After being somewhat agnostic about Facebook I found myself getting a really bad attitude this week. The IPO hype alone was deafening and as if things would be different this time, lessons from past internet bubbles seemed hushed by comparison.

The story of co-founder Eduardo Saverin certainly didn’t help the creeping anger. He renounced his US citizenship weeks before the IPO would make him an even richer man and increase his tax liability. Saverin currently thinks of himself as “a citizen of the world” but he became a resident of Singapore; a place, which by happy coincidence for him happens to have no capital gains tax at all.

“This had nothing to do with taxes," he told The New York Times. A statement many other fellow citizens of the world might find doubtful.

As it turned out Facebook stock wobbled and underwriting banks had to prop up the share price. On its first day of trading, ticker symbol FB barely managed the task of walking on its own legs.

Amidst all this blogger Charlie Pierce offered his thoughts on the frenzy and asked: Why is America so happy about Facebook?

Entire news networks dedicating huge blocks of time, the way they once went live for hours covering the Mercury program, to the release of a stock onto the market.

Pierce, who calls himself an Old Guy Who Loves Facebook, takes exception to celebrating the rich for simply getting richer and says that to do so marks us as once and future fools.

This was a triumph of the insiders, of the people who concocted credit-default swaps and collateralized debt obligations, and the people who will do it again, over and over, unless a more critical eye is placed upon them by the institutions of self-government.

This does nothing to ameliorate the effects of our rigged casino economy. It solves nothing connected to wealth inequality or unemployment. It is magic numbers on the screen to which only a very few people have the password, and they're not sharing it with anyone.

So here we are, years after the historic Crash of 2008 and all in the same week JP Morgan (a federally guaranteed bank) reports loses in the billions, caused by risky bets made with a trader (believe it or not) called “the London Whale” and the media goes giddy over barely profitable Facebook’s IPO.

Well rinse, wash and crash. What have we learned from the past?  

 The Vermont Press Bureau has a statement from Vermont Auditor Tom Salmon that reads in part :

I have decided not to run for the office of state auditor this November.  

I have achieved the goal set when I took office in January 2007 to transform the Vermont State Auditor’s Office into a first-rate performance auditing shop.  It is time for me to move on to new challenges.

I have a number of options presented to me, and some still out there, in God’s hands. It is most likely I will land in federal service in the IG or CFO communities as my passion continues to be improving government performance and better federal-state-local intergovernmental collaboration.  I have an offer from a CPA firm as well.

Doug Hoffer who would have been Tom Salmon’s likely opponent wished him well and said in a statement:

I wish Mr. Salmon well.  

I'm running for State Auditor regardless of the opponent. I'm going to tell voters about my qualifications, my experience, and my plans for the job. I have begun meeting with Democrats and Progressives around the state and I look forward to the campaign.

 Former President George W. Bush and seven others from his administration were found guilty of war crimes in a symbolic Kuala Lumpur tribunal of conscience. Included in the guilty verdicts are former Vice President Dick Cheney; Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld; Bush/Cheney administration legal counselors Alberto Gonzales and David Addington; Defense Dept. counsel William Haynes II; and Justice Dept. lawyers Jay Bybee and John Yoo.

Victims of torture told a panel of five judges in Kuala Lumpur of their suffering at the hands of US soldiers and contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Among the evidence, Briton Moazzam Begg, an ex-Guantanamo detainee, said he was beaten, put in a hood and left in solitary confinement. Iraqi woman Jameelah Abbas Hameedi said she was stripped and humiliated in the notorious Abu Ghraib prison.

The Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission is a symbolic non-governmental entity established in 2007 by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohmad.

Tribunal president judge Tan Sri Lamin Mohd Yunus said the eight accused were also individually and jointly liable for crimes of torture in accordance with Article 6 of the Nuremberg Charter.

"The US is subject to customary international law and to the principles of the Nuremberg Charter, and exceptional circumstances such as war, instability and public emergency cannot excuse torture."

The Kuala Lumpur Tribunal findings will be publicized and submitted to the International Criminal Court, the United Nations and the Security Council. Tribunal members hope nations will be reluctant to invite “war criminals” from the Bush years to their countries. Maybe expecting a vigorous effort to deal with Bush/Cheney administration’s possible war crimes here in the US was always a quaint concept. But for now justice has swerved, at least symbolically, to Malaysia.  

UPDATE: Today’s May 16 and I just got another one of those campaign e-mails at my work e-mail address today.

Hmmm.

Jack McCullough

Well,whoops, Randy Brock’s campaign sent out fundraising solicitations to lobbyists during the legislative session. Three different lobbyists received multi page fundraising letters according to Seven Days.

Three different registered lobbyists provided Seven Days with copies of a two-page fundraising solicitation dated April 18 that was addressed and mailed to their offices in Montpelier. One lobbyist also shared two emails the Brock campaign sent to his work email address during the session containing news on the campaign and links to the “donate” page on the Brock for Governor website.

This solicitation is an apparent violation of part of Vermont campaign finance law that has been trampled on before. Both Peter Shumlin and former Governor Jim Douglas to various degrees have been there and done that. Brock campaign manager Darcie Johnson (formerly of Vermonters for Healthcare Freedom) noted it was a “mistake” and beside that, a disclaimer for lobbyists that might receive the solicitation was included.

And there is this interesting comment by VDP Chairman Jake Perkinson about the lack of enforcement. When asked why he didn’t pursue a complaint with Attorney General Sorrell as he had in the past Perkinson said:

"Frankly, I'm getting frustrated at being the campaign finance police," Perkinson responded. "The last time we filed a complaint, the attorney general didn't do anything about it. At a certain point, you've got to pick your battles."

 Promoters and fans of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) may be a buzz with this news but I would guess many Vermonters have until now remained unaware that the Vermont legislature  has passed  legislation that could bring Mixed Martial Arts and kickboxing matches to the Green Mountains. Coming afoot this session’s wrangling and occasional cries over perceived lack of civility one might marvel at their ability to quietly come together and allow martial arts and kickboxing.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Senior Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs (and one time executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission) Marc Ratner said:

“We are thrilled with the state of Vermont becoming the 46th state to regulate the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. We look forward to working with their athletic commission in forming the rules and regulations of this great sport.”

Once called “human cockfighting”

They sport has cleaned itself up substantially since 1997 when Senator John McCain called it “human cockfighting”. After McCain’s comments the sport prohibited controversial tactics, including hair-pulling, small-joint manipulation, head butts, groin strikes, kicks to a downed opponent and strikes to the back of the head and neck. Recently the UFC got an eight year exclusive contract with Fox TV. Viewership for the UFC’s programs like Unleashed,Knockouts and Countdown have in the past averaged  millions of viewers but have fallen in recent years.

The Vermont legislation contains the following definitions:  

“Kickboxing” means unarmed combat involving the use of striking techniques delivered with the upper and lower body and in which the competitors remain standing while striking;  

“Martial arts” means any form of unarmed combative sport or unarmed combative entertainment that allows contact striking, except boxing or wrestling;  

“Mixed martial arts” means unarmed combat involving the use of a combination of techniques from different disciplines of the martial arts, including grappling, submission holds, and strikes with the upper and lower body.

Large media markets New York and Connecticut remain “unregulated” for MMA and are likely the next match for the UFC’s Senior Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs Ratner. Alaska and Montana do not have the regulatory entities to oversee such sport.  

Observers might wonder if Vermont Republican gubernatorial hopeful Randy Brock may re-think more public appearances with his taller, more forceful co-star.

Granted it’s no Dukakis in a tank moment but it isn’t an image likely to get voters up on their hind legs.

“It’s a walking, moving, waving, candy-dispensing bear,” Brock said. “And it’s a Republican bear."

Maybe that explains the new, edgier, bear-themed ad. Well it's minor, really, just one small booboo in a larger campaign.

Found myself thinking about the less obvious money-fueled message Bruce Lisman’s Campaign for Vermont is sending to voters, and the implications when I read about this survey. The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law’s national survey shows evidence that people feel big money corrupts democracy and discourages voter participation.

Two in three Americans – 65% – say that they trust government less because big donors to Super PACs have more influence than regular voters. Republicans (67%) and Democrats (69%) uniformly agree.  



One in four Americans – 26% – say that they are less likely to vote because big donors to Super PACs have so much more influence over elected officials than average Americans.  

Less wealthy and less educated Americans were significantly more likely to say they would be less likely to vote because of Super PAC influence: 34% of respondents with no more than a high school education, and 34% of those in households with an annual income less than $35,000, said they would be less likely to vote.

It gets worse:  

A higher number of African-American and Hispanic voters also stated that the disproportionate influence of Super PAC donors will discourage them from voting: 29% of African Americans and 34% of Hispanics said they were less likely to vote because of Super PAC influence.  

41% of respondents – including  49% of those who have no more than a high school education and 48% of those with household incomes under $35,000 – believe  that their votes don’t matter very much because big donors to Super PACs have so much more influence.

Bruce Lisman’s flood of money into Vermont’s democratic process will leave a high water stain farther up the political bank than ever before. Lisman says

"The futures of our state and our young people are at stake. I've worked hard and have done well. Spending my money on Vermont's future is more important than standing by passively."

It is unlikely Lisman would turn down the volume on his cash-fueled voice, even when shown that rather than encouraging future voters, his mega-funded megaphone is actively discouraging them. But maybe there is an option Bruce could find somewhere between buying himself the biggest microphone in the state and “standing by passively.”  

 Seven U.S. House Republicans, Speaker John Boehner and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell are doing some creative worrying. They fear that President Obama, while waiting for President-elect Romney to be sworn in would run through a flurry of “midnight regulations” that would be at odds with the new administrations philosophy. To guard against this they have crafted The Midnight Rule Relief Act, H.R. 4607.

H.R. 4607 is designed to prevent "significant" regulations from being promulgated from the day after the November election through Jan. 20, Obama's last day in office should he lose.  

Republican supporters of the bill said an outgoing president should not have the authority to issue these rules, which the bill defines as those having an impact on the economy of $100 million or more.

Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader Sen. McConnell have asked President Obama not to initiate any such regulations should he lose the election. They say this would be inconsistent with his 2009 pledge to transparency and accountability in the rule making process.  

What did George W. do at midnight?

It is unclear whether Boehner, McConnell and the seven worried Republican Congressmen may or may not recall that before he left office in January 2009 George W. Bush passed a remarkable number of “midnight regulations”. Bush reportedly passed more “midnight regulations” than either Bill Clinton or his father George H.W. Bush.  

(December 2008) Dozens of new rules have already been introduced which critics say will diminish worker safety, pollute the environment, promote gun use and curtail abortion rights. Many rules promote the interests of large industries, such as coal mining or energy, which have energetically supported Bush during his two terms as president. More are expected this week.

Some of the last minute Bush regulations included business friendly changes that eased mountain top removal mining rules, coal industry air pollution equipment upgrading, endangered species protection and much more.

So Boehner and company may not actually worry that President Obama won’t honor his own pledge but instead fear he might act as their man George W. Bush did when he left office.

Todays’ Republican message: “Do as we now say not as we once did.”  

  Hydraulic fracturing is a natural gas extraction process that injects poisonous chemical laced water and sand underground into shale rock to force out trapped natural gas. In addition to problems with poisonous fracking fluid spills at the well, disposal of the fluid presents major problems. This week, by unanimous vote the Vermont Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee voted to prohibit hydraulic fracking. To become law the bill must be passed by the entire senate and melded with a similar house bill which will prohibit the practice for only three years.  

Due to Vermont’s unique bedrock hydro-fracking is not “commercially viable” but places not “commercially viable” now may become so at a later date; it is a changeable target. Areas in several states now actively fracked are viable now only because of changes in techniques and market forces. A short term prohibition such as the Vermont House version kicks the can down the road. This may suit the American Petroleum Institute’s lobbyist Joe Choquette who early in the debate urged Vermont lawmakers not to approve a permanent ban.

"We'd like a go slow approach to let the science of fracking develop and let regulators work out any problems that might occur."

The petroleum  industry lobbyist also thinks fracking in Vermont would be just great for farmers because

“It keeps farmers in farming because it adds value to their land”

What might this process look like?

What does this “adding value to the land” by fracking lease look like?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has a story about their drilling boom and Ohioan Larry Piergallini, a lawyer/landowner who is handling drilling leases for a block of 200 farmers. The paper describes a frenzy of leasing, bonus per acre payouts, and lawyers, lots of lawyers. Lawyer Piergallini recruited his neighbors at an alarming pace. In two 12-hour shifts last August, Piergallini, 56, helped 550 families in Harrison and Jefferson counties execute leases with oil and gas companies covering 32,000 acres. Certainly makes us wonder what the rush was and recalls the old saying “act in haste repent at leisure”.  

The Plain Dealer mentions over half a dozen large law firms rushing to keep pace with the legal challenges of a fracking lease boom:

Leasing and title quandaries are just the opening volley in what will be years of legal work and probably thousands of lawsuits tied to exploration, drilling, production and pipeline construction.

In New York State in 2011 over 400 leaseholders filed suit against gas companies, and lease termination meetings are being held among disgruntled landowners.

When “adding value to the land,” unanticipated ripple effects, financial and otherwise, naturally result. In Ohio and Colorado underground disposal of waste frack fluids are linked to a series of local earthquakes. In addition to little earthquakes Ohio emergency personal must now train to deal with the increased costs and dangers of private companies trucking millions of gallons of hazardous fluids to and from wells on rural roads. Well site fires are also among the potential expensive difficulties municipalities must be prepared for.

So where will the fracking world be in three years’ time?  I would bet that fracking technology advances on a faster track than the one that might eliminate troublesome leasing agreements.

George W. Bush has surfaced in the news speaking at a forum sponsored by the George W. Bush Institute. Bush got over his reluctance to weigh in on issues since leaving office and spoke in New York City in favor of tax cuts for the rich – or as he now says “the so-called rich.”

“I wish they weren’t called the ‘Bush tax cuts,’ ” he said of the tax rates set to expire at the end of the year. “If they were called some other body's tax cuts, they're probably less likely to be raised.”

Bush, whose time in office among other things included two long deadly wars and the country’s deepest recession, claimed he didn’t miss being President; however:

"I enjoyed it; it was an unbelievably interesting experience," then he added [perhaps after some thoughtful introspection], "It was inconvenient to have to stop at some stop signs – stop lights – coming over here, but I guess I miss that."

It only takes a short speech and a couple of news stories to get a rapid reminder of what an awful jackass he was and still is. The President responsible for starting the war in Iraq guesses he misses being able to drive though stop lights. Well, Cheney got a new heart since leaving office but Bush is obviously still trying to function with the same brain.