Don’t you just love the new brandname that Joe Biden has applied to Romney’s healthcare proposal?  

“Vouchercare.”  

Now doesn’t  that just say “worthless piece of sh*t” to cranky airline passengers, disappointed newspaper and postal carriers; and to anyone else who has ever received a crummy piece of paper in lieu of satisfactory service or the expected Christmas tip?

Vouchers are the tacky buy-off that only works once before the recipient gets wise.  Only kids think they are getting something of value when you hand them a “voucher.”

Vouchers are those things you buy in booklets from the local booster club because you feel obligated to support the team;  not because you ever intend to eat at “Ted’s  Eat-O-Rama” (“FREE minestroni wrap;  Wednesday and Thursday nights only “); or get two macrame plant hangers for the price of one from “Connie’s Cuts and Crap.”

Vouchers are the very definition of something you don’t want that’s offered as a substitute for something you really need.

For anyone without the means to say “no,” vouchers just scream insufficiency and humiliation.  “Vouchercare“ simply makes it worse.  

The mental image is that of impersonal and inattentive ministrations parceled out ungenerously, with lots of restrictions and exceptions.

I even have a slogan to propose.  

“Vouchercare: We make death a more attractive alternative.”

Well done, Mr. Vice President!  This one’s a keeper!

A few days ago I wrote a diary criticizing a Reporters’ Roundtable on VPR for its lack of substance, its overattention to campaign minutiae, and its curious inattention to some actually interesting stuff. I mentioned, briefly, the program’s extremely brief consideration of the Auditor’s race.

Basically, the “analysis” boiled down to Pol v. Wonk. Republican Vince Illuzzi, master politician, gladhanding his way around the state while Doug Hoffer, tight-lipped wonk, sits in his office cranking out position papers.

Or something like that.

Well, I thought that little stereotype deserved a bit more attention.  

First, let’s consider the Pol. Yes, Vince Illuzzi has been involved in Vermont politics for a very long time. He certainly knows his way around the hallways and backrooms of the Statehouse. But is he really a skilled politician?

I say the jury’s out on that one. Sure, Illuzzi has won a fistful of elections, but always on his home turf. Has he ever faced a serious challenge before? And sure, he’s well-known under the golden dome; but how well do the people of, say, Brattleboro or Rutland or even Burlington know him?

Not to say that his experience in Vermont’s little version of the Beltway is unimportant. He’s clearly collected a lot of chits over the years, and that’s given him the early lead in fundraising. But it remains to be seen how effective he’ll be on a statewide stage. I think that Statehouse reporters don’t see that broader picture very well, and they overvalue Illuzzi’s insider cred.

Now let’s turn to the Wonk, Doug Hoffer. Who, actually, is the only one of the two who’s run a statewide campaign. He ran a respectable race against Tom Salmon, a lousy Auditor with the incumbent’s edge and massive name recognition.

And for a supposedly ivory-tower-bound intellectual, Doug is sure pounding the pavement. He’s compiled a chart showing his past and pending campaign appearances around the state, which is truly impressive. (Pardon the formatting, which is due to my own computer-unsavviness. Doug’s original looked much better. But you’ll get the point.)

March 10 Randolph Dem Statewide Committee

April 10 West Glover Orleans County Committee

May 12 Randolph Dem Statewide Committee

May 12 Montpelier Prog Statewide Committee

May 14 Springfield Windsor County Committee

May 21 Rutland        Rutland County Committee

May 26 Essex Jct        Pancake Breakfast prior to Parade

May 26 Barre         Dem State Convention

June 1 Burlington        Aswad / Keogh fundraiser

June 2 Enosburg        Dairy Days

June 12 Burlington        Nurses demo at FAHC

June 12 Burlington        Ch. 17 w/Richard Kemp

June 12 Burlington        City Dem mtg. re. JPs

June 14 Montpelier Dropped petitions & met w/reporter

June 15 Montpelier Met w/VSEA board

June 19 South Burlington Met w/Firefighters

June 23 Rutland         Bernie event

June 24 Weybridge Dem fundraiser (Kunin)

June 30 Waterbury        Parade

July 3 Montpelier Parade

July 4 Bristol        Parade

July 8 Reading        Windsor Co. Ag Fair

July 18 Tunbridge Orange Co. Dem Committee

July 19 Burlington        VDP & Chitt. Co. Dems

July 20 Colchester Ch. 5 Interview

July 21 Burlington Phil Baruth / GMD picnic

July 28 Johnson        Lamoille Co. Field Days

July 29 Richmond        Bernie event

July 29 Ferrisburgh Bernie event

August 3 Brattleboro Windham Co. Dem HQ opening + Gallery Walk

August 4 Highgate       Franklin Co. Field Day

August 6 Burlington       House party (Suzi W.)

August 8 Quechee       Windsor / Orange Co. Dem HQ opening

August 9 Burlington       Fundraiser @ St John’s Club

August 11 Vergennes Addison Co. Field Days

August 12 Barre Progressive Party quarterly mtg.

August 16 Burlington Cass Gekas’ kick-off rally

August 16 Burlington VBSR in the Intervale

August 18 Barton Orleans Co. Fair

August 19 Burlington Bernie event

August 19 Morrisville Bernie event

August 21 Montpelier Community Access TV interview

August 23 Rutland Rutland Co. Dem HQ opening

August 24 Barre Barre Town Democrats barbeque

August 25  Lyndonville Caledonia County Fair

August 29  Burlington Dem Party Unity Event

August 29  North Hero Grand Isle Co. Dems

Sept. 1 Essex Jct. Champlain Valley Fair

Sept. 3 Burlington Bernie Labor Day event @ Battery Park

Sept. 5 Burlington VBSR policy forum (4:00 PM Main St. Landing)

Sept. 8 Montpelier Meet with VT NEA

Sept. 9 Jay Meet with AFL-CIO

Sept. 9 Burlington Bernie cruise

Sept. 10 Burlington Shumlin rally

Sept. 11 St Albans Franklin Co. Dem HQ opening

Sept. 12 South Hero Farmer’s Market & Fund Raiser

Sept. 14 Newport Orleans Co. Dem HQ opening

Sept. 15 Tunbridge Fair

Sept. 20 Waitsfield Dem meet & greet

Sept. 27 Swanton Fundraiser

Looking at this, you might begin to think that Doug actually likes campaigning. Who knows, he might even be good at it. He certainly doesn’t deserve the stereotype so casually attached to him last Friday on VPR.  

How convenient.  It was just revealed that the dosimeters of over 3,000 workers at Fukushima Daiichi were deliberately shielded with lead in the first three weeks following the accident, so that they would not record excessive exposures to radiation.  Nothing like making absolutely certain that the facts don’t get in the way of your PR line!

________________________________________________________________________

Though the situation at Fukushima remains largely unchanged and unresolved, nuclear power brokers are  trying desperately to regain their footing in the small but economically powerful nation of Japan.  

This one is for all the marbles.

If the Japanese people succeed in securing a nuclear-free future for themselves, how long will it be before other populations demand the same from their governments?  Germany has already handed in its notice.  

This could spell disaster for an industry which is built on the fragile economic illusion that nuclear power is both essential and inexpensive.  Both of these illusions will be laid bare by a complete withdrawal of Japan from the nuclear club.

It’s no wonder the industry is pulling out all the stops in its PR effort to make folks believe there is no there there.

In a badly flawed feature article that was inversely reminiscent of the fable “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” The Wall Street Journal attempted to convince its investor readership that radiation is essentially harmless and there would be no need to evacuate populations in the event of future Fukushima-style accidents.

If you believe that one, could I interest you in a nice bridge property?

But did the Fukushima disaster truly represent the worst case scenario; or did it rather represent almost the best case scenario, in light of the number of reactors in northern Japan that came perilously close to disaster themselves on that same day?

While the  debate over the future of nuclear roils Japanese society, take a few minutes to reflect on what might have happened to that country, had the worst case scenario played out.  

In the newest video release from Fairewinds Associates, Arnie Gundersen explains how other reactor sites were in peril from the same tsunami waves and fatal design flaws that brought Fukushima to its knees that day; and he explains why a higher level of alert status (“Level 8”) with associated protocols  should be created to apply to accidents at sites where multiple reactors operate in close proximity.

(A quiet, pithy reference to the history of Vermont’s leadership. – promoted by NanuqFC)

According to A History of Vermont (1916), almost immediately after Fort Sumter was fired upon and the Civil War began:

Towns voted to raise money on their grand list, and subscribed to equip the militia and support the families of volunteers…[The Legislature] voted seven dollars per month pay in addition to the thirteen dollars offered by the [Federal] government ; had provided for the relief of the families of volunteers in cases of destitution, and had laid the first war tax, — ten cents on the dollar of the grand list.

Vermonters could have shrugged their shoulders and said it wasn't their problem. Our little state was far away from the fighting, yet we responded to the call with great aplomb and sacrifice so that we might preserve the Union and, true to our abolitionist history, set other people free.

While we're perhaps known for a certain amount of rugged individualism, we don't shirk our  responsibility to each other.  Sometimes it takes the form of helping replace the cemetery fence.  Or dropping off canned goods at the food pantry.  Or holding special events to raise money for people whose children are sick.

That's all well and good, though sometimes things happen that require more concerted effort from a larger community to deal with. For instance, right now our tax dollars are helping victims of Hurricane Isaac in Louisiana. Last year they helped Vermonters hit by Hurricane Irene.

We were lucky in Franklin County, feeling very little of Irene's fury, but people headed down south to help out folks who lost their homes and businesses. And when Fletcher suffered from road washouts a few months before that, state government and the Federal Emergency Management Agency gave us a boost when our relatively small Town budget would have been overwhelmed by necessary repairs.

Our Founders established the Constitution to “form a more perfect Union”—which Vermonters died defending a couple generations later—and to “promote the general Welfare.” They recognized we're all in this together, and we honor their foresight as we take care of our neighbors just down the road and far to the south of us.

ntodd

Hey, remember that Castleton Polling Institute survey of the Democratic race for Attorney General? The one that came out a week before primary day, and showed incumbent Bill Sorrell with a big lead?

The one that some experts questioned after it was published? Well…

“That’s a case where – I’ve talked about this here with colleagues – it was probably a case where we never should have released numbers,” said Rich Clark, director of the Castleton Polling Institute. “That’s my fault, probably, for putting out the numbers.”

Ah. Oh. Never mind, then.  

The poll, released on August 22, gave Bill Sorrell a 44-24 lead over TJ Donovan with a whopping 31% undecided. Its major flaw, according to Vermont Pundit Laureate Eric Davis, is that it vastly overestimated voter turnout in a late-August primary with only one significant contested race.

I have some sympathy for Rich Clark. The CPI is a new thing, and it’s risen quickly to prominence in a state that doesn’t get polled very much. I hope it overcomes this self-inflicted wound and becomes a stable, reliable source of polling. But this is not good. The result was wildly inaccurate, and may well have played a part in deciding the outcome of an extremely close contest.

My first reaction (as someone who voted for TJ Donovan) was that the poll result may have dispirited his campaign. Since TJ came within 700 votes of victory, the smallest doubt in campaign workers’ minds could have slowed his momentum enough to cost him the race.

Of course, it’s also possible that the poll could have lulled Sorrell’s troops into a state of complacency; if they thought they had it in the bag, they might have eased off in the homestretch.

For that matter, it might have had little or no effect either way. The poll attracted a lot of attention among insiders and political junkies, but how many voters were even aware of it?  

We’ll never know the truth. But it’s an unfortunate incident in the young life of the Castleton Polling Institute.  

Cross posted from Rational Resistance. 

It's Labor Day, that holiday established to honor America's working men and women, and particularly organized labor, the heroes who fought and died for the forty-hour week, the eight-hour day, employee benefits, and the right to organize. You could be forgiven for thinking it's just the holiday that marks the end of summer, but you'd be wrong.

Still, tonight, after the burgers are eaten, the beers have been drunk, and the grill is put away,you might be thinking about football. After all, it's fall and that's what fall is for, right? As you plan out your NFL viewing schedule for the season, I have a suggestion for you: Don't.

That's right, join with me right now and agree that you won't watch a single NFL game, in person or on television, as long as they're using scab officials.

You may have forgotten, but the NFL has locked out its workers, in this case the officials, and has hired scabs from the low minors (like not NCAA Division I, the real NFL minor league), going down as far as the Lingerie Football League, to save each team $6,000 a game. (Never heard of the Lingerie Football League? Uniforms consist of shoulder pads, elbow pads, knee pads, garters, bras, panties, and ice hockey-style helmets with clear plastic visors in lieu of face masks.)

Anyway, from the evidence available so far, apparently the scabs aren't very good, even compared to the scabs the NFL hired in 2001. Laughably bad, as in the broadcasters are literally laughing at the calls. So bad, in fact, that people, including the NFL players' union, are worried that they won't be able to keep the games safe for the players, and the players' union is considering a strike.

I don't care about football, and I won't be watching any of these games anyway, but I do care about workers' rights.

If you care about the quality of the football games you watch, or about the rights of the workers who are entitled by law to organize to negotiate for wages, hours, and working conditions, though, you should care about this lockout, and maybe you should decide that you're not watching scabs.

 While we celebrate the contribution of American workers on Labor Day and ponder a Romney business-based presidency, here is a little report from the twin departments of rewarding-corporate-failures and they-always-land-on-their-feet. 

On April 20 2010 BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion killed 11 workers and injured 17 more; the damaged underwater well head leaked 53,000 barrels of oil per day (estimates and rates vary) before it was finally capped on July 15th. Reportedly 1,100,000 gallons of chemical dispersants were injected at the well head 5,000 feet under the ocean surface. Millions of workers in coastal towns – shrimpers and fishermen, boat mechanics, service workers at resorts, hotels, and restaurants, gas station attendants, and more saw their jobs go up in smoke as fisheries shut down and incomes disappeared.

Even so it seems that after a mere 30 months the Deepwater disaster is fading into distant, pale memory. Considering that growing emotional and cognitive distance, it may have been easier here in the US for former BP oil executive Tony Hayward to be granted a friendly rehabilitation from the New York Times, “[Hayward] … looking his elfin, curly-haired self”  

At the height of the spill the tone-deaf and/or arrogant Hayward, the corporate face of the disaster, said to a UK newspaper that the Gulf is a “very big ocean,” and on US TV famously remarked that “I’d like my life back.” Then – with the damaged well still spewing tens of thousands of barrels of oil per day, and just two days after being questioned by members of Congress about the damage – he flew away and took part sailing in a regatta off the Isle of Wight. Within about a year of the spill the man MSNBC named one of the ten biggest CEO screw-ups in 2010 was out at BP.  

By the end of 2011, however, with the buy-in of investor Nathaniel Rothschild, Hayward was quickly back in an energy-based  investment venture called Vallares. The New York Times reports:

[…] looking his elfin, curly-haired self and sounding more upbeat than he has in a long time, Mr. Hayward, it turns out, has his life back.

Offering no hint at any regrets or second thoughts, Hayward will not discuss the Deepwater disaster, and:

[…] associates say privately that he remains embittered by how he was vilified and then pushed out at BP.

Maybe he was pushed out, but shortly afterward Hayward had been appointed by BP to the board of TNK-BP, a joint venture with three Russian oligarchs.

Using his connections Tony Hayward quickly cobbled together enough big investors to enter into high-risk energy deals in war-torn Kurdistan and Iraq.

It might be surprising to Americans who watched the gulf spill unfold on TV, but Mr. Hayward’s new investors tend to shrug off the disaster and his inglorious end at BP. NYTimes

In addition to investor Rothschild, a former Goldman Sachs executive, and two Turkish tycoons, he landed support from the successful New York hedge fund Paulson & Company, run by John A. Paulson. Hayward’s investment partner Paulson seems to be afflicted with the same type of ego-centric arrogance/tone-deafness disease.

Paulson made millions from credit-default swaps (essentially betting that owners of bubble-hyped properties financed with sub-par mortgages which companies like his were selling as investment-worthy instruments would default) when the housing market crashed and many Americans lost their homes. Yet he complained bitterly when Occupy movement protestors had the nerve to picket one of his many houses: a 28,500 sq ft Upper East Side townhouse (purchased in 2004 for $14.7 million).

“I think it’s somewhat misguided,” he says, growing agitated. “We pay a lot of taxes, especially living in New York – there’s an almost 13 percent city and state tax rate. 

[…] “We choose to stay here and then, you know, get yelled at. I think that’s misdirecting their anger at the wrong place.”

But Tony Hayward has his life back and is armed with a dream team of Russian oligarchs, US hedge-funders and Kurdish tycoon investors. Yup, with the shadow of the recent unpleasantness now fading behind him, the man that ran the company responsible for one monstrous ecological disaster appears set up to have another go, half a world away. Spill baby, spill.  

As I was reading the Free Press obituaries the other morning I came across this one:

ALTHEA PRZYBYLO KROGER – BURLINGTON – Althea Przybylo Kroger, 65, passed away at Vermont Respite House on Aug. 30, 2012, after a courageous battle with lung cancer.

She hasn't been in the public eye in many years, but readers who recognize the name probably go right to their memories of a bizarre episode in Vermont legal history, in which both Althea Kroger and Elizabeth Gretkowski, who were both serving as Chittenden County side judges, were disciplined by the Vermont Supreme Court for  engaging in conduct which undermined public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary and brought the office of assistant judge into disrespect.

 The story of a feud between two elected judges included claims of judges refusing to take required actions to make sure the court was able to function, allegations and cross-allegations of false and misleading public statements, claims, some of which were established, of secret taping of conversations, and even stuff like occult spiritual practices and spells to protect against evil spirits (I don't remember the details, but trust me when I say I'm not making that up).

It was altogether a bizarre and discreditable series of events.

My point, though, is to say that if this is all anyone remembers of Althea Kroger they would be making a mistake, because before and after she went badly off the rails as a side judge she also did a great deal of good.

I worked closely with Althea when she was serving in the State Senate, and she was a strong and consistent voice for tenants' rights in the Senate General Affairs and Housing Committee.

From the obituary:

 As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, and later the House Appropriations Committee, Althea was a strong supporter of open government, increasing state assistance to lowincome people and the elderly, and increasing mental health, special education and higher education funding. She proposed a bill to strengthen the Lobbyist Disclosure Law. She supported budget increases for Vermont Aid to Needy Families with Children. She introduced legislation to permit property tax relief for senior citizens. She supported the Independence Fund, an alternative to nursing home care. Other major legislative efforts included co-sponsoring a bill to outlaw corporal punishment in school. She also researched and led the fight to pass a living will bill, which allows anyone over the age of 18 years to designate end-of-life measures.

. . .

  Following law school, she served two terms in the Vermont Senate. Althea continued making issues her priority during her four years as a Vermont Senator. She sponsored successful legislation that increased funds for affordable housing, required insurance coverage for mammograms, prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in public places, and allowed workers to take unpaid family leave. She was Chair of the Conference Committee that passed legislation that allowed Burlington to use its waterfront lands for arts education and cultural activities, water research and dining facilities. As a Senator, she received awards for State House Distinguished Service from the Vermont Dietetic Association and an appreciation award from the Vermont Sheriff's Association.

. . .

  She also was the founder and first Executive Director of the Vermont Bar Foundation, which was established to oversee and distribute funds from lawyers' interest-bearing escrow accounts. Later as a Senator, she proposed legislation to use funds in interest-bearing real-estate escrow accounts for affordable housing. A central priority in Althea's political life was advancing the cause of women in society. She was a member of the Essex League of Women Voters and served as Voter Service Chair, helping women get elected. She researched and wrote her master's thesis on women in politics. She was producer and host of 80 one-half-hour TV interview programs, called Vermont Women, broadcast on Vermont's Adelphia Cable channel 15, from 1990-1994. This program highlighted individual Vermont women and their contributions to society, and included three award winning programs, recognized by NEWC, New English Women in Cable, Boston, Mass. She organized and coordinated the successful effort to pass an amendment to the Vermont State Constitution to rewrite the Constitution in gender neutral language.

 I didn't follow her career after she left the Legislature, but she continued to be active in education, women's empowerment, and helping others. 

 I encourage you to read the entire obituary, and to recall that, as with most of us, it would be unfair to base your judgment on what may have been the worst period of her public life, ignoring the good she did for many.

(Promoted again. Philip Baruth and Doug Hoffer are pledging to help defend Mike against the Republican smears. Anyone else?

As we witnessed in the Republican primary and earlier in St. Albans City elections, there is a particularly ugly side emerging in Franklin County politics; but daylight is the best disinfectant, so we especially appreciate Mike’s diary appearing on GMD! – promoted by Jack McCullough)

Just so we’re clear, I’m Mike McCarthy, and I post on GMD as azvox. I’m a Democratic candidate for the State House in Saint Albans (Franklin 3-1). I also am a new Dad, a husband, the owner and operator of Cosmic Bakery & Cafe on Main Street, a volunteer at the St. Albans Community Justice Center and the Vice Chair of the Saint Albans Downtown Board.

A day after the primary a friend tagged me on his Facebook comment on a page entitled “I Like Mike McCarthy to Go Away”. The page, mirroring my campaign site, was filled with messages dating back to June 19 imploring the anonymous author’s friends to show their dislike for me.

All of the posts on the page were in caps, so the page had a pretty amateur feel, but the animosity was expressed with great enthusiasm and little humor. A hint of positivity graced the page, a link to the page of one of my opponents, Casey Toof.

Saint Albans is a pretty close-knit town, and we usually avoid overt negativity in our local races. However since the contentious City Council race in the Spring, it seems that some people find it acceptable to trash talk and call candidates “ARROGANT, SELFISH, and OUT FOR HIMSELF” on the old Facebook.

The site has since come down, but facebook traffic about the site has revealed some of the author’s associates and their feeling that my letter in the Labor Day edition of the Saint Albans Messenger was “full of untruths”.

It’s funny how bullies claim they’re the victims when a light is shown on their behavior. As I said in my letter to the editor, I would ask my supporters to keep their responses positive and clear about the vision we have for a more vibrant Saint Albans.

You can “like” my real Facebook page at http://facebook.com/ilikemikes…

Following up on Sue’s previous diary… I was also dismayed by Governor Shumlin’s decision to cut down on the number of debates, but for a completely different reason.

The decision itself didn’t bother me much. Shumlin faces an underfunded and longshot challenger; it’s basic politics to limit the amount of time he shares a stage with Randy Brock. I’d be upset about it if he only wanted two or three debates, but he’s agreeing to at least five or six, which strikes me as an adequate number. Do we really need a dozen or more? (After a while, I stopped paying attention to the seemingly endless Sorrell/Donovan debates.)

And I don’t especially mind that Shumlin only wants media-sponsored debates. I’ve never before lived in a state where gubernatorial debates were sponsored by constituency groups; their absence wouldn’t trouble me much.

So, what did bother me? The Shumlin campaign’s transparently disingenuous bullshit about him being too busy governing to bother with campaigning.

Look, the Governorship is an elective office. Campaigning isn’t a distraction or an annoyance; it’s part of the job.

The Governor serves at the pleasure of the people. That means staying in touch with them and periodically seeking their approval. I get it that Shumlin is trying to position himself as a diligent administrator, but there’s a flip side to the “too busy for campaigning” notion: it lends credence to his reputation for arrogance. That’s not politically helpful.

So there’s my position on debates. Agree to a reasonable number, and I don’t much care where they are held or who sponsors them. But Governor, please stop pretending you’re above politics. You are a politician. Your job is a political one. And besides, you’re good at it. Why run away from it?

A better position would go something like this: Tell us that you enjoy campaigning, but that you have to balance it with the demands of the job. Be visible, both as a campaigner who loves interacting with people (or at least is good at pretending you are) and as a Governor, efficiently conducting the people’s business.

That’s not so hard, is it?