The RNC National chairman Reince Preibus recently announced some of the headline speakers that will be appearing at the Romney Republican nominating convention in Tampa Florida. Chairman Preibus calls the speakers

"some of our party's brightest stars, who have governed and led effectively and admirably in their respective roles."

And, warming up to the task of snake-oil salesman, he continues

"Ours will be a world-class convention, worthy of the next president of the United States, and these speakers – and those that will be announced later – will help make it a truly memorable and momentous event."

But Blogger Charlie Pierce peeks under the side of the circus tent and looks at three of the RNC convention’s stars. He finds these “effective and admirable” Republican governors are, um, under-appreciated, to say the least, in their respective home-state roles.

Brightest star Governor Nikki Haley enjoys an approval rating of 38 percent in her home state of South Carolina.

And fellow bright star and Medicare-scamster Rick Scott’s most recent approval rating comes in at a memorable 31 percent. The Romney campaign reportedly has hesitated to even appear with Scott at campaign events in Florida.

Ohio’s John Kasich weighs in at cool 47% percent approval rating and actually is kind of a rising star on this list, as his rating recently surged up from a low of 41percent.  

Other speakers will be Mike Huckabee the Governor from Chick-fil-A and Republican elder statesman Senator John McCain, who looked at Sarah Palin and saw a Vice President of the U S.

Tickets good for one ride. Keep your seats while the machine is motion. And eat more kale.  

UPDATE: Politico reports that three people who are not exactly BFFs of the angel – um, presumptive nominee – MRomney will also get speaking slots in Tampa, namely:

• Former presidential candidate, former Senator Rick “man-on-dog” Santorum, who lost his senate re-election race by 18 percentage points, and whose name still brings up an odd definition on Google.

• Former Florida Governor Jeb “the smart one” Bush, who left office as only the second governor of Florida to have served two full four-year terms, and lobbied for Romney to pick Marco Rubio for VP instead of him.
• Sitting Senator Rand Paul (R-Racism at my Daddy’s knee), the self-certified ophthalmologist and self-identified member of the T.P., who btw, never endorsed his father’s candidacy for the Republican nomination for president.

Buckle your seatbelts, folks, Tampa is going to be a bumpy – if entertaining for us non-R voters – ride.

Came across the following headline on Friday: Appeals court reinstates Vermont prison forced labor case and I don’t think it has shown up anywhere in the Vermont media. The local silence is kind of surprising as it seems newsworthy that the Vermont attorney general’s office will soon be defending the occasionally troubled Department of Corrections against allegations of violating the 13th Amendment prohibiting forced servitude. The lawsuit had been denied from going forward by Federal Judge J. Garvan Murtha (originator of the Entergy Nuclear rulings) but a review panel has now given the go ahead to proceed.

 

A three-judge federal district court panel found that Finbar McGarry, who had been jailed on domestic disturbance charges (which were eventually dropped) and was waiting for trial in Chittenden Regional Correctional, had been denied the right to argue his claim that he was forced to work in the prison laundry against his will.

For six weeks, McGarry said he was forced to work three days a week for up to 14 hours at a time washing other inmates' laundry at a pay of 25 cents an hour.

The work was hot, unsanitary and resulted in his getting an infection in his neck, McGarry said. If he refused to work, McGarry said prison officials threatened to send him to "the hole," where inmates were confined for 23 hours a day.

Originally the case had been dismissed because, Murtha ruled, McGarry had failed to show the laundry requirement work was akin to African slavery. In the reversal allowing the case to continue, the panel noted that the 13th Amendment was intended “to prohibit all forms of involuntary labor, not solely to abolish chattel slavery." It is significant that the prisoner was awaiting trial and therefore presumed innocent.

[…] the appeals court said Vermont could not treat people in custody pending trial the same way it treats convicted prisoners, such as compelling them to participate in work programs designed to rehabilitate inmates.

The news report said an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Vermont declined comment on the ruling.

Quite a stand for the highest law enforcement official in the first state to abolish slavery.  

 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s statement this week that he had been told by unnamed Bain Capital investors that Mitt Romney hasn’t paid any taxes in ten years has caused him some grief. Republican Senator Mitch “our single most important job is defeating Obama” McConnell sniffed that it was “below the dignity of his office” even Jon Stewart tweaked him on the TV. However Reid stuck with this bit all week.

Although I am not not particularly a fan one way or the other of Senator Reid, his judgment on some things doesn’t seem all that bad. Reid is one of the few national figures I can think of that called George W. Bush a liar and in the 2008 campaign he frankly stated “I can’t stand John McCain.” Here are some other punches he has thrown over the years that the New York Times thoughtfully dug up.

In 2005, Mr. Reid said of President George W. Bush: “This guy is a loser.” He later apologized for that remark, but stood by another claim that Mr. Bush had been “a liar” while in office.  Mr. Reid called Senator Bill Frist, the Republican leader from 2003 to 2007, “amateurish.”

[…]Reid once said that Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, was “one of the biggest political hacks we have in Washington.”

Romney issued a “put up or shut up” challenge to Reid over the tax accusation. Wonder if Mitten’s macho challenge wasn’t made with the “wimp” label in mind that Newsweek Magazine (yes, there still is Newsweek mag.) placed on him last week. After all “Put up or shut up” is an odd challenge given that he appears determined both to not put up his tax returns and to stonewall on the issue regardless of the political price. It all keeps the scofflaw issue alive and won’t get him out from under the tax issue. That’s if anybody is paying attention in August.  

 Thought I would just simply post a chart from this June.It makes a nice colorful illustration to accompany Sue’s diary below. Chart can be found here

 Bill Sorrell knows he has been less than active in past years soliciting campaign donations. He tells VtDigger.com:

“I’ve had the luxury in the past of not having serious opposition.” He added that he’d not been overly active in soliciting contributions in years past.  

The simple three word version:“I am rusty.”

Knowing that he is rusty, you’d think Sorrell might well have spent a little extra time and attention  considering how something might look to voters. You know, a thing like donations from businesses that have had legal difficulties with the state, for example.  

The Sorrell campaign received a $2000 donation from one company, Dish Network, which in the past paid the state of Vermont to settle an unfair and deceptive sales practices case. Another donation of $250 came from the Arizona-based company Lifelock that had paid the state to settle fraud and deceptive advertising charges.

Sorrell has reached settlements with both firms in recent years, winning substantial awards for Vermonters. In July 2009 Vermont and 45 other states settled with Dish Network over allegations of “unfair and deceptive sales practices” for $5.9 million, with Vermont receiving $125,000. Less than two years later, Dish again paid Vermont $125,000 in August 2011, to make amends for 310 fraudulent letters sent to Vermont consumers. […]

In March 2010, Lifelock refunded some Vermont consumers and paid the state $15,000 to settle claims of deceptive advertising by the firm. Lifelock exaggerated the risk of identity theft before falsely claiming it could absolutely “guarantee” against such theft.

Sorrell makes the understandable case that it’s no big deal; a communications pro notes that this isn’t unusual, and of course everybody does it. These donations might be right, wrong, or soon forgotten, but if he wasn’t rusty, Attorney General Sorrell might have asked “How do I look in this donation?”  

About twice a month since April last year a Vermonter has been shot with a 50,000 volt taser by State Police. That is, according to a lengthy article at VtDigger.com by reporter Taylor Dobbs, who has analyzed records of Vermont State Police taser use. He reports that since all troopers were issued tasers in April 2011 they have been fired 33 times in those fifteen months.

According to 81 “use of force” reports released by the Vermont State Police earlier this month, 25 percent of officers have unholstered their Tasers in the line of duty. [How does this compare to frequency of an officer unholstering a firearm?] Since the uniform division of the state police was equipped with Tasers in April 2011, bringing the force total to 207, 53 officers have either deployed their Tasers or displayed them (unholstered their Taser, but did not deploy it in the incident). In all, 154 officers have never reached for a Taser.

The reports don’t make clear how many times the incident involved an individual with a mental health issue.

Below the fold: link to Google interactive Vermont taser-use cluster map!

These details are of particular interest given recent calls for a moratorium on VSP taser use since the death of Macadam Mason, following a State police officer’s  taser deployment to his chest. The use-of force reports showed that the trooper who fired his stun gun at Mason had displayed (un-holstered) but not deployed (fired) his taser more than any other officer in the uniformed state police.

While the majority of officers who have drawn Tasers have only done so once over the 15 months since most were equipped, eight officers have had two incidents involving a Taser, one has had three, four have had four, and one – David Shaffer – has had five.  

Col. Thomas L’Esperance, the top officer in the Vermont State Police, says it’s a matter of chance. Some officers happen to respond to a higher frequency of violent situations, he said.

VtDigger also has an interactive Google map here showing clusters of taser use. The map shows the incident location, date and officer involved.

A geographical analysis of state police Taser incidents shows distinct patterns. Predictably, there were relatively tighter groupings of use around the state’s largest concentrations of population in Rutland and Chittenden counties.

An analysis across the 12 state police barracks showed a cluster in a rural community. There were seven incidents at the Bradford barracks (five of which involved Shaffer). Based on the combined population of all towns within each barracks’ coverage area, Bradford had more than four times more Taser incidents per capita than the state average.

Clusters of taser use are found around major population areas but also several rural areas including around the Bradford barracks.

Vermont Department of Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn wished for better compliance from subjects when asked to  comment on the number of taserings that take place in the state:

“I don’t think I could say that I’m happy with any deployments, because in a perfect world there wouldn’t be any deployments,” he said. If all subjects were compliant, he said, Tasers would be unnecessary.

Yes sir, if all subjects were properly compliant it would be easy, say the people holding 50,000 volt Tasers.  

The Vermont Republican Party webpage prominently announces that Republican Congressman Allen “there are 78 to 81 Democrat party members of the communist party" West will be visiting Vermont August 5th to speak at a Waterbury Country Club.

If there were such a thing,the Vermont GOP’s political barometer would be falling off the headquarters wall …to the right. It is as if the troublesome headlines surrounding Maine Governor Lepage’s visit weren’t enough to destroy the carefully cultivated centrist facade Governor Jim Douglas used as his umbrella, now crazy talk headliner Republican Congressman Allen West will storm into the state to see what he can do. According to Seven Days VtGOP Party Chairman Jack Lindley said Allen West is

“one of the many up and coming Republican leaders, there's no question about it. He's part of the big Republican tent."

No question about it you can find more big Republican tent stuff like this remark:

"Well, you know what, it is about time that we end this Gestapo-like intimidation tactics that we see coming from Nancy Pelosi and also from the president as well,"

here at What West Said!

Democratic primary candidate for Attorney General T.J.Donovan is calling for Vermont to enact a statewide policy on taser use.

“For the towns that decide to allow Tasers, we must develop statewide policies and protocols for their use. In particular, we must ensure that all police officers have thorough training that includes recognizing and responding to mental health issues,”

This comes on the heels of the death last month of an unarmed 39-year-old man. Macadam Mason of Thetford had a history of seizures and died after being tasered by a Vermont State Police trooper. Also following Mason’s death an online petition requesting a moratorium on tasers in the state has over one thousand signatures including that of former Governor Madeline Kunin.

Back in 2008 at the start of an investigation resulting from public outcry over two Brattleboro taser incidents, Attorney General Sorrell put forward the possibility of a uniform statewide taser policy. However upon completion of the report he had dropped the idea. Sorrell recommended communities that chose to equip themselves with tasers develop their own protocols. The Vermont ACLU, which still supports statewide taser protocols, said at the time that Sorrell should have been more forceful in his recommendations.

T.J. Donovan says:

As Attorney General, I would work with key stakeholder groups, such as the Vermont ACLU, the League of Cities and Towns and the Vermont  State Troopers and Sheriffs Associations, as well as mental health advocacy groups, to develop a toolkit for towns to have this important conversation.

Although still well short of supporting a moratorium, Donovan’s proposed policy change may be a step toward stopping the 50,000 volt taser from becoming Vermont’s most convenient pain compliance tool.

When is it okay in Vermont politics to befriend the enemy? asks VtBuzz.

Until last week, Campbell was there with a quote [on Scott’s webpage] praising Scott’s non-partisan approach, and it caused a furor. […] What was wrong with Campbell saying nice things about his friend? Campbell is a Democrat, Scott a Republican. We’re in an election. Apparently, this is no time for cross-party niceties.

“Befriend an enemy?” Aw, come-on!

No one should fault Campbell for his friendship with Phil Scott and Vince Illuzzi or want them to be enemies (Phil Scott is a part of Shumlin’s cabinet after all). However for those voters not familiar with the ins and outs of Montpelier’s good ol’ friendship network, Campbell’s significant presence on Scott’s campaign page and by candidate Illuzzis’ side could have appeared to be an endorsement of sorts beyond “cross-party niceties”.

What could this be called, an inadvertent endorsement or collateral campaigning?  Couple this no publically discernable effort by Campbell for his own party’s candidate (and Scott’s Democratic opponent) Cassandra Gekas, or Illuzzi’s Democratic challenger for Auditor, Doug Hoffer – have you seen any? I sure haven’t! – and a raised eyebrow or two isn’t out of line over the behavior but not over the friendship itself.

It is a little surprising that the Free Press seems almost shocked Apparently, this is no time for cross-party niceties by this hubbub because back in June Vt Buzz happily buzzed the news Campbell joins arms with Illuzzi (at a spay/neuter clinic benefit no less).

Lest you think this is just a couple of senators highlighting a program they support, consider that the news release announcing the event is titled: “President Pro Tem John Campbell and Auditor Candidate Vince Illuzzi Celebrate VSNIP Program.”

Somebody was thinking of Illuzzi as an auditor candidate, not a state senator, when this event came together.

Well true friends don’t let friends betray their principles … if they have any beyond patting each other on the back and shoring up their (eh) bully pulpits.

 Of course Republican Congressman Darrel Issa of California is a busy man, but in past years and again this week he found time to propose legislation that would name 3.4 million square miles of ocean and 90,000 miles of U.S. coastline after Ronald Reagan.  

In 1983 President Reagan expanded the US ocean boundary by presidential proclamation and established what is called the Exclusive Economic Zone. The EEZ according to the USGS is an exclusive economic zone, the outer limit of which is a line drawn in such a manner that each point on it is 200 nautical miles from the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.  

Issa reintroduced his bill Wednesday to rename the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which generally extends from three miles to 200 miles offshore, as the Ronald Wilson Reagan Exclusive Economic Zone.  

Issa, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has introduced the bill multiple times in past sessions of Congress.  

Under the proposal, references to the EEZ in U.S. laws, regulations, maps and other documents would carry Reagan’s name.

Issa’s proposed Ronald Wilson Reagan Exclusive Economic Zone (3.4 million square miles of ocean!) escalates the scale of naming honors for the former president. There is already a Reagan international airport and the Reagan federal building which is one of Washington DC’s largest buildings. And one day the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Reagan  may set sail over the Reagan Ocean.( please note: an earlier version of this said the USS Reagan was a submarine this was an error )