyndon
"All I can say is everything was fabulous from beginning to end. The food was perfectly cooked, the service was the best, everything was great!" - Barbara, East Lyndon
Okay, so that last one wasn't actually in the free birthday dinner letter from the Wildflower Inn. But darn it, it shoulda been.
Now, I'm straight. (Not that there's anything WRONG with that...) but I recently took an MMPI2, and went over the results with the psychologist earlier in the week. It shows that I have an elevated scale 5. So I would imagine I have the tools to fake it the other way for an hour and a half or so.
So now I gotta find a cute young guy to be my date for my free birthday dinner. (Clean shaven, please. First preference given to big, dreamy dark eyes.) Whereupon we start making out in the dining room.......>;)
Oh, and somebody else with the minicam for the youtubery.
It seems to have been the "perfect storm" of natural disaster and gross negligence.
For sheer long-term impact, perhaps the most under-appreciated event of 2011 is the nuclear accident at Fukushima.
That this convergence of worst-case scenarios continues to be compounded by decisions made to protect industry and political interests is a shame and a crime. Witness: the Japanese government's Nuclear Accident Interim Report which found that
Plans laid out by the Nuclear Disaster Special Measures Law did not function properly because the scale of the disaster was unimaginable.
Following a 2007 offshore earthquake at Niigata that damaged a nuclear facility, Japanese nuclear regulators began an investigation to determine the potential for a catastophic nuclear emergency precipitated by natural disaster. They were forced to terminate the effort for political reasons.
...local governments opposed this probe, saying that if a claim was made that the earthquake caused the nuclear accident, the public would be overly apprehensive. The agency then concluded, "There is virtually no possibility that a natural disaster could cause a nuclear disaster," and the probe was terminated.
Fast forward to 2011, post-Fukushima, where damage control still seems to be the order of the day.
On December 16, the Japanese government declared that the situation at the crippled nuclear plant has been resolved, a statement that was endorsed with enthusiasm by U.S. nuclear interests.
However, as we noted just days ago, the disaster at Fukushima may have been largely forgotten by the mainstream media, but it is hardly over.
Arnie Gundersen explains in the latest Fairewinds Assoc. video why the "stability" of the plants is of an extremely tenuous nature, with makeshift fixes holding the line only so long as no further seismic upsets occur to topple them like a house of cards.
We are also told that, besides water-born contamination escaping from the crippled reactors, a conscious decision has been made to dump incinerated nuclear waste into Tokyo Bay.
Furthermore, human exposures appear to have been (and continue to be) badly mismanaged.
I want to take this opportunity to wish all Vermonters a very happy holiday season and a wonderful new year.
The year 2011 has been a tough one for Vermont and our country. The recession caused by the greed, recklessness and illegal behavior of Wall Street continues. While Vermont is doing better economically than much of the country, too many of our friends and neighbors are unemployed or underemployed or are earning less than they need to adequately support their families.
Further, in Vermont we have had to deal with the devastation of Hurricane Irene, which caused so much hardship for individuals and businesses. We should all be grateful for the efforts of state and local officials, first responders, the many hundreds of volunteers, and members of the National Guard who all did such an extraordinary job in the cleanup and recovery effort.
So I just noticed bmike's recent diary entitled "WTF?" Turned out he was exercised about something stupid John McClaughry said in an opinion piece. Nothing new there.
(For those of you just joining us, McClaughry is the founder of the Ethan Allen Institute, and a devout conservative/libertarian/free marketer. Gotta be lonely to be one o' them in Vermont, hanging out with the likes of Paul Beaudry and paying good money to put Rob Roper on the radio.)
Out of sheer, I don't know, idle curiosity, I did a Google Image search for ol' John. And one of the top hits featured a picture of him wearing an obviously false mustache and a set of fatigues. (See photo here.)
Hmm. I clicked on the link. It was to a 2002 conference held in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico, of the International Society for Individual Liberty. The subject was "Advancing Liberty in Latin America."
'Cause, you know, nothing wrong in Latin America that a dose of Ayn Rand couldn't cure.
And there, in the midst of this "humanitarian" effort to lift Latinos out of their socialist morass and into a new dawn of prosperity, was ol' John giving what must have been a side-splitting impersonation of "El Jefe General Saturino Borhorquez," a stereotypical tinpot dictator who had found the gospel of Randianism and renounced his statist ways. From the conference report:
John McClaughry... delivered a hilarious skit as a reformed banana-republic dictator. Strutting to the fore in a military uniform, hat and boots, with a wide red sash and jangling medals, he must have been a sight for the locals. He renamed his country "Nueva Prosperidad" and rhymed off the libertarian reforms that would bring prosperity.
It then adds, "All good satirical fun." Unfortunately, the accompanying offer to "buy the tape" is no longer online. I would have been sorely tempted. Because you know what usually happens when devout conservatives try to indulge in "satirical fun" involving ludicrous costumes and ethnic stereotypes.
So John, are you available for weddings and bar mitzvahs?
(Addendum: Bringing forward a very perceptive comment by BP. Wish I'd thought of it myself:
Notice even McClaughry's imaginary "Neueva Prosperidad" reforms advancing liberty don't come at the ballot box but from a dictator.
Exactly right, BP. Libertarians have gotta know, somewhere deep inside, that they'll never win through democratic means. El Jefe is their deepest fantasy (and ultimate self-contradiction) personified: the overthrow of statism through the absolute power of the state.)
Once again, I'd like to introduce an open thread of New Years resolutions that politicos might make for 2012.
I'll begin with Peter Shumlin, who certainly should resolve not to appoint anymore Republicans to key positions in his administration.
The Governor might also resolve to abstain from exclusive luxury get-aways until he can find it in his heart to support a modest raise in taxes for his privileged economic class...
New Years advice to Tom Salmon, in the immortal words of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young: "Love the one you're with." No one has demonstrated a shorter attention span for the position he was elected to than our state auditor. Mr. Salmon should resolve to concentrate on his current job, and forgoing higher ambitions, to sustain an interest in the mundanities of being auditor.
Randy Brock should resolve to get out more. His voting record in Montpelier demonstrates that he is abysmally out-of-step with statewide attitudes and unlikely to make much of an impression in the 2012 governor's race.
While many on the left have some issues with Governor Shumlin, they will most decidedly NOT be voting for Randy Brock. He is attempting to represent himself as a "centrist," but that position has been more than locked-up by Shumlin, who, except for some high-profile positions on things like VY and same-sex marriage, has demonstrated an affinity for positions that are considered centerist-to-right-of-center in largely progressive Vermont.
Franklin County Sheriff, Robert Norris would be well-advised to resolve himself to a career change. Having lost the contract for policing St. Albans City this year, Sheriff Norris has been vocally outraged, compounding the tempest by suing the City. Now it seems the Town of Swanton will no longer be using his services, and will instead engage the Swanton Village police department. Is this a trend? The Sheriff is approaching a county shut-out, having earlier lost contracts with Enosburgh Town, Enosburgh Village, Sheldon, Richford, Fairfax and Georgia.
Peter Welch should resolve to get more background before signing on to regressive stuff like extreme austerity measures and hamstringing ACORN.
Senator Leahy, should resolve daily to exit the Capitol building through a doorway inaccessible to industry lobbyists.
Bernie should resolve to carry a pocket comb.
I've got one for President Obama, too. Facing an almost miraculous vacuum on the right, it looks as though Mr. Obama might get his fondest wish for a second term. With that in mind, he should resolve that, the minute the polls close in November, he will seize his opportunity as a lame duck to make a final unbridled push for progressive reforms that are dear to the hearts of the folks who elected him in 2008. I know this is nothing more than a pipe dream, but I had to get it in here.
Things are looking a little less bleak on the LIHEAP front.
On the heels of Vermont's Congressional delegation securing an additional $3.6 million for heating assistance from a dysfunctional Congress, the Shumlin administration and the legislature have upped the ante.
Shumlin press release:
MONTPELIER - Gov. Peter Shumlin and legislative leaders announced today that the state would add $6.1 million to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, known as LIHEAP, to help ensure Vermonters can afford to heat their homes and stay warm this winter....The Governor, Lieutenant Governor and legislative leaders made decision to provide a projected 8 percent increase in the average fuel assistance benefit after Congress finalized this winter's LIHEAP numbers. That 8 percent figure was selected following a government report that projects home heating expenditures will increase by that amount this heating season.
And here's the money quote, a thumb in the eyes of the Congressional lackeys of the 1%:
"It's unfortunate that certain members of Congress believe that tax breaks for the wealthiest are more important than keeping Americans warm this year," said President Pro Tem John Campbell.
Indeed.
And, on a seemingly unrelated note, this from a Sanders fundraising pitch:
Reince Priebus, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, speaking to a GOP fundraiser in Burlington, Vermont: "You've got a guy here by the name of Bernie Sanders that's a whole lot like a guy named Russ Feingold, who was defeated by somebody named Ron Johnson from Wisconsin. You can do it here. Just like Russ Feingold got beat in Wisconsin, Bernie Sanders can get beat (in Vermont)." According to one media report, Priebus' comment drew huge applause.
Wisconsin, huh? How are things working out for you in the other cheese state, there, Reince?
"Just like Russ Feingold got beat in Wisconsin, Bernie Sanders can get beat (in Vermont)."
You think so? Where you gonna find a candidate?
Check with Len Britton and Dan Freilich. I bet they're bored these days.
Anyway, you can't win an election in Vermont by freezing part of the electorate to death.
Here is a little fur-ball of an issue that got carried along between two administrations. Important emails between former Governor Douglas’ Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) officials involved in a legal dispute with the Vermont State Employees Association were deleted and are missing. The VSEA originally sought ANR email records concerning a fired employee and a proposed computer employee monitoring system then the Douglas administration attempted to impose a $1,200 fee to access the email. The VSEA went to court against the Douglas administration and won the right to see the email free of charge.
A small scale Vermont version of the historic eighteen and one half minute gap? Fast forward to the Shumlin administration and the discovery now, that the relevant emails at some point were deleted.
When Abigail Winters, the union’s counsel, went to see the records, Shumlin officials at ANR told her the items couldn’t be found. Winters sent a letter to Jeb Spaulding, the secretary of the Agency of Administration, and Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell on Monday, alleging that the email correspondence was “willfully and permanently” deleted. Sorrell, she wrote, failed to place a litigation hold on the documents.
The Shumlin administration has given a high priority to transparency. Secretary of State Jim Condos recently completed what he called a “transparency tour” to help the state’s public officials. Regarding transparency (digital and otherwise) Condos suggests the problem might lie with starving beast budget priorities:
“It’s an ongoing process that frankly needs resources,” he said. “With all due respect to the current administration and the past administration, a lot of those resources have been taken away because budgets have been cut and slashed and personnel reduced.
However Shumlin’s Secretary of Administration Jeb Spaulding sounded a wee bit bristly about the attention the deleted email issue has generated and wished the VSEA had come to him before going to the press.
He was nonplussed by the attention the issue had generated among members of the media, and said it was a distraction from his work-[on LIHEAP]
In contrast Attorney General Sorrel seems more laid back about the issue. He has now started an inquiry but originally never imposed a litigation hold on relevant material-yet says if deleting the emails was intentional it shouldn’t have happened: “If they were deleted and not retrieved, then that was a total mistake and shouldn’t have happened. But we don’t know and we won’t know for days.” Finally, at least to many untutored in these mysterious rules and rituals it might seem there is actually a law that may apply here. But what the heck, guess it’s not as if it is as important as a SSB (Sugar Sweetened Beverage) or something like that.
Disposition of public records - A custodian of public records shall not destroy, give away, sell, discard, or damage any record or records in his or her charge, unless specifically authorized by law or under a record schedule approved by the state archivist pursuant to 3 V.S.A. { 117(a)(5).
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