Dr. George Till, State Representative (D-Jericho) is back with another online Physician Survey on legislative issues related to health care. You may recall the foofaraw over his 2011 survey and its breathlessly reported topline: IF WE PASS SINGLE-PAYER, ONE-QUARTER OF VERMONT’S DOCTORS WILL LEAVE THE STATE!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Caps and italics mine. And exclamation marks.)

There were some problems, reported here at GMD if not elsewhere, that meant the survey was highly unreliable. Licensed physicians were notified of the survey by postcard, but anyone could go online and fill it out. Notification was only as reliable as Dr. Till’s mailing list. It was possible to fill out the survey more than once. The survey was unscientific; it wasn’t a true sampling of physician opinion, but a voluntary online poll of those motivated to fill it out.  (36% of licensed physicians completed the survey.) Also, the “licensed physician” category includes a whole lot of people who are retired, have left medical practice, live in neighboring states but are licensed in Vermont, and have moved away but maintained their Vermont license.

(Many doctors maintain licenses in multiple states. Non-practicing doctors often keep their licensing current in case they decide to go back to medicine. Renewing an existing license is far simpler than re-applying.)

After the jump: slightly more secure, but still fundamentally flawed. Also, apes.  

Well, Dr. Till has a new, improved, secure survey for 2012. As he noted in his postcard to physicians:

Because last years (sic) survey was contaminated by certain advocates and non physicians, your license number will be required to complete the survey.

Contaminated! “Take your filthy paws off my survey, you damn dirty ape!” Funny, that word “contaminated” rings a bell… From a comment posted on GMD April 12, 2011, about a week after Till’s first survey was released:

Rep. Till addressed the Democratic caucus today concerning the brouhaha with his survey. Basically, he was angry with the fact that the survey had been tainted by “contaminants”. He referred to the fact that some members of the caucus had accessed it, as well as maybe some others in the building.

At least some of those damn dirty apes were, as he himself noted, fellow members of his party caucus. Must have been an uncomfortable moment.

This time, in order to access the online survey, you have to enter your license number and specialty. I’m sure there are ways to hack it, but it should at least keep out the casual non-physician and cut down on specious responses.

However, all the other problems remain. This will not be a scientific survey because the responders are self-selecting. Till’s mailing list may or may not be comprehensive. Nonresidents, and nonpracticing physician, are still eligible to respond if they have Vermont licenses. We don’t know what will happen if a physician tries to take the survey more than once; will the survey reject a license number if it’s entered multiple times? (For instance, that semiretired orthopod in Rutland who’s a frequent guest on “Common Sense Radio” bashing HCR. He’s motivated, and he’s got time on his hands.)

Remember all of this in a few weeks, when Dr. Till holds a news conference and the Vermont media report this as a meaningful reflection of physician opinion.

‘Tisn’t.

p.s. If any of you damn dirty apes out there do manage to hack the survey, we’d like to hear. I’m especially interested in finding out which questions are asked and how they’re worded.

Oh dear. The chair of the Vermont GOP, Jack Lindley, has a serious case of Bunched Knicker Syndrome. He’s upset that his man, Thurston Howell the Thir — er, Mitt Romney — failed to win 50% of the vote in Tuesday’s primary. That means Mitt will have to share Vermont’s 17 delegates with Ron Paul and Rick Santorum.

(Probably also means a couple of Lindley’s golfing buddies will miss out on a trip to the convention, replaced by scruffy goldbugs from the Paul camp. But perhaps I’m being overly churlish, due to the ridiculosity of what follows.) Vermont Digger:

Lindley… says he wants the Vermont Secretary of State to examine alleged poll reporting irregularities. Lindley says a new state reporting system for municipal officials led to anomalous results that were posted on the Secretary of State’s website Tuesday night. He stopped short, however, of calling for a formal probe.

“I’m not asking for an investigation,” Lindley said. “I’m asking for an examination by the Secretary of State whose principal responsibility is to validate the integrity of the ballot in Vermont.”

After the jump: political hypertension and Much Ado About Nothing.  

That would be the, as Lindley would say, DEMOCRAT Secretary of State Jim Condos. Lindley’s griping about a new secure online reporting system that had its first run on Tuesday. Before the vote, some test results had been posted on the site, and some were still visible on Tuesday.

“The mistake the GOP made yesterday was they were thinking these were official results – they weren’t,” Condos said. “It’s hard not to think it’s sour grapes. They thought Romney would take 50 percent, and they’re looking to blame somebody and they’re blaming our office.”

It’s standard practice for an election reporting system to post test results before a vote count begins. Sometimes it’s a string of zeroes, sometimes it’s really outlandish totals. Because if the test results are implausible, nobody will mistake them for the real results. Well, not unless they had a big political ax to grind. Cue the Fox News-style harrumphing:

“Obviously the Secretary of State’s site was not accurate,” Lindley said. “Their response was this was an unofficial tally. I’m not sure what kind of system we’re running here, either we have it right or we don’t.”

Problem is, all the officially-reported results were accurate. The test results were never counted. The new system worked! That’s plainly obvious to anyone who isn’t ignoring the facts to try to score a cheap political point.

Lindley then turned to Burlington, the ACORN-riddled Rotten Borough of his fevered imagination.

About 800 provisional Burlington ballots, including about 200 that weren’t matched with Social Security cards or drivers’ licenses, Lindley says, should have been challenged by Republican candidate for mayor, Kurt Wright.

…”Any party would have an opportunity to challenge provisional ballots and they’ve walked away with that, which I think is regrettable,” Lindley said. “So what have we got? We don’t even know if they’re Americans.”

AHA! The smoking gun! Kurt Wright’s landslide defeat can be explained by trumped-up uncertainties over a couple hundred provisional ballots. Never mind that he lost by more than two thousand votes. The anti-immigrant bit is an especially nice, completely irrelevant and baseless touch.

I guess this is what we can expect from Jack Lindley’s Vermont Republican Party: a dogged search for any little thing he can turn into a talking point, no matter how outlandish. A blizzard of hysterical press releases and dudgeony news conferences. Trumped-up allegations of Democrat/liberal perfidy, with constant Bernie “Socialist” Sanders name-dropping.

Ignoring the fact that Bernie is the most popular political figure in the state. But Lindley isn’t using the Jim Douglas happy-face playbook; he’s using the Rush Limbaugh/Fox News/Karl Rove playbook. Small problem: that stuff doesn’t resonate in Vermont. He keeps this up, his party’s going to get its ass kicked in November.

Question: Jack Lindley was chair of the VTGOP once before, in the late 70s and early 80s. Back when the party’s officeholders were Dick Snelling, Bob Stafford, and Jim Jeffords. Not exactly doctrinaire conservatives, and men who were certainly willing to work across party lines. So what happened to the VTGOP, and to Jack Lindley, between then and now?  

I think they’ve caught a bad case of Fox poisoning.  

Sadly, the odious Andrew Breitbart continues to defile the national dialogue, even from beyond the grave.

Fortunately, what he’s done seems to be remarkably ineffective.

You may remember the back story. Shortly before his death, in one of his overheated public appearances, Breitbart claimed that he had video of Barack Obama when he was in college that was going to be some kind of major game changer. “I have videos, this election we’re going to vet him,” Breitbart disclosed to raucous applause. “We are going to vet him from his college days to show you why racial division and class warfare are central to what hope and change was sold in 2008.”

Well, even after death Breitbart’s organization continues, and apparently today they got scooped. We know that because when the tape was finally released they called it “selectively edited”. “Spliced and diced.” Well, duh. We knew that would be the case: after the Shirley Sherrod libel, if not before, the whole world knew that everything that came out of the Breitbart organization was sliced and diced. The weird thing is that they admitted it.

Because they got scooped they spent the afternoon talking about how they were going to release the whole tape on Hannitty tonight, and that it would (naturally) blow the whole story up and demolish President Obama’s story, or appeal, or something. They kept the Breitbart web page plastered with hints about what we’re going to find out when the whole thing is released.

I don’t know if the whole video has been released, but it seems as though it has, and there’s nothing there, folks. For one thing, it was all on Frontline back when Obama was running for President, so nothing has been “hidden”. It’s video of a demonstration at Harvard Law School when Obama was there (not from his college days) and it shows Obama speaking in support of Derrick Bell, a prominent law professor there who was a bit of a lightning rod at the time. Obama sounds remarkably the way he sounds today, with the same measured tone, the same tendency to use a falling intonation at the end of sentences, and the same use of language that we hear from him now. What’s more, he doesn’t say anything that remarkable.

To hear the Breitbart people tell it the tape is totally damning, supposedly because they’re now going to release all this video that proves that Bell is a racist or something, but there is literally nothing in this video that makes Obama look much different from what we already know about him.

Another thing that we keep seeing on the Breitbart site is their claims that Charles Ogletree, a professor at Harvard, told them on an “exclusive tape”, that “We hid this throughout the 2008 campaign. I don’t care if they find it now.” And they say that several times, with hot links to pages where they promise you’re going to find the story of this exclusive tape with Charles Ogletree saying what they claim he said. Don’t bother. No matter how many of those links you follow you never get to the tape they promise.

So what’s their final line? There’s far more coming on Derrick Bell. This is just the beginning. And this video is a smoking gun showing that Barack Obama not only associated with radicals, he was their advocate.

Now it’s been a long time since anyone with a brain took anything from Breitbart seriously, but that didn’t stop him or his people from continuing to peddle anything he could. At this point, though, can’t we just agree that he is both gone and forgotten?

Now that our founder, John Odum, is moving on to bigger and better things (more on that later), I think it’s safe to open the locked doors on what really happens at the palatial offices of Green Mountain Daily.

These scenes are pretty accurate, although Mr. Odum isn’t always smoking a cigar as he hands out assignments, chews out recalcitrant reporters, or barks out “Don’t call me Chief!” or some of his other trademarked phrases.

To shift to a more serious note for just a moment,  I really had little idea what to expect when John called me back in 2005 asking me to join what he was conceiving of as a Vermont version of Daily Kos, but I suspect that none of us could have predicted the range and influence that his new idea would attain. Speaking for myself, John Odum’s leadership and news and political judgment will be sorely missed, and I greatly appreciate the opportunity to have worked with him these last six years.

Thanks, John, and congratulations.

 Ohio’s Samuel Wurzelbacher has won a tough Republican US Congressional primary. The conservative political newcomer is perhaps best known by his stage name “Joe the Plumber”. Although never a licensed plumber and not named “Joe”, Wurzelbacher will soon face 15 term Ohio Democratic Rep.Marcy Kaptur after barely winning his primary race.

 Despite outspending his opponent six to one, Wurzelbacher only narrowly won the Republican race with 51 percent of Toledo-area residents picking "Joe the Plumber" compared with the 48 percent who chose Steve Kraus, an auctioneer and real estate agent.  

Wurzelbacher not only had a massive monetary advantage but also scored the backing of big name Republicans, such as Herman Cain, and appeared at rallies with both Romney and Santorum.

 

Wurzelbacher’s main claim to fame came in 2008 when appearing as “Joe the Plumber” he famously asked then candidate Obama a confrontational question regarding taxes. This one performance sparked his rapid rise in Republican Party politics(always on the lookout for quality talent)and he made guest appearances in character as “Joe” with John McCain and Sarah Palin.  

Gonna put up a few thoughts on yesterday’s voting and invite others to do the same. In the Comments, or in diaries of your own.  

Presidential Primary Headline: “Santorum Trails in Vermont Three-Way.” (Sorry, you may need to flush your eyes in Lysol.) But seriously, Mitt Romney managed a 14-point victory, but only got about 40% of the vote. Bad showing for Mitt in a northeastern state not known for rabid conservatism. It must be heartening to El Jefe General John McClaughry and his Ethan Allen Boys that Ron Paul managed to finish second.

Miro Wins Burlington: Speaking purely as an outside observer, I’m surprised. I thought the Dem/Prog infighting — which the Dems started, IMO, with some of their comments about Tim Ashe being too much of a Prog — plus the Wanda Hines candidacy would give Kurt Wright enough room to slip into the Big Chair. I was concerned that, despite his moderate/good guy image, he’d turn out to be a serious conservative and take some steps (selling Burlington Electric?) that’d be impossible for a future Mayor to undo.

Whither Progs? Having lost the Mayoralty, they must be pondering their future direction. I hope a GMDer with Prog inclinations can offer more insight on the subject.

Corporate Personhood: Incomplete returns at this hour, but so far, it’s a big “yes” for a constitutional amendment to overturn the Citizens United ruling. Of the more than 50 communities considering the issue, at least half approved it, and only two towns (so far) have reportedly said no.  

That’s it for me. Comments welcome.  

Now that our founder, John Odum, is moving on to bigger and better things (more on that later), I think it’s safe to open the locked doors on what really happens at the palatial offices of Green Mountain Daily.

These scenes are pretty accurate, although Mr. Odum isn’t always smoking a cigar as he hands out assignments, chews out recalcitrant reporters, or barks out “Don’t call me Chief!” or some of his other trademarked phrases.

To shift to a more serious note for just a moment,  I really had little idea what to expect when John called me back in 2005 asking me to join what he was conceiving of as a Vermont version of Daily Kos, but I suspect that none of us could have predicted the range and influence that his new idea would attain. Speaking for myself, John Odum’s leadership and news and political judgment will be sorely missed, and I greatly appreciate the opportunity to have worked with him these last six years.

Thanks, John, and congratulations.

(We were waiting to front page this story until there was a little more “meat” on the bone; so now we’e bringing it out from under the radar at last. – promoted by Sue Prent)

*revised from previous post – emphasis added

Herald story; Posted on March 6, 2012 by VT Today:

Vermont Yankee reduces power to fix condenser

BRATTLEBORO – The Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant had to reduce power Tuesday because of problems with its condenser, a spokesman for Entergy Nuclear said.

http://www.vttoday.com/vermont…

Problem is not new, from the above Herald story:

“It is the second time in recent months that Yankee has had to reduce power because of problems with the condenser.”

Chickens come home to roost:

By: Bob Audette, Reformer Staff, Brattleboro Reformer, [Jun 11,2009]

Earlier this week, Yankee reported that the plant’s condenser, which acts as a radiator to cool down steam from the plant’s reactor, had developed a leak of about one half gallon a minute. About 360,000 gallons of river water flow through the condenser per minute[..]Yankee technicians are planning to power down the reactor to about half its capacity to see if they can find the source of the leak. Last year, technicians were unable to identify the location of a similar leak.

In 2003, Gundersen testified that the condenser could prove to be a problem for continued reliable operation of the plant. He suggested that Entergy is not willing to pay the $100 million price tag for replacement unless it gets approval for extended operation.

The oversight panel found critical issues that need to dealt with quickly if Yankee is to be maintained reliably, wrote Gundersen in his reply to Shumlin.

“The recent discovery of further condenser tube degradation shows just how prescient the panel’s report is and how important the implementation of our recommended modifications and management changes is to the continued reliability of Yankee,” he wrote.

http://fairewinds.com/content/…

Testomony regarding replacement:

http://www.necnp.org/files/doc…

One short year ago:

“If they do decide to remain open, I don’t see them running for longer than until 2016, maybe 2017,” said Gundersen. Why? Because at that point the plant’s main condenser would have to be replaced. A new condenser could cost as much as $200 million – its price is largely dependent on the global cost of copper.”

http://7d.blogs.com/blurt/2011…

Problems presaged by Fairewinds Associates 10 years ago, Arnie Gundersen testimony:

16 Q5 Please give another example of a component likely to have an adverse effect on

17 reliability under extended power uprate conditions.

18 Response:  Another outstanding example of a worn component that is not likely to

19 withstand the stresses of extended power uprate through end of license in 2012 is the

20 steam condenser[..]  

http://www.fairewinds.com/cont…

Much more in this testimony shows the degradation of the plant at that time, it sure didn’t fix itself. Clearly, Entergy Louisiana always intended to run it into the ground & leave the mess to VT.

Backstory & overarching issue here is that key plant components are falling apart & will continue to fail. Embrittlement & metal fatigue are both age related conditions which will not go away, overiding ANY & ALL other issues making them moot. Entire issue of the present & other steady string of ongoing ‘mishaps’ started after  purchase of the plant by Entergy Louisiana & are due to longstanding faulty & incomplete maintenance procedures. A partial listing:

http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/no…

– At present, plant continues to leak radioactive nuclear waste into ground & groundwater

– Entergy Louisiana refuses to test the previously contaminated onsite drinking water well

– Leaking likely began in 2006/2007 as evidenced by sinkholes which were apparant on the site of VY in 2008, although a whistleblower claimed a leaking pipe in 2005 was repaired w/a “sealant.”

“It is likely that the Vermont Yankee leak existed for at least two years prior to its detection in the monitoring. well.”

[Detected 11/2009]

page 10:

http://www.leg.state.vt.us/jfo…

– Pipes are corroding due to microbiological corrosion from the inside out, as well as outside in:

“The pipes in the vault corroded from the inside out and not from the outside inward so there are two different failure mechanisms. Prior to the problems at Vermont Yankee, the NRC had only been concerned about pipes that corrode from the outside. Mr. Gundersen told the NRC that it should also be concerned about pipes that are not in contact with dirt and fail as a result of internal corrosion.”

Related:

http://vtdigger.org/2011/01/15…  

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The votes are in and counted in the capital city, and incoherence is the order of the day.

First, a big tip of the hat to our founder and new City Clerk, John Odum. We knew things were going to be weird for a city clerk race when John’s opponent started putting up yard signs, which upped the ante for both campaigns from the beginning. At the end John came out on top with a very close 1204-1086 victory, and you know what that means: time to get up and go to a real job tomorrow, John!

In other races, though, it’s very hard to make sense of what the people are saying. The race that got the most attention wasn’t an election for any office, but ballot issues 10 and 11, to establish local options sales and rooms & meals taxes for the city of Montpelier. The Council put them on the ballot and almost every downtown merchant fought against them. You can’t go through downtown without seeing the anti-tax posters in the store windows. (And I want to express a big thank-you to Miller Sports, Onion River Sports, Rite-Aid, and any other community-supporting businesses who did not oppose the local options taxes.)

The sales tax went down by a margin of about 2-1, the rooms and meals tax failed by a smaller margin, just under a couple of hundred votes.

The anti-tax forces were led by Thierry Guerlain, who started a group called Vibrant and Affordable Montpelier, and who was also on the ballot for City Council for District 2. Guerlain’s anti-tax, anti-city-government message was apparently popular, as he also defeated twelve-year council veteran Nancy Sherman by over 200 votes, 574-371.

So this would make you think that the anti-tax message carried the day, huh? Well, maybe not so much. Although the proposals to tax commuters failed, every single spending proposal passed, most of them by wide margins, more than 2-1. Whatever anyone else is saying about whether Montpelier city government is spending too much money, Montpelier voters clearly do not agree.

So to sum up: the anti-tax guy who claims he wants  to take some of the burden off property tax payers  gets elected; the only proposal on the ballot that would actually reduce burdens on property tax payers is defeated; and all the spending proposals, which will only add to our property tax burdens, pass.

By replacing outgoing mayor Mary Hooper with John Hollar, who ran unopposed, and Nancy Sherman with Thierry Guerlain, Montpelier’s city council has taken a sudden turn to the right. We’ll see if what the voters get is what they actually want.