May Day Speech: Luke Willard, of the Nulhegan Abenaki Tribe, Vermont Sierra Club & Our Forest Our Future Campaign.

As Delivered At The Put People & The Planet First Rally-Montpelier, May 1, 2012

*Photo of Chief Don Stevens with Nulhegan Abenaki Flag at May 1.

(The following speech was given by First Nation/Abenaki leader Luke Willard at the Put People and the Planet First Vermont May Day demonstration in Montpelier. This rally, largely organized by the Vermont Workers Center, made history by being the largest weekday demonstration in the long history of Vermont’s Capital City. Despite rain, cold, and a grey sky, and despite the fact that Montpelier has a population of only 7800 people, 2000 Vermonters marched to demand that the needs of the People and the Planet be valued over corporate greed.    

     In Addition to voicing support for Abenaki Rights, the rally called for healthcare for all, the right of all Vermont workers to form a union, justice for migrant farm workers, and more.  37 peoples’ organizations including Occupy Vermont, Rural Vermont, VT AFL-CIO, 350 Vermont, United Nurses, the VT American Federation of Teachers, Vermont State Employees Association, United Electrical Workers, Industrial Workers of the World, International Socialist Organization, Red Cover Collective, Mobile Home Residents for Equality and Fairness, Parents United, Vermont Center for Independent Living, and the Vermont Progressive Party endorsed the rally.) 

***  

Hello Vermont Workers, Farmers, Environmentalists, Abenaki, and Revolutionaries!!!

     My name is Luke Willard.  I’m the Chairman of the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs, a Firefighter and Rescuer, and I’m a Conservation Organizer for the Vermont Sierra Club and the Nulhegan Abenaki Tribe in the Northeast Kingdom.  Just over a year ago, I was here to celebrate the state recognition of the Nulhegan, of which I am a member, and Elnu Abenaki tribes, and I’m very happy to report that I will be here again six days from now to celebrate the state recognition of two more tribes… the Koasek and the Missisquoi!     

     As a Conservation Organizer, it is my job to work at the grassroots level to encourage communities to create their own Town and Tribal Forests.  We call it the OUR Forests OUR Future initiative… and we do not stand alone!  So I give a shout out to the Vermont Workers Center, the AFL-CIO, 350 Vermont, and many others.     

     So what is Our Forests Our Future?  My people have known for centuries that the land we walk upon is a gift.  From this land, my people were able to meet their every need while maintaining the health and beauty of the land we call N’dakinna in the Abenaki language.  Today, most know it as the Green Mountain State… Vermont.  Unfortunately though, this gift has been taken for granted.       

     Greedy corporations, self interested out-of-staters, and even some Vermonters who have traded in their birthright for real or imagined swollen bank accounts, do not see the majestic mountains, and miles of forests.  They do not see the herbs of spring, the bounties of late summer, and the colors of autumn.  They do not hear the ripples of a mountain stream, the call of the loon, or the wind as it dances with leaves of a giant Vermont maple.  They do not benefit from growing organic vegetables or the blessing of a deer or moose who sacrifices itself to complete the circle of life.  They only see potential development, dollar signs, a place to put their pollution, and an investment in vacation home development for the wealthy who reside in lands far south of these green and rugged hills.  These people, the enemies of Vermont’s working families, only hear what they want to hear.  They only see the alleged benefit from the gain of elitist non-productive economic and political power, and they seek to exchange that which could serve the community, for the destruction that can only result from their personal gain. This is the challenge set before us as we, today, declare that a healthy and vibrant forest, a clean and sustainable environment, is a basic birth right of all Vermonters!     

     My people, the Abenaki, also know that this planet is changing.  Our climate is changing.  But as we adapt to these changes, it is necessary for us to lend a hand to our four-legged friends so that they may adapt to our changing environment by establishing forested migration corridors particularly in the northeast so that animals have a safe route from the spine of the Green Mountains to the vast forests of northern New Hampshire, Maine, and Quebec. We propose doing so through the creation of a mosaic of new town and tribal forests!     

     But let us not forget the two-legged creatures… you and me.  Moms, Dads, Grandmothers, Grandfathers, and our greatest resource… our children.  In exchange for our stewardship… yours and mine… Town forests and tribal forests can provide clean air to breath and clean water to drink. They can also provide essential food and medicines that haven’t been poisoned by synthetic fertilizers, hormones, and genetically modified organisms… Firewood for the disadvantaged and/or elderly… Cooperative maple sugaring… and a place for teachings our children the simplicity of sustainable living and stewardship!     

     Last year, over 1500 people signed our petition for the creation of new town forests.  These petitions were delivered to the Governor and leaders of the Vermont General Assembly.  We are pleased to report that this year the Governor is supporting increased funding for the Vermont Housing and Conservation Fund.  This year, though, we are circulating a new petition… one that will demonstrate Vermont's overwhelming support for Tribal Forests!  It is our intention, this summer, to deliver this petition to the Governor, and to work with the administration to secure the first true and new Abenaki forest in over 200 years!     

     After 400 years of oppression, genocide, eugenics, and the near eradication of our culture and our people, it is time that the first Vermonters, the original Vermonters, the Abenaki, win back a meaningful piece of what was once all ours!  We demand tribal-communal lands that we can hunt, fish, gather wood, and medicine. We demand a return of those tools of nature which were stolen from us generations ago. We do not stand before you today asking that we be become a ward of the state. No my fellow Vermonters; we stand before you today to demand that we be allowed the resources to not only safeguard our environment, but also to take care of our own people!!  We are here today to declare that the time has come to establish Abenaki Tribal Forests in the Great State of Vermont!     

     Let me be as clear as I can… We do not seek acceptance or recognition from a federal government which is marred in blood, war, imperialism (both abroad and at home), corruption, inaction, and failure. We do not seek rights to gambling or other vices. We simply seek to work with the State of Vermont in setting aside lands which we can preserve in its natural state, and work according to our traditions; those which predate 1492 and 1791.  We seek a place in these Green Hills that we can, again, call our own!     

     And here, we know we are not alone.  We have been working with the Vermont Sierra Club and others represented in this crowd today to achieve these goals.  We understand that our battle will only be won through a grand and united Popular Front composed of all those individuals and organizations who are gathered here today in solidarity! And in turn, we, the Nulhegan Abenaki, look forward to working with you to see that Vermont Put’s People and The Planet First!       

     So, as the sun goes down over this failed empire of greed, we, the Abenaki people, the People of the Dawn, reach out our hand in friendship to all Vermonters; be they the sons and daughters of the Green Mountain Boys, the grandchildren of Quebecquoi immigrants, or more recent arrivals. Together we are Vermont Strong and together we will win!        

     When I step down from this podium, I will have one goal and that is to collect your signatures showing your solidarity and support for the Abenaki people, tribal forests, preserving our environment and all those who inhabit it. 

SUPPORT THE NULHEGAN ABENAKI TRIBE! 

SUPPORT THE VERMONT SIERRA CLUB! 

SUPPORT TRIBAL AND TOWN FORESTS!  

SUPPORT OUR FORESTS! 

SUPPORT OUR FUTURE!

FREEDOM AND UNITY!!

### 

*If you are a Vermonter, please go to the below link and sign the petition in support of Abenaki Tribal Forests! 

http://action.sierraclub.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Petition_FLD_VT_TribalForests_DS&autologin=true&s_src=212DRHAE01 

*If you live in Vermont, please go to the below link and download an Abenaki Tribal Forest petition and have your friends, co-workers, families, and neighbors sign! 

http://action.sierraclub.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Vol_FLD_VT_TribalForests_Thanks 

Yes, in an exceptionally good mood today.  Must be that radiation from Japan in the rain.  Anyway, have this Joni Mitchell melody (or melodies) in my head.  So, let’s be UPBEAT.  Enjoy.

   OCCUPIED

I had this dream

It’s crazy I know

About how I’d like to see

Things in this country go

Seems yesterday

All the people took to the streets

Cops couldn’t beat ’em back

Oh it was really sweet

They surrounded Wall Street

The Pentagon and Congress

Marched to the White House

Made the President address them

He said: Okay we give up

What is it you all need?

An end to the stupid wars?

All the corruption and greed?

The people all yelled: Oh no

We’re here to occupy

So get the hell out of the doorway

We’re sick of all the lies!

And so we occupied

We changed everything around

Brought the National Guard home

So they could round up CEOs

And make them work to atone

Got back all our civil rights

And health care for all

Trashed all our credit cards

And bulldozed all the malls

And it wasn’t all that hard

And we had a lot of fun

People were dancing and singing:

Hey this is how you get things done!

And when the Bad Boys resisted

And tried to take a bigger piece of pie

We took all their cash

And told them: You’ve been occupied!

And yes we occupied

That’s how we occupied

But I woke up from my dream

It’s just another apathetic day

Boyfriend’s asleep on the couch

He left the TV on all night to play

I said: Wake up you asshole!

We’ve got a lot of work to do

We’re all in this thing together

And that means you too!

He said: What the hell?

And my cat jumped up on his chest

I told him all about my dream

And what I’d do to him unless

He got up off his lazy ass

And helped me make revolution

Without any compromises

Or male convolutions

And so we hit the streets

But he still wanted to know

Just what the hell we were doing

Couldn’t I just let things go?

And I said: Baby I love you

But sometimes you don’t even try

So now just do what I tell you to do

Cause Baby–You’ve been occupied!

Yes you’ve been occupied

And that’s how we’re gonna occupy

Yes we’ll occupy!

Peter Buknatski

Montpelier, Vt.

(Ya know, Convolutions would be a good name for a cat.)

Emergency Action Needed For VT Renewable Energy!

    Over a month ago, the Clean Energy Bill passed the Vermont House of Representatives by a 2-1 margin, with tripartisan support. Now the bill is hanging by a thread in the Vermont State Senate, in large part due to opposition from some of the state’s utilities and corporate interests!

    Senators need to hear from you now in order for this to become a “must-pass” bill.  Without it, any real progress on renewable energy in Vermont is at risk.  Let’s make sure time doesn’t run out on Vermont’s clean energy future.

    Call the Statehouse (828-2228) and leave a message urging your Senator(s) to pass the Clean Energy Bill (S.214) NOW!

    There are only a few days left in the legislative session, but this is a decision that will likely be made today or tomorrow.  We’ve still got a fighting chance at getting this clean energy bill passed and signed into law, but only if you make this call today!

    And again, the fact is if we are to see a renewable energy future for the Green Mountain State, we need to show lawmakers that The People, the grassroots, demand action. Yesterday 2000 Vermonters, including Sierra Club members, marched through Montpelier for the May 1 Put People and the Planet First rally!  This march, organized by the Vermont Workers Center, was endorsed by 37 organizations ranging from 350 Vermont to the Vermont AFL-CIO. Now let’s keep the momentum building and demand that our Senators listen to real Vermonters, and not the lobbyists for the power companies!  

    So again, call our Statehouse today at  828-2228 and say you want to leave a message for your state Senator(s). Tell your Senator(s) that you demand they support renewable energy and need to pass S.214.  With your support and direct participation, we will win!

Solidarity,

David Van Deusen

Conservation Organizer

Vermont Sierra Club

PS Like what the Vermont Sierra Club is doing to support renewable energy?  Then show your support by “liking” us on our facebook page.  You can get to the Vermont Sierra Club facebook page by going to the below link.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/…

If you are a webmaster or a website owner, getting your site search engine optimized must be a top priority for you. For big budget sites, search engine optimization (SEO) takes a good percentage of the overall spending. However, for low budget sites, SEO is always a challenge. Owners of most such sites are unable to get any real SEO work done. If they can not do it themselves, the site ends up featuring poorly on search engine results. I may have found an seo answers solution with webmasterquery.com. On this site you can ask your questions related to website management, and other forum members can answer your questions, ranging from perl, sql, css or anything else.

The beauty of Webmaster Query is that there are so many interesting topics, that those who land on the website will look for more than a single Webmaster Answer. So, whether you are a busy website owner looking for affordable help on your website, or are a SEO “clerk” offering such services, check this website out. You can see people advertising WordPress maintenance, link building, web hosting, forums, article translating, etc. for really low prices. At the same time, there are people looking for image editing, blogger help and so on. I have not yet tried this out and don’t yet know the quality of answers or expertise of users, but this seems like a nice site.

Health and Dental Insurance

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.”  

(First-person reportage as to what happened by one of the movers and shakers. – promoted by NanuqFC)

     Despite rain, clouds, and general bad weather, the Put People First rally turned out to in fact be  the largest  weekday rally in the long history of our capital city; Montpelier. The Vermont Workers Center conducted crowd counts during the height of the action, and estimates that the crowd peaked at approximately 2000.  As a witness, I have to concur that this estimate seems reasonable.

     Of the 30 organizations that mobilized for the event, some of the most powerful voices came from those affected by Hurricane Irene, day care providers, healthcare reform advocates, migrant farm workers, and Abenaki leaders.  In the coming days/hours, please go to the Vermont Workers Center website to see video, text, and photos concerning this day’s historic events.  Their website can be reached at:

www.workerscenter.org

    Personally, I was very impressed with the size of the crowd and the feeling of movement to movement solidarity.  When I woke up today, in Cabot, at 6:45 am and saw how hard it was raining, and felt the chill in the air, I thought we would be lucky to see 250 people march down State Street. The fact that this rally was clearly larger than other recent May Day Montpelier rallies surprised me. In a word, it was inspiring.

-David Van Deusen

***

Below [the fold] is the full text of the speech given by Abenaki leader and Sierra Club organizer Luke Willard, as was delivered before the crowd facing the Statehouse:

Hello Vermont Workers, Farmers, Environmentalists, Abenaki, and Revolutionaries!!!

    My name is Luke Willard.  I’m the Chairman of the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs, a Firefighter and Rescuer, and I’m a Conservation Organizer for the Vermont Sierra Club and the Nulhegan Abenaki Tribe in the Northeast Kingdom.  Just over a year ago, I was here to celebrate the state recognition of the Nulhegan, of which I am a member, and Elnu Abenaki tribes, and I’m very happy to report that I will be here again six days from now to celebrate the state recognition of two more tribes… the Koasek and the Missisquoi!

    As a Conservation Organizer, it is my job to work at the grassroots level to encourage communities to create their own Town and Tribal Forests.  We call it the OUR Forests OUR Future initiative… and we do not stand alone!  So I give a shout out to the Vermont Workers Center, the AFL-CIO, 350 Vermont, and many others.

    So what is Our Forests Our Future?  My people have known for centuries that the land we walk upon is a gift.  From this land, my people were able to meet their every need while maintaining the health and beauty of the land we call N’dakinna in the Abenaki language.  Today, most know it as the Green Mountain State… Vermont.  Unfortunately though, this gift has been taken for granted.  

    Greedy corporations, self interested out-of-staters, and even some Vermonters who have traded in their birthright for real or imagined swollen bank accounts, do not see the majestic mountains, and miles of forests.  They do not see the herbs of spring, the bounties of late summer, and the colors of autumn.  They do not hear the ripples of a mountain stream, the call of the loon, or the wind as it dances with leaves of a giant Vermont maple.  They do not benefit from growing organic vegetables or the blessing of a deer or moose who sacrifices itself to complete the circle of life.  They only see potential development, dollar signs, a place to put their pollution, and an investment in vacation home development for the wealthy who reside in lands far south of these green and rugged hills.  These people, the advisories of Vermont’s working families, only hear what they want to hear.  They only see the alleged benefit from the gain of elitist non-productive economic and political power, and they seek to exchange that which could serve the community, for the destruction that can only result from their personal gain. This is the challenge set before us as we, today, declare that a healthy and vibrant forest, a clean and sustainable environment, is a basic birth right of all Vermonters!

    My people, the Abenaki, also know that this planet is changing.  Our climate is changing.  But as we adapt to these changes, it is necessary for us to lend a hand to our four-legged friends so that they may adapt to our changing environment by establishing forested migration corridors particularly in the northeast so that animals have a safe route from the spine of the Green Mountains to the vast forests of northern New Hampshire, Maine, and Quebec. We propose doing so through the creation of a mosaic of new town and tribal forests!

    But let us not forget the two-legged creatures… you and me.  Moms, Dads, Grandmothers, Grandfathers, and our greatest resource… our children.  In exchange for our stewardship… yours and mine… Town forests and tribal forests can provide clean air to breath and clean water to drink. They can also provide essential food and medicines that haven’t been poisoned by synthetic fertilizers, hormones, and genetically modified organisms… Firewood for the disadvantaged and/or elderly… Cooperative maple sugaring… and a place for teachings our children the simplicity of sustainable living and stewardship!

    Last year, over 1500 people signed our petition for the creation of new town forests.  These petitions were delivered to the Governor and leaders of the Vermont General Assembly.  We are pleased to report that this year the Governor is supporting increased funding for the Vermont Housing and Conservation Fund.  This year, though, we are circulating a new petition… one that will demonstrate Vermont’s overwhelming support for Tribal Forests!  It is our intention, this summer, to deliver this petition to the Governor, and to work with the administration to secure the first true and new Abenaki forest in over 200 years!

    After 400 years of oppression, genocide, eugenics, and the near eradication of our culture and our people, it is time that the first Vermonters, the original Vermonters, the Abenaki, win back a meaningful piece of what was once all ours!  We demand tribal-communal lands that we can hunt, fish, gather wood, and medicine. We demand a return of those tools of nature which were stolen from us generations ago. We do not stand before you today asking that we be become a ward of the state. No my fellow Vermonters; we stand before you today to demand that we be allowed the resources to not only safeguard our environment, but also to take care of our own people!!  We here today to declare that the time has come to establish Abenaki Tribal Forests in the Great State of Vermont!

    Let me be as clear as I can… We do not seek acceptance or recognition from a federal government which is marred in blood, war, imperialism (both abroad and at home), corruption, inaction, and failure. We do not seek rights to gambling or other vices. We simply seek to work with the State of Vermont in setting aside lands which we can preserve in its natural state, and work according to our traditions; those which predate 1492 and 1791.  We seek a place in these Green Hills that we can, again, call our own!

    And here, we know we are not alone.  We have been working with the Vermont Sierra Club and others represented in this crowd today to achieve these goals.  We understand that our battle will only be won through a grand and united Popular Front composed of all those individuals and organizations who are gathered here today in solidarity! And in turn, we, the Nulhegan Abenaki, look forward to working with you to see that Vermont Put’s People and The Planet First!

    So, as the sun goes down over this failed empire of greed, we, the Abenaki people, the People of the Dawn, reach out our hand in friendship to all Vermonters; be they the sons and daughters of the Green Mountain Boys, the grandchildren of Quebecquoi immigrants, or more recent arrivals. Together we are Vermont Strong and together we will win!  

    When I step down from this podium, I will have one goal and that is to collect your signatures showing your solidarity and support for the Abenaki people, tribal forests, preserving our environment and all those who inhabit it.

SUPPORT THE NULHEGAN ABENAKI TRIBE!  

SUPPORT THE VERMONT SIERRA CLUB!

SUPPORT TRIBAL AND TOWN FORESTS!

SUPPORT OUR FORESTS!  

SUPPORT OUR FUTURE!

FREEDOM AND UNITY!!

###

So the Shumlin Administration has a shiny new policy regarding PR/communications positions in state government. For those just tuning in, Shumlin frequently attacked the Douglas Administration for hiring PR folks and using taxpayer money to crank out propaganda. Then, earlier this year, Shumlin threw a hissy when three of his departments posted job openings for communications people.  

Now, the Administration has come up with a policy intended, I’m sure, to clarity the issue. Terri Hallenbeck reports that the new policy reads as follows:

“It is the policy of the state of Vermont that it will only employ individuals in communications positions to provide fact-based information and education materials to the public and government stakeholders in a manner that serves the public interest and engenders trust in state government. The use of communications positions to provide biased information is prohibited.”

My reaction: Shumlin’s old ban is in the dumpster, and the door is once again wide open for PR hires. That one little paragraph is chock-full of Orwellian doublespeak. “Fact-based information,” for example, means exactly nothing. It’s like calling Hawaiian Punch a “fruit-based beverage.”  Just about every piece of information has a fact in it somewhere.

After the jump: more doublespeak… and a hearty endorsement of the new policy.

“Serves the public interest” is in the eye of the beholder. I’m sure that El Jefe General John McClaughry devoutly believes that the Ethan Allen Institute “serves the public interest” by providing a counterweight to Vermont’s rampant socialism.

“Engenders trust in state government” is the biggest howler in the bunch. If you make your agency head look good, aren’t you engendering trust in state government? If there’s a scandal in your department and you try to minimize its impact, are you not engendering trust in state government? Scandals, after all, diminish trust in state government. We can’t have that.

Finally, “The use of communications positions to provide biased information is prohibited.” Yeah, I’m laughing again. One man’s bias is another man’s reportage. Just ask Fox News. Or any Presidential press secretary.

Now that I’ve made sport of this vacuous new policy, let me say that I completely agree with it. Modern government is a big enterprise, and there’s a real need for communications. If you’ve ever been a reporter, you know that you need someone in government who actually answers their phone or returns messages in a hurry. Trying to direct-call an agency head is an exercise in futility. PR/communications people do help get the word out, and they do facilitate the process of journalism. And yes, you have to take everything they say with a grain of salt, but reporters are supposed to do that all the time with everyone they talk to.

I’m glad to see this new policy, because I’d long suspected that the old ban on flacks was a self-serving move on Shumlin’s part. One effect of the ban was that media inquiries were often funneled through Shumlin’s own press office. That kept him in the spotlight, and kept other officials in the shade. Which was useful I’m terms of Shumlin’s obvious aspirations for higher office; we don’t need any other Democrats raising their profiles, do we?  

So I welcome the new policy. But it’s clear  that Shumlin has abandoned a position he’d promulgated — often very loudly — since his run for Governor. And this new policy statement does precious little to conceal that fact.

Freep on the vax compromise:

Dorian Yates of Strafford is among those who has been vocal as part of a group called the Vermont Coalition for Vaccine Choice…and said she thinks a majority of Vermonters support parental choice on vaccinations.

Yates said she opposes the conferees’ agreement even though it keeps the philosophical exemption in law. The bill offers no firm definition of vaccination rate to give her assurance how it will be measured, she said.

It's risible enough that these folks are't happy with getting to keep the unconscionable “philosophical” exemption (now called “personal”, which also upsets them).  But then they say that they “think” a majority of Vermonters support them.  How unfortunate that there's no polling data available for the state, but I don't “think” we would deviate too much from the national norm: 69% of Americans think vaccination should be mandatory, and 82% of scientists.

That's the big problem: they “think” they know a lot things, but give lie to any real knowledge almost as soon as they open their mouths (or browsers).  While I've been called “irrational” and “naive” regarding this topic, I'm not sure it's credible coming from people who assert that this compromise by our representative legislature imposes “martial law” and is a form of “violence” (really, with no provision of fines or prison for non-compliance, you're expecting jackbooted thugs to break down your door?).

I don't find the complaints about how the Health Dept determines immunization rates to be any more compelling than their cries of tyranny.  First of all, it's a damned good thing that the Leg allows the agencies to set goals and respond to public health needs without micromanaging. I've also looked at the same data the anti-vaxxers have–I have no qualms about how it's been reported, and apparently most legislators concur.

What's more, I find it curious that the Vaccine Philosophers tout high immunization rates as a reason to allow them exemptions.  In other words, please allow us to avoid the risks we fear while benefitting from your taking those same risks.  It's an individual NIMBY syndrome, putting the entire public health at risk.  But hey, go ahead and exercise that choice: you can educate and care for your children in your own backyard!

Having talked about this with a wide array of people of late, inevitably the issue of cultural memory has come up.  I would very much be interested in the demographic breakdown of vax resistance since most of the older generations appear to support mandatory immunization while refuseniks seem to be younger.  A divide between people who remember the outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics before vaccines eliminated or mitigated the most common, devastating illnesses and those of us who have enjoyed lives more or less free of preventable disease?

It brings to mind Jared Diamond's Collapse:

In many prehistoric societies the mean human generation time—average number of years between births of parents and of their children—was only a few decades. Hence towards the end of a string of wet decades, most people alive would have had no firsthand memory of the previous period of dry climate. Even today, there is a human tendency to increase production and population during good decades, forgetting (or, in the past, never realizing) that such decades were unlikely to last. When the good decades then do end, the society finds itself with more populationthan can be supported, or with ingrained habits unsuitable to the new climate conditions.

Not an exact analogy–external factors versus our own choices–but consider that if you've never experienced the pre-vax bad times, you might take for granted a world that's fundamentally safe from historical infectious monsters.  Our health security will go the way of the last tree on Easter Island if people keep chopping at our herd immunity because they've forgotten how we got here.

ntodd

PS–Sorry that I lied about being done with this…

By VT AFL-CIO      

    Tuesday, May 1st, early educators, postal workers, migrant workers, students, food and climate justice activists… the 99%, will be marching in the Put People First March and Rally: One Movement for People and the Planet.

    May 1st will be a national day of action for human rights.  In Montpelier, Vermonters will come together for the right to education, housing, healthcare, child care and workers rights.

    Early educators have passed legislation through both the House and the Senate recognizing their right to organize. With the support of the strong majority of Vermonters, it is time for this basic human right to be recognized in Vermont and passed into law. If you are unable to join us in Montpelier tomorrow, leave a message for your senator at the State House.

Call: 802-828-2228 Message: “Support collective bargaining for early educators!”

For the History of May Day, click website of Illinois Labor History Society below link:

http://www.illinoislaborhistor…

( – promoted by kestrel9000)

The history of American democracy, to say the least, has been checkered. Our nation was founded at a time when people of African descent were held in bondage. After slavery was abolished, they were forced to endure legal discrimination for another 100 years.

When our country was formed, women were not just second-class citizens. They were third- or fourth-class citizens. Women couldn’t vote or play a significant role in the political life of the nation. Women, in many cases, couldn’t own property and were legally regarded as subservient in marriage. The educational and economic opportunities open to women were extremely limited. And, of course, women were unable to have control over their own bodies.

In the last 50 years, as the result of an enormous amount of effort on the part of the women’s movement and its male allies, we as a nation have made significant progress in the fight for gender equality. Clearly, much, much more needs to be done, but few would deny that our country has come a very long way in this struggle. In Vermont, Governor Madeleine Kunin has given years of service to our state after becoming the state’s first female governor in 1985. She is an inspiration to girls throughout Vermont and the country in allowing them to know that the opportunities they have are unlimited.

At rallies in Vermont and across the country this weekend, our message was clear. We are not going back. Not only are we not going to retreat on women’s rights, we are going to expand them. We are going forward, not backward.

We are not returning to the days of back-room abortions, when countless women died or were maimed. The decision about abortion must remain a decision for the woman, her family and physician to make, not the government.

We are not going back to the days when women could not have full access to birth control. Incredibly, here in the year 2012, that is exactly what the Blunt Amendment, which we defeated last month in the Senate, was all about. The Blunt Amendment would have allowed any employer who provided health insurance, or any insurance company, the right to deny coverage for contraception or any other kind of procedure if the employer had a “moral” objection to it. While I am glad that we defeated this horrendous amendment, it certainly was a sad day in our country when every Republican, save one, voted for it.

We are not going back to the days of wide-scale domestic violence, even if 31 Republican men in the Senate recently voted against the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act because it expanded coverage to the gay community and Native Americans.

We are not going back to the days when it was legal for women to be paid less for doing the same work as men, even if the governor of Wisconsin recently signed a bill to repeal that state’s pay-equity law.

Further, not only are we going to protect and expand those laws which deal directly with women’s rights, we are going to vigorously defend the important laws and programs which protect all working people in our country – women and men alike.

In the midst of this terrible recession we say NO to cuts in Social Security, a program which is so important to all of our seniors, but especially to women.

When 50 million Americans have no health insurance we say NO to cuts in Medicare and Medicaid which protect tens of millions of Americans, but is especially important to women and their children.

The right-wing in this country is waging a war against women and, let me be very clear, it is not a war that we are going to allow them to win.

But if they want political warfare, we must expand the field of battle, and we must be on the offensive.

Let us wage a moral and political war against the billionaires and corporate leaders, on Wall Street and elsewhere, whose policies and greed are destroying the middle class of America.

Let us wage a moral and political war against the gross wealth and income inequality in America, the worst in the industrialized world, which is tearing this country and our economy apart.

Let us wage a moral and political war against a dysfunctional health care system and fight for a Medicare-for-all single-payer system.

Let us wage a moral and political war against war itself, so that we can cut military spending and use that money for human needs.

Finally, let understand that when we stand together, we will always win. When men and women stand together for justice, we win. When blacks, whites and Hispanics stand together for justice, we win. When straights and gays stand together for justice, we win. When young and old stand together for justice, we win. When working families stand together, we win.

Vermont is a national leader in the fight for a new health care system, for the transformation of our energy system, and in support of family farming and organic agriculture. We were the first state in the country to pass a civil union law and the first state to pass gay marriage legislation without a court order.

Now, we must continue and expand our efforts to be national leaders in the fight for gender equality.

I have seven beautiful grandchildren, four of whom are girls. Let us all work together in making sure that those four girls, and every girl in our state and country, has the same opportunity as anyone else to fulfill their dreams and live their lives without gender discrimination of any kind.