So Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell has declared H.97 - the bill passed last session by the House that would provide limited collective bargaining rights to home-based child care workers (and a bill I did some work on) - dead. He does not intent to let it come out of committee. Barring some last minute intervention from the Governor, it's likely to stay dead (and Shumlin has already picked his controversies for this election year... this bill is not on the list).
It should never have come to this, and has because of self-destructive behavior on both sides.
On the union's side, it's no secret in the Statehouse that AFT has continued to wield a strategic sledgehammer, even those times when finesse has been called for. Vermont legislators are more prickly than most on that regard.
On Campbell's end, it seems to be simply about pique. He's not able to see beyond some of that strategic clumsiness to judge the issue on its merits, simply because bill proponents have dared to cross him. And when you dare to cross Campbell, apparently, political reality becomes an afterthought.
Putting aside the ethics of the bill and the right to collective bargaining - a right Democrats are supposed to stand for - consider the more politically crass implications. Campbell is assumed to be eyeing higher office - possibly the governorship after Shumlin moves on. He'll inevitably face a primary, and this move won't play well in that arena.
But more than that - consider the general election. In its earliest form, this bill could have unionized 8,000 low-income Vermonters, mostly women. That's 8000 union members who would get mailings endorsing candidates - and most of those would be Democrats.
This is why I have little doubt that Republican insiders are laughing their butts off at Campbell's decision to let his personal pride overcome his common sense.
Oh looky here, a new hashtag has appeared on Twitter this afternoon -- #kurtfacts. It's the old Chuck Norris meme, except with Kurt Wright as the hero. Samples:
"Kurt Wright can blow bubbles with beef jerky."
"Kurt Wright was born in a log cabin ... that he built with his bare hands."
"Kurt Wright has a bear skin rug in his living room its not dead it's just afraid to move"
Hilarity, to be sure. Feel free to Tweet your own, preferably subversive, entries. (I just Tweeted "Kurt Wright has one freakishly large tooth. Named "Nigel.") Or maybe start #wandafacts or #mirofacts.
Gov. Peter Shumlin today appointed Jill Krowinski of Burlington to replace outgoing state Rep. Rachel Weston for the seat representing Ward 3.
"Jill has worked hard to get young people involved in the political process and registered to vote," Gov. Shumlin said. "She also knows how the House and Senate operate from her time working as assistant to former House Speaker Gaye Symington, so she'll hit the ground running."
"I want to thank Governor Shumlin for giving me this incredible opportunity to represent Burlington in the House of Representatives," Krowinski said. "I'm ready to get to work with a great group of legislators from Burlington and excited to work for a great community."
Among her priority issues are health care reform, education, and empowering young people to get involved in their communities. Krowinski graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a BA in Urban Studies and Political Science in 2002. In addition to her work for Symington, she has served as Executive Director of the Vermont Democratic Party and founded a non-profit dedicated to registering young people to vote. She is currently the Vermont Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. Krowinski serves on the Board of Directors of the Montpelier Chamber Orchestra, Begin Blue, Vermont Access to Reproductive Freedom, and is a Commissioner for the Fletcher Free Library in Burlington.
Sorry for the dry style, this is written for radio news. Just wanted to get this out here.
A request by the American Civil Liberties Union for what amounts to a massive records dump from Lyndonville's Wildflower Inn was granted yesterday by a Caledonia Superior Court judge.
The Wildflower is being sued by the ACLU on behalf of a lesbian couple from New York who were denied a request to hold their wedding reception there.
The Wildflower Inn will now have to turn over the documents requested by the ACLU.
We're just about a month out from the one-year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that precipitated nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daiichi.
It bears mentioning again that, while any effort to apply lessons learned to current nuclear operations seems to be advancing without appreciable urgency, there is plenty of evidence that industry and government agents in Japan and here at home hastily circled the wagons even before the affected population had been warned to evacuate.
The grisly truth is that, in the aftermath of one of the worst nuclear disasters in history, protecting economic interests has been given a far higher priority than human health and safety.
In a February 2 interview conducted by CCTV host Margaret Harrington, Maggie Gundersen of Fairewinds Assoc. points out that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission...that's our guys...knew how serious the situation at Fukushima was, fully nine days before residents were ordered to evacuate!
So effective has the effort been to deflect negative messaging from Fukushima that, if one does not go well out of one's way to find information about radiation impacts, or even the progress of stabilization efforts at the devastated facility, one is unlikely to know anything at all.
We are dependent on the efforts of independent investigators, like Fairewinds Associates, who, facing a desperate information void, have seized the initiative to do the thankless work of analysis and public education that so-called "regulatory" agencies and governments have completely abdicated.
Bruce Lisman's vanity proj-- er, campaign stalking hors-- er, public policy organization, Campaign for Vermont, continues to crank out opinion pieces, press releases, and radio advertisements. And while I appreciate CfV's copious ad buys on my favorite radio station, WDEV, I must also note that its true character is coming into sharper focus.
For those just joining us, Lisman is a native Vermonter who made a fortune as a top executive for cratered Wall Street giant Bear Stearns. In retirement, he has returned home with the avowed goal of promoting the greater good of the Green Mountain State through a "nonpartisan" effort called Campaign for Vermont. Which, although it claims to be a broad-based coalition, seems to be centered entirely on Mr. Bruce Lisman. For instance #1: Bruce's oddly unfocused smiling face appears on every webpage. For instance #2: CfV's position statements, although supposedly a group effort, are entitled "The Lisman Perspective."
There are many other indications that the CfV is (a) solidly Republican, and (b) an attempt to whitewash Lisman as a potential future candidate for office, in hopes of avoiding the fate of rich-guy flameouts Rich Tarrant and Jack McMullen. I outlined these signs in two mid-December diaries, "Lismania" and "Lismania II."
So now, on to the latest, including a fourth word in the CfV nameplate, and two new (very obviously anti-Shumlin) radio ads.
The person who wrote the following Vermont State webpage’s wintertime recreation press release“Fishing is Hot on Lake Champlain… and some memorable fish have been caught in recent weeks” probably didn’t have strontium or cesium in mind. But it certainly blends well with the Vermont chief radiologist’s news that a fish from Northwestern Vermont’s Lake Carmi tested positive for low levels of strontium-90 and cesium-137. The preliminary results are in the same range as found last August in a Connecticut River fish near Vermont Yankee. Bill Irwin, chief of radiological health for the Vermont Department of Health says this provides proof of what he had already decided … err hypothesized:
"We take this as some evidence that all fish in Vermont are likely to have radioactive cesium and strontium at these levels and that, as we’ve hypothesized, it is from nuclear weapons fallout and the releases of Chernobyl. All of us are glad to have proof and not just conjecture."
Good news! Call the tourist board to announce all the Vermont fish contain radioactive strontium 90 and cesium! However, if this shows the Lake Carmi fish was contaminated by nuclear weapons fallout and the Chernobyl disaster I shouldn’t think it takes our leaking Vermont Yankee out of contention as an additional source for contamination of Connecticut River fish.
The Lake Carmi fish had cesium in edible and inedible parts, and strontium only in the sample's bones, head, fins and scales. By comparison, the Vermont Yankee fish had high levels of strontium 90 in the bones and small but measurable levels in the meat.
A fish taken from the Connecticut River in 2010 had the highest levels of strontium-90 in bone that his department has seen in any samples.
"In that same sample we did find very low but measurable amounts of strontium-90 in the meat of the fish," said Irwin, which could have been a sampling or contamination error. "But we don’t know that."
The Lake Carmi fish as "proof" (not all "evidence" is "proof") reminds me of the line from the Nick Danger comedy skit where a supposed time traveler says “I have proof I’ve been to Ancient Greece! See, look at this grape!”The Vermont chief radiologist found a grape.
Just remember, Bill Irwin is a culturally-sensitve guy looking out for you and your radiological health:
"There’s no danger in eating the fish," said Irwin. "Should we ever find that there are reasons to restrict diet from any sampling for any kind of radioactive or toxicological events, we would keep in mind different cultures have different diets."
Well, a few days ago I posted a diary about the Kurt Wright campaign slamming Miro Weinberger for seeking campaign cash from "Washington elites," as opposed to soliciting only Vermont elites, which I guess is a purer form of filling the moneybags. (Weinberger netted $8,000 from a gathering of 70 "Washington elites," many of whom had strong Vermont ties; that's a decidedly non-elite average gift of $114.29.)
I pointed out the sheer hypocrisy of any Republican slamming an opponent on this subject, since the GOP is the Grand Champion of big-dollar, out-of-town fundraising.
So now, the Weinberger folks have felt compelled to strike back at Wright. And pardon me if I'm underwhelmed. The big scoop on Wright, per Andy Bromage on the Seven Days staff blog:
According to public campaign reports, Wright raised $850 from four out-of-state corporate political action committees for his 2010 campaign for state representative. He accepted $200 each from Pfizer PAC in New York City; Anheuser-Busch Co. PAC in Whitehouse Station, N.J.; and ENPAC (the corporate PAC for Vermont Yankee owner Entergy Corp.) in Jackson, Miss. He also accepted $250 from GlaxoSmith Kline PAC in Phoenix, Ariz.
The Weinberger campaign, which described its D.C. fundraiser as a gathering of Vermont "ex-pats" and family friends, dug up the same information and is now accusing Wright of hypocrisy.
Eight hundred and fifty dollars? Come on, Eileen. That's a drop in anybody's bucket. Does Weinberger really think this will help him win the mayoralty, when (non-felonious) fundraising brouhahas never seem to make any difference with the electorate?
(Now, on the theory that you should never let an attack go without a response, here's how I would have addressed Wright's original accusation: "We fought a tough five-way primary for the party's nomination. We face an opponent with deep pockets and the support of some very wealthy people. So as part of our campaign effort, we reached out to fellow Vermonters and friends who happen to be living in Washington." And leave it at that.)
Wright continued the pointless exercise by positing a difference between running for Mayor and running for the Legislature -- outside money is okay for the latter but not for the former -- and that's absolute nonsense and he should stop it.
This whole thing was minuscule to begin with, and it just keeps getting smaller and smaller. It doesn't help either man. They would be better served -- and would look more like the kind of leader Burlington needs -- by simply dropping the matter and getting back to the issues. If anybody is gaining anything from this, it's Wanda Hines.
It's less than a week after the giant Komen fiasco and people are still asking what seems like an obvious question: How could such a principled, benevolent organization get so badly led astray?
If you look at the people at the top, the people making the decisions and pulling the strings, not only is the answer obvious, but the question is seen as badly misguided.
So there you have it. The Komen organization is closely tied to a variety of anti-woman hate groups, and there isn't any sign that's going to change anytime soon.
Well, I wasn't going to do this - but it looks like I'll be running against at least 1, and possibly as many as 3, opponents for the Montpelier City Clerk position. SO as part of my GMD farewell tour, I'm putting an ask out there for folks who might want to support me in my career change.
As a database guy, I see a lot of opportunities to minimize the mounds of paper that tend to consume the office, and possibly introduce new efficiencies in the process. I would also like to look at ways to make the office into the "mini Secretary of State" that it is in the community - possibly running voter registration drives out of City Hall.
Anyway, I'd appreciate any support you can share, as it's 4 short weeks til Town Meeting Day. Click the button below to give what you can (if you give $100 or more I'll have to follow up with you and get your employer info). Thanks a lot for your help in this. It's new territory for me.
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