I’d kind of like to just hunker down until November 9th but…
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Two newspapers for Sue Minter
Two of Vermont’s statewide newspapers just endorsed Democrat Sue Minter for Governor – over competitors Republican Phil Scott and “Spaceman” Bill Lee of the Liberty Union Party. The Burlington Free Press and The Barre-Montpelier Times Argus/Rutland Herald (Phil Scott’s hometown paper and its sister publication in the Republican enclave of Rutland) came down solidly for Minter to be elected as Vermont’s next governor.
Alright, I know, I know conventional wisdom is that newspaper endorsements don’t carry much weight, but in an election as close this one is, two solid thumbs up from two newspapers in the final days before Election Day sure can’t hurt.
Both papers praise Minter’s “well articulated agenda” and her considerable hands-on experience in the legislative and executive branches – her full-time, every-day job. Her public-service history makes a notable contrast to Scott’s years as part-time Lt. Gov. Scott. In that capacity he had enough spare time to “work” at other people’s jobs as a publicity stunt on a regular basis.
The Democratic nominee offers a vision for an activist administration that harnesses the power of government to tackle the big jobs, such as rebuilding the state’s highways and bridges.
Minter presents a policy portfolio built on the principle of investing in Vermont and Vermonters, from a plan to offer two years of college tuition-free, to help for parents who need childcare while attending classes, to expanded early childhood education. – From the Free Press
And in no uncertain terms The Times Argus assures voters they believe Minter doesn’t play politics, “… she does government.” Minter, the editorial boards say, has the capability to oversee an affordable to-do list that will manage to move Vermont forward at the same time.
In closing their endorsement of Sue Minter, the Free Press says: A too-narrow focus on controlling increases in the state budget today without clear, explicit priorities about where and how Montpelier should spend money amounts to inaction. This is no time for Vermont to stand still.
Significantly, both papers agree budget and tax priorities will be the greatest challenge for the next governor, a signature issue for Scott and the VTGOP .Yet they favor Minter’s approach to address these concerns and move forward.
The Times Argus graciously says Vermont would not be “steered wrong” under a Scott administration, and I guess that might be so. But do we really want progress, or do we want another GOP governor to drive us around and around their circular track, waving scissors at any ribbon-cutting, like Jim Douglas did?
The FBI and Gossip Cops
In a letter Friday to congressional leaders, FBI Director James Comey said he will continue an investigation into Hillary Clinton and certain email exchanges. 
Comey’s announcement came along despite the likelihood that some — or all — of the new emails are duplicates of those already seen by the FBI .He even included a written warning to Congress that he “cannot yet assess whether or not this material may be significant.” Also significant, voting is already underway in many states, and Election Day is coming up fast. And this announcement, coming so close to voting day, violates longstanding Justice Department advisories regarding investigations.
Reacting to Comey’s precedent-breaking October surprise announcement, two former deputy attorneys general, Jamie Gorelick and Larry Thompson, wrote the following in The Washington Post:
As it stands, we now have real-time, raw-take transparency taken to its illogical limit, a kind of reality TV of federal criminal investigation. Perhaps worst of all, it is happening on the eve of a presidential election. It is antithetical to the interests of justice, putting a thumb on the scale of this election and damaging our democracy.
They say this is damaging to our democracy, but it’s lucky for Gossip Cops (and maybe the GOP & Donald Trump) Comey and the FBI are on the case.
Phil Scott’s partisan “wedgie” from the past
Lt. Governor and Republican gubernatorial candidate Phil Scott tweeted the following from the NBC5 debate between himself, Democrat Sue Minter and Bill Lee last night: “It’s so unfortunate that people create these wedges between us to distract people from looking into the truth about us.”
But whoa! Steady up on that high’n mighty horse yer ridin’ there, Phil. Some voters who listened to the debate may recall back in fall 2011 when you, Mr. Scott, clumsily wedged partisanship into what had been a politics-free zone for the Irene recovery efforts.
Here’s what he told his fellow Republicans at a fundraising dinner that he observed – or thought he observed – during the Irene recovery effort: “…. As I crisscrossed the state and witnessed recovery efforts, and saw the truck drivers, the equipment operators, the law enforcement personnel, the National Guard members, the municipal leaders … and it may have been my imagination, but I do believe most of them who were doing the work were Republicans.”
Perhaps caught up in the moment, alone with GOP buddies at last, he continued hammering the wedge home, for his Republican teammates, making it personal:
“… We are the doers. We’re the ones that get the work done … Isn’t it ironic that with the majority of Vermonters declaring themselves Democrats, that Governor Shumlin would have to lean on Republicans like myself and Neale Lunderville to help steer the ship, to come up with common sense solutions during adversity to get things done.”
Several days after his 2011 remarks and a flurry of criticism, Scott clumsily backtracked. He suggested that he didn’t really mean it and probably wasn’t a good thing to say.
That was then and this is now. Back then, alone with his GOP team Scott thought “…most of them doing the work were Republicans.” Now Phil is shocked – shocked – by such partisan talk and soft-pedals it, since most of them doing the voting are Democrats.
The RSLC, with friends like these…
I can’t say for TV but the Republican State Leadership Committee’s ads in support of local VTGOP candidates are being run in heavy rotation on Vermont radio this weekend – and, they are … everywhere!!! 
The RSLC is a national conservative political action committee (founded and advised by Karl Rove and funded with donations from Koch Industries) dedicated to electing state level conservative GOP legislators. Their national big business funded ads, with no intended irony, are attempting to rally Vermonters around a banner for local control.
This spring they pledged $50,000 to target 22 Democratic Vermont legislators for defeat. In the 2014 election when all was said and done the RSLC ended up spending over $300.000.
A funny thing in the latest ad blitz is that three Democrats – Rep. Cynthia Browning (D-Arlington) and two NEK state senators, Bobby Starr and John Rodgers (D-Essex-Orleans) – who have been reliably friendly to VTGOP causes are on the RSLC’s hit list.
The American Conservative Union recently proclaimed the Vermont legislature had a “a small pocket of conservatism” and went so far as to give Democratic State Senators John Rogers, Bobby Starr and House Rep. Cynthia Browning’s 2015 voting records a big conservative thumbs-up. Rep. Cynthia Browning’s voting record got a perfect 100% from the ACU. And NEK Senators Rogers and Starr came in at 43%, still respectably above the lowest rated VTGOP Senator, Diane Snelling at 29%.[corrected]
While collateral damage to three highly ACU-rated Democratic friendlies, if any, won’t show up until the votes are counted on November 8, the RSLC-funded ad war is keeping a lot of radio stations happily selling ad time.
And you know – as Karl Rove and the Koch Brothers want us to believe – nothing says local control more than big businesses’ national super-PAC ads bombarding Vermont.
Democrat Dick Mazza “anchors” Scott campaign TV spot
Erstwhile Democratic State Senator Dick Mazza is the featured “anchor” in a 30-second TV spot for Republican gubernatorial candidate Phil Scott. 
State Senator Mazza, supposedly a Democrat, has a long history of crossing sides to support and assist the VTGOP in statewide office races.(notably Dubie for Governor 2010 and Scott for Lt. Gov. 2014) so this isn’t exactly a surprise.
But now, in 2016, it is one close, close race for governor. The results of VPR poll released yesterday showed the gubernatorial race to be a dead heat with plenty of undecided voters (14%) remaining. Democratic candidate Sue Minter has worked long and hard and gained ground over Scott’s early advantage in statewide name recognition. So, now along comes her fellow Democrat Senator Dick Mazza to help … Republican Phil Scott.
What can you say but “Hey, thanks a lot. Dick!”
No discernible debate strategy? Not good Donald … sad!
Tonight mercifully, the final of the three presidential debates will be held between Republican Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton the Democratic candidate.
I don’t plan to watch it tonight but will catch up on it tomorrow. So figured I’d at least get a bit of a preview today of what might take place in Las Vegas. And one of the angles All thing Considered’s (and Fox News) commenter Mara Liasson ponders is the following question:
What is Trump’s strategy? : That hasn’t been clear in the past couple of weeks. [or longer, one could argue] When you type “Is Trump trying” into the Google search bar, the first thing that comes up is “to lose.”
Here’s all of what came up for me on the Google search: is Trump trying …
I guess he’s got options, but at this point it seems none that are likely to help him win. Sad.
Updated: VT’s Black River Produce sold to giant food distributor
Black River Produce joins the long line of Vermont grown companies (Vermont Castings, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and of course, Ben and Jerry’s) to sell out to much larger, out-of-state businesses.
Owners of the state’s most familiar food distributor announced that Chicago food distributor Reinhart Foodservice will purchase Black River Produce/Earth Brothers, Ltd. of Springfield Vt. Reinhart’s parent company Reyes Holdings (a beverage distribution conglomerate) is owned by M. Jude Reyes and in 2010 was the 20th -largest private company in the United States.
The Rutland Herald/ Time-Argus reports Black River was started in 1978 by two friends who delivered fresh produce from Boston to Vermont restaurants and stores. Black River Produce currently employees 200 people in North Springfield.
The company is one of the standouts in the Vermont economy: Sales have grown 25 percent in the past five years, Black River Produce co-founder Mark Curran said. The company has been recognized by Vermont Business Magazine for its strong growth, he said. The company reported $75.3 million in revenue for 2015.
And to add value to deal the sale will include the four-year-old Black River Meats.
[UPDATE 10/21: When Chicago based Reinhart Food Distributors purchase of Black River Produce is complete it will include Black River Meats label/brand. Black River Meats are processed by Vermont Packinghouse (which operates out of a building owned by Black River Meats-presumably that will now be owned by Reinhart of Chicago)
Since only the profitable label/brand are changing hands the ownership of the plant will not change as result of the sale to the Chicago company.]
This outgrowth is a state-of-the-art slaughterhouse for local Vermont meats that received start-up grants worth $50,000 from State of Vermont Working Lands Grant in 2013 and state funding assistance from the Vermont Economic Development Authority in 2016. It is no small irony that money spent recently by the state of Vermont to grow and support local businesses may have helped to sweeten the sale for the giant Chicago-based conglomerate.
Chicago-based Reinhart Foods has almost 30 distribution locations from Boston to New Orleans — and its clients include Burger King, Subway, and the Defense Logistics Agency. A quick Google search reveals that Reinhart of Chicago has a recent history of OSHA-imposed fines and job-related deaths, and that the business holds the lowest rating from Greenpeace for sustainable practices.
Seven employees were injured and one killed at a Reinhart Food Service facility in Virginia in March when a 200-foot-long, 30-foot-high food shelving unit tipped and collapsed onto workers. Workers had reportedly complained about the safety of the racks prior to the fatal accident.
Also in 2016 a Reinhart facility in Massachusetts was fined over $70,000 when a faulty alarm system failed to detect a leak of anhydrous ammonia from a refrigeration unit that uses 27,500 pounds of the substance. Kenneth Shedden, OSHA’s area director for Boston and Southeastern Massachusetts, said although the amount of the leak was small “An uncontrolled release can be lethal and catastrophic,”
And finally in a recent 2016 report on sustainability Greenpeace gives Reinhart a “worst sustainability” rating of 5 out of 100 total points. Says Greenpeace: “Worst of all, Reinhart sources bluefin tuna: a severely overfished species red-listed by Seafood Watch for every single stock in the world. This suggests Reinhart either does not prioritize sustainable, ethical seafood, or is not concerned with the implications of sourcing threatened species.”
It has long been true that Vermonters tend to admire their “little” home grown local businesses like Black River Produce. We do just love all our aging hippie entrepreneurs, don’t we! But once again, one of those local, homegrown companies has been sold to a very large corporation — some might say a monopoly. This time around it is Black River Produce and Meats, “a key player in Vermont’s local foods movement and one of the brightest economic lights in southern Vermont” that has been swallowed up by what looks like a big ugly fish.
Stupid, stupid- goddamn stupid!
Is it possible to become totally desensitized to ‘stupid’? If so, at least here in New England I think we could blame the Republican Governor of Maine-our own regional Trump-ist.
What I am ranting about is the latest crazy-talk from Gov. Paul LePage (R). LePage wants to jail local political opponents!
He said Thursday that two leaders of a referendum on raising the minimum wage in Maine should be jailed, echoing comments by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump about jailing his political rival.
Long before Trump splatted onto our national political windshield, Paul LePage was New England’s notable governor dunderhead. In a long, long list of stupid declarations he has called for the return of the guillotine; blamed illegal immigrants for a spike in hepatitis C, tuberculosis, and HIV; and challenged a newspaper reporter to duel.
But it seems with Donald Trump on the national scene, an “un-shackled” LePage may be reaching peak stupid. Only last week, before he called for jailing opponents, he suggested the US had descended into anarchy and that:
Said LePage: “…we need a Donald Trump to show some authoritarian power in our country and bring back the rule of law because we’ve had eight years of a president — he’s an autocrat.”
At some point does the ‘stupid’ become so common it is dangerous and toxic to democracy? The saying once was “As Maine goes, so goes the nation,” but we don’t have to follow.
What fresh hell can this Trump unleash?
It isn’t exactly unhinged to speculate on a wide range of things Donald Trump might unleash on the country should he lose. For now though, if you want to target your worries, here are a couple things Trump has been telegraphing — two things the GOP has a history with.
Since August or earlier Trump has been blathering regularly to his mostly white audiences about alleged voter fraud and rigged elections. On his website he reportedly calls for followers to sign up as poll watchers and says ominously “go down to certain areas and watch and study” 
In speeches he issues marching orders to “…make sure other people don’t come in and vote five times.” And on this there is no daylight between Trump and running mate Mike Pence. Indiana Governor Pence encouraged a crowd in Manchester, New Hampshire, to help ensure a fair election by serving as poll watchers because “you are the greatest vanguard for integrity in voting.”
Trump could rely on the party for help on this one as the Republicans have past organizational skill with proactive voter intimidation — meaning actions beyond the latest burdensome registration requirements Republican controlled legislatures enact. One notable example, the Donald might approve of is the action taken by the Orange County California Republican Party in 1988 ,hiring uniformed guards to monitor polling places during the general election. The blue-uniformed Republican guards greeted residents at mostly Latino polling sites with bi-lingual signs reading: “Non-Citizens can’t Vote.”
And how about potential outrageous Trump strategies for after the votes have been cast? A small riot after a loss in the general election might be just the thing to soothe an ego savaged at the polls.
It’s pretty clear he isn’t a good loser. During the primary Trump often imagined out loud that he might be “cheated” out of winning, and he threatened that his supporters could riot in Cleveland at the RNC convention if he was not the nominee. Trump advisor and Republican operative Roger Stone even threatened to retaliate against convention delegates who might oppose him. Stone spelled it right out for the troops: “We’ll tell you who the culprits are. We urge you to visit their hotel and find them.”
Stone’s long resume (going “back” to Nixon) includes organizing the Brooks Brothers riots, credited with shutting down the Florida recount in 2000. Stone marshaled about two dozen hired “angry” Republican operatives to storm into a Florida canvassing office shouting “Shut down the recount!” That demonstration effectively ended the long recount process in favor of George W. Bush, which, in concert with the Supreme Court’s decision, doomed Al Gore’s chance at reaching the White House.
It doesn’t take much of a leap to see that Trump might urge his disappointed/outraged followers to riot in the streets in favor of putting Trump on the throne, despite the outcome of the popular and/or Electoral College vote. He’s already propagated a democracy-undermining narrative about “crooked” vote counting and “rigged” elections.
Donald Trump’s past performance offers little evidence he might choose to follow two hundred years of tradition (for the good of the country), and honorably concede electoral defeat, going off-stage quietly to fortress-Trump Tower. Whatever form his closing act takes may be limited only by Trump’s fevered imagination. Comedy or tragedy, at least it will soon be over. Hold the curtain calls.