Huh? The Heartland Institute, a conservative libertarian think tank ranked Vermont first in their fifty state Property and Casualty Insurance Report Card 2011(PDF). Rating criteria included Politicization (States were docked points if candidates for office made insurance regulation a campaign issue), Regularity clarity, Rate regulation (docked if the state protected high risk customers from high rates), Residual markets, Market concentration, Credit scoring and territorial rating.

The best state, Vermont, scored 24 of a maximum possible score of 35. It lost one point for the size of its residual auto markets and10 points for having price regulations that are good (“high flexibility”) but not as good as Illinois’ no-file system.  

The top five were: Vermont (A+).Ohio (A+).Illinois (A).Maine (A).and Wisconsin (B+).

The worst states were Massachusetts (D-) Hawaii (F), California (F), Texas (F), and Florida(F).

And yes Vermont’s “A+” is from that Heartland Institute. The rightwing “research organization” that recently sponsored billboards comparing climate change scientists and advocates to the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, noted murderer Charles Manson and Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

This might be kind of a bothersome honor, ignore it , cheer it or double check the way Vermont regulates the industry? Guess bragging rights must be considered sufficient as no mention was made of prizes or trophy.  

 

Republicans in congress have proposed and passed cuts to food stamps, pension benefits for federal workers, health care and social services programs like Meals on Wheels for the elderly.

Finally though, on Friday before heading off on a weeklong vacation Congressional Republicans said enough to their own austerity.So after two years of cuts they have drawn a line on some cuts just too deep and maybe too close to home. Republicans in the House sponsored a move to spare congressional office expense accounts from budget cuts.  

Republicans controlling the House have been trying to cut domestic agency budgets by about 5 percent. But when it came to their own staff, travel and office expenses, GOP leaders opted to freeze their $574 million budget after two years of cuts.

The funding bill includes a 1 percent cut that comes chiefly from cutting back on repairs to the iconic Capitol dome, which dates to the Civil War.

The vote was 307-102 with 96 Democrats voting with 211 Republicans to pass the bill.

Vermont Congressman Peter Welch voted nay. On average congressional office budget is $1.4 million and salaries account for 70 percent of the cost.  

  It’s simple; we just have to work longer. So says the millionaire from his seaside villa.  The CEO of AIG International, Robert Benmosche was speaking about the Greek monetary crisis but said that as life expectancies increase governments around the world should require their populations to work longer,much longer, before retiring.

“Retirement ages will have to move to 70, 80 years old,” Benmosche, who turned 68 last week, said “That would make pensions, medical services more affordable. They will keep people working longer and will take that burden off of the youth.”  

Greece, where the average life expectancy is 81.3 years, has an effective retirement age of 59.6, among the lowest in Europe, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

 Retire at 80 and have 1.3 years of rest and relaxation? Rockin’ chair will get you.  

CEO Benmosche, who was interviewed at his seaside villa in Croatia got a salary of $3 million in 2010 which is boosted to a total of $8.4 million when stocks and other compensation are added.

AIG International ,in crisis and near bankruptcy during the mortgage meltdown several years ago was bailed out by the US Government now claims to be earning profits but there is some dispute about this because reportedly

…if you dug into the numbers, it quickly became clear that $17.7 billion of that profit was pure fantasy — a tax benefit, er, gift, from the United States government. The company made only $1.6 billion during the quarter from actual operations. Yet A.I.G. not only received a tax benefit, it is unlikely to pay a cent of taxes this year, nor by some estimates, for at least a decade.

And this Benmosche fellow tells us there is no easy way out.  

 This past week has been big for online zombie searches. Following a genuinely gruesome face eating attack by a disturbed (to say the least) man in Florida “zombie apocalypse” became the third most popular search term online. The original Florida story was soon followed by equally horrid headlines from New Jersey, Maryland, and Canada. As these stories seemed to rapidly accumulate from out of nowhere the Center for Disease Control was compelled to issue this statement.

“CDC does not know of a virus or condition that would reanimate the dead," said CDC spokesman David Daigle, adding: "(or one that would present zombie-like symptoms.)"

Only last year they had used the term zombie apocalypse in a tongue-in-cheek teaser for publicity about emergency preparedness.

Also as a result of the ebb and flow of search- hungry traffic, the humor site Cracked.com (the self described; sort of popular comedy website that publishes silly, informative list articles {garnished with dick jokes}) had its best days for traffic ever. This traffic spike, according to senior Cracked.com writer Daniel O’Brian, shows the media is seriously broken.  

One insane news story catches everyone's attention with an impossible to ignore headline ("Man Shot to Death by Police While Attempting to Eat Another Man's Face").Once that happens, any online journalist hungry for traffic is going to look for similar stories around the world (of which there are always plenty, because there will always be disturbed people in the world), and try to find a link between their story and the crazy popular Miami story. Because then they're not just running a story about "a man in Maryland who ate another man's heart and brains," they're writing a story titled "Another Trend in the Bizarre ZOMBIE EPIDEMIC THAT'S SWEEPING AMERICA!"

That's just smart journalism. You hitch your story to a more popular story and try to connect them. This doesn't mean that people weren't murdering and/or eating people in horrific ways two years ago; it just means we weren't looking for that kind of story back then.

However the New York Times – safely behind a pay wall –  hardly reported on the original story and didn’t use the “Z” world at all. But check out O’Brian’s entire rant – it isn’t totally cracked.  

 Commenting Thursday on the attacks on his health care plan and the national conservative effort to stop it, Governor Shumlin said:

“You’re going to see a lot of big interests coming, the insurance companies and others who want to ensure that we fail, not because they really care about the little state of Vermont, but because they know that if the pony gets out of the shed in the state of Vermont, the stallion could get out of the shed in California and New York and other big states where governors say to me ‘Wow! We want to know more about what you’re doing there, because it looks really interesting.’”

There is a conservative anti-healthcare bear in the woods, and he’s advising gubernatorial candidate Randy Brock. Randy’s out-of-state anti-healthcare bear is Tarren Bragdon, who comes to Vermont via Maine and Florida. Some of this isn't news at GMD but it (ahem) bears repeating. Given the more than two-to-one lead in the polls Shumlin enjoys, Brock’s campaign could well shape up to be as much about killing health care reform as about winning the governorship.

In Maine, thanks to Bragdon’s favored changes, insurance companies are now allowed to charge higher rates for very sick people and for sicker policy holders who live in rural areas, according to VtDigger.

Bragdon, who used to head the Maine Heritage Policy Center, played a significant role in crafting and garnering support for LD 1333, the controversial Maine law that made sweeping changes to the state’s health insurance laws and allowed out-of-state providers to sell plans there.

Bragdon did not offer specifics but said some aspects of Randy-care could mirror those in Maine.

Following his [cough] triumph in Maine, he headed south. In Florida, a study by Bragdon’s group, Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA), supported a proposal that required state welfare recipients to submit to drug testing in order to get their checks. Tarren Bragdon addressed an American Legislative Council (ALEC) symposium about the Florida effort. Eventually, the Florida rule was thrown out by a Bush-appointed judge. The FGA does not disclose what businesses, groups or individuals provide their funding.

It looks like Randy Brock hired an out-of-state anti-healthcare bear and has now let it loose in Vermont. However, given the national conservative bloodlust to stop healthcare reform, and considering polls that show Shumlin with a very substantial lead … maybe it’s not too farfetched to suggest that an anti-healthcare bear has enlisted Brock for its own purposes.  

Barre Mayor Republican Thom Lauzon early on established what he describes a “great relationship” with Democratic Governor Shumlin.He lobbied heavily to get a deal on locating state employees in his economically challenged city of Barre. Now it seems the mayor, who is a trained accountant is placing some hedge bets with his political endorsement capital. (It should be noted that the colorful Mayor Lauzon was the 2009 winner of the coveted GMD Sockeye Salmon Award)

Earlier this week before of any Republican entered the race, Lauzon invested in an endorsement of Democrat TJ Donovan. Donovan is taking on longtime attorney general Democrat Bill Sorrell in a primary.Today Seven Days' Fair Game has more on the Barre mayor. To start off his hedging fun, Lauzon comments with almost equal parts of snide and respect on possible Republican AG candidate Jack McMullen

Was he [McMullen] the one who had the primary against Fred Tuttle?

And then adds

I have a lot of respect for Jack as a person, but I’ve not had the opportunity to work with him in the context of the skill set you need as attorney general — and I have had the opportunity to work with T.J. Donovan,

Lauzon’s hedging on the race for governor could prove a riskier hedge of political capital. The mayor coyly offers that years back he once supported a Democrat (Tom Salmon) in a statewide race for auditor of accounts against a Republican. The Republican was Randy Brock. When asked the obvious question, would he endorse Shumlin, Lauzon says:

“I will confirm that I’ve had conversations with the governor’s staff,” Lauzon says. “They’ve asked about an endorsement, and I’m considering it. That’s not a knock against anyone.”  

With Republican friends like this candidate Randy Brock better stop worrying about bears in the woods.  

 Looks like Entergy Vermont Yankee will have an atomic companion to grow old(er) with. Friday before the long holiday weekend it was announced that Entergy’s Pilgrim Nuclear Power station would be granted a 20 year operating license extension by the NRC. This comes over the objections of the Governor of Massachusetts, Attorney General Martha Coakley and a dissenting vote form outgoing NRC Chairman Gregory Jazcko.

AG Coakley had cited what she said were unaddressed safety concerns raised by the accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan last year. She noted Pilgrim's method of storing spent fuel rods was the same method used by Fukishma.

Chairman Jazcko had recommended a delay while various issues regarding Pilgrim’s operation were still under review. Among the concerns are plant security, possible damage to certain fish species and over the past year Pilgrim was shut down three times for safety issues and placed on additional NRC oversight.

However the NRC can always keep em runin’ for Entergy

The NRC said if the license renewal were to be put aside on appeal, Pilgrim's previous license would be reinstated and the plant could continue to operate pending the final outcome of any appeal.

It’s quite simple- heads they win, tails we lose.  

I seem to remember that Governor Jim Douglas, while still in office jokingly, threatened to write an autobiography. Well it seems he has followed through on it. A teaser article for the autobiography which will be published before the end of this year can be found in the Addison County Independent. The theme of the book is reported to be “How can a Republican succeed in Vermont?”  He might consider rushing an advance copy to fellow Republican, gubernatorial candidate Randy Brock to use as an instruction manual.  

The book will focus on the 61 year old Douglas’ 40 years in Vermont politics and provide his thoughts on familiar Vermont political luminaries Jim Jeffords, Howard Dean and Bernie Sanders and a smattering of national figures including George W. Bush and President Obama.  

Those who might have pigeonholed Douglas during his political tenure as a demure, perfunctory chief executive might be in for a jolt when his book is released later this year.

“I offer some candid, but not libelous, thoughts on some people,” Douglas said.

“My thoughts on some nationally known people may be surprising to people.”

And while he declined to share specifics at this point, he did say his impressions and criticisms will involve politicians on both sides of the aisle.

Few Vermonters familiar with the former Governor would think he might author a modern Washington style tell all, but does the  tagline “candid, but not libelous”  really promise a jolt let alone much of a buzz ?

Douglas’ worn-out themes, disappointment.  

 Disappointments and some well worn themes that Douglas found reliable  over the years are also mentioned. These would be his failure to stem  the supposed exodus of Vermont’s young, partisan bickering and his 2009  veto of marriage equality legislation which was overridden by the  legislature .About that disappointment Douglas says he does not have  second thoughts.

“There was no right that gay couples had under the civil union law that  was enhanced under the marriage law,” Douglas said. “It was really a  matter of nomenclature and a distinction I felt was worth preserving.”

I wondered, as others may, if this book might hint at the future for the  relatively young 61 year old Douglas. Perhaps he is considering a run  for a US Senate seat or something, but he reportedly has no interest in  rekindling his political career.

“I really don’t anticipate running for  office again.”

Just as well because the Jim Douglas in this article, and  probably the one in the book seem to have no intention of evolving. How did this Republican succeed in Vermont?

 J.P. Morgan Chief Jamie Dimon is scheduled to testify before the Senate Banking Committee oversight hearings sometime next month about the company's $2 billion (and still growing) loss from hedge bets made by “the London Whale”. Banking Committee chairman Senator Tim Johnson released a statement saying

"Our due diligence has made it clear that the Banking Committee should hear directly from J.P. Morgan Chase's CEO Jamie Dimon".

Democrats are reportedly hoping now to make a case for finally passing the final important pieces of the 2010 Dodd-Frank banking regulations.  Well by gosh, if handled well this could provide the leverage needed to wrench the “too big to fail” banking system back into some kind of order. You know, get that illusive level playing field we hear so much about back in sight at least. But wait there is more and it’s not at all surprising, but none the less it’s distressing.

Employees of the Wall Street giant and political action committees tied to it have given to the campaigns of eight of the banking panel’s 22 members, according to a search of data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. In the cases of some members – like ranking Republican Richard Shelby, and Jack Reed, the panel’s No. 2 Democrat – J.P. Morgan-related donors are among their top five campaign contributors.

J.P. Morgan employees and related PACs are the No. 1 donor to panel chairman Tim Johnson. During the 2007-2012 cycle, they’ve given just shy of $39,000 to the South Dakota Democrat’s campaign committee.

(Much more here)

None of this means the fix is in but it is easy to think the campaign contributions might show a better long-term hedge against loss for Dimon and his JPMorgan-Chase than the ill fated trades with “the London Whale”.  

 The Burlington Free Press online Sunday had a two paragraph article (more details added by Monday) with a headline and image that grabbed my attention; Bondsman subdues suspect in Old North End.  

The image (you can only see it here, Gannett and Free Press don’t share) shows two men, both in street clothes; first man, his face bloodied, appears to have had his hands bound and has been forced headfirst into the pavement by second man, who is atop with his knee jammed into the upper back and neck of bloodied first man. Second man is a “fugitive recovery agent” from Northeast Fugitive Recovery who was himself captured on camera in the act of forcibly “recovering” a fugitive (alleged fugitive?). What if he didn’t have the correct person?

An employee with the Northeast Fugitive Recovery Task Force holds down a bloodied suspect at Walnut and Archibald streets.  They [sic] were in search of a suspect who did not make a court appearance.

They found a man at a pay phone. Burlington police arrived at the scene, and the suspect was placed in a squad car. Police at the scene gave out no iinformation about the individual.

Just visible in the second man’s (the agent’s) right hand is something that might be a weapon, perhaps a taser.  The Northeast Recovery webpage says that the term “fugitive recovery agent” is preferred over what they say is the derogatory term, “bounty hunter” also included is this: 213 Fugitives Apprehended in 2009!  

I assume towns, cities and the state having to cope with ever tighter budget resources no longer readily pursue accused persons for what might be considered minor things such as failure to make a court appearance. However a for-profit recovery agency with a financial incentive and focus on recapturing their bail bond money – not public safety – will step in to accomplish the task. The guy has a price on his head: basically his recovery was monetized. So it’s just a little violent free-enterprise based drama playing out on a Vermont street. Nothing to see here, just keep moving.