I just came across this interesting article regarding the apparently relatively recently combined Fox and ABC affiliates up in Maine where management has been ordering the news staff to be less unbiased.

Two anchors who have worked at Maine sister television stations, ABC affiliate WVII and Fox affiliate WFVX, for a combined 12 years cited “unbalanced news” after they surprised staff on Tuesday by tendering their resignations on the air.  

At the end of the 6 p.m. newscast, Cindy Michaels and Tony Consiglio thanked viewers and said that departing together was the best alternative because of some “recent developments.” … Michaels, who also served as the station’s news director, said that there was a “regular undoing of decisions” that she made.

While neither of the former anchors would go on record to detail how they were being pressured to slant the news, … the WFVX 10 p.m. newscast is simulcasted on talk radio station WNZS-AM 1340, which also airs shows hosted by conservative personalities Laura Ingraham, Bill Bennett, Mike Gallagher and Michael Medved.

Raw Story (http://s.tt/1unyq)

Given that our two ABC & Fox affiliates have been bought by a Texan media firm whose business plan depends on exploiting loopholes that the FCC winks at, shall we expect WFFF and WNNY to go over the extremist right bias cliff?

I’m standing in line NOW

I’m not fucking around this year

When those doors open Friday 4am

I’ll be the first one in

Everything I can grab

I’ve got my down sleeping bag

And a heavy duty tarp

Used to be I’d go hiking with them

Fuck that  Weren’t no stores

On the trails

People are giving me looks

Like ain’t they ever seen

An activist shopper?

What?  Do I have to have a sign?

Like:  Fuck You!  I Was Here First!

I’ve got lots of water

And a thermos of cognac

I have take-out delivered

And my laptop to monitor

Any changes in the specials

You think I’m ridiculous?

Well I’ll be the one this year

To have THREE DVDs of Neil Diamond’s

“Lost You In The Elections”

You won’t have any  I Was Here First!

I feel like an old fashioned explorer

A mountain climber on Everest

I prepared ahead and I am driven

Don’t try to glom on my place

I have a gun in my pack

The media will be here soon

To put me on TV

I’m on TV and you’re NOT

I’m like the first astronaut on Mars

A sports star  No Pain, No Satellite Vane

Still it is lonely being here  Being me

Look at those dumb fuckers

Buying shit that’s on sale Friday

No wonder the country’s gone to hell

If they’d just get in fucking line NOW

Imagine what we all could do

All of us in lines all over the country?

In lines all the way across the country!

They’d have to start paying us

Giving us the shit for free

That’s why those store clerks look at me

Like they’re scared shitless

Bet they’d like to call the cops

But I’m staying right here

I know my rights  I’m an American

I’m keeping the Chinese and the Muslims

From taking over  They’d destroy all this

Everything I live for and hold dear

Watching the sunsets and sunrises

Over the Mall  Waiting for 4am Friday

Waiting for them to open the doors

And the the rush  Like an orgasm

Like hitting the beach at that Tarawa place

And running up to the Japs and screaming:

“Where’s your fucking Sonys?!”

Yeah I love the smell of products in the morning

And I’m going to get plenty too

And after it’s all over you know what?

My favorite part?  Taking everything back

For a refund  THAT’S why I’m here

And you probably thought

I was just an asshole

Well I hope you’re behind me in line

Next Monday at the Courtesy Counter

Maybe you’ll fucking learn something

What time is it anyway?

My watch is fucked-up

Going to get THREE new ones

Return two of them  Ah hell  All three

Time should be free  Don’t you think?

Peter Buknatski

Montpelier, Vt.

According to early reports about the Hostess bankruptcy, the well known brands – Twinkies, Ring Dings and the well known bread substitute Wonder Bread – were to be sold off to raise money to pay off creditors.

This would have happened if everything had proceeded according to the bankruptcy plan filed by the owners. However the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) have called the deal into question. The BCTGM takes exception to management’s proposal to pay senior executives a bonus of up to 75 percent of their annual pay so they will stay on and help wind-down the bankrupt business.

The Washington Post’s Plum-line blog reports that labor and Hostess management will be going into last-ditch mediation in hopes of saving 18,000 jobs and 33 manufacturing plants. The unions hope to turn the entire affair into a teachable moment.

The AFL-CIO will be following the lead of the union that represents the Hostess workers, but it has offered to lend any assistance it can, and will separately use this story to draw national attention to labor issues in general.

Whatever the health of organized labor overall, the Twinkie story seems like another good opportunity for unions to counterprogram conservative messaging with their own story about the scapegoating of supposedly greedy union workers for corporate failings, even as “vulture funds” make a killing – and more broadly about the real causes of middle class economic insecurity.

Hostess’ debt is owned by a series of hedge funds and “without large union concessions – what some would say, total union capitulation – the hedge funds decided Hostess would have to die,” according to Business Insider.

So as you see, it’s no Wonder: it’s the union workers’ fault for not being as soft and squishy as the company’s famous spitball raw material.

The question was first posed by Vermont Pundit Laureate Eric Davis in the wake of the November election, which saw the VTGOP win only one statewide race and lose ground in the House and Senate. It was picked up by the Freeploid in an article published on November 12.

There are valid reasons for asking the question. The VTGOP fielded an incredibly weak slate, and ran a campaign seemingly designed to turn off voters in the center and center-left. Party leaders admit they are underfunded and disorganized, years behind the Democrats in the nuts-and-bolts of politics. Its only prominent statewide figure, Lt. Gov. Phil Scott, is a self-described moderate who might decide to go independent if he decides to run for Governor at all.

So it’s a legitimate question. But if you ask me, the answer is no. Right now, it seems almost impossible for the Republicans to win a statewide race. But forever is a very long time. I can see at least four conditions under which the Republicans could retake the corner office.

1. Lengthy tenure leads to complacency. Mismanagement, if not outright corruption, sets in. The dominant party fails to notice until it gets spanked by the voters at least once. Massachusetts is a classic example: complacency led to featherbedding and influence-peddling. Pretty soon, the bluest of states has a series of Republican governors and elects a Republican to replace St. Teddy in the U.S. Senate. The same could certainly happen to the Vermont Dems after a few more years of dominance.  

2. The right candidate at the right time. The obvious name right now is Phil Scott. It’s considered a virtual certainty that he’ll run for Governor sometime. The big question seems to be, will he do it as a Republican or an Independent? Let’s say he stays in the Republican Party. Could he win? Sure he could. Probably not until 2016 or 2018, and only if he influences the VTGOP back toward the center. But he’s got wide name recognition and a positive reputation.

But aside from Scott, someone else could emerge.

After the jump: a name you might not expect.

What about a person who’s not known as a political figure, who manages to do something noteworthy that creates massive amounts of goodwill and turns him into a central figure in Vermont?

What about Bill Stenger?

Co-owner and operator of the Jay Peak resort. The man who built it into a year-round destination and a rare bright spot in the Northeast Kingdom’s economy. And now, the guy behind a very ambitious $500 million project to revitalize the Kingdom. If he pulls it off, he will have done something that nobody ever has: pull the Kingdom out of its seemingly perpetual doldrums.

Stenger has worked across party lines to make things happen. Most notably, he’s worked closely with Senator Patrick Leahy to bring foreign investment to the Kingdom through the federal EB-5 program.

I have no idea if Stenger has any political ambitions. For all I know, the thought of holding political office gives him the heebie-jeebies. But let’s say it’s the year 2018 or 2020; his Kingdom project is humming along, he’s in his late 60s but still energetic and looking for a new challenge to serve as the capstone to his career.

Why not run for Governor as a candidate with no political baggage and a track record of working with all kinds of folks and getting things done? And run, for the sake of using an existing party structure, as a Republican?

Stenger’s only one example, and again, I have no idea if he’d ever be interested. But you never know where the next big thing will come from, and when it will come.

3. The VTGOP gets smart and goes moderate. The Party was unwilling to do so this year, in spite of Vermont’s political realities. But say a Phil Scott (or a Bill Stenger) comes along who can lead a centrist movement, and who has enough credibility to convince true-blue conservatives to swallow their pride and back him?

Say the party simply gets tired of getting its head beat in, takes stock of its own heritage and Vermont’s political scene, and moves to the center on its own. Even if it meant distancing the VTGOP from the national party. After all, how much help has the state party gotten from hewing to conservative orthodoxy? Vermont is such a small prize in national terms, and the Dems are so dominant right now, why would the national bigwigs bother with Vermont? There are much bigger fish in the ocean.

So if the VTGOP is left to its own devices, why not reinvent itself as a center-right party? Or at least plausibly present itself as such?

4. Unforeseeable events. As I said, forever is a very long time. Who knows how Vermont will change in the next 10, 20, 50, 100 years? For most of the state’s history, the Republican Party was dominant. It was known as “the star that never sets,” the most solidly Republican place in the country. But eventually it came to an end. Now, the Dems are dominant — but they’ve only been that way for less than a decade.

In fact, you could argue that the moment the punditocracy declares a single party to be forever dominant is precisely when that party ought to start running scared.  How often, in my lifetime, have I heard predictions that the Republicans — or the Democrats — are about to launch an era of one-party dominance?

And every stinkin’ time, those predictions have proven wrong. Often in a surprisingly short period of time.

So no, I don’t think we’ve seen our last Republican governor. And if the Democrats start believing we have, that’s when the VTGOP will come back.  

The Democrats won a major victory on Election Day.

Despite dozens of billionaires spending huge amounts of money to defeat President Barack Obama, he won a crushing victory in the Electoral College and received 3 million more votes than former Gov. Mitt Romney did nationally. Democrats won 25 of 33 seats contested in the Senate and, to everyone’s surprise, expanded their majority there by two. They also gained seats in the House.

Now, with this victory behind them, the president and congressional Democrats must make it very clear that they will stand with the middle class and working families of our country. These are the people who, because of the Wall Street-caused recession, have seen a significant decline in their family income. These are the people who worry about whether they can afford health care and whether their kids will be able to attend college. The Democrats in the House and Senate must stand with these people — not the millionaires and billionaires who are doing just fine.

Most important, in the coming weeks and months, the Democrats must demand that deficit reduction is done in a way that is fair — and not on the backs of the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor. At a time when real unemployment remains close to 15 percent, we must also focus on creating the millions of jobs that our people need.

In America today, we have the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any major country on Earth. Incredibly, the top 1 percent owns 42 percent of the nation’s wealth while the bottom 60 percent owns just 2.3 percent. In the last study done on income distribution, we learned that 93 percent of all new income generated between 2009 and 2010 went to the top 1 percent while the bottom 99 percent split the remaining 7 percent. This extraordinary unfairness is not only morally reprehensible, it is bad economics. It will be very difficult to create the jobs that our people need when so many Americans have little or no money to spend.

Congress must pass legislation to create a major jobs program to put millions of people back to work rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure. Throughout our country, we need a massive effort to improve our roads, bridges, water and wastewater systems, airports, rail, broadband and cellphone service. Rebuilding our infrastructure makes us more productive and internationally competitive — and creates millions of new jobs.

In terms of deficit reduction, let us not forget that in 2001, when Bill Clinton left office, this country had a $236 billion surplus. As a result of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that were unpaid for, huge tax breaks for the rich, a Medicare prescription drug program put on the credit card and a significant decline in federal revenues because of the recession, we now have a $1 trillion deficit and a $16 trillion national debt.

Congress must address the deficit situation and the fiscal cliff, but we must do it in a way that is fair. At a time when the wealthiest people in this country are doing extremely well and their effective tax rates are low (think Romney), the people on top must pay their fair share of taxes to help us deal with the deficit. We must also end the outrageous loopholes that allow one out of four large profitable corporations to pay nothing in federal corporate income taxes. Further, it is absurd that current tax policy allows the wealthy and large corporations to avoid paying over $100 billion a year in federal taxes because they stash their money in tax havens in the Cayman Islands and elsewhere.

We must also take a hard look at wasteful spending in the Defense Department, where we now spend almost as much money as the rest of the world combined. Significant savings can be found at other federal agencies, too.

What we must not do, however, is move toward a balanced budget on the backs of the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor. Sadly, that is the approach that virtually all Republicans and some Democrats are advocating. As the founder of the Defending Social Security Caucus, I look forward to working with other members of Congress, the AFL-CIO, senior and disability groups and the vast majority of people in our country who want to prevent cuts in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, education and other programs vitally important to the working families of America.

In my view, if the Republicans continue to play an obstructionist role, the president should get out of the Oval Office and travel the country. If he does that, I believe that he will find that there is no state in the country, including those that are very red, where people believe that it makes sense to continue giving huge tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires while cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. I have a strong feeling that when large numbers of constituents all across this country start calling and emailing their senators and members of Congress about this issue, the American people will win this fight.

The good news is that we are already beginning to see some Republicans make thoughtful comments showing they understand that elections have consequences. Bill Kristol, the conservative commentator and Weekly Standard editor, said Sunday that the Republican Party should accept new ideas, including the much criticized suggestion by Democrats that taxes be allowed to go up on the wealthy. “It won’t kill the country if we raise taxes a little bit on millionaires,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.” “It really won’t, I don’t think. I don’t really understand why Republicans don’t take Obama’s offer.”

Kristol is right. At a time when the gap between the very rich and everybody else is growing wider, common sense and justice require the people who are doing extremely well financially to help us in a significant way to reduce deficits.

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending that singularly Vermont phenomenon, the Progressive Party annual convention at the statehouse.

I love that experience.  

As I’ve said before, being a big city/big state gal, born in Daley-era Chicago; after thirty years in residence here, nothing delights me more than a visit to the statehouse.  It’s like a step back in time to the birth of our democracy, when nothing stood between the people and their representatives but an open door.  

When the most viable third party caucus in America gathers there to do their thing, it’s icing on the cake.

And there was much to celebrate this year.  Cindy Weed of Enosburg joins her Progressive colleagues in the House.  With the addition of David Zuckerman of Burlington, Progressives have increased their representation in the Senate to three.  Republicans have just over twice that number.  Not bad for a third party!

Best of all was the win by Doug Hoffer, the first Progressive elected to statewide office.  True, he ran as a Democrat/Progressive, but Progs know where his roots lie; and Doug was on hand to thank his supporters and, in his characteristically understated manner, kept his remarks brief, matter-of-fact and “stump-free.”

The keynote speaker was Kathryn Blume of 350.org

Following discussion and vote on a resolution asking legislators to divest all state managed funds from fossil fuel investments (passed), a brief recess allowed interested convention goers to join Anthony Pollina and David Zuckerman on the statehouse lawn where they participated in a demonstration opposing Vermont Yankee, and calling on the Public Service Board not to issue a certificate of public good to the plant.

Regrettably, I had to leave before Cass Gekas and Ed Stanek addressed the assembly; but it was noted that Ms. Gekas was the first Progressive to “crack” 40% of the vote in a statewide race.  Ms. Gekas secured a respectable 41% of the electoral vote against a popular incumbent Lt. Governor; and Ed Stanek, who gamely leaped into the AG race at the urging of friends in labor when TJ Donovan was defeated in the Democratic Primary, managed to garner 6% of the vote.  

Their performances easily satisfied the requirements for major party status, and I heard more than one joke in the crowd about how much longer the GOP might continue to enjoy that status in Vermont.

I also missed Chris Pearson’s presentation and the vote on a resolution concerning Super PACs:

“…Therefore be it resolved that the State Committee of the Vermont Progressive Party calls on all political parties active in Vermont politics and all candidates running for office in the upcoming cycle 2013-2014 to abstain from accepting any and all donations from corporations.

And be it resolved that the State Committee of the Vermont Progressive Party calls on all parties and all candidates active in Vermont politics in the upcoming 2013-2014 election cycle to agree that any Super Pac money spend on behalf of any party or candidate will result in a donation of half that amount of money by the favored party or candidate to a Vermont charity.

Of course I don’t know the outcome of that resolution because night-blindness forced me to depart in time to miss the 4:22 sunset.

…Yet another reason why public transportation, discussed as a priority following Ms. Blume’s address, remains at the very top of my own personal “to-do” list.

So.  We got a guy who has flashed five times, and still at large.  I love Vermont.  Hope it’s just one guy.  Cause, if he keeps getting away with it, he’ll become Vermont Lore.  Now, the following song is very very politically incorrect.  But, what the Hell.  If I don’t do it, sure as shit someone else will.  I just hope I can get some Vermont singer/songwriter artiste to do this, before they catch the dude.  You know.  CDs.  Super Bowl Half Time, etc.

Yes, perhaps a new State Song.  Also one celebrating Michael Colby’s Birthday (Nov. 19).  Wes–when I get an artiste to do this, I’ll expect a performance at Three Penny.  AND–think about a new ‘micro’-draft: VERMONT FLASHER LAGER & ALE (and BOCK).

The Ballad Of The Chittenden County Flasher

Oh, there’s a guy drivin’ round

Exposin’ hisself,

Showin’ everyone his dick

They call him a flasher

They call him a perv

Everybody says it’s sick

But I get a kick outta thinkin’

That maybe he works for the State

Cause things get dull in politically correct Vermont

I think the Flasher is tourist bait

Ohhh, show us your dick, Mister Flasher

Ski season is comin’ up

Show us your dick, Mister Flasher

Pull your pants down and hold it up

Yeah, show us your dick, Mister Flasher

You’re Vermont’s new tourist bait

Show us that your dick is all natural and Made In Vermont

And approved by the Secretary of State

Yeah, there’s a dude drivin’ round

By the airport

Waitin’ for the tourists to land

He’s Vermont’s own certified Flasher

He’s got MADE IN VERMONT

In his hand

I said, show us your dick, Mister Flasher

And let’s get in on the TV

So they can see your Vermont dick all over the world

And everybody will come here to ski

Yeah, show us your dick, Mister Flasher

Til we’ve seen it more times than we’ve seen CHAMP

Show us your dick, Mister Flasher

While you’re drivin’ by the Stowe exit ramp

(ONE MORE TIME!)

Now, maybe that ole Flasher

Is a Democrat

Workin’ for Shumlin I suppose

Get more tourists here

They’ll come to see what’s bigger

The Flasher’s dick or the Governor’s nose

Come on an’ show us your dick, Mister Flasher

You’re Vermont’s new tourist hope

They’re on their way here, Mister Flasher

Want you to flash them on the downhill slopes

Ohhhhh, show us your dick, Mister Flasher

Make Vermont the greatest state in the land

Show us your dick, Mister Flasher

You’ve got our Chamber of Commerce in your hand

You’ve got our tourist dollars in your hand

You’ve got I LOVE VERMONT in your hand

You’ve got all of us at your command

You’ve got us lookin’ left and right and up and down

Annnddd…ALL OVER…

You’re the Chittenden County, Vermont Flasher Man

Yeah, come on an’ show it, Mister Flasher

That ain’t no dowsing rod in your hand

Ohhhhhh yea…eaaahhh

Peter Buknatski

Montpelier, Vt.

Fonzie edition!

Governor Peter Shumlin, for not only winning a second term, but (for all practical purposes) ensuring his re-election next time around. Or the time after that, or the time after that, depending on when he’ll actually need to unlock his campaign war chest. Shumlin raised over $1.2 million for his campaign, but thanks to the meager opposition posed by Randy Brock, the Governor barely spent one-fourth of his available funds.

Shumlin exits Campaign 2012 with a fairly staggering $932,975,40 in the bank. Which is practically enough — with no further fundraising effort needed — to pay for his next campaign. So Brock’s defeat was more than just a single setback for the VTGOP; it virtually ensures at least one more defeat.

And possibly more. If the Republicans nominate another no-hoper in 2014, and if they run another right-wing campaign designed not to appeal to the Vermont electorate, then Shumlin can head into 2016 with an overwhelming edge in campaign cash. And with Shumlin’s big money bomb waiting to be deployed, what are the chances that the VTGOP will be able to entice a credible candidate into challenging the Gov? Slim at best, more likely none.

_____________________________

the Water and Sewer Commission in Bradford, Vermont, for ending the fluoridation of its water supply without seeking any input from the medical community. The panel’s chairman, who bears the oddly apropos name Robert Nutting, acknowledges that the Commission acted without talking to local dentists — or apparently much of anyone else. The vote was taken in April, but the Valley News reports that…

Residents and businesses on the Bradford water system only learned of the decision early this month when a small yellow slip, dated Nov. 2, arrived with their water bills.

Nice transparency there, Bob.

Nutting told the Valley News that the Commission “had some information” that fluoride poses a health risk. That information “came from Gregory Stone, an anti-fluoridation activist from out of the area who did not attend any commission meetings.” Nice: they sought advice from an out-of-stater with an axe to grind, and didn’t tell anyone in town about it until months later. When both the American Dental Association and the Centers for Disease Control are solidly in favor of fluoridation.

Now that the jig is up, let’s hope that Bradford returns to at least the 20th Century, if not the 21st.

After the jump: Tom Bodett, the Robster, an ill-conceived legal maneuver, and a bad case of Lou hysteria.

Tom “We’ll leave the light on for ya” Bodett, for his willingness to take on a tough task. Bodett, a resident of Dummerston, has been named to the Governor’s Energy Generation Siting Policy Commission, the five-member panel that will examine how to handle proposals for new power-generation projects. Not exactly a post guaranteed to make everybody happy, and Bodett could certainly sit back on his laurels if he chose. But he’s apparently a community-oriented guy; he’s also a member of the Dummerston Selectboard. So thanks to Tom for stepping up and taking on an important responsibility.

Bodett first came to prominence with comic stories about life in Alaska, where he used to live. And, of course, those Motel 6 commercials. Plus his frequent appearances as a panelist on NPR’s “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me.” He’ll bring first-hand experience with alternative energy to the panel; he lives in a net-zero home with solar-powered electricity and geothermal heating.

Rob Roper of the far-right website True North Reports. for having his hypocrisy inadvertently called out by one of his own acolytes. Recently, the Robster posted a piece complaining about liberal bias at VTDigger, based on a quick Google search of Digger headlines. Digger, as you may know, is a nonprofit enterprise. Well, someone writing under the initials “EH” posted a comment under Rob’s essay:

Those who siphon their livelihood from tapping the wealth of others are not compelled to achieve excellence in any realm, in this case unbiased reporting.

…If [Digger]’s survival were contingent on the sale of advertising, one could almost bet that their articles would have to take on a more impartial tone.

I don’t think you really have a point there, EH, but if you do, it’s more applicable to the Robster than it is to Digger. Because True North Reports is completely dependent on “tapping the wealth of others.” In this case, one Lenore Broughton. Digger, at least, draws its support from a wide variety of underwriters and advertisers, plus reader donations.

It would be instructive to compare the bottom lines of the two organizations and find out which one is more dependent on “the wealth of others.” But I think the Robster would be too embarrassed to ever open his books.

Superior Court Judge Howard VanBenthuysen, for refusing to dismiss criminal charges against nearly 30 Northeast Kingdom defendants. Attorney David Sleigh had sought the bulk-rate dismissals on the rather specious argument that the prosecutor was improperly appointed to his office. Alan Franklin was named Orleans County State’s Attorney shortly after the 2010 election, when his predecessor Keith Flynn was named state public service commissioner.

Sleigh, who plans to appeal, argues that the post should have been filled in a special election rather than by appointment. The reasoning seems a stretch, and if he were to prevail, a whole lot of defendants would go free for reasons that have nothing to do with their guilt or innocence. One of them is Roger Pion, the Newport man who’s accused of driving a giant farm tractor over seven sheriff’s department cruisers.  

Father Time, for taking away two memorable people from my home state of Michigan. Helen Milliken, wife of former Governor Bill Milliken, died at age 89. Her husband was the last great moderate Republican governor of Michigan, respected by nearly everyone as a fair-minded politician who actually combined solid managerial skills with honest concern for the environment and for people in need of help. But Helen herself became a beloved figure in Michigan politics for leading the effort to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, and for her activism on reproductive rights, the arts, and the environment. In 1980, the Republican convention was in Detroit and her husband was the official co-host; but she skipped the opening ceremonies to take part in a rally outside the hall, protesting the GOP’s decision to remove the ERA from its platform. A tough, and dignified, and principled person.

And on a much different note, we also said farewell last week to Sonny Eliot, known to anyone who grew up in Michigan in the 50s, 60s or 70s as the TV weatherman who combined forecasts with Borscht Belt humor. After a long career in television, he continued to work part-time in radio until his 89th year. He died last week at age 91.

Sonny was a clown, but off-camera he was an intellectual and bon vivant who’d had an eventful life before he ever stepped in front of a television camera. He was a bomber pilot in World War II, and his plane was shot down over Germany. He spent 18 months in a prisoner-of-war camp. Not the best of turns for a man born Marvin Schlossberg.

His identification card [at the POW camp] had the word “Juden” scrawled across the bottom – indicating that his captors knew his religious heritage. Asked how he survived, he said: “I was too tough for them.”

Sonny’s shtick was old-school, Henny Youngman-style comedy with a light touch and a constant smile. He was a small but happy part of my childhood. I’m sorry to see him go, but he certainly had a long and satisfying life.

the Chittenden County Transportation Authority, for responding to record ridership on its Montpelier-Burlington commuter line by adding new and substantially larger buses. The LINK Express offers an inexpensive and environmentally friendly way to commute between the capital city and the Queen City and points in between. And anytime the price of gas creeps up toward $4.00 a gallon, the buses are overcrowded at peak travel times. The old buses has 39 seats; the new ones have 57. Glad to see ridership on the increase, and glad to see CCTA respond to the demand. Of course, they can only do so because of a federal grant that paid for 80% of the buses’ purchase price. Ah yes, the oppressive hand of Big Government interfering with our lives. How dare they make it easier and more comfortable for people to get to work?

the animal rights activists who made complete asses of themselves while trying to prevent Green Mountain College from doing what any actual farm would do: slaughter a work animal at the end of its useful life and turn it into food for the table. Last week, the College abandoned its plan to turn Bill and Lou, a pair of oxen, into meat for the student cafeteria. Lou was euthanized, and Bill has been put out to pasture.

“Essentially we were forced into euthanasia,” Philip Ackerman-Leist, director of Green Mountain College’s farm and food project, said.

Animal rights activists had “terrorized, called, harassed, made threats of bodily violence and damage to their plants” to every slaughterhouse in the state, as well many in eastern New York and western New Hampshire, Ackerman-Leist explained.

Good on ya, animal-rights defenders. You bullied a small college that teaches sustainable farming, and you bullied a bunch of small local businesses. You made yourselves look like overbearing jackasses. Some of you are still pursuing a boycott of the College, and I hope you fall on your faces in that ill-conceived stratagem.

And there are so many other, better battles to fight than this. Go protest the hog factories of Iowa and North Carolina, for God’s sake. Green Mountain College is the least of your problems.  

If you love something; if you cherish it, and believe it to be of the utmost importance; then you should honor it, protect it, do nothing that would detract from it or diminish it in any way.

Or not:

A Ten Commandments monument is up on the grounds of the [Oklahoma] state Capitol, but it didn’t pass spell check.

“Remember the Sabbeth day, to keep it holy,” reads one.

“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidseruent,” reads the last one.

Oh well, eight out of ten ain’t bad. Or so says the man behind this overtly religious display on public property, State Rep. Mike Ritze (R-Inquisition):

“It’s a simple fix,” said Ritze, R-Broken Arrow, who hasn’t seen the installed monument.

Yep. This guy sponsored the legislation that authorized the monument’s placement. His family paid for the monument, and has agreed to pay the maintenance costs. But he hasn’t seen the object of his adoration. He didn’t bother to attend its installation. And obviously, he didn’t pay to have someone proofread it, either.

And now, eh, a few whacks, the Ten Commandments’ll be good as new.

The odd amiability of our Devout Public Servant in the face of this desecration got me thinking about a trend I’ve noticed in conservative/religious circles: the transmogrification of important texts (from sacred and secular sources) into totems: objects to be worshipped, not to be read. Or, perish forbid, interpreted through the prism of one’s intelligence and experience.  

After the jump: Cecil B. DeMille spirituality. Plus, our inerrant Constitution’s sacred origin.  

I would love to get the 121 lawmakers who voted for this monument all together in one place, give them each a sheet of paper and a pen, and ask them to write down the Ten Commandments. How many do you think would go ten for ten?

You know the answer. Not many. I’ll be even the most devout lawmakers would have a hard time getting six or seven. That’s because the words aren’t important; just having them around infuses us with the aura of Godliness. Heck, if we had Ten Commandments tablets in every state capital, I bet there wouldn’t be any murder or crime or “legitimate rape” or even any gays or Muslims.

This Oklahoma monument is also a prime example of another unfortunate trend among conservatives: the conflation of Christianity and Americanism. Look just above “The Ten Commandments,” and gaze in wonder at the patriotic pastiche: the eagle on an American flag with the Eye of Providence over its shoulder. Exactly as featured on the original stone tablets brought down the mountain by Moses (one of the Founding Fathers).

And just when you thought the Patriotic Christianist’s worldview couldn’t get any more confused, just take a look at Rep. Ritze’s account of the origin of public Commandments:

Ritze… said Cecil B. DeMille, director of the 1956 film epic “The Ten Commandments,” gave money to the Fraternal Order of Eagles to fund monuments across the country depicting the commandments. Some of the film’s main stars, such as Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner, went to unveilings.

That’s right, this “displaying the Commandments” routine started out as a Hollywood publicity stunt.

Which is about right when you think about it, because putting the Ten Commandments in a public place is nothing more than a political publicity stunt. Well, that’s the charitable interpretation. It could also be an unholy mix of Christianity and paganism — treating a physical object as a manifestation of divinity. Which, ironically, was the very sin the Israelites committed while Moses was up on the mountain receiving the Commandments. Today, the Commandments themselves have become a golden calf, providing a false sense of security to fearful Oklahomans who believe a stone talisman can forestall the encroachment of secular-humanistic darkness.  

And this commingling of Christianity and Americanism works both ways, as in the elevation of the Constitution to the status of inerrant gift from God. This is most floridly depicted in the work of hack artist John McNaughton, but the same reverence for our founding document can be seen throughout modern conservative circles — from the hard-line originalism of the Constitution’s high priest Antonin Scalia, to the compulsive carrying of pocket Constitutions* by conservative politicians.

*Those pocket Constitutions are, by the way, effective fundraising giveaways for the likes of the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute. I’m surprised the entrepreneurial tub thumpers at the Ethan Allen Institute haven’t leaped at that opportunity. Maybe they’ve gotten a bit overly dependent, 47-percenter style, on all those Broughton Bucks.

These would be the same politicians who, at the beginning of the Tea Party Congress, staged a reading of the Constitution from the House floor. Well, most of the Constitution. Part of Article IV was skipped because of a page-turning error, and they omitted parts of the original Constitution (you know, the one handed down by Jesus) that were superseded by amendments, because they didn’t want to read the icky parts about slavery that were in the original Constitution (you know, the one handed down by Jesus).

That would be the same Tea Party Congress that vowed to city the Constitution in every new bill, but couldn’t be bothered to actually do it. Because the words of the Constitution aren’t really all that important; it’s just the fact of the Constitution, its power as a totem of the One True American Religion.

This employment of text as symbol rather than, oh, a way to communicate ideas, can also be seen in conservatives’ steadfast defense of “In God we trust” on our money, and the phrase “under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance. When was the last time you had a conversion experience while looking at a quarter? When was the last time a child was zapped by the Holy Spirit while mechanically reciting the Pledge?

That would be never, and never. Same for school prayer: according to conservative dogma, our country started going to Hell in a handbasket when prayer was “banned” from public schools. Which is nonsense in two ways; school prayer had nothing to do with our nation’s salvation or damnation, and prayer is not at all banned from schools — just organized prayer.

The totemization of Christian and American texts does nothing for religiosity or patriotism. It just makes some of us feel better. Mike Ritze’s remarkably phlegmatic attitude toward misspellings in a sacred text is perfectly understandable because deep down inside, he doesn’t care if anybody ever reads the thing; he just wants a totem, a talisman, an icon. An object to mindlessly revere.

Y’know, some people of faith would call this blasphemy.  

The year 2012 has seen Vermont’s two biggest daily newspaper operations (the Freeploid and the Herald/Times Argus) erect paywalls on their websites, restricting access to paid subscribers. (The ‘Loid allows nonsubscribers free access to ten stories a month, so think before you click.)

And another paper is about to join them: the Valley News, which covers the NH and VT sides of the Upper Valley area. Until now, the Valley News has had a very limited Web presence — a handful of articles available free online, but no online access at all to the rest of the paper.

Well, the Valley News has a new website which includes all the paper’s content plus online-only content. It’s all available free for an unspecified but limited trial period, and then it goes behind The Wall.

I’ve chosen to subscribe to the Freeploid and the Times Argus, but I won’t be paying for the Valley News. Even though I have occasionally found interesting stories there. (One of them will be in my weekly Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down post on Monday.)  

Paywalls seem to be an inevitable tactic for daily newspapers trying to make up for the loss of advertising dollars. But each new paywall closes off another source of local news. In Vermont, we’re down to VTDigger, Seven Days, and the scattershot coverage of broadcast outlets VPR, WCAX, and WPTZ, plus occasional gleanings from the likes of the Brattleboro and Bennington papers.

It’s hard to criticize newspapers that resort to paywalls. I certainly don’t envy them the task of trying to make daily journalism pay. But we’re getting less and less information into the public sphere, and that’s not a good thing. I hope someone somewhere figures out a way to turn a profit on good-quality reporting. We need it.