Bush/Cheney often talk of History proving their policies correct .Newspaper as history’s rough draft.Here are 15 headlines from Washington Post’s White House Watch column this March

Cheney’s Unforgivable Egotism

Another Bleak Milestone

Bush’s Alternate Reality

Cheney Doesn’t Care What You Think

Bush’s Triumphalist Amnesia

Bush’s Financial Katrina

Bush’s War, Five Years On

Are We Closer to War?

Playing Constitutional Chicken

A Legacy of Torture

Why Haven’t We Been Attacked?

Bush’s Awkward Embrace

Bush’s (Mixed) Blessing

The Vacation President

The White House Plagiarist

Rough history  

The Alan Yandow Job Security Study.

A friend of mine calls the Lottery a tax on the foolish ,what are the odds 75000 to one ?

In hard economic times boosting a the lottery seems a poor idea at best .Let’s spent $150,000 to explore a tax on Vermont Yankee and Entergy .

Go where the money is for tax revenue not into some poor scratch ticket buyer’s pocket .

State to spend $150,000 on studying expansion of lottery

Vermont Press Bureau

MONTPELIER – Gov. James Douglas’ proposal to lease the Vermont Lottery never got much traction in Montpelier. But lawmakers are exploring whether the state can capitalize on the same profit potential that prompted Wall Street investment firms to offer the lottery buy-out.

The Vermont Lottery, run by a five-member commission appointed by the Governor, reaps close to $24 million in annual revenue for the state’s education fund. At the Legislature’s behest, the commission will soon embark on a wide-ranging study to see what Vermont can do to bolster its lotto revenue.

“(The study) would give us an idea of things we could change and an idea of what we could make,” Alan Yandow, executive director of Vermont Lottery, told lawmakers via speaker phone Wednesday. “I can’t quantify it now, but that is the thrust of the study.”

Correction from Times Argus

March 29, 2008

A story that appeared in the March 27 edition of The Times Argus reported that the Vermont Lottery Commission will embark on a $150,000 study to determine how to enhance lottery revenue in the state. In fact the commission has yet to approve the study, and will meet on April 9 to decide whether to proceed with the project.

Vermont Senate President Peter Shumlin met with the Valley News editorial board yesterday.He spoke about many other things but this popped up at the end of the article .

Shumlin, who lost a three-way race for lieutenant governor in 2002, in large part because of the presence of Progressive Anthony Pollina in the race, also said Democrats will likely field a “good candidate” to challenge Douglas in November.

But he said the likelihood that Pollina will also be in the race would be a major pitfall.

“I’ll be honest about the challenges. If Anthony Pollina is really going to run for governor, Jim Douglas is your next governor. Just go look at the history,” Shumlin said.

www.vnews.com

If Anthony Pollina is really going to run ?

Galbraith hasn’t said anything other than he is thinking about it.Vermont Democratic Party says to make nothing of the fact that we have no candidate at this time .Strange maneuvers.  

I read someplace yesterday that this is being called the Tonya Harding option .Who thinks up this stuff ?

Historic update :Harding never won that figure skating title ,she was last seen as celebrity boxer on Fox. We may not have any Democrat there at the White House to answer the fabled 3:00am phone if this keeps up. Hillary after getting called out  for “misspeaking” multiple times about being under fire in Bosnia ,snipes back with the Rev. Wright issue,to divert attention  . Its unbelievable what  we may be seeing happen. Hillary may destroy Democratic unity against a week ,damaged Republican Party ,win the primaries and give John McCain a chance to answer that stupid phone we apparently should worry about . Mud season a time for worry.

Poll: Bitterness Of Pennsylvania Primary Could Spell Trouble For Dems In November

A new Rasmussen poll of Pennsylvania shows that the sheer bitterness of the Democratic race could spell trouble for the party down the road in this key big swing state.

The poll shows that the divisive Democratic primary is dragging down the prospects for party unity, at least for now: Only 55% of Clinton supporters say they are even just somewhat likely to back Obama if he’s the nominee, and the same goes for only 55% of Obama supporters if Hillary is the nominee.

Here are the horse-race numbers compared to the previous poll from about two weeks ago:

Clinton 49% (-2)

Obama 39% (+1)

from TPM Election Central

( – promoted by odum)

After all these many years this pair can still cobsmack me with their pure freaking arrogance,insensitivity and all around lack of lack of humanity.

Raddatz: “Mr. Vice President, I want to start with the milestone today of 4,000 dead in Iraq, Americans, and just what effect you think that has on the country. Your thoughts on that?”

Cheney: “Well, it obviously brings home, I think for a lot of people, the cost that’s involved in the global war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan. It places a special burden, obviously, on the families. We recognize, I think — it’s a reminder of the extent to which we’re blessed with families who have sacrificed as they have. The President carries the biggest burden, obviously; he’s the one who has to make the decision to commit young Americans. But we are fortunate to have the group of men and women, the all-volunteer force, who voluntarily put on the uniform and go in harm’s way for the rest of us. You wish nobody ever lost their life, but unfortunately it’s one of those things that go with living in the world we live in. Sometimes you have to commit military force, and when you do, there are casualties.”

Yesterday, as the American military death toll in Iraq passed 4,000, Bush’s first public appearance was at the annual Easter Egg Roll, where he appeared in high spirits. Today he participated in a photo op with two bass-fishing champions. “There’s nothing better than fishing,” he said.

ABC News via Froomkin  

The case is made on the front of the Times Argus that Vermonters are changing commuting and driving habits due the high cost of gas.Amazing that it has taken such a steady climb to almost $4.00 a gallon prices for a noticable effect .Commuting and driving habits that alter under the stress of high gas prices may stay changed if the transition to public transit can be made smooth .Use of public transportation between Montpelier and Burlington is up substantially ,29% since last July .Hopefully the inter-city and regional buses can handle a sudden windfall of passengers as gas costs rise,I have no idea what the capacity may be or what the demand could become .

Even though funding is hard if not impossible to come by given the current economic state ,some forward thinking policy people should step up and at least reiterate the need for maintaining and improving a reliable public transportation system (Trains?) State wide. An overburdened public transit system might cause people to return to their cars even at high gas costs.

Times Argus …

according to VermontGasPrices.com, Vermonters paid an average of $3.26 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline. That’s up a dime over last month, and 46 cents over last year. On this date five years ago, it cost less than half what it does today to fill a tank.

Public transit numbers up

“We’ve seen a dramatic increase in our numbers,” says Ellen Atkinson, community outreach director for Marble Valley Regional Transit District. “What’s really interesting is that people are making that leap – they’re willing to leave their house 20 minutes early and wait for the bus so they don’t have to drive their cars.”

Marble Valley, a Rutland County public-transit service, has seen ridership on various bus routes increase from 12 percent to 35 percent in the last year. The trend is visible elsewhere – the Chittenden County Transit Authority has experienced a 29 percent increase in riders on the Montpelier-Burlington route since last July.

Rising gas prices, Atkinson says, have compelled people to forgo the comfort and convenience of their own vehicles for the savings of a bus ticket.

“For Vermonters to be thinking along those lines is pretty amazing,” she says.

( – promoted by odum)

The Vermont Democratic Party website kindly led me to this article grading Vermont in terms of management.It’s a short concise thing to read.

Here are two quote I chopped from it .It is probably things most people know but good to see it all spelled out …The grade ? B-

Vermont maintains its buildings, roads and bridges as well as any state, but even the infrastructure management is tainted by an inability to plan. Most years, agency budget requests are simply rolled into a capital-plan master list. This year, the manager who usually compiles the list was temporarily reassigned to a different department and no master list was compiled at all. The dearth of talent at the top means that planning in one area requires a game of musical chairs in another.

The rub is that Vermont’s poor planning puts kinks in the things it does well –

http://www.governing.com/gpp/2…

(Thanks for posting this! – promoted by JulieWaters)

112 State Street
Montpelier, Vermont 05620-2601

Telephone (802) 828-2811
FAX: (802)-828-2342
TTY (VT) 1-800-724-8390
E-mail: Stephen.wark@state.vt.us

Contact: Stephen Wark

(802) 828-4021

Public Meetings on Vermont Yankee Scheduled

Montpelier, Vermont – Pursuant to Act 160, the Vermont Department of Public Service is required to convene pubic meetings to gather public information and input regarding the continued operation of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Facility in Vernon, Vermont. The following are the dates, times and

locations of the meetings:

Date Time Location

Wednesday, March 19, 2008 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM Black Bear Inn 205 Hastings Street  -St. Johnsbury, VT 05819

Wednesday, April 2, 2008 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM Red Roof Inn 1380 Putney Road -Brattleboro, VT 05301



The meetings will consist of a brief presentation by members of the Vermont Department of Public

Service, and then will invite public participation in facilitated workgroups.

Starting our sixth year in Iraq,heading out under sunny skies………….

Cheney Goes Fishing in Gulf of Oman

The Associated Press

Wednesday, March 19, 2008; 7:20 AM

MUSCAT, Oman — Vice President Dick Cheney went fishing in the waters between Oman and Iran on Wednesday, borrowing the Sultan of Oman’s 60-foot royal yacht for the mission.

A Cheney spokeswoman said the vice president, his wife Lynne, and daughter, Liz, a former State Department official who is traveling with her father as a private citizen, headed out under sunny skies into the Gulf of Oman on “Kingfish I,” owned by Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

in the rivers, things may be starting to run..

Former Gov. Hoff endorses Pollina

Progressive might face challenge in primary

March 18, 2008 By Daniel Barlow

MONTPELIER – Former Vermont Gov. Philip Hoff. a Democrat, endorsed Progressive Anthony Pollina for governor Monday, giving the campaign a key boost as it continues reaching out to Democrats for support.

Hoff’s endorsement came the same day that a Worcester man announced that he is “actively considering” challenging Pollina in the Progressive primary for governor. Michael Colby, a horse-logger and writer, made the “semi-official” announcement on his blog, Broadsides.org, on Monday.

Colby said he hasn’t completely made up his mind yet, but has begun assembling a campaign team and expects to soon begin raising money. He said he is in the campaign to win, not to make a point.